Kerastase Masquintense Review

Happy Saturday! 

Has been a week of driving other the half about, as he has no car at the mo.  Managed to get to the shops today though, and picked up 3 Nails Inc polishes at TK Maxx for £5! Has got to class amongst my best polish bargains ever! Will swatch them for you if we EVER get any sunshine, it's so dreary at the mo. Never mind, it'll soon be Spring. I've also started to pick up a few bits and pieces for my 100 followers giveaway, as it looks like I might actually get there, which is totally out of this world. 

Today I have a review of another hair product, Kerastase Masquintense.

I bought this after a recommendation from someone (so sorry, I can't remember who) on #bbloggers chat one Sunday, who was replying to someone who was looking for a cure for frizzy hair. I got it from Amazon LINK here

My hair has been a problem ever since Permageddon.  I went to Toni & Guy to have my hair permed, and when it was first done, I loved it.  Then after a couple of days the curls started fall out.  By the Thursday my hair was pretty much straight again in parts.  I phoned them up and they booked me back in to re-perm it again for free.  This time they didn't perm the whole lot, and even said to each other, "don't worry that bit's underneath no one will see it", I'm not deaf!!

So anyway, the curls in certain (different) areas started dropping out AGAIN!  This time when I phoned them up, they said, " it can't be falling out again", and made me feel like I was lying, so I didn't go back.  Annoying as the cut and perm together cost over £100.

It's sad though, because the cut was really good, and next time I have my hair cut I'll probably go back, but will never, ever, have a perm there again.

Because of the double perming, my hair has been gruesomely frizzy ever since.  I keep trying lots of different hair products, but haven't found anything so far that really helps.  I thought Morrocanoil might be it, but that doesn't help either.

So, I thought I'd give this one a go.  I know it's shallow, but when it came I fell in love with the packaging!

I am loving that orange and white together, so fresh and modern!  I almost don't want to throw the box away.  Here's what the front of it looks like:

You certainly wouldn't be ashamed of having this one out in the bathroom!  Or maybe it's just me, I think it's really pretty.

Here's what it looks like inside:

You can tell by the fact that it isn't falling back down into the bottom of the jar that it's a pretty firm consistency.  It has a fresh smell, almost identical to Shield soap, and quite similar to Head and Shoulders original shampoo.

Here's what it looks like out on my hand:

It actually feels like putting high end facial moisturiser in your hair, nice!

The blurb says:
 Highly concentrated nourishing treatment for dry, extrememly sensitised, thick hair.
• Glucose: Provides an energy boost for the nutrition of the hair fibre.
• Proteins: Nourish the hair fibre and leave it feeling soft.
• Lipids: Protect the fibre from drying out and improve its natural protection.

So, does it work?
 Well, it's not a miracle worker, but I can definitely see a marked improvement to my hair!  There is definitely less frizz (although still some there), and the pleasant smell does stay in your hair for quite a long time, over 12 hours on mine.  Seeing as all the other 'miracle' products have not made a jot of difference to my hair, the fact that there's any improvement at all is a real testament to it.

As beautiful as the packaging is, in use, I would much rather have had a pump, because the jar does get slippy if you're using it in the bath, and one day I have a fear that I'm going to drop it and lose the whole lot in the bathwater. I would not be happy.

At £18.95, it is expensive, but if like me you have problem hair, I would recommend it, as it's the only thing I've used lately thats made an improvement.  And believe me I've tried alot.  As this is a L'Oreal product, it's not cruelty free.

Are there any products you'd recommend to me?  I've tried the argan oil products, I've tried the Frizz Ease products, I've tried the K-Pak products (review to come), I've tried the Ojon products, and I've tried ALOT of high street products.

So apart from those, what can I try?

Once the weather gets warmer, am thinking of having most of it chopped off anyway, so I don't really know why I'm bothering, oh well!

Until next time...

MASPOOASE x x x
~Wendy~

Ojon Products - what do I think?

Hi again!

Hope your week has started well.  Been mad-crazy for me at work these last few weeks, am feeling the need for a long bath to de-stress!  I don't get to have many baths, just showers, as our water is only heated by a coal fire, and when we're at work all day there's not time for the water to heat up enough before bed time, so they're a real treat when I get them. 

We're due some more snow tomorrow too, brrr!  Apparently it won't stick around for long though, which is good.

It's Pancake Day today, I haven't decided yet if we'll be having any, I've put 3lbs on over the last couple of weeks, so if other half doesn't realise it's today, I'll keep quiet haha.

Well here I am with a review of the Ojon products I've used so far.  Some time ago, Ojon had a special offer on their website, a free shampoo and conditioner with every product, plus free shipping. 
 
Who doesn't like free stuff?  I'd been wanting to try their revitalising mist on my frizzy twice-permed hair for a while, so it seemed like a win-win to me. 

I already own their intensive conditioner, so this is now the products I have.  I finished the shampoo and accidentally threw it away, which is the main reason you never see 'empties' posts from me! 

As you can see, the revitalising mist only has a tiny drop left in the bottom too, so I knew I would accidentally throw it away at some point, which is why I'm making my post now!

All these products smell pretty similar to each other, a nutty, sweet scent that I'm not too keen on.  It reminds me of the smell of the Aussie hair products, so if you've smelled those you'll know what to expect.

Here's close up of each of the products:

They say:
"Instantly hydrates and restores healthy condition to hair damaged by over-exposure to chemical processing, sun, or excessive heat styling."

So did it?
Well, no, not really.  I've used all the shampoo now, and am at the stage where I have to turn the conditioner upside down, and I have to say I didn't really see any difference to the condition of my hair.  It didn't look any better, or any worse, than using my regular high street shampoo and conditioner.

Here's the conditioner out of the tube:

As you can see, quite thick and creamy, and if you like a nutty smelling product you'll probably quite enjoy it.

And so on to the revitalizing mist:

They say:
"Fortified with pure Ojon oil, the 500-year old beauty secret from the tropical rainforest, this lightweight leave-in conditioner helps smooth away tangles, and prep the hair for styling"

And did it?
Yes it did detangle.  But it didn't de-frizz, which I was expecting it to.  Once it had dried I couldn't tell I had it on my hair. And for £20 for 175ml I'd expect to see some kind of difference.  Not incredibly impressed.

And on to the Damage Reverse Restorative Hair Treatment Plus.  I'm going to save you from the blurb of this one as they make it sound like some kind of hair-angel that came down from heaven to save us all:

Yes I know it looks scummy, I apologise.  I just couldn't bring myself to get it all over my hands, it's so greasy!  I don't actually know what that saucer thing is supposed to be for, it's bendy soft plastic, I use it as a scoop to get the stuff out of the jar so it doesn't get under my fingernails.  Heres what it looks like in the tub:

It's almost exactly the same consistency when set as lard.  Which sounds worse than it is.

You take some out of the tub and rub it in your hands, and it very quickly melts to runny oil.  You then rub this into dry hair, comb through and leave it as long as you can.  It is messy to do, and I use a plastic comb to work it through my hair which is easy to wash after.  Apparently the longer you leave it in your hair the better.  In the summer I put it in my hair when I'm sitting out in the sun, and the heat from the sun is supposed to make it penetrate better.  Other times I put in in before I go for a jog.  When you're ready, wash it out with normal shampoo.  For such a heavy oil, it washes out suprisingly easily. 

Did you see on the box that they said new lighter scent?  I dread to think what it smelt like before then, because I think this one smells pretty strong!  It's not unpleasant, it's just I'm not keen on coconut/nut smells in general, so I'm not loving it.

So does it work?
Bit trickier this one.  I would say to a degree that yes it does.  My hair certainly looks shinier, and feels softer after I've used it, and it's one of the only products that other half has commented that my hair smells nice with (typical!), but it was still as frizzy and flyaway as usual, so I didn't see any improvement while styling.  As you can see I'm quite near the bottom, so something must make me keep going back to it.

I've looked up their cruelty free status, and according to PETA, Ojon are owned by Estee Lauder, which makes them not cruelty free.  Sad.  You wouldn't guess for a minute that they had anything to do with Estee Lauder, there's not a breath of it on their packaging.  So no extra brownie points there.

So to sum up.  I don't HATE these products, but I'm not in love with them either.  They didn't make huge amounts of difference to my hair, but I'm happy to use them until they're all gone.  I doubt I'd repurchase them though.  They have had rave reviews on QVC though, so I'm sure they work brilliantly for some people, just not for me.  You can buy it on the Ojon website with free delivery HERE

Have you had better results with Ojon products?  Would be interesting to find out if it's just my hair being freaky and awkward haha.

Until next time...

MASPOOASE x x x
~Wendy~