What are your favorite shampoos and conditioners for the summer? Do you
change things up when the seasons change or do you stick to your go-tos
year round?
In this set are purse-sized minis of:
- Grandiose Hair Plumping Mousse (2.5 oz) – This is a shake and dispense kind of foamy product that you apply to damp hair before styling. I use this before blow drying my hair and it adds volume throughout like nothing else I’ve tried. Hair is full and voluminous after using this one. My hair was left with some texture but still soft. On my hair the volume lasted all day long when I tried this in the morning. It really gives the hair a boost at the roots (which is what I look for when I do look for added volume).
- Thick Dry Finishing Spray (2.2 oz) – This is a product designed to add a boost to your hair if your hair is prone to getting limp after a blow dry. Out of all the Oribe products I’ve tried this is one of the few that didn’t really do much for my hair – but there is a chance I’m not using this correctly. I’ve tried this a number of ways – after a blow dry, as a refresher, as a touch up product, before going out. It doesn’t really add volume or oomph. It does act like a hair refresher if it’s a tiny bit shiny at the scalp area. If you’ve used this please let me know how you use it! Based on reviews I’ve read, if you have fine hair you will see results. For those with thicker hair like mine, you might not see much of a difference.
- Dry Texturizing Spray (2.2 oz) – This is one of my favorite hair texturizing products EVER. It’s part dry shampoo and part texturizer – I wash my hair daily but sometimes when it gets a bit oily this is the best oil absorber that doesn’t turn my hair white/grey/dusty looking. I know all dry shampoos say to brush out the product and that the white will disappear. Not all dry shampoos are the same and many make my hair look dusty and grey. The one from Oribe just works. It adds texture and volume and smells incredible.
In this set you get:
- Surfcomber Tousled Texture Mousse (2.5 oz) – This is a mousse product that feels on the sticky side on the hands. I find this one best used on wet or damp hair and it will give your hair the perfect piecey-beachy kind of textured hair. I found it easy to overdo so I recommend using as little as possible. You do have to give it a good shake before you dispense. I love the results when using this either blow dried or air dried. Hair is left soft but still feels like there’s some texture in it. For me this is more on the high maintenance side so I probably wouldn’t use this on a regular basis.
- Après Beach Wave and Shine Spray (2.1 oz) – Is a product that is similar to the Surfcomber in the sense it gives your hair that beachy tousled look, but gives the hair a bit of natural shine. The Après Beach Wave and Shine Spray is my favorite beach-hair kind of styling product. I apply it to the hair after washing and towel drying. I let the hair air dry and the result is a natural wavy frizz-free textured kind of look. I really love this one.
- Supershine Moisturizing Cream (1.7 fl oz) – This is just as the name implies. It adds shine and moisture to the hair making it look healthy. It adds shine without getting too heavy or greasy looking (even by late afternoon or evening). It helps tame flyaways and reduces frizz. I find it helps a lot when my ends get dry looking or feeling. It’s like magic in a tube. I use it as a styling/finishing product best, but it also works as a pre-blowout kind of product to work through damp hair.
Above from left to right:
- Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt ($52 for 250 ml, c/o) is something that is relatively new to the US. Christophe Robin is a colorist from France and launched his own salon and line of products. Net-A-Porter sent his new Cleansing Purifying Scrub for me to try a few months ago and so when I had the opportunity to meet him in person while he was in LA, I jumped at the chance. I will have a dedicated feature on more of his products soon, but in the meantime you can read about his story here. It was so great to learn about his story and the background behind the creation of his line. The Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt is an amazing clarifying product. It is a grained-paste product that you rub into your scalp. It rebalances the hair and rinses out completely without any residue left behind. It removes impurities and leaves the hair feeling squeaky clean. If you have normal to dry hair, you may need to follow with a moisture mask. For me this is a game changer. You can find his line at Net-A-Porter, Sephora and Saks Fifth Avenue.
- Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Shampoo Gentle Radiance Cleanser x Maison Kitsune ($57 for 400 ml, c/o) has been on my radar for a while but the concept of using an oil to wash my hair just didn’t seem appealing to me. Still the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Shampoo has cult-status and rightfully so. There are several formulas of the Cleansing Oil, the one I tried is the Limited-Edition Maison Kitsune in the Gentle Radiance Formula. It foams up into a really nice lather and cleans the hair really well. For me this is best used as once a week a clarifying treatment (alternating with the Christophe Robin) – at most 2x per week or on days after I work out. I do think it’s absolutely necessary to follow with some kind of rinse out conditioner if you use this one as it can be stripping if you skip. Some shampoos I don’t feel the need to use conditioner after, but this one you do.
- Oribe Cleansing Crème for Moisture and Control ($44 for 8.5 oz/250 ml) is the most amazing cleansing creme I’ve tried. My local salon always uses some kind of cleansing creme to wash my hair before a cut but I’m particularly sensitive to scented hair products so I never end up purchasing what they use even though the results are amazing. I love all things Oribe although the line is fairly spendy so I feel like I have to keep this brand at arm’s length or it can get very expensive at the rate that I go through hair products. This one moisturizes perfectly and leaves the scalp feeling well nourished but clean. Hair is perfect afterwards – tangle free, smooth and left light and bouncy with a bit of natural shine. I don’t need to search for any other cleansing cremes as I have found THE ONE with the Oribe.
Above from left to right:
- Oribe Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil ($49 for 100 ml, also in this travel set) is one of my favorite hair finishing oils. The full size is very expensive but you only need a little bit to coat the ends of the hair so it lasts a long time. It adds the perfect amount of shine to the hair, especially when the ends start to look or feel dry. It is fairly strongly scented but I love the way everything from Oribe smells.
- Drybar The Chaser Shine Cream ($29 for 100 ml) this has made an appearance on my blog many times. I like it because it adds shine and also helps as a pre-heat treatment. It maintains and controls frizz and leaves the hair feeling ultra soft. My husband likes to use this one too.
- Shu Uemura x Maison Kitsune Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil ($69 for 150 ml, c/o) smells amazing and has notes of camellia, grapefruit, white essence, musk and heliotrope. This is a multi-purpose oil. The directions say you can apply it on the hair pre-shampoo or afterwards as a leave-in product. I prefer to use it after shampoo either on slightly damp hair before I blow dry or just simply as a leave in product as my hair air dries. It’s nourishing but very lightweight and won’t weigh down the hair or make it look greasy. Hair absorbs it quickly so there’s no residue left afterwards if you touch your hair. One pump is more than enough to cover my hair (it’s a little past the shoulder length). I will definitely be repurchasing this once it is used up.
- Kiehl’s Heat-Protective Silk Straightening Cream ($17 for 150 ml) this is something I bought in store a while ago. I needed something as an add on to qualify for an in store promo so I decided to try this. I had used the Creme with Silk Groom when I was in college and liked it but it can be very heavy and easy to overdo. The girl at the store recommended I try this since I heat treat my hair regularly. I really like it to help straighten the hair and keep it smooth looking. I found it makes a noticeable difference in the way the hair looks in terms of helping give a more straightened look.
- Edward Bess Black Sea Hair Hero ($44 for c/o) is my favorite texturizing hair product. It helps add volume, smooths hair, adds texture. Full review in this post here. The bottle is huge and even with regular use it’s lasted me for like forever.
- Original and Mineral Know Knott Detangling Spray ($26 for 250 ml) is the best detangling product I’ve tried. Some days my hair just feels extra tangled and there are knots in my hair even after shampoo + conditioner. A few sprays of this one makes any comb or brush glide through the hair easily without any tugging or pulling. I tried this at my salon in a mini first and loved it so much I bought the full size.
T3 Featherweight Compact Dryer + SinglePass Compact Flat Iron Set – Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Beauty Exclusive 2015
July 22, 2015texture, and even smoothes and tames hair without weighing it down.” Edward’s Hair Hero comes in sleek black bottle with a pump dispenser. The cap twists to lock the pump when not in use. The bottle is quite large which I’m happy about because it will last a long time.
Some more shots to show the texture. The Hair Hero gives the hair a smooth finish but still gives it some texture so it’s not flat.
It’s bottom line complete and total love, I can’t get over how amazing it smells, I wish it came in body products. You can find Edward Bess’s Hair Hero exclusively through QVC (through spring 2015). He will be having his first 1 hour segment on QVC this Friday September 5th 9 pm EST. I can’t wait to see how they use it on the show. To stay up to date with Edward Bess and his latest products, be sure to check out his website www.edwardbess.com for news and store listing. You can also follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (his social media handle is @edwardbess).
- Aerin Rose Hand and Body Cream $40 is a lovely light-scented hand treatment, it’s a bit pricey for me to justify using on the body, but it’s a nice moisturizing cream for the hands. It smells like candied roses which is really nice (coming from a person who doesn’t really like strong rose florals).
- Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv Intensive Smoothing Hand Cream $55 is probably the priciest hand cream I own, I was lucky to get this as a gift with purchase one year. It smells like a spa treatment. It’s a bit heavier than most hand creams I use but it dries down to a soft silky finish. It helps diminish those dry lines in the hands upon application. Read the reviews on Nordstrom.com and you’ll see this is well worth the price.
- L’Occitane Extra-Gentle Lotion for Hands and Body $20 is the perfect body lotion for me. I’ve gone through five bottles already and keep one at work and one at home. I’m a huge fan of L’occitane’s Shea Butter line. They have several different options of moisturizing intensity depending on your skin needs. I like this one because it melts into the skin and makes any itchy dryness disappear without being too greasy. I love the lightweight scent – it’s very soothing and comforting. It’s neutral enough to be unisex. My husband and male co-workers always borrow mine.
- Caudalie Divine Oil $49 is relatively new to me. I’ve written about the mini size that I’ve tried which is perfect for the purse. I loved it so much I bought the full size in the trio set. I spray it on the legs and elbows. It smells fresh and light and feels nice on the skin. It’s also designed for the face and hair – I’ve only tried it on the ends of my hair to add a bit of shine (although I prefer other hair treatments).
- Jo Malone Vitamin E Lip Conditioner $25 is one of my favorite lip treatments. Review here. It’s soft, moisturizing and you can feel the results instantly.
- Jo Malone Vitamin E Vitamin E’ Body Treatment Scrub $90 is the ultimate luxury body scrub. It’s a spa in a tub and smells like a luscious honey dessert. It’s strongly scented and extremely moisturizing – if you visit your local Jo Malone store or counter they should be able to make a small sample for you to try. It’s really REALLY amazing.
- Deborah Lippmann Cuticle Oil $20 is one of the first cuticle oils I’ve tried. In the past I’ve tried substituting baby oil but found it hasn’t really helped my dry cuticles. This one is made of pure white jojoba oil, vitamin E and coconut oil (it smells like coconuts). It works well on my cuticles and a little goes a long way. Be careful to keep application to the cuticles as it can feel a bit sticky on the finger tips. The texture is perfect to actually stay on the cuticles (versus some oils that are so liquid/fluid they roll off quickly).
- By Terry Baume de Rose $60 review here. My holy grail lip treatment, but still a three way tie with the Jo Malone and Hourglass.
- Drybar The Chaser Shine Pomade $28 is the hair cream of all hair creams. It adds shine without being too heavy or greasy looking on the hair. I find it lasts all day long. I’ve used it a couple of ways. One is right after I shower on towel-dried damp hair. This is the only thing I’ve tried that lets my hair air dry perfectly without any frizz. It makes the perfect pre-heat treatment as well (whether it’s blow drying or straightening). I also find it makes a great finishing product to add a bit of texture and shine. Bonus is that my husband likes it on his hair as a pomade (even though it’s really a cream). The smell is incredible too.
What are you winter skin and hair savers? I’m all ears to hear what your favorites are!