OGX Hydrating Macadamia Oil Shampoo, Conditioner and Dry Styling Oil - Review

Bonjour!

I tried for ages to shorten the title of this post but it was not to be so you have the full shebang!   Picked up this trio from the OGX/Organix Hydrating Macadamia Oil range (on offer of course!) specifically to take away.  Think it must have been the 'drench your strands' and 'hydrate and smooth parched, dry hair' bits that made me think it would be ideal for holiday. I went down the non-sulphate route as my daughter would be using it too so reckoned I do both our hairs' and scalps' a favour.  There was no problem with taking full sizes this year as we were driving, so everything got chucked in the boot of the car ... luckily it's a fairly big boot!

Both the shampoo and conditioner have quite a creamy but not heavy texture, the shampoo lathers well and both rinse out easily.  Your barnet is left with a silken feeling as you rinse - it feels mighty good I have to say!!  Must be quite a concentrated formula because you don't need to use too much of either the shampoo or conditioner - even on my daughter's giant mane of hair! Hence we still have a good amount left after using on holiday and on and off since returning approx a month ago!

The Dry Styling Oil can be used as a styling aid and also as a finishing product.  The oil itself is quite heavy so the trick is to find the correct amount for your own barnet.  I only need to use the smallest amount (tiny ... actually for my pathetic head of hair!), make sure you rub between your palms so you're only left with a thin film and then apply to mid-lengths and ends and dry as usual - or apply as above after styling (I use a mere droplet in this case!).  I still need to use a volumising product on the top half of my barnet but used correctly it does leave hair smooth and shiny and doesn't weigh it down - unless of course you do use too much (which I have done) and then you'll know about it!

And the aroma! ... Honestly they smell absolutely wonderful ... like ripe, sweet, watermelons - not sickly but really clean, juicy fresh watermelons! Pop into Boots and have a sniff and see what you think! Of course if you don't like watermelons you may have an issue!

So ... yes ... myself and my daughter are impressed with the OGX Hydrating Macadamia Oil Shampoo, Conditioner and Dry Styling Oil - lovely products to use at home or abroad to keep hair soft, shiny and silky.  I would repurchase ... but then I also want to try another range - just look at all this lot on the OGX site here - it's total hair product heaven! Of course if you're a 'normal' person this won't excite you ... but I'm not normal!

Have you tried any products from the OGX/Organix range? Which ones would you recommend?

Jen x

Ojon Damage Reverse Shampoo and Conditioner - Review

Bonjour!

The Ojon Damage Reverse Shampoo and Conditioner was part of a  kit from  - yep you guessed - good old QVC (just for a change!) ...

If you're familiar with the Ojon range you'll know that Ojon Oil is known as 'nature's golden elixir'...

"Found only in the rainforests of Central America and harvested and extracted by hand from the nuts of the fragrant Ojon tree, this amazing beauty secret has been used for centuries to restore perfect health and vitality to "hair broken by the blazing sun"  (source )   

As well as Ojon Oil (of course), the shampoo contains wheat proteins and coconut derived cleansers which are said to help smooth, de-tangle and hydrate and the conditioner contains Brazilian Buriti Oil - rich in anti-oxidants and Murumuru Butter to help seal in moisture and protect against daily damage. 

Both the shampoo and conditioner have a light creamy texture but are concentrated so you only need a small amount.  The shampoo lathers well and rinses easily. The conditioner is nourishing but not heavy. The instructions advise to apply from root to tip and massage into the scalp, even the conditioner, which I've done with no greasy residue.  If you weren't a fan of the original Ojon Restorative hair treatment due to the aroma then I imagine you'd be pleasantly surprised as these both smell nothing like it and have a sweet/delicate, creamy/fresh smell (if that makes any sense!).

I do tend to leave the conditioner on for a bit longer (say 10/15 minutes?). It works well when rinsed off after the standard couple of mins but I want to give my hair all the help it can get so this feels more beneficial - especially when I have loads of colour in my hair. I look on this as more of a 'treatment' rather than everyday kit, but basically - I really like this shampoo and conditioner. I feel they nourish and strengthen and I notice less hair going down the plughole with a burst of continued use. My hair is difficult but these two leave it softer, shiny and more manageable.

I'd be interested to see what the long term effect would be on my ageing hair if I used 'Damage Reverse' as my 'everyday' shampoo and conditioner but unfortunately at full price they're too expensive to buy alone - between £21-£23each/250ml, although there are offers usually on at QVC (I love QVC!).

Have you tried any products from the Ojon Damage Reverse range?

Jen x

Percy & Reed /Glamour Offer!

Bonjour!

I caved in! I've been trying so hard to ignore the magazine freebies that are floating around but no way could I walk past the current Glamour mag with it's Percy & Reed fabulous freebies...!

You get to choose from:-

Really Rather Radiant Colour & Shine Shampoo 100ml
Really Rather Radiant Colour & Shine Conditioner 100ml
Quite Frankly Flawless Finishing Polish 100ml
Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil (for fine hair) 30ml

Glamour state that the whole lot is the equivalent of £41 worth of product so at £2.00 a pop for the mag I had to get all four - silly not to! The shampoo, conditioner and oil look like ideal travel sizes so could save them (or just buy a couple more!).

I've been loving the Really Rather Radiant Shampoo and Conditioner - full review here and am currently using their Bodifying Cream and No Oil Oil anyway - both of which are going down well so couldn't resist the chance to try the Finishing Polish for £2.00.

Did you pick up April's Glamour magazine - which Percy & Reed product/products did you go for?


Jen x

Percy & Reed Colour and Shine Collection - Review

Bonjour!

The Percy & Reed (4 Piece) Colour and Shine Collection is one of two kits I purchased at the start of December from QVC - been wanting to try the Percy & Reed haircare range for a while.  Anyway - there they were (Paul Percival and Adam Reed) doing their thing in the QVC studio and I finally caved in! If you're not familiar with the 'dymanic duo' you can read all about 'em from their own website here.

I've not used a specific colour care shampoo and conditioner before (have mostly gone down the volumising route) but I'd just had pretty-much a full head of highlights done and thought I'd have a go at keeping my colour 'Really Rather Radiant'...

Both the Really Rather Radiant Shampoo and Conditioner contain raspberry seed oil - which is said to moisturise and nourish hair and the conditioner also contains white grape seed oil, aloe vera gel and Pro vitamin B5.   From the first time I used the shampoo and conditioner I noticed a huge difference in the condition of my hair - it actually behaved itself.  I've found this has been the case every time I've used it since so no one-hit wonder here!  The shampoo is not big on lather and you have to make sure your hair is sopping wet but it leaves my hair squeaky clean and doesn't seem to leave build up.  The conditioner is creamy but doesn't weigh my hair down and leaves it smooth.  My hair is far from perfect - we all know that - but this duo really does  seem to improve the manageability. I had my hair cut last week and my hairdresser commented that my highlights have not gone brassy but have retained the deep caramel colour so result!

Abundantly Bouncy Volumising Mousse is like an extra low-fat squirty cream - it's light as air. For everyday use I've found that one golf-ball size is adequate - it doesn't make my hair twice as big but it adds a decent amount of volume. It's not at all crunchy and leaves hair soft and conditioned.  If I need a bit more oomph I've added a bit more into the routine with a bit of extra blow-drying and this seems to have done the trick.

Reassuringly Firm Session Hold Hairspray is a super-fine spray which gives a natural but good hold - and doesn't go rock solid or stick my hair together - so thankfully no helmet head going on! The nozzle is tiny so allows you to spray the required amount onto your barnet. It's also easily brushed out which is always a bonus!

All of the products in the kit (in my opinion) smell great - fresh but not sharp and sweet but not sickly - just right!

The Percy & Reed (4 Piece) Colour and Shine Collection costs just under £25 from QVC - so not the cheapest of ranges out there but with the results I've seen I think I'll be re-purchasing at some stage - may just have to wait for a special offer or easy pay option! Please can we have a Today's Special Value soon QVC? (Good job I have another little kit from Percy & Reed waiting patiently in the wings ;)

Have you tried any products from the Percy & Reed Haircare range?

Jen x

Holiday Haircare!

Bonjour!

Holiday haircare eh? My hair is difficult to manage at the best of times, on holiday it's a nightmare! Remember that episode of 'Friends' when Monica's hair went wild and frizzy on holiday (in Barbados?) - imagine that but with much much less hair!

So here are my holiday haircare products.  There ain't 'a bag' I'm afraid because they'll be split up and chucked into a couple of suitcases!

From left to right (again sort of) -

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo and Conditioner (dry or damaged hair) - I'm a big fan of this shampoo and all three of Liz's conditioners actually.  I suffer from an itchy, flaky scalp on and off and this gentle shampoo really seems to sort it out every time!  It's almost like a detox treatment and just calms everything down, leaves my hair cleansed and soft but still with volume.  I'm taking the dry/damaged conditioner option because I've had my hair coloured recently which always dries it out a tad. 


Lee Stafford Flat Iron Protection Shine Mist - Boots had 3 for 2 on selected travel minis so I got this as one of the 3. I've used it before and really like it, you only seem to need a little and it leaves hair soft and silky (and smells good as well!) .

Avon Advance Techniques Frizz Control Lotus Shield - last years bottle but plenty left for hols, you only need a tiny bit before blow drying (although I don't blow dry my hair on holiday I just put this on and blast off with the hairdryer) and it helps to 'block' the humidity from frizzing everything up! I'll put a mini blob on after as well just to be on the safe side!

Charles Worthington Front Row Brunette Dry Shampoo - I'm a big fan of dry shampoos for extra texture and volume, so treated myself to this for hols. I try not to wash my hair every single day on holiday so this is great for maybe non beach/pool days( I'm not a 'head submerger' where water's concerned anyway as I wear contacts!). Not used this particular one before so will see how it fares.


John Frieda Full Repair 'Full Body' Shampoo and Conditioner - the rest of the 3 for 2 goodies.  These are meant to 'revive overstyled hair' and 'weightlessly repair' damage from heat and colour. This sounds exactly what my hair needs. I do have colour in my hair and use straighteners, (even on holiday) so my hair's going to need all the help it can get! Let see what happens!


Aussie 3 Minute Miracle 'Colour' Deep Treatment - this is 'for coloured hair in need of love', sounds like my hair. Sachets come in so handy for holiday and take up no space in the suitcase!  

Ojon wide tooth comb - this comes in the pot with the famous Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment which I've used on and off for a while. Useful little compact comb!

A couple of  products to decant -

Philip Kinglsey Elasticiser - I love pre-shampoo treatments and this is one of my faves. Just so easy to pop on dampened hair and just get on with stuff (or sit around in the sun if you're on holiday!) while it does it's work.  I take this every year and put it on in the afternoon so that when I wash my hair in the evening it feels the benefit of the deep conditioning.

Lee Stafford Beach Babe Sea Salt Spray - this stuff is great for beachy waves and texture and you only need a couple of squirts! Using this encourages me to not straighten my hair and just rough it up a bit!

So that's that then.  Just a few bobbles, clips and my trusty old hat to throw in!

Very Old Hat but I love it! 

What are your holiday haircare secrets?

Jen x