I went to Boots the day after my arrival in London. I needed to shop immediately so that I can go back there as many times as I want just in case they have different offers or I forget buying something. Also I needed to pick up some essentials such as my shower gel, toothpaste and bath lily. I was going to pick up some products from Soap and Glory including The Breakfast Scrub which is my favourite and Sugar Crush which I heard good things about, but as they were too big and heavy I gave up bringing them back to Japan. Instead I got some minis with an offer which I remember was 3 for £7 or something.
CLEAN ON ME
Even though I didn't like the scent originally, I decided to pick this one up rather than CLEAN, GIRLS. The weird thing is that last time I smelled this Original Pink Fragrance was in Japan and I absolutely hated it. It was too perfumey and overpowering to me. But this time I didn't mind the smell at all, I even thought it was kind of a good smell. I guess it was because of the air or humidity or temperature or something like that, because you can handle stronger scents in colder temperature.
I really enjoyed using this shower gel in England but because of the water and dry air, my skin was so dry. It's my fault because I didn't take any body moisturizer and couldn't be bothered to buy one. I know it sounds stupid but I regretted that I didn't try to rescue my skin a few days before I flew back to Japan because it was itching and bleeding and miserable. So the point I'm trying to make is that I cannot judge whether it's the kind of shower gel which dries out your skin or not. I'm going to try to use it in Japan to judge, but so far I didn't think it was moisturizing unfortunately.
GLAD HAIR DAY THICK CONDITIONER
I picked it up because I didn't want to open my Aussie hair treatment during my stay. But I guess I should have gone for Glad Hair Day Conditioner instead of Glad Hair Day THICK Conditioner because Glad Hair Day is supposed to be made for fine hair which I have. Obviously this conditioner is too light for me and isn't moisturizing enough. It makes my hair frizzy and dry. I didn't hate the smell of peach or some kind of fruits but I stopped using it and gave it to my mum who's got really thick hair.
HAND MAID
I never use hand sanitizer in Japan although I travel on the train everyday. I wash my hands when I get to work or before eating something. But when I was in England, somehow I felt the need of carrying hand sanitizer in my bag. I picked this one up instead of a normal boring one which doesn't have any scents. But this one's got the scent of Original Pink Fragrance which is a bit too strong for me especially before eating, that's why I barely used it during my stay.
Let me know how often do you use hand sanitizer like HAND MAID, do you use it in daily basis? Or do you use it occasionally when you travel or something?
It's February already! I'm so happy that winter is almost finished (in my head) and Spring will come very soon! In Japan Cherry Blossoms will start blooming from the end of March and that tells me that Spring has come. I can't wait for Spring, because it's my favourite season of the year! Anyway, because I didn't do Empties post in December, I have a quite few empty bottles here for you!
Caudalie Gentle Cleanser
This is such a nice cleanser! This milky formula which smells divine removes dirt and makeup on the skin really gently as the name claims. It leaves my skin soft and moisturized, it doesn't feel dry even 5 minutes after I've washed my face. It lasted pretty long as I only needed a tiny amount to wash my whole face. My favourite part of this cleanser was the scent, I cannot describe it well but it smells very clean and fresh. I totally recommend this cleanser if you're looking for cleansing milk. I also think it's more suitable for dry skin more than oily and combination skin.
Caudalie Cleansing Water
I got it for free when I purchased some Caudalie products on feelunique. It does the same thing as Bioderma does, but less effective. Bioderma removes makeup much more easily. With this cleansing water, I had to rub my eye areas with a cotton pad quite strongly, and that irritated my skin. It still didn't remove all my makeup off, which I don't mind too much because I wash my face with another cleanser afterwords anyway. It smells really nice just as the cleanser does, which makes me feel relaxed whenever I use it. I don't think I would purchase the full-sized one, just because I think Bioderma does better job.
HANA Organic Floral Drop (full review)
I'm not sure how long I took to finish this product. It's basically Rose Water with some essential oils in it. It smells absolutely fantastic and I love the concept behind their products. Their toner (this product) and moisturizer (here for the full review) are designed to use in the evening because it repairs your skin during sleep because that's when your skin barrier becomes weaker. It's pretty expensive and I don't think I would buy it (I received it as a PR sample a long time ago) just because I have other products to try out.
Aussie 3 Minutes Miracle Deep Treatment for Coloured Hair (full review)
I LOVED this product. I usually keep switching over my haircare products depending on my mood but I couldn't resist using this one every single day until I finished it completely. I enjoyed using this product so so so much and I'm hoping to get some bottles when I come to the U.K. next time (which is pretty soon actually!). I wasn't a big fan of the scent which was too peachy and artificial, but I loved how it made my hair so soft, smooth and voluminous. With this hair treatment I didn't have to worry about styling my hair at all. It's a magical product seriously! I don't care the fact it's packed with silicone and polymer, it worked really well on my hair.
Redken Scalp Relief Shampoo (full review)
This is another fabulous haircare products! When I was using this product, I didn't think it was anything special. Yes it did kill itchiness on my scalp but I thought that was because my scalp became less sensitive and calmer. But once I finished the first bottle, my scalp started itching again. I repurchased it from lookfantastic.com because somehow feelunique didn't allow me to buy it from Japan. Thank god lookfantastic did allow me to, otherwise I was going to have to live with my itchy scalp. Once I started using this product again, my scalp became calm again.
Tocca Laundry Delicate
It's not a beauty product but I had to include it here! Is it even popular in other countries? I believe it's from the U.S. but I've never seen anyone talking about this product outside of Japan. It's a laundry soap from the brand Tocca, and this small bottle costs 2500yen or so. I always buy it online so that it's much cheaper, but still it was 1300yen or something like that. The reason why I keep buying their laundry soap is because of the amazing scent. There are 4 different scents and my favourite is this "Florence" one. It smells like "In Love Again" perfume from YSL for me, and the scent isn't too strong but not too subtle. I don't use it to wash my clothes but my pillow cover, tights, underwear and my makeup brushes (I'm not sure if that's OK to do so but they're not animal bristles so should be OK). I use a tiny tiny amount at a time and this bottle lasts for more than 6 months. I already repurchased two bottles. One is Florence and another is Cleopatra. I will talk about them another day!
Caudalie Lip Conditioner (full review)
I have repurchased this product twice or three times already. It's moisturizing enough for my dry lips and I also like the subtle vanilla scent of it. I'm not going to repurchase this time just because I have EOS one which I've been enjoying using recently.
URIAGE Lip Balm
I got it from my local drugstore, it's pretty expensive (1,040yen) for a tiny lip balm but it really works. I'm sure I spent more than 20,000yen on this lip balm in the past because this was the ONLY lip balm which worked for me before I met Caudalie and then EOS. It's got a vanilla scent too which I like.
Aveda Invati Shampoo and Conditioner
These were just small samples I got when they launched this series in Japan. It's supposed to
refresh your scalp and remove the daily build ups, and I think it works OK. The formula is really loose and looks like curry, which was a little bit gross. But fortunately it smells of herbs so please don't worry, it doesn't smell of curry. I liked both shampoo and conditioner but am not going to purchase the full-size ones just because they're pretty expensive and I have better ones for cheaper prices.
iMPRIME Repair Method
I got the whole set of the range in small bottles as a PR sample. You wash your hair with normal shampoo, then pat it dry with a towel and spray the "Base 0" all over your hair. Then apply Repair method 1 which is in the red bottle, then apply Repair method 2 which has two different formula, one is called α which is in the green bottle and another is called β which is in the blue bottle. α is for a smooth finish, and β is for drier and more damaged hair. They all smell AMAZING, I loved the scent so much. It smells like a salon if that makes sense, I think it's grapefruit and some herbs which bring out this fresh scent. It really worked and made my hair silky and soft. I don't think I would purchase them ever because when I buy them in bigger bottles, it costs about 10,000yen in total. I simply cannot afford them, but I really really love the products.
I hope you enjoyed it! x
Aussie 3minute miracle colour deep treatment 4.99GBP
Seeing so many bloggers raving about Aussie made me really want to try their products out. But unfortunately we don't have Aussie here in Japan and the postage was always ridiculously expensive whenever I found a parallel importer. So I was very happy to receive it when my parents-in-law sent it to me from the U.K.!
I picked this one because my hair has been coloured for more than 10 years now, and is quite damaged. It's dry and gets tangled easily, and I realized that hair treatment without silicone doesn't work on my hair. I was aware that this hair treatment is packed with silicone and polymer which I usually avoid, but I just wanted to see what it was like.
It doesn't have a lid, instead it's got a hole at the bottom and you just squeeze the bottle to use. How lazy could they be! It's easy to use but sometimes it goes everywhere somehow, which is completely a waste. I would prefer normal bottle which has got a lid on.
A small amount spreads well on my hair. It smells of artificial Peach which must be intended to emphasize peach extract which is contained to prevent deterioration of hair. I am not a big fan of the smell but each range has different scent I guess and I'm curious which one smells the best.
It makes my hair voluminous and silky-smooth which is kind of addictive. I've been using this hair treatment nearly every day since I got it and now I'm running out of it. I thought silicone could weight down your hair especially when it's fine, but it did completely opposite to my hair. It's just amazing how it makes my hair look, whenever I use this product people compliment my hair. I am not sure if it prevents my hair colour to fade to be honest, but I don't care! I love this product so much that I would like to repurchase again when I finish this bottle. Maybe next time I would like to try a different scent though!
Aussie Take the Heat Leave-In Cream
I got this one because there was "2 Aussie products for 1" offer on the website I purchased them from. It may sound terrible to some of you but I wash my hair and blow dry every day. It's pretty normal to do so here in Japan but I realized that it's kind of like a taboo in some other countries. I don't blow dry my hair completely, I just try to dry my scalp and the root of my hair so that it doesn't look all flat. I don't use hair straightener or curling iron but still I wanted something to protect my hair from heat.
To tell you the conclusion first, it doesn't do anything to my hair. It's so greasy and sticky on my hands, just like a glue! When I apply it on my hair it doesn't feel sticky anymore but it doesn't do anything either. It smells OK, pretty floral and feminine which is better than the hair treatment, so I sometimes use it for the fragrant. I wouldn't repurchase it for sure and I don't recommend this product to anyone.
I haven't tried enough products to be able to judge whether I like Aussie or not as a brand, but I was really impressed by the hair treatment.
But one thing I would like to confirm somehow is that I heard some bloggers saying that they heard Aussie tests their products on animals. I am aware that the most beauty brands do test on animals and that's one of the biggest reasons why I like natural / organic beauty products because most of the time they don't test on animals. Aussie doesn't have the label saying they are against animal testing, so there is high possibility that they do so. Knowing that they definitely do so and continue using their products is against my wish so I wouldn't repurchase their products although I loved their hair treatment. Please let me know if you know anything about it, I might contact Aussie to ask what their policy is related to animal testing.
Do you like Aussie? Which products have you used?
Petal Fresh Organics Shampoo and Conditioner 1,260yen each
I had never heard of Petal Fresh Organics before and I couldn't find their official website in English although it's supposed to be an American brand, so I put the link of the Japanese website above. Petal Fresh Organics was launched in 2005 with the products without paraben and artificial colouring.
This is how this shampoo looks like. It's a clear gel-like formula which is easy to spread all over your scalp. As you can imagine from the packaging, it contains extracts of pomegranate and acai berry, which prevent your hair colour to be washed out. It smells just like bubble gum, which was surprising because I was expecting more natural, aromatherapy-kind of smell. It foams very well and doesn't make my hair squeaky.
This conditioner doesn't contain silicone but coats my hair well, though I need some silicone-contained leave-in conditioner before I blow my hair because this conditioner is a little bit too light for me and my hair gets tangled hard. I think my hair is too fair and damaged for silicone-free conditioner, I need really rich hair mask instead.
I definitely would keep using shampoo without silicone because why does shampoo need silicone even? Shampoo is something to cleanse your scalp mainly, which silicone has got nothing to do with, and washing your hair with silicone every day would clog your pores on your scalp. I really liked this shampoo mainly because of the sweet smell! I'm not sure if it really prevents my hair colour to be washed out but I will see how it goes as I just coloured my hair a few days ago!
Are you a big fan of organic haircare products?
LebeL IAU Hair Mask 2,900yen
I mentioned of the brand in my November Empties post here. I got the set of their shampoo, hair treatment and this intensive hair mask all in small bottles to try out as PR samples. I really liked all of them but I only bought this one after finishing the samples as it was most effective in my opinion. I got a voucher and ended up paying about 1,800yen for this big jar which isn't bad at all.
It's pretty thick and heavy so you are supposed to use it once or twice a week and that's enough. But my hair is pretty dry and damaged and it doesn't make a huge difference when I use it once a week, so I decided to use it every day until I feel my hair is kind of repaired.
It makes my hair smooth and silky -obviously because it contains silicone- but doesn't weight it down which is important when I choose hair mask. When I used it once a week, it didn't feel like that the moisturizing effect lasts more than a day because when I wash my hair it kind of resets the condition of my hair if you know what I mean. My hair dresser told me that I should use it every day until I feel it's enough, and I will know clearly when that time comes. When I used it a few days in a raw I felt my hair has changed! How impressive! Now I only use it twice a week and that feels enough.
Look how thick it looks! And my favourite thing about this hair mask is the scent. It smells of rose mainly but according to the website it contains fragrances of fresh green, cassis, prune,
geranium, carnation, amber and musk. It smells really clean and feminine, and it lasts so long. I love love love the scent so much that I want to get their shampoo as well! Right now I've got many big bottles of shampoo to use up but I'm sure I will get it when I finish some!
It's a very good hair mask overall, it does its job and smells so good. Love this product! Do you take extra care of your hair in this colder season?
It's already the middle of December but finally I took photos of my November empties and am able to write about them. I'm kind of surprised to see how many products I used up within a month. Before I started blogging about empties I barely finished a product in a month because I felt like wasting it by using it but then I realized that not using it was a waste. Now I'm trying to use as many products as I can to enjoy and experiment.
Caudalie Zeste De Vigne Shower Gel
I was sad to finish this product as it was my favourite shower gel. I liked the purple one more than this one but still this one was very nice. The scent of zesty citrus is refreshing and perfect for the morning shower!
Caudalie Beauty Elixir
This is my 2nd bottle including the smaller one. I nearly finished it about 2 months ago but I kept it for "emergency" which I finally finished up last month. This product is truly a rescue item for me and I will repurchase it when I finish lotion I'm currently using.
Redken All Soft Conditioner
I enjoyed this product very much as it really did make my hair soft and silky. I also liked the smell, I don't know how to describe the scent but it was something like coconut and fruits I guess. I still don't understand why they make shampoo in the bigger bottle than conditioner, they both should be in the same-sized bottles! I'm not sure if I would repurchase just because it didn't wow me. It is a very good product for sure but I would like to try out other products from Redken too.
Aveda all-sensitive moisturizer
I have talked about this product many times so I'm not going to go on and on about it here but I totally rely on this product! I cannot live without it as this is the key item which keeps my skin look good. I immediately opened my second bottle right after I finished the first bottle, and I'm hoping this one lasts another 3-4 months like the last one did so that I can repurchase when I go to England next time. It's not too thick so you can use it both in morning and night, but in this colder season I add thicker moisturizer on top to prevent dryness.
Mugwort Bath Essense
I got it as a present last year and used it when I really needed it as it's pretty expensive and I knew I wouldn't buy it myself. It's about 4,000yen for this 300ml bottle. It contains essential oils such as Eucalyptus, Chamomile, Chinese peony, Lavender and Geranium. It smells absolutely amazing, you cannot imagine how heavenly it is! You're supposed to put 20-30ml into the bathtub but I was being stingy and only put about 10ml at a time. It turns water milky white which is another good point about this product. It's such a good bath oil I strongly recommend to anyone who loves to relax in the bathtub.
pH Care Shower Fresh
I don't want to be awkward but I wanted to include this product here because I love this product and I already repurchased it! It's something like body soap to wash your delicate area. You're not supposed to use the normal body wash there because it kills the bacteria that your body actually needs. This special shower gel foams well, and it smells clean and fresh.
balance me pure skin face wash
I love love love this cleanser!! It removes makeup very easily and quickly, while leaving my skin so soft and moisturized. The consistency is unique, it's between gel and cream I guess, and it makes my face slippery while cleansing but once I rinse my face it doesn't leave any greasy feeling at all on my skin. It smells of grapefruits and frankincense which is absolutely amazing. I would love to buy the bigger size but it seems like lookfantastic is going to discontinue balance me and I cannot afford the postage to buy it from the official website. I'll buy it for sure next time I go to England!
IAU Cleansing Shampoo and Cream Melt Repair
IAU is a Japanese haircare brand which I didn't know until I received PR samples. Actually I finished using their deep moisturizing hair mask as well but I lost the bottle and I couldn't include it here. I liked them all especially the hair mask which I bought in the big jar. They all smell rosy and floral which is really good! Also this shampoo doesn't dry out my scalp which is very good as I've got quite sensitive scalp.
uka nail oil 7:15
Read my full review about this product here! It's the best nail oil I've ever used. It smells heavenly, it doesn't make my fingertips greasy at all, I can hold mouse or touch paper right after applying this oil on my nails. I's tiny but lasts 3-5 months depending on how often you use per day. I used at least 5 times a day and it lasted 5 months! It's not the cheapest product but it's worth the money. A very good product.
Skin Blossom Reviving Eye Cream
It's only 5 pounds but it did its job! It's a pretty thick cream but spreads well and moisturizes my skin. I got it from Planet Organic in Notting Hill in June and I finished at the beginning of November. I'm not going to repurchase it just because I want to try other eye cream out there but if you're on budget and looking for a good eye cream, I would recommend this one!
Hope you enjoyed!
When I went to London for the first time (well, which means when I went abroad for the first time) in June, so many things excited me. The first exciting thing for me was that everyone was speaking English. I know it sounds stupid but it was my dream come true as I had been studying English by myself for more than 10 years. The landscape amazed me, houses look totally different from Japan, I was so busy being excited. One of the most fun places to go was a supermarket and a drugstore. Everything looked different from Japan in there, and I was there looking around for more than an hour I guess. Anyway, cut the long story short, I thought it would be interesting for you all to see what Japanese drugstores look like. So that's the theme of today's post, a drugstore tour!
Japanese drugstore brands called MAJOLICA MAJORCA and Lavshuca. Majolica Majorca is more popular than Lavshuca I guess, I only have tried their mascara a long time ago.
Milky is one of the most famous candies in Japan. It's like a soft milk candy and it's described as "Mummy's taste (ママの味)" meaning it reminds you of your mum....well it sounds gross, does it mean it reminds you of your mum's milk? It's so weird if that's what they mean, why do we need to be reminded of that? Anyway, this is hand cream with Milky's scent.
Hair styling products.
And the shampoo and conditioner section.
Apparently Reveur is the best selling drugstore shampoo and conditioner at the moment. I've tried the green one at the left, and it smelled so nice but my scalp got itchy and I stopped using it.
This is the bath salts section. Bub (バブ) is one of the most famous bath bombs in Japan. I haven't used it for more than 20 years I think. They smells of chemical in my opinion. Japanese people generally love taking a bath so bath salts and bath soaks are essential.
You know what they are? Yes, masks! I know it looks weird for you all but we do wear them like crazy. I wear a mask every day as I don't want to catch a cold from a stranger in the packed train. I don't wear it in summer much just because it's too hot but it's definitely a winter essential.
It's the makeup section. This drugstore didn't have many makeup products though.
Some bodycare products called Happy Bath Day. I've never used it but I have tried it on the back of my hands before and it has a really girlie rose scent.
Sorry I didn't get to take more photos especially of the makeup products, this drugstore just didn't have a large selection. But hope it gave you an idea what the Japanese drugstores are like! Thanks for reading <3
Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment £4.90
I mentioned about this product in my October Favourites post, but I thought to write about it individually. I had seen this product being raved about for a while, and always wanted to try out but wasn't sure about purchasing the big bottle. So when I found this tiny bottle at feelunique, I didn't hesitate to buy it. It's in this tiny 10ml bottle which looks like a bottle of essential oil I'm pretty familiar with.
I mainly use it on my damp hair before blow-dry. It's called "oil" but the main ingredient is silicone, so I wouldn't recommend it if you are trying to avoid this particular ingredient. I don't like putting silicone on my scalp because it could clog up my pores that's why I never use a shampoo with it, but I need silicone on my hair especially in this season because my hair is pretty fine and it gets tangled terribly. I apply it on the tips of hair only otherwise it makes my hair look like it hasn't been washed for weeks. Ew.
I only need a drop of this oil to spread on the entire hair which is very good money-wise! It smells sweet and musky, at first I thought it smelled like a cologne that's often worn by old men. But the more I used it the more I got addictive to this scent. I wouldn't like it in summer in Japan which is wet and humid and so hot, but I like it in this cold season.
It does make my hair silky and soft with only one drop which is amazing. I even take it to work recently so that I can apply it on my hair when it gets dry and tangled. It's one of the best oils I've ever used for sure, and I might repurchase it when I run out of the current bottle. I strongly recommend this small-sized one to try out, and to carry around in your purse. I also heard that their hair treatment was very good too! Have you used any Macadamia products? Did you like them??
This is the time of the month to talk about empties again! In October I used up quite a lot of products considering the fact I am a slow-user. I am going through the products I used up quickly now!
Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner
Rahua is an american haircare brand which came to Japan at the end of last year I think. Their products are pretty expensive, these are 3900yen and 4200yen, and their hair oil which I don't own costs 18900yen for 30ml botttle. Ridiculous!
But trust me, this is the best harecare products I've ever used. They contain a plant oil called rahua oil and that seems to be the key ingredient. It makes my hair unbelievably soft and silky, like it's never been. They smell weird but I just don't care because the result is absolutely amazing.
I'm very sad that I've used them up. I was given them as PR samples from a Japanese company and just loved them so much but don't think I would spend about 8000yen on haircare products. Not that I don't want to but I can't! I strongly recommend rahua if you are interested, it's so amazing.
...Oh and I apologize for the dirty bottles, I washed them but wasn't able to make them crystal clear.
moemoe Spa Treatment
Can you believe this pair of small tubes costs about 1000yen? These are hair treatment tubes for an intensive haircare. They smell amazing, like fruity floral clean scent if that makes sense. You apply tube No.1 treatment mainly at the end of your hair after wash, then apply tube No.2 treatment on top, leave it for 5 minutes and rinse. It does make my hair soft and moisturized I guess but at the same time it makes my hair flat. I liked this product but I wouldn't buy it myself.
These are sent by Zanka from Zanka talks cosmetics, and it was fun to choose which one to use depending on my skin condition and mood!
The honey one was a peel-off facial mask which I had never experienced, and it smelled just like honey!! I was like "Oh my gosh it does smell like honey and I feel like I'm Winnie-the-Pooh!" It felt a bit tingly on my skin but didn't make my skin red or irritated. I think it contains pretty high level of alcohol and maybe that is why. I really enjoyed how it worked and the smell of course, and it made my skin feel clean.
The avocado one smelled lovely too. It didn't smell of avocado and I cannot describe the scent but I liked it very much. This one tingled my skin as well but again it didn't affect my skin. Maybe it was because this facial mask is supposed to stimulate my skin, I cannot tell if it did to be honest but I really liked the smell. And the packaging is so pretty!
Caudalie Grape Water
It only lasted less than a month I guess but I can't blame it as it's only a 75ml bottle which is tiny! I used it as lotion after washing my face every morning and night. It doesn't have any smell in it and it doesn't hydrate skin too much but it was a nice product. I think it's good for summer to carry it around to refresh.
L'OREAL Paris ELSEVE Damage Care Pro
It's hair treatment in a spray bottle which you use in the shower. Basically you spray this mainly at the end of your hair after wash and rinse it off. You don't have to wait for 5 minutes to rinse as the oil sinks in quickly. It smells amazing and it does work. I will miss this product.
Caudalie Lip Conditioner
This lipbalm is one of the best ones I've ever used. I love the subtle smell of vanilla, and the matte finish it gives, and of course the fact that it moisturizes my often-chapped-lips! It really works and I actually repurchased this item recently! I recommend this lipbalm to anyone who's suffering from chapped lips.
I am not sure if I would use up more products in November as I finished quite a lot of products in October, but I will write about my empties when I have enough products to talk about for sure!
Desert Essence Organic Shampoo Red Raspberry $8.99
Desert Essence Organics Conditioner Red Raspberry $8.99
I picked them up on Vitacost which I mentioned before, where you can buy American natural beauty products and supplements from. I wasn't particularly looking for haircare products at that point but these packaging caught my eyes. And also you may have noticed yet, I love scents and I cannot resist anything smells like raspberry and pear so I had to get these!
Desert Essence is an American beauty brand. Their products are made with natural and effective ingredients, which are suitable for vegetarian. They have skincare range, haircare range, bath&body care range, dentalcare range and baby range. I am interested in the hairecare and bath&body care range the most because they all seem to be smelling nice. Besides raspberry they have for example Tropical Coconut, Coconut Lime, Spicy Vanilla Chai, Sweet Almond, Pumpkin Spice, Italian Red Grape etc...
This is what the shampoo looks like. It's very loose and easy to spread all over my scalp and hair. It foams very well, so I only need about 2 tea spoons of the shampoo to wash my long hair. Many organic shampoos such as John Master's Organic don't foam much and that makes it really hard to wash long hair like mine, it all gets tangled and the shampoo runs out quickly although those types of shampoos are pretty expensive. With this shampoo, you don't have to worry about it at all.
Also it's got such a sweet, fresh and natural raspberry scent which is very nice. I LOVE the smell so much that I want to drink it which I won't!
Conditioner smells a bit sweeter somehow. It also smells really good, like a sweet raspberry candy! As the shampoo doesn't contain silicone it makes my long and fine hair tangled but once I apply this conditioner which is silicone free as well, it makes my hair silky immediately.
The scent lasts quite long, not in the same way as it does in the shower but I still can smell it when I blow my hair. I think the combination of this shampoo and conditioner is still too light for me as my hair get tangled really easily after using the pair.
But still I really like these products including the packaging and smell, I absolutely enjoy using them in the shower! I think I would try another scent next time I order some products from Vitacost!
Redken Scalp Relief Dandruff Control Shampoo
Redken All Soft Conditioner
As we don't have Redken here in Japan, I didn't know about the brand at all until I've read a blog post or watched a video or something a few months ago. It didn't catch my attention by its looks or opinions by bloggers, but I found their Scalp Relief Shampoo on feelunique when I was looking for a good shampoo which doesn't irritate my scalp. I did a little research about it and read some reviews, and found out that people who had a sensitive scalp loved this product. So I decided to give it a try! To pair with this shampoo, I picked the best selling conditioner.
I was a bit surprised to see this white liquid as I didn't expect anything like this! It looks like a paint or something, a very unusual look for Shampoo.
It's recommended to apply on your dry scalp, massage into it and leave it for 5 minutes, then add warm water and wash your hair like you normally do. I tried this way but it didn't work for me. It made my scalp greasy somehow although usually it's very dry. Maybe it means it worked because my scalp was no longer dry but it shouldn't make it greasy either...right?
So now I rinse my hair with warm water first, then wash my hair with this shampoo. I think it does work, because since I started using this shampoo my scalp has calmed down. Before I had a serious problem with my scalp, sometimes it didn't let me sleep because of itching!
It smells minty and herbal which I am not a big fan of, but it doesn't leave any scent on my hair so it doesn't matter.
Then let's move on to this conditioner which I am in love with. This is definitely one of the best conditioner I've ever used. It makes my hair so soft as it claims. I cannot imagine how soft my hair would be when I use this conditioner paring with all soft shampoo!
It smells like coconut to me, although some people say it smells peachy and fruity. Is it my nose...? Again it doesn't leave a scent on my hair much, which is a shame because I like this smell. My mum has really stiff hair which is opposite to me, and she noticed the huge difference on her hair after she used this conditioner. She loves it and would like to repurchase it once we run out of it.
I really like Redken, it's not too pricey but does its job. Do you like Redken? What's your favourite item of it? :)
Caudalie Divine Oil 25 GBP
I first got to know about this oil on essiebutton and ghostparties, two of the most famous beauty blogs. Both Estee and Kate said they loved the oil, and from what they said about it I knew I would love this oil. But I hesitated to buy it because it was pricey, but luckily I was able to get a few pounds discount on lookfantastic.com somehow.
I put the link of the product page on feelunique above because lookfantastic didn't have the same discount offer anymore, and I personally like feelunique more than lookfantastic because they are quicker to ship the products than another.
On feelunique it says..." Caudalie Divine Oil offers everything you need to make your skin
positively exquisite. This multi-use miracle oil is also great for your
hair, your nails, your bath and massages", basically you can use it on every part of your body. I remember Kate from ghostparties mentioned that she was using this oil on her face as well.
First of all, I love the packaging. How classy and beautiful is this bottle!! And I love the idea that it's in a spray bottle because it's obviously much easier to apply on your hair and body. Although the spray is quite direct, I think it's because the oil is heavy so it cannot be misty.
It contains grape oil, extra virgin argan oil, extra virgin hibiscus oil, sesame oil and shea butter to moisturize your skin.
I spray this oil on my arms and legs to prevent dry skin, and on the tip of my hair before blow-drying. It really does make my skin so soft and smooth, and smells AMAZING. I cannot even describe the scent, but according to feelunique this smells is the blend of moroccan rose, bulgarian rose, grapefruit, pink pepper, whilst cedar, vanilla and white mask. It does smell floral for sure but the base with vanilla and white mask is making this scent very mature and sophisticated, instead of a simple floral scent.
I'm addicted to this product now, I just cannot leave my house without smelling of this oil! Unfortunately the scent doesn't last long, and the bottle is too heavy and big to carry around. I wish they had a smaller size so that I can put it in my bag and reapply it during daytime. It prevents dry skin very well without making my skin greasy or oily. I think I've been using this for about 2 weeks now and my skin hasn't been in a better state.
I strongly recommend this oil if you're looking for a body oil. I'm not a big fan of floral and vanilla scents to be honest but this one is totally different from all the scent I'd known before!
Have you ever used this product? What did you think?
