Empties – August 2022

Hi there! Today’s post is about all the products I finished last month. I don’t feel like doing a big intro, so here they are:

1 Salvador Dali Dalissime Eau De Toilette – one of my all-time favourite fragrances. I have another bottle in my stash. 😍

2 Garnier Pure Active Intensive Charcoal Scrub – another Garnier product I won’t repurchase. This scrub is too basic.

3 Boots Glow Banana Toner – not the best toner for me. I won’t buy it again.

4 The Body Shop Neroli Jasmin Body Lotion – one of the best body lotions ever. EVER. Unfortunately, this amazing fragrance has been discontinued. But I have 1 more body lotion, 2 shower gels and 1 eau de toilette with the beautiful Neroli Jasmin fragrance left in my stash! 😍

5 Garnier Skin Active Soothing Botanical Cleansing Milk With Rose Water – this cleanser is OK but not great. I wouldn’t buy it again.

6 Olay Complete Lightweight Day Fluid – an all-time favourite beauty staple. I would always be more than happy to buy this amazing moisturiser again.

7 Palmolive Aroma Therapy Absolute Relax – one of my all-time favourites! I have a few more of these!

8 Imperial Leather You Are My Sunshine Rainbow Rose & Raspberry Kisses Icons Shower Gel – a nice shower gel. A limited edition, unfortunately.

9 Treacle Moon The Honeycomb Secret Bath And Shower Gel – my husband loves this shower and bath gel just as much as I do. In fact, he’s been using most of it. A definite repurchase.

9 Palmolive Hidden Heaven Shower Gel – I love this shower gel! A definite repurchase!

10 Pantene Pro-V Miracles Silky & Glowing Biotin & Hydrolised Silk Protein Conditioner – not the best conditioner for my hair type. This shampoo and conditioner combo gave me crunchy hair. Its tagline could be “A crunch fest with every wash.” Repurchase? Absolutely not!

12 Morrisons Revive Pink Grapefruit & Basil Extracts Shower Gel – this shower gel is too basic. I won’t buy it again.

I did well again in August. Hopefully I can keep it up over the next few months!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Pantene Pro-V Miracles Silky & Glowing Biotin & Hydrolised Silk Protein Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi there! Today’s post is about the hair care combo I’m using at the moment – Pantene Pro-V Miracles Silky & Glowing Biotin & Hydrolised Silk Protein Shampoo & Conditioner. These 2 products promise to repair straw-like or processed hair to silky soft.

Pantene Pro-V Miracles Silky & Glowing Biotin & Hydrolised Silk Protein Shampoo is a creamy white shampoo. It doesn’t look or smell spectacular. It has a dense, warm and almost cloying scent. Something I can’t describe plus coconut. Not really great for summer. It does feel nice on my hair and my head though.

Pantene Pro-V Miracles Silky & Glowing Biotin & Hydrolised Silk Protein Conditioner is a weird one. It doesn’t have that typical conditioner formula. This one’s more like a cream. I need quite a bit of product to be able to detangle my hair. I also don’t like the fragrance. It has a strong chemical smell – reminiscent of hair dye – plus lots of coconut. It doesn’t smell good.

I’ve also noticed that this hair care combo does the opposite of what it’s supposed to do. Instead of silky and soft hair, it leaves me with crunchy hair after every single wash. So I now wear my hair up during the day. ☹️ Well, I won’t buy this hair care combo again.

If you’re interested, Pantene Pro-V Miracles Silky & Glowing Biotin & Hydrolised Silk Protein Shampoo & Conditioner are available as 400ml and 275ml respectively. These products are usually about £5 each, but I paid £2.50 each (with Tesco Clubcard).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛

Pantene Pro-V Miracles Strong & Long Biotin + Bamboo Keratin Reconstruct Mask

Hi there! Today’s post is about this Pantene Pro-V Miracles Strong & Long Biotin + Bamboo Keratin Reconstruct Mask. This hair mask promises to strengthen hair against styling damage (vs. non-conditioning shampoo) and to help reduce hair loss due to breakage.

The instructions state that you should apply the hair mask to your wet hair, then rinse it out, then dry and style your hair.

I’ve used this hair mask about once every 5-7 days for the past 5 weeks, and I think it’s alright but not great. I tried this hair mask because the shampoo and the conditioner from the same collection blew me away. Whilst the shampoo and the conditioner are all-time faves, the hair mask is not. And here’s why:

It starts with the instructions – they don’t state how often you should use the mask, and for how long you should leave it in. Pantene needs to improve this. I just leave the mask on for 2-3 minutes. But I have no idea if this is how Pantene expects people to use this hair mask.

Also, I don’t style my hair. I have long, wavy-to-curly hair, and I just wash and condition my hair (and blow-dry it if I have to go anywhere) – and my hair just looks great. I don’t use any kind of foam, gel, spray, etc. So I can’t evaluate how effective this hair mask is if you style your hair. However, I have noticed zero difference between this hair mask and a regular conditioner. I guess that’s why Pantene promises a strengthening effect compared to the use of a non-conditioning shampoo only. If you style your hair, and this mask works for you, this is great. But it doesn’t do anything special for me.

Another thing is that this hair mask makes no difference to how much hair I lose in the shower the next day. I’m a daily washer, so I know how much hair I lose or should lose. Whilst the shampoo and the conditioner from this range made a visible difference from day 1, this mask makes no difference.

Because of the above, I won’t repurchase the mask. I will continue to use it for as long as it lasts, but since it’s not better than a random conditioner, I don’t really need it. But if you’re interested, Pantene Pro-V Miracles Strong & Long Biotin + Bamboo Keratin Reconstruct Mask is available as 160ml for about £5. I paid £2.50 (Tesco Clubcard offer).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde 💙💛