Review: JĀSÖN Moisturizing 84% Aloe Vera Conditioner

I will completely admit that I don't worry about conditioner as much any more. Since switching to Pure Clean that is the one item in my routine that is never out of stock. The shampoos that I use are generally missing but the conditioner? Not once in the year that I switched has it ever been missing so as a result, I don't try out very many alternatives. When one of my housemates was cleaning up though, he came across this full bottle in his stash so he handed it to me. 

That was a while ago... I needed to get through the previous conditioner first. So now it's been a few weeks since I switched over and let's start by not knowing how old this conditioner is. The reason why I say that is because it seemed a bit chunky at first, but I shook the bottle up and while it's a bit hard to get out of the bottle cap, the texture is fine. My assumption is that given the nature of this type of conditioner, it may have separated a bit.

What is this type of conditioner? It's one that is formulated without parabens, SLS, or phthalates. It also looks that it doesn't have any cones either (but it does have proteins). The conditioner itself relies on the aloe vera so the scent itself follows the predominant ingredient. 

All of that aside, I actually love the wonders cast on my hair as a result of this conditioner. I waited a while before I posted simply because my shampoo regime was up in the air for a bit but since I'm back to my shampoo staples, I could finally properly give this conditioner the review it needed. The thing I love is that my hair has been it's bouncy and wurly self. It hasn't been weighed down and it just feels fantastic.

The one thing that drives me nuts is that if I'm out of conditioner, I can't just run into my local drugstore to grab it. I am seriously considering the addition of this conditioner to my permanent hair care routine because my hair has been so happy with it. (As a result, I want to try the shampoos out now). This has definitely been a great item that I'm glad my housemate felt like giving up. :)

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Product: JĀSÖN Moisturizing 84% Aloe Vera Conditioner
Price: $8.97
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: A great lightweight conditioner that has made my hair felt incredibly soft, bouncy, and thus allowing the wurls to really take shape. Overall a great conditioner that I have no complaints about. 

Some Samples from Kara's Way

Items were received by Kara's Way complimentary.

Kara's Way was kind enough to provide a few samples for my consideration and these happen to be some of my favourite types. It should come as no surprise that I love soaps and hair care is something that I am quite discerning about. As these were provided complimentary, I know that some of them appeared in previous boxes that have already gone out.

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Aubrey Organics
Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Shampoo & Blue Camomile Hydrating Conditioner

First up is the Honeysuckle Rose shampoo which is free of sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens or petrochemicals. Which basically means that there is minimal lather. The scent took me by surprise (I'm not sure what I was expecting) but it was wonderfully light and refreshing. It was easy to work with in terms of being able to wash it out quickly.

I followed up immediately with the Blue Chamomile conditioner and that also had a very surprising scent which was also quite lovely. The conditioner was creamy and while a bit on the liquid like side, it just made it easier to work with. The two combined smelled fantastic.

After my hair dried I noticed that quite few curls came in which is slightly unusual but very welcomed. My hair seemed to be enthralled by this new combination. Grant it those curls slowly dropped to wurls throughout the day but the fact that my hair even started on a happier note was wonderfully unexpected. Now all I have to do is find it at my local stores.

Price: $10.48 each for 11 oz.
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: Great unexpected results for a first go. My hair was softer and bouncier which was great plus it has a great light scent that almost feels like it sticks with you throughout the day.


Fundamental Earth
Fundamental Shampoo (For All Hair Types) and Fundamental Conditioner (Normal to Dry)

I will completely admit that this one somewhat took me by surprise. I hadn't heard about this company before so while I did have a little bit of skepticism, I overlooked it. What I mean is that I frequent a lot of hair forums and weirdly enough this one never came up. On the day that I tested it for the first time, Nicole (at Spialelo) asked me if I had any recommendations for a shampoo and conditioner that was free of sulfates, silicones, and protein. Admittedly protein had never been anything that I was cognizant about so the first thing I did was check the products I had been using lately.

Of the many I have been using and/or recently tested the only ones to pass that test was Disney Baby Daily Renewal Naturals Baby Shampoo (check out the review here) and Fundamental Earth. Incidentally 100% Pure and Terressentials Organic hair care also seems to fit the bill (but I haven't tested these out). In general though, it seems that finding a protein free haircare item that is also free of sulfates and silicones is pretty tough.

Moving back to Fundamental Earth, the ingredient list is paired down which makes for a simplistic blend that hopefully couldn't go wrong. And it didn't. The shampoo had a lot of different scents such as ginger extract, honey, lavender oil, lemongrass oil, rosemary oil, etc. The one scent that really came out though was the rosemary. It worked much like any other shampoo and had a great lather. As one could imagine, it was therefore really easy to wash out.

The conditioner is somewhat similar when it comes to the ingredient list (by what black magic does this happen?!) which means it's also quite simplistic. This one has hops extract, balm mint extract, honey, Moroccan argan oil, chamomile extract, lemongrass oil, etc. It looks and feels exactly like any other conditioner that I've used but the added bonus is that with the argan oil already in there, I don't have to follow up later with a leave in. Okay, maybe that's not really a good perk to focus on, but honestly, the chamomile scent was refreshing when I used it the first time. My hair was soft and bouncy and overall seems quite happy with this one.

Price: $16 for the shampoo (12 oz) and $17 for the conditioner (12 oz).
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: Definitely a great shampoo and conditioner combination; I'm even more impressed by this one since it fit all of Nicole's criteria (being free of sulfates, silicones, and protein). My hair loved this a lot and this will definitely enter the standard rotation of hair care.


Coastal Scents African Black Soap

As I already mentioned, African black soap was something I grew up with -- specifically Nubian Heritage African Black Soap. I haven't really been able to find it in local stores since I moved out to the West Coast which is why my usage of it dwindled. I received two samples of this soap from Kara's Way so I feel as though was ample to work with in order to provide a review of the long missed black soap. So wait, a step back for anyone who isn't familiar with black soap... what is it?

Black soap, or rather this particular blend of black soap is made with coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa pod ash, and palm kernel oil. The soap itself is great for trouble skin (such as eczema), reducing blemishes and the appearance of fine lines, and evening out dark spots. It also offers light exfoliation so at the end of the day what really works for me is that it provides moisture back to my skin (via the shea butter) and provides light exfoliation which is great for my dry skin without overdoing it.

A note from Coastal Scents is that they do say that you shouldn't use this directly on your skin and you should use a wash cloth or sponge. I didn't know that at the time so I used it directly on my skin and didn't have any issues. With that being said, if I did order a full sized bar (16 oz) then I'd likely follow their directions.

Price: 79¢ for a sample and $12.95 for a full bar.
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: Another win for dry skin but this one is a bit different given the slight exfoliation present in this bar. Black soap is a long time favourite of mine and I'd definitely recommend their blend especially given the cocoa butter element.

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This product was featured in the December Kara's Way box and was given to me complimentary for my evaluation.

On Travelling: Lite Camping

I'm actually kind of surprised that I haven't broken down and done the ultimate "travel" post. Well, I'm not that surprised, truth be told I'm wordy and sometimes lazy about taking photographs (especially since I can't edit them and my camera is quite unrully). During my hiatus, I went on a short camping trip and thought to myself that I really ought to write about the experience (especially since it was a lite camping trip) but I wanted to go over some basics that I took with me.

Well, for starters, let me give you a quick run down of the "camping" trip -- it was actually for a Beer and BBQ Festival (I'm setting a tone here), and we camped out for two nights. The campsite came equipped with showers, bathrooms (well, portable toilets), and firewood. Basically this meant that we didn't have to do much heavy lifting -- but because we do share the space with a lot of other people, that did mean that there were certain things that we had to walk with, I'm not going to get into the long list of it, but the items that are worth taking a gander at are below.

Warning: I didn't wear any makeup on this trip because that just would have been silly on my behalf. I did walk with my usual stuff (like deodorant, a toothbrush, and toothpaste).

First things first is the nesting wine glass ($7.50). You can judge me all you want but if you're the only one on the campsite with one, then no one is going to try to take your drink. (This holds especially true when the other wine drinker has a GoVino glass ($3) so there's no confusing the two.)

Jokes aside though, soap, bug spray, and sunscreen are essentials. For the trip I grabbed a tube of the Banana Boat Natural Reflect with SPF 50 (~$10) that was oil and paraben free. I'm not a huge sunscreen fan in general but it's something you've got to do when you're exposed to the sun for a long period of time. I found that I had to reapply it twice (which I was supposed to do) and while I didn't quite like the feel of it, I did like the comfort of knowing it was doing it's job.

I didn't use the bug spray much since insects tend to flee from me but the other campers that I was with found the Cutter Skinsations Insect Repellent to be wonderfully helpful. I always walk with a bottle when I go camping for my friends and so far, no complaints about this one.

Soap is soap and generally I'd toss in a bar of Ivory and call it a day. I did figure though that I should walk with a bar that offered some type of exfoliation though. I grabbed this bar of Yardley of London Scrub & Smooth Bath Bar Sea Minerals which smells like bergamot and lime and is 100% vegetable soap. The bar of soap retails for ~$3 and if you've got several campers and a shower, this will come in handy.

Time to break down what's in that handy makeup bag though. That bag is my camping "makeup" bag and I use that term lightly because there's no actual makeup in there but it is a bag of necessary items. A lot of these items were actually samples, which makes it easy to pull them together and toss into another bag.

• Hand Sanitizer (while we did have a lot of water and wet wipes available, we also ended up doing a lot of cooking. This is great if you're handling meats or just any kind of food.) I grabbed a generic brand that cost about a dollar. 
• Floss and/or flossers. I keep a small spool of floss in the bag but in my other makeup bag (that's in my purse) I keep flossers. Flossers are great for on the go and keep a small spool as a backup (or to share) is just nifty and very useful. 
• Extra elastic hair bands -- I admit, that with short hair, I don't use these much and even last year when I had this bag with long hair, I ended up just putting my hair in a bun and keeping it steady with a pencil. Nonetheless, it's good to have them around.
• Small bottle of lotion. Now I did walk with my purse's makeup bag and in there I keep two other small bottles of lotion as well. I tossed in this one in as extra in case anyone needed it. You should definitely have on around especially if you suffer from dry skin (which is why I keep at least two bottles around).
• Shampoo and/or conditioner. You may not really need this but if you end up with a lot of haircare samples, it doesn't hurt to toss or two of them into a makeup bag especially since they don't take up much space.
• Toothpaste (not pictured is the travel toothbrush). Here's where my makeup bags combine to form a super hygienic pack. My everyday bag has a travel toothbrush (so as long as I have my purse, I can brush my teeth anywhere) but I tend to not carry toothpaste in that one since I'm usually at a friend's place where I'd have to use it. 
• Lancome Bienfait Multi-Vital with SPF 30. Well, this was tossed in by my mother (yep, seriously) who is a huge fan of Lancome and demands that I travel with the face cream because it has SPF in it (and in that way, I don't have to slather sunscreen on my face). Admittedly, this is one thing I really love travelling with especially since the other face creams I have either don't have SPF or it's very low. 
• Neutrogena Ultra Sheer SPF 70. Another sample and I'm not sure that this is something I'd actively seek it (because I walk with two items that pretty much cover this area). 

I know I have a Lancome primer in the picture but that shouldn't have been in the bag. I've removed it so no need to put it on the list.

I'm prepping for another trip soon so there shall be more in the series to come!

Review: Miss Jessie's Crème de la Curl Shampoo and Conditioner

Even though I got my samples for the shampoo, conditioner, and styling lotion first, my friend gave me the Miss Jessie's Quick Curls, which I've been using with much satisfaction (and just overall happiness) so far. (You can read the review for the Quick Curls here). So that made me very excited about using the Crème de la Curl samples. (Just so you know, you can order free samples from Miss Jessie's website.)

I finally got the chance to break them out and use them. I know you can barely see the shampoo packet in this picture but I pretty much used that up right away so it's on the right and it's deflated. The shampoo and conditioners are 1 Oz. each.

The shampoo out of the packet was an interesting texture. I remember thinking that it was a lot like meringue. Very light and fluffy but still... stiff? I wasn't sure how to describe it when I was holding it and I'm still not sure now. The shampoo does not lather so it was a bit interesting to use the first time. I ended up wasting a bit of product (accident, I swear) because it was slightly challenging to get out of the packet. I liked the feel and the scent to it though as it was very light and fresh.

The conditioner was like any other conditioner in terms of texture and worked the exact same. But it did have more of a chemical scent to it. It seemed really creamy and heavy which worried me a bit. If you recall, I have waves which lean toward wurls at times. If I add something that it too heavy, it will weigh down my wurls and make my appear lifeless.

Well, my suspicions were right. My hair was a bit on the lifeless side. My hair on a normal basis is actually a bit more wavier than it appears in both pictures. These pictures are of day two by the way -- my hair gets wavier on day two and trust me, day one wasn't good.

This made me a bit sad since it didn't work out but since I have such success with the curling lotion, I'm looking forward to the last sample that I have since I'll need to pass on this one.

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Product: Miss Jessie's Crème de la Curl Shampoo and Conditioner
Price: $16 per bottle.
Would Recommend? No.
Takeaway: It drowned my waves. :( This is probably not the best product if you have wavy hair but it might work out better for curly hair.

Review: Renpure Organics Shampoo & Conditioner

Last month I wrote about Renpure Organics My Hair is Pretty Parched! and it was quite positive. I found myself not really have to use much of my argan oil in order to add back in moisture to my parched hair. The bottles, being a bit on the small side and my hair being the long side meant that I ran out of it a little while ago. I've now been using the "I Love My Hair!" which I admit, is probably not the best for my hair. As the names suggest, the former (My Hair is Pretty Parched!) is for moisturizing and the latter (I Love My Hair!) is for shine.

As with the other two, the consistency of both the shampoo and conditioner were just right. Sometimes when you get these types of hair care products (No parabens, sulfates, gluten, phthalates, or propylene glycol), the consistencies tend to be a bit weird. (Not all the time, but this has been my experience as of late).  The scent was also light and a bit on the floral side so it was very pleasing to me.

But how did it hold up? Well, my hair did get quite shiny which is exactly what these bottles boast. They delivered and for that, I am quite happy. Problem being that my hair requires... no demands extra moisturizers which is not something these two can deliver. As a result I had to use a lot of argan oil in order to balance my hair out.

Does that mean I'd recommend against them? Absolutely not. If you're looking for shine, it's all right there. But do not expect a moisturizer as well. Expect to use some extra oil (doesn't have to be argan, it could be coconut) in order to balance it out. It's definitely worth it but just not a "please all" kind of product.

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Product: Renpure Organics I Love My Hair! Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner
Price: $6.99 each
Would Recommend? Sort of.
Takeaway: Fantastic for shine but if your hair requires more than shine then expect to pair it with another product that delivers (such as moisturizer, which was my case).

Review: Renpure Organics Shampoo & Conditioner

It's been just about a month now that I've been using this shampoo and conditioner duo and it is just about time that it adjusts to it or... well, there is no other option. Sadly, coming off from vacation, my hair has not revisited that bouncy look from before (while on vacation, my hair curled up and remained bouncy, something it has been unable to achieve without the high levels of humidity). So regardless of just how paraben and sulfate free a shampoo and/or conditioner is, my hair remains slightly lifeless. But this is not a comparison of the days of yore in regard to my hair. Let's be on with it.

I grabbed the "My Hair is Pretty Parched!" and the "I Love My Hair!" duo since they were on sale. I've been using the "My Hair is Pretty Parched!" for the last four weeks (vacation excluded, so I was using this prior to vacation).

The bright side for anyone who is conscious about what's in the bottle: NO parabens, sulfates, gluten, phthalates, or propylene glycol. Grant it the last three have never really struck me as label worthy, the exclusion of the first two (parabens and sulfates) made me happy. Either way, I do enjoy indulging in the idea that "less is more." So the verdict?

Well, my hair has had no real changes. It remains shiny, a bit on the bouncy side but the waves are still demure. Overall, that means that the product works well for me! I know it doesn't sound like much, but I've been trying to stick with sulfate and paraben free shampoos and conditioners and I know what to expect. I anticipated that if it worked well then there would be no real changes to my hair. And I was right. 

The scent is light and flowery and the consistency of both of them are what you'd expect. (If you read my review of the original sulfate and paraben free Organix Moroccan Argan Oil shampoo and conditioner, you will note that the consistency of both of them were kind of weird). The consistencies of Renpure are normal so you get to work up a nice lather to the shampoo and the conditioner stayed on my hair without falling off in odd clumps. 

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Product: Renpure Organics My Pretty Hair is Parched! Moisturizing Shampoo
Price: $6.99
Would Recommend? Yes
Takeaway: Light scent that smells good, works well. Normal consistency so... yeah, no complaints here.

Product: Renpure Organics My Pretty Hair is Parched! Moisturizing Conditioner
Price: $6.99
Would Recommend? Yes
Takeaway: Same as above. :)

The Wonders of Kauai

Last week my boyfriend and I went to Kauai for a week -- it was a great week filled with a lot of sunshine, warm weather, and relaxation. Naturally during this vacation makeup was something that was kind of important to me, but not really. Especially since I forgot that what works here in San Francisco, does not work in the humid and warm climate of Kauai. While reminiscent of a New York City summer, it reminded me that my choice of makeup did not bode well. So here's the breakdown.

The things I brought along with me: My entire makeup bag which included my Alba Hawaiian Jasmine and Vitamin E moisturizer and new Cover FX makeup (the pressed mineral powder and the setting powder). I also tossed in a few of my e.l.f. Studio brushes.

The one thing left behind: Milk of Magnesia.

New Items: Garnier Fructis Pure Clean (Shampoo and Conditioner) and lots of generic rice paper (oil-blotting tissues).

We arrived early Sunday morning and since I wasn't particularly in the mood to worry about makeup when we checked in, I decided to go natural for the rest of the day. The next day however I did wear makeup and thus paid dearly for that. My face became quite the oil slick and I had to rely heavily on my e.l.f. Shine Erasers throughout the day. I was averaging about 3 sheets every hour between 11 AM to 3 PM so we had to stop into Longs Drugs to get me some more oil blotting sheets. 

Needless to say that the following day (Tuesday) and for the rest of the week I decided to go completely makeup free. I do suspect that the culprit was the moisturizing cream because as I mentioned, the weather and humidity was very similar to NYC during the summer. Which meant that I was supposed to switch moisturizers. The Jasmine and Vitamin E blend is fantastic for the winter however during the summer the Aloe and Green Tea Oil is actually much better and assists in controlling the oils. Since moving to SF I haven't had the need to switch moisturizers between the seasons so I didn't have the appropriate moisturizer for Hawaii. 

But to be honest, I actually did enjoy having the chance to go completely makeup free for my vacation. I did rely very heavily on the oil-blotting tissues but overall my skin held up well considering the factors. There was a point in time where I almost bought another bottle of Milk of Magnesia, but I figured that with the high temperatures, I didn't really want to be bothered with makeup. I bought two more packs of oil-blotting tissues instead and hoped for the best. Sure I grumbled a bit given the maximum shine that was added to my face but it was a nice change. It was kind of sad though that the makeup I bought specifically for this trip did not hold up. But I am happy to say that it does hold up well here in SF.

While I'm on topic about the Wonders of Kauai, let's touch upon hair care. I did walk with a small bottle of Argan Oil which I amazingly didn't have to use (not even once!). One of the first stops that we made was at Walmart so that we could pick up some essentials -- such as, but not limited to, hair care. We grabbed a bottle of the Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Fortifying Shampoo and the Fortifying Conditioner. I don't think I can properly convey how happy my curls were. This particular line (Pure Clean) has no parabens, no silicones, and no dyes, which meant that my hair was not weighed down. And given the climate, my hair was even curlier than normal and there wasn't a build up. At no point did my hair feel oily and/or greasy which is amazing for my hair. I have no idea what the change in climate will mean for how it holds up in the long-term but that is definitely something that I will touch upon in the future.

Makeup aside, do remember to get yourself
awesome souvenirs.

So if you're traveling, don't forget that weather and humidity are going to factor into your makeup and haircare. Be prepared for some sudden changes, especially if the destination you're going to doesn't have a Sephora or similar makeup store.

Review: Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Haircare

Important Note: As of February (2012) I noticed that new bottles for the conditioner don't explicitly say that they are sulfate and paraben free. I checked the website and it says that they are still sulfate and paraben free but you may want to conduct some research into that.

Something I enjoy doing is switching up my haircare products; whatever I'm using at home will sure enough not be what I'm using at my boyfriend's place. When I decided that I needed to switch back to something that was sulfate free, I decided to go with Organix's Moroccan Argan Oil line. I grabbed the shampoo and conditioner a few months ago and I'm happy to say that it's become a staple. There are a few things that I do need to mention about that though.

I adore argan oil and enjoy it's benefits. It adds shine to my hair and since I use it primarily on my ends, it keeps the ends hydrated and manageable. Sure, I still have to deal with the split ends (thanks to having wavy hair, so it's naturally a bit dry) but overall argan oil makes it a little bit easier. This is why of the vast collection that Organix has, I opted for the Moroccan Argan Oil.

For the shampoo, it is a weird texture and consistency. Seriously it comes out in weird blobs but it has a nice fragrance and more importantly, it's strange appearance does not effect how it works. There's a great lather and overall my scalp is happy with this shampoo. 

For the conditioner, the texture is just fine, but the consistency is a bit watery so it's harder to get it onto my ends in time. Even when I'm putting it into my hair, I have a slight problem making sure it doesn't fall through my hands or just slip off of my hair. It's not the most moisturizing conditioner I have encountered but it doesn't build up either so in the months that I've been using it, my hair has been happy. The waves of my locks have been bouncy and shiny -- a bit more split ends but overall good.

So I know if you've read through this, you might be a little bit concerned, after all it seems to warrant a "meh" experience. But it's all a matter of what you're looking for. See, I can trim the ends to get rid of the unsightly split ends, and I can deal with weird textures and consistencies if my hair is happy after it all. And it is. As I've mentioned, my hair has felt lighter, has more of a curl and a bounce to it. It doesn't feel weighed down so when it came time to buy a new shampoo and conditioner, I reached for these two. (Well, at least for restocking at my boyfriend's place. I'm actually using a different shampoo and conditioner at home, which I will post a review for later).

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Product: Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo
Price: $7.99-$9
Would Recommend? Yes
Takeaway: Weird texture and consistency but it performs its task well.

Product: Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Conditioner
Price: $7.99-$9
Would Recommend? Yes, with caution though.
Takeaway: Watery consistency which makes it a bit more difficult to pile on. Is not highly moisturizing but manages to leave a fair amount of argan oil behind which gives a nice sheen.

Takeaway for both: They work well with one another but if you're looking for a moisturizing combination, this isn't it. It is lightweight so it won't weigh down your hair, which will give it a nice curl and bounce as well as a nice shine though.