Timotei Shampoos & Conditioners are still alive and kicking well!

Remember when I mentioned that I think all my shampoos seem to gang up on me and finish simultaneously? I got a little frustrated that I'd need a large outlay  in one go, just to replenish several types of shampoos & conditioners which would be used up really quickly with the super long hair that I have.

I even told Mr Oosband that I'd probably want to cut my hair short again like I did a few years back just so that I could scrimp on the amount of shampoo that I use or even cut down the types of shampoo that I needed to use >.<

But but but I suddenly thought of this one drugstore brand shampoo that I haven't seen in ages, which I saw on the shelves of Guardian pharmacy in Bangsar Shopping Centre that I thought I'd give it my last shot before fully giving up. 

Pureology Essential Repair shampoo & conditioner feel like pure bliss.

It looks like this week may be all about hair care only because my shampoos sort of ganged up on me and depleted almost simultaneously.

image credit: pureology website

The Pureology Essential Repair duo was purchased after I did my Brazilian Keratin treatment last year in August. When I was told the price, I was stunned. But... since I had just done a very expensive treatment, I didn't want to spoil the outcome and relented. Furthermore, I did the treatment just before leaving for my Europe vacation and I wanted my hair to look perfect in photos no matter how cold, dry or warm the environment I was in ;)

Love rekindled with Aveda Rosemary Mint shampoo.

You know my usual clarifying shampoo that I so love from Kiehl's? Well.. I've just finished the last bottle and since Aveda is now open in 1 Utama, I decided to rekindle lost love ;)

I've written before briefly about how much I love their rosemary mint shampoo here at the start of this blog and decided I should revisit.

They didn't have stock of their 1L bottle and so I was more than happy to just bring home a small one.

Schwarzkopf's GLISS KUR Silk Repair Range & LOREAL's ELSEVE Nutrition Night Serum

In relation to a previous post where I tell you that not everything on my vanity case are expensive, luxury brand items, I have about a month ago made a switch to a drugstore brand for my haircare needs.

I know that I've mentioned about how good Kiehl's haircare range made my hair feel. But I have started to swim every night so that I could get back into my pre-pregnancy shape (which is waaaayy so overdue) and because of that, I've used up the 500ml bottle almost at the same rate I did with the first 250ml stock! :\

So, with that recklessness with my supposedly 'entire year's' budget for a shampoo (as the 500ml bottle was supposed to last about that long), I decided that I ought to punish myself and go search for quality drugstore brand haircare. After all, there must be those that would be suitable for my funny hair condition - oily scalp with dry hair.

My first option was to get one brand that just launched a new packaging and formula to their new range of products. Yup, I had them in my hands until those annoying sales promoter who seem to be permanently stationed in our local drugstore outlets swayed me into buying something else. But but but... to be fair, what she suggested to me smelt so much better than those I was holding (hehe!) and so, I decided to try them out since they are from an internationally renowned brand, anyways.

I got the whole set - shampoo, conditioner & leave-in treatment by Schwarzkopf's Gliss Kur.

I don't think my hair is dull but since they didn't have one for oily scalp and dry hair, I decided that this may be the most suitable compared to their other range.

The ingredients of the shampoo...

I was scratching my head when I read 'combability' until I finally realised what it means. Like, is there such a word? hehe...

Ingredients for the conditioner.

Ingredients for the leave-in treatment. Don't bother reading the bottle cos it is all written in German ;P

Overall, I felt that I liked the smell better than other drugstore brand shampoos I've tried before. It has a tinge of lemony scent which made my hair feel clean and fresh after a wash but I wouldn't say much about the silky part... I mean, I seriously cannot compare the result I got from this as what I got from the Kiehl's range I so love. But, I must say that my hair did feel soft, it was easy to comb but since I have long hair, the ends did get entangled every once in awhile.

The leave-in spray smells nice but I had to spray more than 10 times... wait, I think about 20 times, until I am sure that my entire hair was treated. I think it did fare better than something else I tried before but of course, if you are so used to treatment oil say, from Kerastase or other luxury brands, this one might feel a little sticky when your wet hair gets into contact with your skin. So, to avoid from getting clogged pores on my facial area, I would need to wear a hairband to secure my hair because I don't use hair-dryer, and therefore, I didn't want traces of the sticky film on my face.

And, since I'm a woman who's a little 'gatal' to try out something new, I got a little interested with this bottle from ELSEVE cos I likened it to the night serum on my face hehe... and I think it was the worst purchase ever for my hair. I hate the smell - it made my hair smell as if I just left a local food stall after I sat near where they fry the maggi goreng... and I didn't see any improvements to the hair texture.

I still have this bottle that I only used once. Feel so guilty to throw it away....

This actually made my long, thick & heavy hair totally limp the next day. I mean, you work so hard to rejuvenate your hair with the new range of shampoo and make it go limp with this night serum. Hmmm....

Ok, not everything is bad about this bottle... I kinda think the pump nozzle is brilliantly designed! Just see the part that I had circled in pink...

If only its content is as brilliant as the nozzle... I love the nozzle because it is perfect for travel... it is so snug when inserted into the hole of the nozzle and you can be assured that the content will not spill in your luggage.

Due to my oily scalp, I am still in search of a good drugstore brand because the Gliss Kur range makes my hair dull and limp after 1 1/2 days, and didn't give me that soft, tamed lion's mane with flowy body. I know I can just close one eye and replenish my favourite brand but I still have faith that my hair will finally agree with something that is softer to the pocket. To be fair, the Silk Repair Range is actually ok if I don't compare it with something that's probably 2-3 times more expensive. I mean, you win some, you lose some.

Kiehl's Tea Tree Oil Shampoo

Apologies for not updating sooner. There have been just way too many stuff going on that I have been a little slacking in the updating department.

Anyways, a good buy, this is something that totally caught me by surprise. One, because it has never been a famous brand for hair care and two, the samples I got before my actual purchase was actually more inferior than the actual product. However, the results from using the sample was quite good and I am so glad that I actually made that purchase albeit it being a little bit steep.

Yes, this is a fabulous product. Well, at least to me, that is…

It started when I was simply checking out Kiehl’s counter in Isetan KLCC since I’ve been reading many positive reviews on not just their products but their commendable value-added service where they give away samples pretty freely for you to try. So, for just buying a reasonably priced highly-praised (in the blogworld) whitening scrub, I received a few skincare samples and the SA even threw in 2 sachets of shampoo and conditioner (each!) that I could use 4 times. Impressive, right?

I guess when a beauty brand is confident enough to provide 5ml samples FOC without any conditions, they are pretty sure that you’ll come back. And what a wonderful marketing tactic because it worked for me.

The SA, Joe, pointed out how oily my scalp looked and recommended me the Tea Tree Oil Shampoo from Kiehl’s. And, to counteract against the dry ends of my highly sensitised colour treated hair, he suggested for me to try the Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing conditioner.

The shampoo didn’t lather much from the sachet I got but it did leave my hair squeaky clean. It was so good that my hair didn't go limp by the end of the next day the way it usually would and I could even cheat and wash my hair on the 3rd day at times. I didn’t quite like the scent of the olive conditioner but since it worked so well together with the tea tree oil shampoo, I thought it was time to replace my depleting stock of Kerastase Chroma Protect series.

Yes, I was given a good shock when I wanted to make the purchase because it cost RM75 for a 250ml bottle while the conditioner cost RM70. I wasn’t that concerned about the conditioner as I could always stretch its usage but for a shampoo that didn’t lather much, I was afraid I would use it up too quickly. But... since I already had that intention to buy, I quickly grabbed them and later realised that it was a timely purchase and a very smart move too. Always trust what your heart tells ya ☺

The shampoo actually lathered well and was even better than the sample. And my usually limpy dull hair looked almost like a lion’s mane (a tamed lion's mane hehe...) after each wash. I love it! The best part is, on my recent visit to my hairstylist for a colour touch-up, I was damned surprised to not only see my hair shining pretty healthily under the bright salon lighting (which would always make my hair look super frizzy apart from it being oily-limpy) but my hairstylist was even more surprised to see my pretty healthy hair condition albeit moi not visiting her for those necessary moisturising treatments since the last 6 months. Good, eh?

a tamed lion's mane that falls freely, looks and feels healthy, light yet full of body :)

That purchase was made in December 2009 and I still have probably 4-5 more washes. Pretty lasting, don’t you think? And the fact that I've saved a lot from the regular hair treatment visits to the salon, I say this calls for a repeat purchase. So, for that, and moi not revealing to my hairstylist that I’ve betrayed a salon brand hair products, I went and bought a much larger stock, which cost RM115 for a 500ml bottle.

this would probably last me another year :)