Garnier – Fructis Color Shield Series

So, the summer is ending and my hair is dry and brittle. I’ve always had coloured hair for really long time. I think I started when I was 17 or so. In the summer, it was really bad because the sun would metaphorically burn the colour of my hair out. But I didn’t know all this until recently. I just thought I have really bad hair. One day I was talking to my hair stylist about how dry my hair is, and he told me “you need heat protection for your hair! The sun damages your skin, why wouldn’t it damage your hair?” and I was like “WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT BEFORE??”.

So that’s how I started using heat protection for my hair and I’ve used several different brands from drug store to high end brands. Never really settled for one but recently I received Garnier Fructis #ColorShild haircare series to test out from Influenster. I was really happy to see this because I really needed new haircare products at the moment.

As much as I love to keep the colour of my hair because it just makes me feel fresh to have my hair colour really stand out. (my hair is died pitch black right now!) I think it’s really hard to keep the colour in my hair because I blow dry everyday, and use hair iron sometimes. On top of that, the sun in Vancouver has been CRAZY this summer.

So I’ve been trying out the series for about a week now and GURL, I’m impressed! Let me be honest with you, I am not a big fun of Fructis. I used them back when I was in high school and it made my hair really dry. But this time, my hair was nice and smooth! It’s definitely not the most rich moisturizing hair product, but it just gives my hair enough moisture so it’s nice and silky. I think it’ll work for people with oily hair too.

My favourite out of 3 I have recived is the hair spray. I use it before going out in the sun and it just keeps my hair nice and smooth all day! (and it’s not greasy). I will give them my “Shield of Approval” for sure! LOL

Pros:

• Moisturizing without being too heavy
• Inexpensive
• Nice scent
• Variety of products

Cons:

• May not work for severely damaged hair
• Packaging looks bit cheap (sorry!)

My Final Rating: 4/5

Crabtree & Evelyn – Rosewater Body Cream Review

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I received this body cream as early Christmas gift from my mother-in-law. I am a big fan of this brand’s Rosewater hand cream. I’ve repurchased it so many times. Yet I’ve never tried their body cream, so I was pretty happy when I received it. I’ve seen their body cream in store before and I recall it was in a round shaped plastic jar, but I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box and found this nice glass jar. I mean glass jars are heavy, easy to break, and difficult to carry around. But I usually don’t take the whole jar with me when I travel so it doesn’t matter. I like how it feels high quality and I think glass jars are more sanitary for some reason.

I used it for about 1 week now and I really like this body cream. First of all, I love rose scented products and Crabtree & Evelyn makes most amazing rose scented body care products in my opinion. So if you’re like me, it’s worth a try to check them out in store. (but even if you don’t like rose, they carry a variety of other scents!) The texture of the body cream is rich and thick, but it’s not sticky when massaged onto skin. My skin is nice and moisturized without feeling greasy. However, it is not the most moisturizing body cream so if you have very dry skin, this may not be the best body cream for you. For me, I like how light it feels after it’s absorbed and cloth won’t stick to my skin.

Pros:

• Amazing rose scent
• Moisturizing without being too heavy
• Pretty packaging

Cons:

• May not be easily avalable
• Not suitable for extremely dry skin/weather
• Expensive for body cream (CA$36 for 200g)

My Final Rating: 4/5

Loose Button Luxe Box Winter 2012 Canadian Edition

Sorry for not posting for a long time. I had my baby on November 25th and have been VERY busy since. Anyhow, I received my Winter Luxe Box today and thought it will be nice to share with you guys. Here is the photo of all the products. (Sorry about low quality photo)

I am pretty happy and excited about this box. As you can see, there are a couple of full size products and some decent sized samples. Here are some close-up photos of the products I received.

1. Kerastase – Cristalliste Lumiere Liquid
2. Essie – Nail Lacquer in She’s Pampered (Full Size)
3. B. Kamins Laboratories – Day Lotion SPF 15
4. Dermalogica – Precleanse
5. Tatcha – Original Aburatorigami (Full Size)
6. Schwarzkopf Professional – Dust It (Full Size)
7. Donna Karan – Woman
8. Loose Button – Kabuki Brush (Full Size)

(On the product list card, there are some products marked as “Rare Sample”. I wonder what that means…)

So this month, I am pretty sure it’s worth more than CA$26 that I paid. Kerastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquid and Schwarzkopf Dust It were 2 products I got to pick from “First in Line” feature. I’ve used Dust It before so I know I like it. (and it’s a full size product!)

I’m happy with the skincare products I got. I am almost out of my day lotion so it’s perfect I get to try B. Kamins Day Lotion. I’m interested in the brand but never got around to try their products. Also, Dermalogica is one of my favourite skincare brand but I’ve never used their Precleanse before. So I’m excited to try new product from the brand.

The blotting paper has nice package design and is always nice to have some extra, but it’s not something I’m excited about. The Essie nail polish is nice too but I’m not a huge fan of red nail polishes. But it is holiday season and I will at least wear it several time so it’s still nice. I am not so excited about Donna Karan Woman perfume because I already sent a email request for fragrance-free box and they got back to me saying it’s noted in their system. Yet I still receive this perfume sample. I mean it is a very nice sample and the bottle looks very pretty but I am not in love with the scent and it will just end up being a decoration.

Last but not least, the Kabuki Brush is really nice!  It has longer hair, shorter handle, is less round in shape, and less dense when compared to my MAC Kabuki (182 Buffer Brush), but it is still a very good quality brush. I will definitely use it with loose powders and mineral foundations.

overall, I am quite pleased with this winter edition; however, I already cancelled my subscription so I will not be receiving any more of Luxe Boxes in the future. I like Luxe Box in general, but I feel like monthly boxes are still more exciting than seasonal boxes.

Are you subscribed to Luxe Box? Let me know what you think of the winter Luxe Box in comment section!