December 05, 2007

Reviews and thoughts

Today I went to the drugstore to pick up a tube of mascara since Great Lash was on sale, December is buy-new-mascara-month, and I wanted to try clear mascara because my eyelashes aren't in the greatest shape and my brows need something to keep them in place. So I got that. But what caught my eye just inside the door was a little display of trial size (but generous at that) John Frieda specialty colour products (eg. Sheer Blonde, Brilliant Brunette) for two bucks each. I am hoping to put a bit of a red tone in my hair (achieved through colour depositing conditioner or shampoo), and later this month change my hair--I'm hoping to get rid of my highlights I did in the summer which have grown out several inches and gone very very blonde, go one or two levels darker, and add some burgundy highlights. So I got a tube of the Radiant Red conditioner, only to come home and find that apparently it deposits no colour whatsoever. But also according to the reviews I was looking at, it is a very nice conditioner that makes your hair really shiny, and it does seem to help hold red in a bit, if not actually depositing any. It has a tutti-fruitti smell. I'm yet to try it out (I did put a dab on my dry hair and it smoothed it out a bit but so would any conditioner).

This one has a fairly light smell. But what I'd like to rant about today is, with all of the lovely fragrances available, why does everything else have to be scented? I'm ticked off! I can't wear perfume because whatever I have in my hair is already perfumey and way overpowering. The Brilliant Brunette line I got a sample packets of a year or so ago (and still have) are highly choco-coconut-floral scented. Frizz-Ease smells like a combo of a floral warehouse and fried hair, and not only is it headache inducing but it is insanely overpowering and lingers like you would not believe. Okay, so so far everything I'm complaining about is John Frieda. I guess I need to steer clear of that line. But sooooo many things are scented...and they don't even say so! Why, why, why?? I buy unscented hairspray and mousse. They say so right on the package with the cheaper brands...you have the option of "fresh", "fragrance free", and "unscented". (If you don't know the difference between ff and us, ff means no fragrance whatsoever, while us means there is a masking fragrance to cover the chemicals but no detectable fragrance.) A lot of things mention on the package what exactly it is they smell like...Herbal Essences says right on the package what notes are in their products. If you want scented, you buy Herbal Essences. If not, you buy...what? You play open-and-sniff-while-the-staff-aren't-looking or take a chance. Some things they've figured out how to do an amount of fragrance that you smell with application, but not afterwards...cheap shampoo and conditioner, antiperspirant. I don't want an expensive-smelling fragrance...it bothers the sensitive people in my household and sometimes it just smells like crap. Sorry to say that, but it does. What on earth were they thinking with Frizz-Ease?????????

To finish on a positive note, I like Great Lash clear. On brows and lashes. I put a couple coats on my lashes and finished with my curler and my eyes look nicer and my lashes look great, more groomed. It seems to hold a curl quite well. Not quite sure about the best way to put it on my brows but I have heard good things about it as a brow gel. Thanks goodness that makeup is still unscented! :-)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Clear mascara? The best thing for brows! Just use it like you would an eyebrow brush - brush them into the shape you want - probably best results if you also wax or tweeze the brows into a good shape first.
Oh, and just a thought...curl your lashes before the mascara...I have read that if you do it after, your lashes can stick to the curler and get pulled out.

The Apprentice said...

Yep, I figured out how to use it. It's great, I wear the stuff everyday on brows and lashes and I could swear my lashes look better.

Heh...I did hear that about them getting pulled out but it doesn't seem to work as well the other way...

Nice of you to comment, I didn't know if anyone actually read this!