ESSENCE Camouflage+ Healthy Glow Concealer 

10 light ivory

I'm currently working on an updated version of the budget friendly products story for Instagram (it's been taking soo long to finish) where I'm obviously including most of my high coverage concealers simply because they are very similar and it doesn't matter which one you get. And that's the reason that when my stock finally diminishes (in my defence I only bought 1 myself out of 6), I'll be repurchasing only Essence's. I'd pick Look by Bipa, since it's my best match shade-wise, but it's sold in Austria, which isn't convenient. Camouflage + Healthy Glow has got a high coverage, yet it's the one formula that I've used plenty of times all over the face when I was pressed for time and it never looked ugly cakey. It wears nicely and doesn't oxidise, plus the shade is pale enough for me. I find it's better than Catrice's famous Liquid Camouflage, especially since it's a bit thicker and the shade range is better for me. 

ESSENCE Soft Contouring Lipliner 

08 big proposal

I've "rediscovered" this recently, again due to the post that's in the making and I've been wearing it on most days. This is my perfect my-lips-but-better shade. It's about a half a shade darker than my natural lip colour which is very pale compared to most and it's perfect for defining the lips without looking to much like makeup and I can cheat/fix my lip shape. The formula of these is lovely, better than the previous overly soft one that everyone but me loved. It's soft, yet firm enough to be precise and to be able to apply all over the lips. It's also got a better staying power than before, but it could be better. I wish I had a matte liquid lipstick or regular lipstick in this precise shade, though I have no idea what would be a dupe for this colour. 

EUCERIN Hyaluron Filler Vitamin C Booster

I was about to give up on vitamin C because neither Melano nor the much stronger Tiam had any effect on my skin, so I thought maybe these types of products just aren't for me and I should stick to niacinamide for brightening. I don't often participate in giveaways unless I really want the reward, so I was very happy to hear I got lucky and won two bottles of this. Before I was using Tiam which has it's been driving me crazy with its difficult to work with texture, so I was eager to try something else, though Eucerin has a 10% of ascorbic acid, while Tiam is much stronger with the 20% content. Eucerin's version also has no alcohol and it contains glycerine, squalane and hyaluronic acid. This is the first vitamin C product I see results at. My skin is brighter, it looks more healthy, even and it just looks so good. It's also a lot nicer product to use than Tiam, so I'm really loving this. I'm close to the end of my first bottle, which lasted me about three weeks, but I used it both morning and night for the first two weeks, so it could last longer. I started seeing proper results after about two weeks. Vitamin C is packed in the bottom of the packaging separated from the emulsion, so before first use you have to mix them together. The emulsion has a lovely smooth liquid formula that applies with ease and feels moisturising, so a complete opposite of Tiam. Eucerin recommends to mix this with your moisturiser, but I don't do that for two reasons: 1. it would dilute the vitamin C content and I'm already used to much higher percentage, so I didn't experience that initial reaction I had at Tiam when my skin became sensitive for a few days. 2. from what I read vitamin C needs low pH for it to work and moisturizers tend to have higher pH than vitamin C or acids. I could be completely wrong about both of these claims, but that's what I read on Reddit before I got Tiam. I apply it alone and leave it for at least 15-20 minutes to absorb (again that's something that Reddit comments recommended as otherwise you're wasting vitamin C). It absorbs much quicker than Tiam and it doesn't become sticky, it just feels nice. This also means that I can easily use it in the morning too under sunscreen and makeup. It also smells nice, it’s got a classic clean-creamy pharmacy fragrance that's quite strong. The bottles are very small with only 7.5 ml of product and while I like that they are small because by the time you finish the bottle the vitamin C is still relatively "fresh" compared to bigger bottles, but the price of these is so high for the amount you get (17 €). 

NIVEA Sun UV Face Shine Control Cream SPF50

UV Gesicht Mattierender Sonnenschutz LSF 50

I've discussed this one at length in my Instagram Stories when I first got it and now that some time has passed I'm still very impressed by it. I asked on IG if it's worth the purchase and I got a 51:49 result, which didn't inspire confidence in me, but I still decided to take a plunge after a couple of followers wrote such great reviews for me. And both were completely right, this is a very nice sunscreen in our drugstores. There are four versions of these Nivea face sunscreens, which was so confusing and I could only find this version in Müller. First of I have to say that my skin is dry with no oiliness for far this year, so I can't say anything how this will perform on skin with any greasy shine, but for me this is a great sunscreen. I apply the recommended 1/2 teaspoon on my face and neck (most ends up on my face though and I usually apply more on the neck when I do a separate application on my chest area). Texture feels like a regular cream, more on the thick side and it’s like a typical heavy sunscreen from the start with a lot of shine, but after a few minutes it completely sinks in and leaves a velvet primer type of feeling on the skin, similar to Biore. There is a bit of sunscreen shine, not greasy one, since this feels dry to the touch when it sets. I wore it under makeup too, applied with different methods and it never pills. Makeup goes over it beautifully, as like I said it feels like a primer on my dry skin and it wears of nicely during the day, but I should say again that I get no oily shine naturally. It's nowhere near as light as Biore, Etude House or A'Pieu at application, however, on me it sets to a Biore-like finish, still on oily skin it might be better to go for the less risky Etude House Sunprise, but Nivea might surprise you too. It's got a strong Nivea sunscreen scent at application which I like, but it might be irritating for some. From what I could gather from messages I got, this is not for sensitive skin and it has a tendency to clog pores, but had no such problems. They have a sensitive version too. Overall I'm very happy with this one, the only problem I have with it is that although it feels dry to the touch and there is no oiliness, it's sometimes smudging my eyeliner, since I apply sunscreen everywhere, including eyelids, so Biore is a lot better in that respect, but this is easily available, about the same price and doesn't have alcohol as high on the list.

NUXE Huile Prodigieuse

Florale

My Nuxe bottle ran out recently, so it was time to repurchase this and this time I got the new Florale version though I'm very fond of the original. I've been using this every day for many years, it just fits my skin and it a product I can always rely on doing its job and never causing me any problems. When I'm testing new products and if the break me out, I always cut down my routine to only cleansers and this oil and wait for everything to normalize. It's quite light for an oil and since it's dry it doesn't feel greasy forever on the skin. The new Floral version smells very similar as the discontinued Fleur D’Or Acacia by L’Occitane, it’s just a bit more green and citrusy. Nuxe says it smells like magnolia, white musk, grapefruit, lemon, bergamot and orange flower. Overall it’s a citrusy floral scent and it smells like spring to me. It's nice because it's different, I've been using the original for so long I don't even notice the scent anymore, but I still love it a tiny bit more than this one, though this one is pretty nice and I think also stronger. The ingredients are the same as in the original one. I feel that introducing Eucerin vitamin C plus starting using this oil again after a month or two, really helped my skin look its best.

BATH & BODY WORKS Fine Fragrance Mist Oahu Coconut Sunset 

I had an era when I couldn't stand this, which is weird because I loved this last year, but this month I finally got back to it. I've described it before as a night time summery scent, as unlike most of BBW summer mists this is quite syrupy, yet it still has the tropical holiday coconut vibe. I've still seen these on BBW website, even though I thought they were LE, but maybe they were just popular enough to bring them back. I've also been using all the samples of BBW mists that Sandra kindly sent me some months ago. BBW just has the best summery scents for an affordable price that come in large bottles.

UPDATES

L'OREAL Elseve Total Repair 5 Extreme

I promised an update in my New in, since this didn't get its turn before I posted it. I've used up several pots of the original Total Repair 5 in a white pot and this should be the intense version. I used this on a day when I decided to air dry my hair, which I always end up regretting, so I don't know why I do it (for some reason using a hair dryer works better for me, maybe because the hair is sleeker, but leaving it air dry leaves my hair so unruly, hard, dry and frizzy). It did nothing for frizz and my hair didn't felt moisturised enough, so for now I'm thinking this might not be as good as the regular Total Repair 5 as it also felt a bit thinner, but I'll give it another try going the regular routine, since I also skipped on all the leave-ins. It has the same scent as Total Repair, which reminds me of the sweet scent of roasted chestnuts. I prefer L'Oreal Professional Absolut Repair Lipidium that I buy in a big 500 ml pot for about 17 € because it's thicker and feels more intense.

KÉRASTASE Chronologiste Essential Balm Treatment

Another mask I promised an update on. It's thicker than the discontinued Nutritive Masquitense Epais-thick and has almost a balm consistency, this sadly means it's not as easy to spread as  Masquitense and you end up using more. It tamed frizz very well and helped my hair dry a lot more sleek, it was also nourished enough, however the effect for some reason did not last long and my hair wasn't as soft as I hoped. I'll give it another try and report more on it, because given my experience with Kerastase their masks are usually amazing, so I'm hoping this still surprises me somehow. It smells like some perfume, not exactly like Miss Dior Cherie and Chanel Mademoiselle, but something like it.

L'OREAL True Match Blush Sandalwood Rose - We finally got some individual L'Oreal blushes in our drugstores and the texture both True Match and Woke up Like this looks so good. I've have two of their palettes and they make such fantastic blushes. This shade looks so much my colour, a dirty pink-peach with some shimmer. 

MAX FACTOR Crème Puff blush 15 Seductive Pink - I have two of these and I use Lavish Mauve a lot. I regularly go to the drugstore to swatch this one just to remind myself how pretty it is, but so far looking is all I've done. Maybe one day when I finally decide to chuck away 7+ year all blushes (I just can't let go of ancient NARS, MAC and Benefit stuff that I never use, but it was so expensive), I'll renew my stock with this one. 

BALEA Oil Repair Intenziv Thermo Turban Maske - normally I stray away from Balea's hair stuff apart from their hair oils, but this is intriguing. I haven't tried any of the turban masks yet, though I've known them from K-Beauty first and I'm interested if they are any good or just another gimmick meant for people with moderately dry hair. Ingredients look good (though I'm bothered by the lack of silicones) and it's relatively reasonably priced compared to L'Oreal's (though for one use it's not that cheap). I'll give it a go sometime soon I think. 

Jade roler and gua sha - I'm undecided about these two things and still in the research phase how gimmicky these are, since I occasionally do a massage with hands and see no difference, but maybe I'll get them or one of the things I don't know. 

SULWHASOO Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Eye cream - while I'm not insane enough to spend 180 $ for a mini pot of eye cream, but I might get samples of eBay which are much, much cheaper per ml. I've been researching what's the best eye cream and this is often mentioned as the one that makes a visible difference. I'm still thinking about the Innisfree Orchid cream, so I might try both. 

EUCERIN Hyaluron Filler Night Peeling Serum - Vitamin C impressed me so much I went to check Eucerin's website if there's anything else that's interesting and though most stuff seems very mediocre when it comes to ingredients (I wouldn't know about effect though), this looks like an interesting AHA product. I've been having trouble finding one for me as most stuff seems too weak for me, including the Ordinary 30% AHA, but since the Eucerin's 10% vitamin C is working better than the 20% Tiam on me, maybe this peeling is worth a try. Though I'm currently very happy with my skin care routine and I'm sticking to vitamin C only for the summer.

Have a great day!

Internet tells me Lisbon collection was released last year, but I just got these now. I'm not sure what's the stock situation around the world or even just here, but regardless I took some time to swatch these, even if it is possibly futile and too late. There are/were 12 shades in this collection, inspired by the City of Seven Hills. The had the option of gel nail polishes or classic ones, I got the latter. I got these the same time as Essence's This is Me collection, which are gel formulas and I will say outright they are miles better at application than these OPI ones. I'm no longer impressed by regular formulas, though OPI always delivers quality, but compared to gel formulas these are more fickle to apply, they aren't as smooth and you have to be more careful to avoid ridges or sheer parts. These are still nice enough, for regular formulas they are actually very good, which is particularly apparent at the lightest shade Lisbon wants moor OPI.

Lisbon wants moor OPI

Lisbon wants moor OPI is a very pale off-white violet-pink. It's a pastel, but one that's not overly difficult to work with. It needs two to three coats, depending on how careful you are at application. It reminds of a much better version of Essie's Fiji, which I love to wear despite the most horrendous formula in history. I've already worn this twice, which says something, since I change my nail polish once every 10 days, so it's been on my nails for most of last month. One thing that disappoints me at this shade is that it got chipped on my most used fingers, which almost never happens to me.

 Closer than you might Belém

Closer than you might Belém is a turquoise shade that again reminds me of a worse performing Essie called Turquoise & Caicos. It's the best performing of the three and needs two easy coats. 

 Sun, sea and sand in my pants

Sun, sea and sand in my pants is a bright yellow with orange tones. It needs two, occasionally three coats. I know I'll never wear this because yellow is just not my colour, but if you're looking for a good performing such shade, consider this one if you can still find it.

OPIs cost 12.99 € in my local Müller (for 15 ml), while the Infinite Shine versions cost (a rather unreasonable) 16.99 €. 

Have a great day!

*PR products.

The 1-swipe-and-go eyeshadow concept is a not a new thing, but I'm surprised companies are still trying with this mostly failed concept. I've tried the Catrice version, which less ambitiously consisted of only two shades (but with 4 such combinations is one palette) that proved to be not particularly impressive, however as individual eyeshadows applied in a regular manner, they worked fine. Bourjois went with the three shades system and from the moment I saw these I had my doubts. While they are better than Catrice's, especially when it comes to the seamless transition between the three shades, this formula didn't impress me much. 

Formula: When I swatched these in the shop, I was pleasantly surprised by the creamy, pigmented formula, so I surprised to see that's not the case with the ones I got. The feel drier and before I swatched them both thoroughly they weren't very pigmented. The added sponge does not pick up product as well as some other I've tried, so I tried them with a thin brush and they proved to be more pigmented, however the thin strips and the deep setting in the packaging makes these very hard to apply with a brush. The one plus I see at these is that the blend between the three shades is indeed seamless, a pleasant surprise compared to the Catrice's version I've tried before. It takes several layers and swipes in the packaging to build it up to a decent level, but compared to good drugstore eyeshadows, there feel fairly average. Shades blend ok with a brush. As you can see on the pictures, these have fall out.

 02 Brun-ette a dorée 

The 02 Brun-ette a dorée is a combination of warm shades: a pale yellow, medium golden bronze shade and a deep brown. This trio performs poorly and I've really tried to build it up for the swatches. It shows up on the eyes, but as a gentle wash of colour and the darkest shade is actually the most disappointing. 

06 Abracada brown

06 Abracada brown is a neutral combination of beige, taupe and deep brown. It's a much more pigmented combination, but mostly on account of the well performing bottom shade. It's much easier to build this one up, but it still takes many layers.

Staying power: These crease on me. Almost nothing creases on me, especially powder eyeshadows, but these do. Staying power is average and I don't get a lot of wear time worth these, which is unusual because eyeshadows tend to last well on me.

Packaging: The packaging is unnecessarily bulky for 3 grams of product. The shape of the applicator is granted better than Catrice's and it does work at depositing the colour in a nice gradient shade. Of course it all fails when it comes to the edges and I always end up with some eyeshadow too far out from the eyes, so a separate brush is a must or at least some fixing with fingers. They blend ok with both options. The material of the applicator is the thing that bothers me. It's the same as at those cheap wedge foundation sponges, meaning it does not pick up colour well because the surface is too smooth and "plastic". The top part of the applicator is shaped like a little bow and though it's cute, it could be designed just a bit better to hold. 

Price and availability: These cost 12.99 € and are sold in drugstores.

While they are not the worst (at least shade 06, as 02 is definitely not well done), their main task of being a much faster and practical way to apply several shades to a nice gradient finish fails because you're stuck with layering and fixing the edges. I'd also rate them higher if they didn't crease, but given that they crease on me, there's a high chance this happening on those with oily lids. Sorry Bourjois, but as much as I love your foundations, concealers and lip products, this is a miss for me.

Glitter unexpected is L.O.V.s palette for those who love metallic, glittery shades and it exists only in this combination. These colours are not my style, but I was impressed with the quality of the palette, despite the fact that when I just swatched it didn't inspire much confidence in me that it's any good, apart from shade Fame.

Texture: these are glittery creamy eyeshadows and it varies whether the glitter is more dominant or the base shade. Shade Fame is most smooth and swatches fully opaque, while the rest swatch more sheer, but perform much better on the eyes. Shade Bright, a white with gold shimmer, has a strange texture that I can only describe as chalky-creamy and when I tried it first I was sure it's d be a dud, however, it performs much better on the lids. Shade Sparkle is a classic powder eyeshadow with a satin base and sparse glitter. Using a brush with the five glitter shades is futile, so I pack these on with a finger and blend the edges with a brush. Since they are creamy and glitter they are not as easy to blend and it's best to use a powder eyeshadow to create a more seamless blend. These are actually more suited as toppers than individual eyeshadows. 

Shades:

Fame - a copper gold with excellent pigmentation and a foiled/metallic finish. By far best performing shade in the palette.

Bright - a white with gold shimmer. On the skin the white base is barely noticeable and it's mostly just about the shimmer.

Bold - a mint green with silver shimmer. The mint green looks like a sheer wash on the eyes, but it is noticeable, while the main focus is on the shimmer.

Dazzle - a smoky grey with shimmer. Medium pigmentation of the grey base mixed with glitter. It can be built up.

Daring - a smoky purple with shimmer. It's opaque on the eyes, but unlike Fame has a glittery finish and not a metallic one.

Sparkle - a pale pink with a satin finish of the base and sparse glitter. I wish they made this one matte or just satin because it can't be used to blend out the other shades or as a base all over the lids due to glitter.

Staying power: I fully expected these to become a creased glittery mess, so I was very surprised at how well Bold looked after 10 h. It was still on my lids, barely faded despite being such a sheer shade and the glitter didn't gather in the crease or transfer. The others last similarly well, only Fame which I applied more on one lid and less on the other, creased on the side with less product.

Packaging: The comes in a cardboard packaging with a magnetic closing system and a glittery surface. The palette could be a lot smaller as there is plenty of unused space.

Price and availability: It costs 14.99 €. International customers can get it on Kozmetik4less.de 

This was a much more pleasant surprise than L.O.V. The Galaxy Eyeshadow and Liners, which are their other glittery formula. They are more pigmented, don't crease and last longer, so it's a superior formula and especially if you like coppery golds, Fame is a shade well worth having, but only if you like the rest of the shades in the palette. 

Have a great day!

*PR product

 JOICO K-Pak Deep Penetrating Reconstructor

I used to have this product many years ago when I had highlights and then dyed my hair red and back to my natural colour, but I have not repurchased it since because Redken's Anti-Snap was enough as a protein treatment. This is an amazing product I highly recommend to anyone who bleaches their hair or uses high lift colours. Since I bleached my hair again, it got even more coarse to the touch than it usually is and I misdiagnosed the problem that I need more moisture (due to it felling hard to the touch and not brittle). Because heaps of oil and moisturising treatments weren’t doing much, I did a strand test where you take a hair, wet it and stretch it gently. My hair overstretched and looked like a chewing gum, which meant I needed proteins. This is what I went to first because I trust Joico the most. Reconstuctor is an intense protein treatment that contains the highest content of Joico's special quadramine complex, which contains human hair keratin protein in a wide range of molecular sizes - that's what they say. As far as I know proteins adsorb to the hair in a matter of seconds and the general recommendation for this is to leave it on for 5 minutes, but they also say it can be left longer for even better results. The texture is very strange, mine was almost like it's separated and lumpy, but I shook the bottle to mix it and it became more creamy. It's not as easy to spread as Olaplex, so I have to use more product and I have concerns how long this bottle will last me. Since it's a protein treatment, it's advisable to use a moisturising conditioner after as proteins can make the hair feel hard to the touch and the conditioner makes the hair more pliable again. For my dry hair I have to use something after, otherwise it feels like I used nothing and Intense Hydrator that I had in my stash from before proved to be the perfect match and these two did an outstanding job. Together these are way, way better than Olaplex (it's a different type of product though, but equally meant for bleached, coloured and damaged hair), however, Reconstructor should only be use on hair that lacks protein (usually it’s coloured and very damaged), otherwise it can make your hair brittle and I think Olaplex is a safer bet if you’re not sure. Reconstructor has a great banana-like scent that luckily overpowers the strange scent of Hydrator.

Ingredients.

Notino, 18.40 €

OLAPLEX n.3

A repurchase. While I can't report the magical before-afters the internet is forcing on us all (it takes a lot more than unwashed and uncombed hair pic vs a fresh dye + blowout pics to convince me, as they are so easy to cheat), I read the science behind it and how it was supported by the more science-y hair bloggers, so I want to use this as a way to maintain the health of my hair. And indeed despite all the bleaching and colouring, my hair is not snapping off and I easily fixed the coarseness with protein treatments, so it's in good condition. It reconnects the broken sulphide bonds between keratin plates that are ruined by bleaching, colouring and heat tools. It's meant to be applied to freshly washed hair, left on the hair for a least 10 minutes, but I leave it much longer and then wash it off with a shampoo. Just like at protein treatment you need to use a conditioner after. Though there is only 100 ml in the bottle, one lasted me a very surprising 6 and a half uses (I had to open the new bottle for the last one). It's very easy to spread and though I never felt I was frugal with it, I got me through way more uses than expected. Like I said this isn't the same type of magic transformation product as Joico K-Pack or Schwarzkopf stuff I mention bellow, but it does make me feel safer when I doing my hair colour experiments.

Notino, 23.10 €

 SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL Blondme Tone Enhancing Bonding Mask

Cool

This exists in three versions: Keratin Restore for all blondes (and other colours of course), Warm blonde for enhancing warm shades and Cool for neutralising yellow tones in very pale blonde hair. I got the latter. I'm already a fan of Blondme colour line, especially the bleach, so this is first my try of their hair care and I'm very, very impressed. I've only used the Bonding Potion and the Bonding Mask together, so I'm not sure about these two separately, but together they are like magic for freshly bleached and abused hair. My hair actually felt better after a bleaching session plus toning after I used these two than before colouring. It was silky, soft and nourished. Mask has a pudding consistency, so it doesn't have that normal rich, heavy texture I like, so it was surprising to me it worked so well. All Schwarzkopf products I've tried so far also have a lovely scent and this was no exception. The purple tint isn't as intense as at Ice Cream shampoo I have (that one stains the hands), plus I just toned my hair when I used this, so can't report just how much it's capable off, but any toning that happened was only on very pale blonde hair.

Ingredients.

Notino 10.40 €

SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL Blondme Keratin Restore Intense Care Bonding Potion

This is meant to be used with the Bonding Mask, though I see no problems with using it with other moisturising masks too, it just might not have the same effect and I only plan to use these together. It's an intense protein treatment, so you have to use a moisturising treatment with it to make the hair soft as proteins can make the hair feel hard. They call it a bonding product, the same way Olaplex is described, but while the latter clearly names the ingredient that rebuilds the bonds (bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate), Schwarzkopf is more vague on their website and apart from proteins I can't see a bond rebuilding ingredients, but I'm hardly an expert (the bleach and the mask contains succinic acid that's supposed to protect the hair bonds, but they don't mention it rebuilds them). Hydrolysed proteins such as keratin in Potion adsorb to hair temporarily filling the gaps where the loss of natural protein keratin occurred, while Olaplex rebuilds the sulphide bonds between the keratin plates. You're meant to apply this first and then the mask on top. It's a gel-cream type of product with a medium consistency that is assisted by a high concentration of silicones to help it spread with ease and also instantly makes the hair less tangled and easy to comb through. I used about 6-7 pumps for my long hair and I expected to use more based on experience with other products, but it can be distributed very easily. Like I said above together with the mask they made my hair feeling and looking so great, actually the effect was completely comparable to the more expensive Joico K-Pack Reconstructor & Hydrator duo and better than Olaplex, so these are an equally excellent option, just pick the Keratin Restore version of the mask if you're not a blonde (though if your hair is dark, it won't matter anyway). 

Ingredients.

Notino, 10.40 €

KÉRASTASE Chronologiste Essential Balm Treatment

This is very expensive, but only at hair care I tend to splurge because I see a difference between the cheap and expensive stuff due to my hair having a thicker texture than most (it's been described as "prickly" by others or as if I'm always wearing hair spray). I've been buying their outstanding, but sadly discontinued Nutritive Masquitense Epais-thick for years, so I got this is a replacement due to the overwhelmingly great reviews. It doesn't state for what kind of hair it is, only that it revitalises and adds bounce plus shine, all I can say is that it looks thick and smells like some perfume that is very familiar to me, but I don't know which it is. I haven't had a chance to use this yet, even though it was one of the products I was most looking forward to trying, so when I do finally use it, I'll post an update on Instagram Stories and add it as an update in my monthly favourites.

Ingredients.

Notino, 32.20 €

SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL BC Bonacure Fibre Force Fortifying Primer

One review said this is Olaplex in a spray bottle, only better. While I'm not very trusting when it comes to hair reviews, since my hair is thicker and drier than most, I still wanted to see if it's decent. It’s got hydrolysed keratin high on the list and smells so nice, the nicest of all Schwarzkopf products I have. I've been using this for a month now and as expected for a protein product it makes my hair frizzy or at least it doesn't tame it well, but it's definitely contributed to the health of my hair. I won't use it all the time because there needs to be good balance between protein and moisturising care (overdoing either doesn't end well), but I think this will replace Redken's Anti-Snap in my routine. It's very light, non-sticky and doesn't interfere with my other hair care, so it's a nice option probably even for hair that gets oily fast. I need to use it longer, to see how it fares long term.

Ingredients.

Notino, 10.20 €

 L'OREAL Elseve Extraordinary Oil Intense Nourishing Shampoo

I always buy the clear version of Extraordinary oil which I adore, but I got this one to try to see if it’s even better, as this one claims to be for very dry hair and the clear one is just for dry. Unfortunately it did not convince me as much as the clear version. Despite the creamier texture it doesn't make my hair as smooth and it leaves my hair just a touch too squeaky clean for my taste (since my hair is dry I don't want to overly strip the hair), but it produces a very rich foam. The scent is exactly the same as all Extraordinary product, so an oriental clean scent with some cinnamon like tones. I'm sticking to the clear version, but this one might be worth a try for those who found that shampoo too heavy for them.

Ingredients.

Spar, 3.35 €

 PANTENE Pro-V Glatt & Seiding and Repair & Care Conditioner

I got these because I saw great reviews on Amazon and they are selling well there. I tried Repair first and was amazed at how good it is. It left my hair moisturised, actually soft and even a bit shinier (doesn't happen to me often, that's why I add shine with oils). It's definitely one of my favourite drugstore conditioners and cheapest, so I'd be buying this one a lot for sure and I want to explore more of their products. I used a lot at once because the texture is thick and one bottle of 200 ml won't last me long, but for the price I'm not complaining and I found that Interspar and DM sell a a 300 ml version. Scent is pleasant, it's one of those classic warm-clean hair care scents and though it's not very strong, it lasts a day on the hair. 

The Glatt aka Smooth version in the US version didn't impress me as much as Repair. It was ok, but it didn't leave my hair as smooth and soft, though it wasn't terrible and it's still a nice buy for a drugstore, but Repair is my new big love. I'll try other products from Repair line for sure.

Ingredients Repair.

Ingredients Glatt.

Müller, 2.99 €

 GARNIER Fructis Oil Repair 3 Wunder Butter

Fructis mask looked promising to me because it has coconut oil high on the list of ingredients, but then after I bought it I heard it's not so good, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It's quite thick, so you use a lot of it at once because it doesn't spread as nicely as more liquid formulas, but it's not problematic. It smells lovely, Fructis-like, so fruity sweet, I think it's mango. This was better than I expected. It felt nourishing enough for my hair and the effect lasted long enough, it just didn't do anything for the frizz and it didn't leave my hair as soft as Pantene, but it's one of the better ones, definitely better than Herbal Essences and I like it more than the Banana Hair Food. 

Ingredients.

Müller, 4.65 €

HERBAL ESSENCES Repair Moroccan Argan Oil

I got this one also based on Amazon best sellers. I used to love their Hello Hydration mask, but I haven’t seen it in ages, just the conditioner, however, these new bottles popped up in the drugstores, which are considerably more expensive than their "regular" lines such as Hello Hydration. This one was the first I tried in my attempt to restore my faith into drugstore hair care (with the notable exception of Aussie) and I'm not super impressed by it. It was merely ok, it could be more rich, though it should be enough for someone with moderately dry hair. My issue with it is that it didn't make my hair soft, so it felt a bit hard to the touch and since I used this after Schwazkopf Blondeme duo, the difference was that much more noticeable. I used a lot of it for one use and left it on for 30 minutes, but still it didn't wow me as much as I hoped. As is usual for HE, it's heavily scented and the whole time it was on my hair I just could not figure out what this scent is trying to be, as it's like you'd mix an oriental-smoky, fruity, candy sweet and floral fragrance in one bottle - it's going to be a love or hate relationship with this one for most I think. It also lingers on the hair for at least a day and my shower cap still smells of it. Since I tried Pantene, I rate it even lower and it's a lot more expensive.

Ingredients.

Müller,  7.99 € (400 ml)

 BALEA 5% UREA Dusche + Shampoo

I got this because I hoped the Urea content will help with my dry scalp. I've tried so many anti-dandruff shampoos, so I wanted to go to another direction with this. It's merely ok. It does nothing for my scalp and it doesn't remove build up well, but it's not drying like most such cheap shampoos are. Formula is thin and I need to use a lot for it to foam, even then it's nothing comparable to the rich foam that L'Oreal shampoos produced. I had hoped for a more creamy, rich and nourishing formula, but it's far from being a bad shampoo, it's perfectly nice for something so inexpensive and I've almost used up the bottle. 

DM, 2.25 € 

AUSSIE 3 Minute Miracle Colour Deep Treatment

I wanted to buy the original Reconstructor that I used to buy, but they didn't have it in the shop, so I got Colour instead. I always assumed they are all very similar, though the original Reconstructor is by far the most popular and it's the only I tried before this one. In terms of effect original Reconstructor and Colour are very similar and the main difference is the scent - Colour has a milky candy fragrance instead of the original bubble gum. It's one of rare drugstore conditioners that is moisturising enough for my hair, as well as it manages to make my hair feel softer than others. At drugstore conditioners the moisturising effect doesn't last as long on me as at salon treatment and I need to use more leave-ins, but regardless Aussie treatments are still well worth buying. It's nice to be reunited with this, for the price it's really good. 

Leclerc, 6.99 €

 L'OREAL Elseve Total Repair 5 Extreme

One more drugstore hair mask, I really went to town this month with hair care, but I go so quickly though this stuff I like to stock up well. I've gone through several pots of the "regular" Total Repair 5, which I consider one of the best drugstore treatments (together with Aussie and recently Pantene), but I've never tried this Extreme version. I wanted the yellow ceramide one, which I couldn't find anywhere, but this one also contains ceramides, though very, very low on the list (2-oleamido, 1-3 octadecanediol). Ceramides are often described as cement that keeps the hair together, the glue that binds keratin plates. It has the same scent as Total Repair, which reminds me of the sweet scent of roasted chestnuts. Just like Kerastase mask it didn't get its turn yet, but once it does, I'll post an update on Stories and add it to the updates part of my monthly favourites.

DM, 5.99 €

 HASK Argan Oil Repairing Deep Conditioner

I already posted about this one in the Empties, where I expressed my disappointment about it, though granted I did use this one before the protein treatment, so that could have been the problem.  Ingredients are ok, I'm bothered by the fragrance on 4th place, but it has lanolin on 5th place which should help seal the moisture in. Oils are after 5th place, but there's several of them, not just argan. The mask is nicely thick, just the way I like it and it's possible it would feel heavy on thin hair, but I can't say for sure. There is 50 ml in the packet which was just enough for one use for my long thick hair, but for some this could last up to 3 uses and certainly 2 for most. It's got an orange scent with some oriental feel, so it's not a zesty fresh type of scent. At first the effects of this were ok, it wasn't amazingly nourishing for my hair, but pretty good for those 2 € I spent for this. However, by day two my hair was so dry and far from being soft. I decided to use just a conditioner because I didn't want to wash it again, so I used Aussie's conditioner while in the shower. I'm sure that for most this will be a good deep treatment to use when the hair needs a pick me up and they come in a small packet which might be convenient for those who rarely use deep treatments and don't want a full bottle lying around for ages, but for my hair it wasn't enough. 

Ingredients.

Müller, 2.75 €

HASK Argan Oil Repairing Hair Oil

I grabbed one of these oils too, though I've always walked passed them because they look like little samples with only 18 ml. Ingredients look good with the classic two silicones at the start and argan oil on third place (don't know the percentage, but it's thinner than Moroccanoil with the same first three ingredients) and as an extra keratin amino acids on 4th place. The latter is a humectant (it draws water) and not a protein treatment. HASK has four versions of these, two, macadamia and monoi coconut are similar to this one with a different oil, while Keratin Protein contains two proteins, so I actually see it as a different product than the other three. It's got a medium consistency, though it's still pretty liquid for a silicone oil and it does its job of giving shine, taming the hair and detangling. Due to such small size, I won't use this regularly because I'd use it up in a matter of weeks (I've already used up a almost half), but this a nice size to keep in the purse. I think this formula will work for thin hair too as it's really not heavy and definitely not greasy.

Ingredients.

Müller, 2.75 €

  

 BALEA Langhaar Mädchen Hair Oil Intense Repair

I got this for one reason only: it's 150 ml for 4.99 € making it the cheapest such serum per ml in our drugstores. I use these oil serums as heat protectants (anything with dimethiconol works) and since I have to use a lot of it, I get the cheap stuff for the job. Before I had the discontinued Balea Wunder Serum which on it's own wasn't anything special, too light for taming my hair, but as a heat protectant it was lovely because it didn't leave my hair wet and I could get to work immediately (I use a combination of serum oil and Moroccanoil Defender spray. It might seem an overkill, but I want my hair protected). This has a very similar light-medium texture as the Wunder Serum and it's not super effective on taming the frizz like heavier oils do on me such as Orofluido, Moroccanoil or Precious Argan, but like I said I use it for other things. It's got an obnoxious vanilla-coconut scent that everyone apart from me will surely love (I like more perfumey vanillas and this is more car freshener vanilla, so super basic). For the price and the purpose I use this is good, it's would also be nice for girls with less thick hair than me, but it's not as light as Luxurious Coconut (I have a mini guide here). It contains sunflower oil on 4th place, that's why it's so much lighter than other oil serums, on 5th place is coconut oil which is good to see and buriti oil on 6th place, which I can't find whether it penetrates the hair shaft like coconut oil or it just deposits on the hair, but it doesn't matter, not at this product anyway. 

Ingredients.

DM, 4.99 €

 SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL Blondme Blond Toning

Steel Blue

I've already used a half of this mixed with Sand and it wasn't great mix for toning orange-yellow hair, so I got an extra tube of just steel blue to do it again. For a demi-permanent colour this is pretty drying, more so than the bleach, which was surprising. On the second toning I used 3/4 of Steel Blue and 1/4 of Sand that I had left. I expected it to turn grey-blue when it was processing, just like those toners for very pale blondes turn purple, but it surprisingly turned pink-violet. It toned golden yellow hair best, which is a level 9-8, while it turned my lightest pale yellow strands (level 10) blue silver grey, which I did not like at all and shade Ice would have been better for those. The orange strands level 7-8, which I expected it will tone based on reviews and colour theory were left the same as without a toner, so my hair was looking very uneven with ultra cool and warm bits. I hoped this toner will help with the orange-reddish bits, but it only works properly on golden medium blonde hair.  

Notino, 9.90 €

L'OREAL Excellence Creme

8.1 Natural Ash Blonde and 7.1 Ash Blonde

I got these to tone my hair, since Schwarzkopfs Steel Blue didn't do the job properly. I decided to mix these two because I've used 8.1 alone before and it didn't tone the reddish-orange bits, it only toned the lighter hair. Because I've been balayageing my hair slowly, I had all kinds of shades on my hair due to my hair being so dark and thick, one session could only get me a couple of shades lighter at a time. Ashy tones are great for toning orange hair and I've seen a Youtube video showing how 7.1 works, so I'm hoping it does a better job than Schwarzkopf's Steel Blue. Well, I sort of screwed up, though that depends on what can constitute as a screw up, since my hair is now in the coolest shade it's been, but sadly I started up a blonde and ended up a light brunette. Though I predicted 7.1 will be darker, I thought mixing it with 8.1 will keep it reasonably light. While my hair is now without red bits and there's only a slight goldish hue present, it had undone my balayage and lovely highlights, which I'm disappointed about because now I'll have to do it all over again (I've tried washing off the colour by chelating and using anti-dandruff shampoo, but this formula is proving difficult to wash out for now). To be fair now I'm thinking it was probably the only way, otherwise I'd be stuck with red-orange bits forever clashing with the lighter toned parts, but I really got used to being blonde and I loved it so much. We'll see what I'll do next. Maybe it will wash off in time, but the final colour I got was exactly the shade on the box of 7.1 and actually my original "goal colour", it's just when I got to blonde I got a bit greedy and wanted to be lighter. Also 7.1 lightened my uncoloured hair and it did a surprisingly good job of getting them to a light-medium cool brown, so if you have natural dark brown hair and want to go a few shades lighter, I highly recommend 7.1, you'll get a less warm result than with 8.1 or 9.1. 

By the way, this is my favourite box dye because it makes my hair feel so nice and the conditioner is one of the best I've tried (plus it's 60 ml bottle, not a tiny satchel). 

Interspar, 5.49 €

Have a great day!