Current Haircare Routine/Ramble - Head & Shoulders and Joico

Haircare is one area of beauty that while I like, I find it difficult to get right. I think it's easier with makeup as you can test things out before buying but most haircare products are a leap of faith.

I tend to favour more natural ranges but I have found it difficult to do this with haircare so I often switch between SLS/chemical and natural ranges.


My hair is:

Just below my shoulders in length and naturally wavy (if I treat it right I can get a good loose wave/curl without the aid of any tools.

Slightly fine

Lacks volume so can often look flat

Drier on lengths and can get greasy quickly

Prone to flakiness and my scalp on occasion can become slightly itchy.

Recently I have found some products that seem to work well for me so I'd thought I'd run through these:

First up is Head & Shoulders Dry Scalp Care Shampoo.

Head & Shoulders is one of the few SLS shampoos that I use and have repurchased many times. It just works, helping to relieve flakiness and mild scalp issues. As well as helping with those problems it also makes the hair feel so clean and smooth. If I leave this out everyone in the house uses it.

The Dry Scalp Care shampoo is a new formula in the Head & Shoulders line-up and so far it is my favourite one. It makes the scalp feel soothed and hydrated and the hair much softer and smoother. Since using this the hair nearer the roots doesn't get greasy as quickly.

Ingredients:

Next is Joico Moisture Recovery Treatment Lotion for fine/normal dry hair.
I have never used any Joico haircare before, but have heard good things about the range and I saw that these were on sale on Beauty Expert so I bought a couple of products. The description and instructions are not very in-depth, but I use this like a conditioner, just applying to damp hair and leaving for 5 mins then rinsing out. It is a pale yellow light cream consistency which is not rich so doesn't leave my hair feeling weighed down, just very soft and smooth.

Ingredients:

Joico K-Pak Reconstruct Liquid Reconstructor for fine/damaged hair

I wouldn't say my hair is damaged (apart from Lush's Cacas I have never coloured my hair) but I do blow-dry and straighten on occasion so it can get slightly more drier.
This is a liquid spray which you use on clean, towel-dried hair and is supposed to help rebuild and improve the structure of the hair.
When I spray this I can feel the liquid on my hair as it sprays in a more focused squirt rather then a fine mist. I can be rather liberal with this and even though it definitely feels like I've applied too much, once my hair is dry there is no residue/greasiness or anything left and my hair just feels really soft, smooth and light like I haven't applied any product at all. Also to note this is scented with a pineapple/coconut sort of scent.
I still need to use some sort of finishing product to get a bit more definition and shine to the hair, but overall I am really liking this and it has definitely made me want to explore Joico more.

Ingredients:

Disclaimer: All products purchased by me

Comparison Swatches: MAC Patina & Edward Bess Intimate Eyeshadows

Aftering reading Modesty Brown's post comparing Rouge Bunny Rouge's Abyssinian Catbird with MAC's Patina eyeshadow, it got me thinking how similar Patina was to Edward Bess Ultra Luminous Eyeshadow in Intimate as I haven't used Patina in a while and kind of forgotten it when I recently bought Intimate from Zuneta.

Here are some (slightly blurry, sorry!) pics:

Edward Bess Intimate, MAC Patina

Side by side they look very similar (in real life you can see a bit more of a difference).

Heavily swatched:

L - MAC Patina, R - Edward Bess Intimate

L - MAC Patina, R - Edward Bess Intimate

These are quite close in colour but when swatched on my skin I can see a difference - Patina is a slightly paler golden shade with a hint of olive/khaki and more of frosty/metallic finish where as Intimate looks more Khaki with tiny amount of sheen to the finish.

Texture wise Edward Bess is much smoother and has great payoff in one swipe where as I have heavily swatched MAC as the texture is lighter and not buttery smooth.

MAC is £11 and Edward Bess is £22 so if you already have Patina, Intimate may not be an immediate must have as they are similar shades although in the quality you can definitely feel a difference.

No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara Review

After having several mascaras knocking about in my stash I have slowly got through them and this is the last one left - No7's Exceptional Definition Mascara.

It's a plastic brush affair with 3 different type of bristles - one side for volume, one for more definition/length, and a spiky end to get at the more harder to reach lashes. 

I think it does a good job of getting to each lash, I particularly like the shorter, finer side for lower lashes as it doesn't add too much mascara.
The formula is very black and quite a lush texture which isn't too wet. If I use a bit more then it does clump ever so slightly. As I have long lashes already, I like mascaras that give a more defined and even lash look, I don't like it when some lashes stick together and even though this does a reasonable job, sometimes I can't easily get the separation I would like.

Some other plus points are that it doesn't smudge or flake at all and lasts the whole day without lashes feeling crispy.

Before pic with lashes curled:

After 1 coat of mascara:

Overall it's a good mascara but not great, and for me not worth £12 (although I used a £5 off No7 voucher so it was £7) as there are other drugstore mascaras for less that do a better job.


Disclaimer: Purchased by me