Category: Hair Reviews

Winter Hair Most Wanted

These winter hair most wanted products will help you say goodbye to frizz, get smoother hair and manage those locks this winter.

l-oreal-professionnel-mythic-oil-shampoo

L’Oreal Professionnel Mythic Oil Hair Collection – You’ve probably already tried, or at least heard of, the original Mythic Oil for hair. I didn’t know that there was a whole line of Mythic Oil products just waiting for my hair. I tried the Shampoo, Masque and Oil Detangling Spray all with the same Mythic Oil care for my locks. I found the whole collection very soft and moisturizing on my hair. After using the collection my hair looked because and was really easy to manage.

pureology-style-care-smooth-perfection-infusion

Pureology Style & Care Smooth Perfection Infusion – Lately I haven’t had great luck with pre-blow dry frizz products. It took my a long time to dare to use this product. I love that it’s a gel and cream combo – a styler and a leave-in conditioner. I think it’s that combination that helped it work to keep my hair looking great for longer. I did find that it made me have to wash my hair sooner than usual, because it got greasy faster. But that said it was great from wash to wash.

redken-pillow-proof-blow-dry-collection

Redken Pillow Proof Blow-Dry Collection – Redken wants to help keep your blow out for a few days longer with their new Pillow Proof collection. I tried the combo of the Express Treatment Primer and the Two Day Extender Dry Shampoo. The primer was supposed to help your hair blow dry faster than usual. I’m not entirely sure that it worked, because I don’t blow dry my hair enough to know the regular amount of time. But my hair did feel and look great afterwards, so I will call that a win. The dry shampoo is your average dry shampoo. It left my hair looking good for at least two more days. It’s also nice and cool and smells good! Bonus!

pantene-pro-v-intense-repair-collection

Pantene Pro-V Intense Repair Collection – I don’t really think that my hair is damaged, but you can never protect your hair too much can you? It smells and feels like something that you would get in a salon. It’s luxurious feeling and leaves your hair very soft. I don’t know about the damage, but I definitely have less frizz and more silky hair that i don’t have to throw in a ponytail to hide. It will be perfect for protecting my hair from those sub-zero temperatures.

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Invisibobble Hair Ring – These little spiral hair ties have an interesting back story. They were inspired by phone cords, back in the day when people had home phones. They are meant to give you less headaches, stop that annoying hair crimp and be simple to use. I find them a bit clunky, but they are definitely softer on my hair. They don’t feel like they are hold my hair so tight it hurts. I kept thinking that they were falling out. It’s a weird feeling to get used to, but you just have to trust the Invisibobble. It could change your ponytails forever.

Holiday Most Wanted: Hair Gift Sets

We’ve put together some hair gifts, perfect for someone who wants to start the new year off with great hair.

KMS Color Vitality + Hairplay Trio
kmsvitalityholidaypack
Available at Trade Secrets, this trio includes the KMS Color Vitality shampoo and conditioner and Hairplay Playable Texture spray. A new year can bring new color and this is a great way to lock it in and keep your style looking great. It comes with a cute little travel bag as well.
Sebastian Limited Edition Tattooed Styling Products
sebastian-limited-edition-tattoo
With new package designs by tattoo artist Maxime Büchi, you can get cool new versions of your favourite Sebastian styling products. Items included are Craft Clay, Drynamic +, Shaper Fierce, Volupt Spray, Sublimate and my favourite, Potion 9.
Kérastase Discipline Gift Set
kerastase-holiday-set-discipline
If you know someone that can’t live without their Kérastase Discipline (I’m one of them), this is a great way to get their basics all in one place. With the Discipline shampoo, conditioner and thermal spray; it’s also a great way to introduce someone with unruly, frizzy hair to the products that will give them super smooth hair.
ColorProof Glam Girl Gift Set
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if you know someone with coloured hair that’s also in need of smoothing, the ColorProof Glam Girl gift is a great place to start. It has the CrazySmooth shampoo and conditioner plus the PlushLocks Leave-In Smooth. Perfect for dried out winter hair.

Dessange Paris Balancing Collection

dessange-paris-balancing-collection

Dessange Paris is bringing the salon feel to your hair at home with this balancing collection. If you are looking for something totally different, then keep on reading.

This hair care line starts very different than any other hair line you use. You start with the Dessange Paris Purifying Clay Pre-Shampoo Mask. This hair mask is made to help oily scalps by absorbing all of that oil before you get in the shower. You have to use a little brush to apply this green clay all over your scalp. You are going to look silly and probably make a bit of a mess. That is just a warning! Now you have to wait about five to ten minutes before you hop in the shower to rinse it all out.

Once you get in the shower, it’s now time for the Balancing Shampoo. When all of the mask is rinsed out, you can continue to wash your hair with this shampoo. It’s interesting to think of the shampoo as what is conditioning your hair, but this cleanser does add back in some of that moisture. It is especially nice one the ends of your hair.

It was really hard to not condition my hair after using both of these products. Everything I know about my hair leads me to want to condition, so I resisted the urge.

My hair still felt nice and soft once it had dried like normal. I feel like the routine a woman has before a shower is a sacred thing. Everyone has little things that they do to get ready and this Dessange hair mask interrupts that. It’s fun to do it once, but I don’t know if I am willing to mix up my whole routine for this.

OGX Coconut Most Wanted

ogx-nourishing-coconut-milk
If you think that dry, frizzed out hair belongs exclusively to winter then you haven’t lived through a ridiculously hot Toronto summer, where your hair is basically fried the entire season thanks to the sun. Especially if you have curly hair that has any kind of bleach in it. OGX has two coconut hair collections; Nourishing + Coconut Milk and Quenching + Coconut Curls, and it wasn’t until I put them together that I started having really good hair days again. Here’s what I used to save my hair.
Nourishing + Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner
ogx-nourishing-coconut-milk-shampoo-conditioner
I’m actually not a huge coconut fan, I can basically take it or leave it but these smell delicious. The shampoo is a thicker, almost jelly like texture that lathers really well. It doesn’t leave my hair feeling stripped and I can actually go without conditioner if I have to. The conditioner though, is fantastic. It’s also thick and really soaks into my hair. I use very little at my roots, something that’s strange for someone who likes to slather conditioner everywhere, and just use a bunch on the bottom length. I leave it in my a couple minutes and have significantly more moisture and less frizz.
Quenching + Coconut Curls Curling Hair Butter
ogx-quenching-coconut-curls-curling-hair-butter
I use this curling butter for everything. I put it on dry hair as a pre-wash treatment, use it as a deep conditioner (although not if I’m using the Coconut Milk conditioner) and use it as a leave-in conditioning styling cream. It’s a lot thinner than it looks and doesn’t have a straight coconut scent, it’s more like a tropical pina colada scent. But it gets rid of more frizz than nearly anything else I’ve tried and doesn’t leave me with a crunchy or greasy feeling.

Although my hair was mostly in a ponytail this summer, I probably would’ve chopped it off completely without this regime of OGX products. I knew I liked OGX before but I didn’t expect to love them this much.

Weekend Getaway Makeup Most Wanted

When you are heading out of town with friends or maybe for a romantic weekend away, you don’t want to have to pack your whole arsenal of makeup. Here’s a little glimpse at some of the things I packed to hit the road for a weekend in Boston!

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The Face Shop Mango Seed Cleansing Wipes – Everything about these wipes is moisturizing. I have been addicted to these wipes this summer because they are perfect no matter where the day takes you. The moisturizing wipes are perfect after a long day in the sun to dry out your face. They do leave a little bit of a residue, but it didn’t bother me most of the time. Everything feels nice and dewy.

travel-kit

Leonor Greyl Luxury Travel Kit – I hate going away and not being able to take my favourite shampoo and conditioner with me. This travel kit is really the next best thing. It comes with a shampoo, conditioning mask and oil. My first thought was, why do I want a hair mask while I’m on vacation? It’s nice because you can cheat and use it like a regular conditioner as well. When I was away recently I became hooked on the oil, which is perfect on wet or dry hair. You can find this luxe set for volume, dry hair or curly hair (or even just pick up the travel size oil solo), so you can get exactly what you need.

juara-candlenut-obsession-trio

Juara Candlenut Obsession Trio – Since you are in the shower, you also have to take care of that body. I don’t know what a candlenut is, but I can tell you I really am obsessed. This trio box has a Body Polish, Hydrating Shower Gel and Body Crème with this new scent. It’s got a mix of shea butter, coconut, and something musky underneath. It smells a bit like men’s soap. I can’t even describe it properly. All I know is it made this weekend away even better!

sephora-collection

Sephora Collection Look Color In The Eye Brush Capsule – I hate travelling with my regular brushes. I always get worried I will lose them, break them or otherwise ruin them while on the road. This little brush capsule is perfect to take instead. It has all of the eye brushes I could ever want. The pretty capsule keeps them clean and protected in my luggage.

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Mac Cosmetics She’s A Model Eyeshadow Palette – Lately MAC has released some crazy, bold and beautiful colours, but that doesn’t always work for my real life. Enter this palette. While the eye shadows can be worn together in more daring ways, it’s also work appropriate. You can use the nice neutral tones for the office once you get back to reality. Then glam up your look with the sparkly silvers or better yet, the daring teal eye shadow. This collection also comes with some bright pink lipsticks and nail polishes, so there will be no shortage of colour when you enter the room.

essence-pure-nude-highlighter

Essence Pure Nude Highlighter – Get a little shimmer and shine with the new highlighter powder from essence. I’ve gotten really into powders this summer. The idea of wearing heavy foundation in the heat is just too much for my skin. This highlighter has been good to add back a little shine where I want. I think that highlighters are seriously under-used makeup, at least by me. I have been applying this highlighter on my cheeks above my cheek bones and nose for a little natural shine. Paired with my blush and bronzer, it gives me the natural glow you want, not the one you get on a humid summer day.

Summer Frizzy Hair Most Wanted

Toronto’s humidity really isn’t conducive to good summer hair. The amount of frizz we’ve come up with has been pretty scary, so these are our Most Wanted summer products for combating the evil frizz.

Pantene 3 Minute Miracle Moisture Renewal Deep Conditioner
Pantene 3 Minute Miracle
When the summer leaves my hair extra dry and frizzy, I have been replacing my regular conditioner with this special deep conditioner. I like that I can just swap this into my regular routine without having to make any big changes. You can use it daily or weekly depending on what your hair needs. My hair’s pretty thick, so I used it at least once a week, but I can see how it could weigh down lighter hair. My hair looked great while using it, so I am keeping it close at hand for emergencies.

Kérastase Laque Couture Hairspray
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This hairspray is great for people who aren’t sure what they really need for their hair. The spray is a very fine mist that is easy to start light and layer it on in stages. I found that it dried in my hair extremely quickly, so I wasn’t just spraying blindly. It’s easy to spray and then instantly know if you need a little more. The first time I used this I misjudged the power and sprayed a bit too many layers. Trust Kerastase and know that it has got you covered.

Kérastase Keratine Thermique Smoothing Taming Milk
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This summer has been rough on my hair. It has been frizzier than usual from day one. There was no question that I was in need of this! This Kerastase Milk is easy to. All that you have to do is apply it to your towel dried hair. It says to apply extra on really dry parts, which for me was pretty much my entire head. Then you have to blow dry it. I opted to straighten it as well to ensure my waves we sleek. My hair looked awesome and stayed manageable for almost an entire week. At about the 5 day mark I hit it with some dry shampoo and knew the magic was over. Five days of easy to control hair is better than none!

Sebastian Dry Clean Only Instant Refreshing Spray
sebastian dry clean only
This dry shampoo from Sebastian is for serious emergencies only! It’s for days when your hair needs a real pick-me-up. It does have a very light, almost white colouring, so be ready to brush it through well. I love how well it absorbs all of the oil in my hair, but it is strong, so save it for the worst days.

Fave 4 Up For Air
Fave 4 Up For Air
I air dry my hair 99% of the time and I haven’t had a ton of luck with air dry creams in the past. So when we received a travel sized version of Fave 4’s Up For Air air dry cream, I didn’t have high expectations. Boy was I wrong. This stuff is amazing! You only need a tiny bit to run through your hair and just let it work while your hair dries. My hair hasn’t been crunchy or sticky since I started using it and it has a really nice tropical smell. My frizz has cut down significantly and I’m already on the hunt for a full size version.

 

Redken Frizz Dismiss Collection

redken-frizz-dismissMost of us have at least a little bit of frizz to our hair and some of us have it way worse than others. But finding the right product that actually makes a difference is easier said than done. Redken have decided to make it a little easier with their Frizz Dismiss line. The first thing you have to do is find your Frizz Protection Factor, or FPF. The range goes from 10-40 and my hair is really frizzy but also really fine. According to the chart, I shouldn’t go over FPF 20. I love the idea of this because we all have different hair needs and when I ventured into the products that were FPF 30+, I definitely noticed they were too heavy for my hair.

My regular routine with the Frizz Dismiss line is the sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner (these are also sodium chloride-free) followed by the Smooth Force spray. The shampoo and conditioner have a relatively mild scent and the shampoo lathered up really nicely. The conditioner looks thin coming out of the bottle but once you use it, it’s much thicker than I expected. Before I got highlights, I had a good amount of moisturization going on from these products. And after, well…they didn’t hold up to the bleach. If you have severely dry hair, you’re probably going to want to use the hair mask as well.

My favourite product is the Smooth Force. I use it as a leave-in conditioner/styling product and let my hair air dry. I have to say, it does a really good job preventing frizz from forming while my hair is drying and an ok job once the frizz is already there.

Considering how humid Toronto has been this summer, it would take a miracle to completely get rid of all my frizz but Frizz Dismiss gives it a good effort.

Most Wanted Travel Essentials For Hair

My least favourite part about packing for a trip is trying to figure out what I’ll need for my hair. Is it going to be humid? Dry? Windy? But I’ve found some products that make it really easy to have a good hair day, every day of you’re away.
Tangle Teezer Compact Styler in Gold Rush
Tangle Teezer Compact Styler Gold Rush.
There’s nothing better than a brush you can throw in your purse, especially when it comes with a cover that keeps it safe from whatever’s lurking in there. And the Tangle Teezer’s mini Compact Styler is the perfect brush for travelling. It’s gentle, effective and comes in a bunch of super cute designs and colours.
Sephora Mini Blast Travel Ionic Blow Dryer
Sephora Mini Blast Travel Ionic Blow Dryer
A lot of hotels have blow dryers in their bathrooms but this Sephora brand mini dryer is better than what you’ll find in most. Because it’s ionic, you can blow dry your hair in half the time and get rid of a lot of your frizz for smooth hair. In theory you can use this anywhere in the world but I have heard of some European outlets making it short out, so you might want to keep this one in North America.
Moroccanoil Jetsetter Set
Moroccanoil Jetsetter Set
There’s never a question that if I’m travelling, I’m taking my Moroccanoil treatment with me. This time the shampoo, conditioner and Intense Hydrating Mask are coming along. With all my basic hair needs covered in one set, it’ll make my life a lot easier.
Drybar I Heart Road Trips Travel Kit
Drybar I Heart Road Trips Travel Kit
Sometimes you want to go for different styles while you’re away and this travel kit from Drybar will make it really simple. With The Chaser Shine Cream, Mai Tai Spritzer Sea Salt Spray and Triple Sec 3-in-1 all included, you can really get any look you want. And the name is so great.

Phyto Phytophlage Collection

Phyto Phlage
We all take care of our skin during the summer. We slather on sunscreen, wear longer sleeves or stay in the shade. And with the exception of those that wear hats, we generally let our hair fry. Phyto’s Phytophlage line is a quick way to save our hair from sun, chlorine and UV Rays. Both the Protective Sun Veil and the Protective Sun Oil can be sprayed on dry or damp hair before you head out into the sun or into a pool. You reapply them after you’ve gotten your hair wet while swimming or showering.

The Sun Veil is a little finer, more of a mist that you really don’t notice and the Sun Oil doesn’t leave your hair greasy at all. I haven’t tried either of these in a pool yet but I’ve worn them both while outside and my hair hasn’t gotten that crispy, fried feeling like it usually does in the summer. Keep in mind, these aren’t going to keep your scalp from getting a sunburn but if you don’t want your hair to look and feel like straw by the end of the summer, you might want to give these a try.

Travel Makeup Most Wanted

I am off on vacation. I will be spending a few weeks in Europe with all of the sun, rain and exciting adventures of England to look forward to. Here are some of the products that have made the cut into my suitcase for my trip:

Sephora Blotting Papers

Sephora Collection Blotting Papers – On my vacation there will be a lot walking, so I’m going to keep these little sheets in my purse to keep myself looking great no matter what happens with the temperature. They weigh practically nothing, so they don’t take any space in your bags. If you want to look great in all of your vacation photos, these things are crucial.

Caprina Fresh Goat’s Milk Soap

Caprina Fresh Goat’s Milk Soap – This gentle soap is naturally moisturizing, so when we are away there won’t be any worry of dry skin. I don’t really want to have to pack lots of extra body moisturizers, so this soap is hopefully going to be my saviour.

Mereadesso Face + Neck Cleanser

Mereadesso Face + Neck Cleanser – The packaging on this cleanser is great for travel. The packs are small and take up almost no space. The opening is even flat. These would be perfect for a backpacking trip where you have almost no space at all. It comes with an all-in-one moisturizer for added face care no matter where you are in the world!

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Cake Satin Sugar Dry Shampoo – Nowadays, I never travel for more than two days without my dry shampoo. It really is a lifesaver. This year, I’m taking this powder one from Canada’s cake. I always feel weird about packing aerosol cans for some reason, so I like that this is a powder shaker. The sweet smell is also perfect as a body powder for an added bonus.

Demeter Pick-Me-Up Cologne Spray

Demeter Pick-Me-Up Cologne Spray – These tiny little fragrances from Demeter are amazing for travel. Put them on your key chain to take them wherever you want. I got little 3 mL sprays of Linen and Laundromat fragrance to freshen up no matter where I go. It’s small enough to even take in your carry on so you can smell great after a long flight.