hair care – Literary and Lovely

Bumble and bumble Shampoos

May 16, 2016January 3, 2017by Literary and Lovely3 Comments

Good morning all!!!

I realized the other day that I have not done a review post in far too long and, with the perfect outdoor lighting for photographs, I thought I would finally post about the Bumble and Bumble shampoos that I have been loving for the past few months.

Before I get into my thoughts on the three Bumble and bumble shampoos that I have been using, I wanted to write a little bit about the brand itself. Bumble and bumble was founded as a New York City salon in 1977 by Michael Gordon. The brand has become renowned for its hair salons, design school and amazing lines of stylist-inspired, editorial-quality products. My one complaint about the brand is that it tests on animals, probably because it is owned by Estée Lauder Companies.

Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Shampoo

This multitasking sulphate-free shampoo is the first Bb shampoo that I tried. I came across it in a three-product travel-size pouch in a Sephora in Paris after the hotel shampoo was starting to seriously dehydrate my hair. I was able to try the shampoo, conditioner and heat/UV protective primer for a solid week and the range completely transformed my hair. According to Bb, this shampoo is formulated with six feather-light oils to make hair smoother, softer, and silkier, while taming frizz and protecting against breakage from heat and UV radiation, all while not weighing down hair. This shampoo has a very fruity scent that I am obsessed with because it is so lovely and fills up the entire shower. This shampoo is available in two sizes: a 2oz bottle for CAN $14, and an 8.5oz bottle for CAN $38, perfect for traveling.

Thickening Shampoo

This is the second Bb shampoo that I tried. I was finding the Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil formula to be very nourishing and hydrating, but prolonged use left my hair feeling flat. This shampoo is lightweight and serves the dual function of moisturizing hair and sealing split ends, while also building body to add fullness to fine or limp hair. Bumble and bumble describes it as “ideal for fine, thinning, limp, or flyaway hair,” which perfectly describes how my hair was feeling. This shampoo is also compatible with colour-treated hair, thank goodness. For best results, it is recommended that this shampoo is paired with the rest of the Thickening range including the conditioner, serum, and hairspray. I have only tried the shampoo but it worked wonders on my fine hair. The shampoo is actually available in three sizes: a 2oz bottle for CAN $11.50, an 8oz bottle for CAN $29, and a 33.8oz bottle for CAN $74. I know the latter seems like a ridiculous amount of money to pay for shampoo, but it has done amazing things for my hair and I find it lasts months and months so, broken down, the cost is equivalent to the number of shampoo bottles purchased from other brands.

Straight Shampoo

This sulphate-free shampoo is designed to reduce frizz and tame flyaways. It features Concen-straight Technology®, formulated to smooth and soften curly, thick, and unmanageable hair. While my hair is neither curly or unmanageable, I have pesky hairs that pop out the top of my head, irking me to no end, and this shampoo does a wonderful job of keeping them flat. Also, this shampoo is safe for colour-treated hair. The only downside to this one I can find is that it is only available in one size, an 8.5oz bottle for CAN $38, which is not ideal for traveling, but will still fit nicely into checked baggage.

All of these shampoos have similar suggested uses, specifying that a little goes a long way so only a small dollop is needed to fully clean hair. Also, by applying the shampoo only to the scalp and roots of hair, the rest of the hair strands are cleaned once the shampoo is rinsed out, running down the strands.

While it is recommended that each shampoo be used with additional products from the same line, I prefer to use the Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Conditioner after washing my hair with all three of the shampoos mentioned above. It is formulated with the same light oils as the shampoo, helping to make hair softer and smoother, while also taming frizz and protecting against breakage. This conditioner is safe for colour- and chemically-treated hair, and is available in two sizes: a 2oz bottle for CAN $14 and a 6.7oz bottle for CAN $42. This may seem expensive to some, but this is the only full-size bottle I have purchased to date and I have been using it after every wash for a good 6 months already. Like the shampoos, a little goes a long way so only a small dollop is needed.

Have you tried any shampoos, conditioners, or other hair products from Bumble and Bumble??? Which formula is your favourite???

All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Bumble and Bumble Prêt-à-Powder

November 14, 2015July 25, 2016by Literary and LovelyLeave a Comment

Good morning all!!!

With the end of November fast approaching, this heralds many test days soon to come, and many midnight study spells to prepare for them.

For me, when life gets really busy, the first thing to be kicked out of my daily routine is washing my hair. I find the whole washing, drying, and styling regime to be too time-consuming, especially when the bulk of my synapses are dedicated to information retention. And, you know, my arms get tired partway through washing my hair . . . is that just me???

I have been on the hunt for a really good dry shampoo for awhile now, and I think I’ve found my miracle product.

Features

Three in one: dry shampoo, volume booster, and styler
Super fine formula
Works for all types of hair
Can be used as a styler for freshly washed or second-or third-day-old hair
Contains natural starches to enhance absorbency and add volume
Contains Polysilicone-22 that absorbs oil but is invisible on hair
Contains silicone, which removes oil and impurities
Comes in two sizes: 0.5oz and 2oz, perfect for traveling

I have used this product on both freshly washed hair and day-old hair, and loved it thus far. After blow drying freshly washed hair, I just sprinkle some of this onto my roots and massage it onto my scalp. It gives my hair a little lift, and helps preserve that blow-dry look. I also find that doing this helps keep my hair looking cleaner in following days, so I actually end up washing my hair less. For day-old hair, the same procedure applies: just sprinkle some onto your roots and massage through hair. It comes out of the bottle as a soft, white powder, but it rubs in invisibly, so you don’t have to worry about seeing it anywhere.

For me, this is so perfect because it means I can study for as long as I think I need to, without fretting in the morning when I wake up and my hair looks way past its prime. I really like that this dry shampoo comes in a bottle instead of an aerosol can, because this way it can be recycled. And it comes in a 0.5oz travel size, making it perfect for packing on a long-haul flight to spruce your hair up a little bit.

Now, the full size is 2oz, which I was shocked about at first, because I figured it would run out super quickly, but in fact it lasts for a long time. I asked my friend about this dry shampoo, and she raved about it. Apparently her bottle has lasted her a year so far, so I expect to get quite a bit of use out of this, though maybe not quite a year. After all, exam time is yet to come.

Have you tried this dry shampoo??? What did you think of it??? Do you have a favourite dry shampoo???

Blog logo

All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Bumble and Bumble Don’t Blow It (H)airstyler

September 22, 2015July 25, 2016by Literary and Lovely2 Comments

At the beginning of every school year, I always set aside a few dollars for one back-to-school product that I think will make my early mornings easier. This term, I am lucky enough (ha, not) to have 8:30am lectures on Mondays and Thursdays. This means that I am up by 6am, and have to be out the door by 7:30am. With breakfast being a priority and crawling back into bed a regular occurrence, the allotted time for my hair sometimes gets cut short, which can lead to some less-than-attractive hair days. And then I tried this new Bumble and Bumble product.

Features:

Formulated with a blend of two lightweight polymers to improve texture
Plant-based conditioning blend to hydrate hair and help it dry smoothly
Contains UVA and UVB filters to help protect hair against the damaging effects of heat and sun exposure
Gives the air (ha, so punny) of an air style without having to deal with flyaway strands or frizziness

In the mornings, I just wake up, hop in the shower to give my hair a quick wash, and then throw my hair up in a towel. By the time I’m done eating breakfast my hair is towel-dried, and I just work this cream through my hair, scrunch, and I am good to go. If the whole scrunched look isn’t for you, you can also twist your hair to get that nice, soft loose curls look, which I have been sporting the past week. It’s funny because so many people at university have complimented my hair and asked what I did to get it to look the way it does. They seem to think I spent ages on it, when really, I spent the minute of working this little miracle hair cream though my hair and then giving my hair a final once over of air drying if I have the time. Also, this hair cream can be layered with other stylers, so you can get the benefits of this cream along with those of other products if you’re looking to show your hair a little more TLC.

What is really nice about this product is that it is super hydrating and thin. I was worried at first that I wouldn’t use enough for the product to work, but that it would be thick and wouldn’t go through my hair easily. Wrong and wrong. You only need to use a pea-sized amount of this cream in your hair, so just work from the roots to the ends, and it is super thin and smooth so it won’t get stuck partway and make hair look greasy in places.

A trio of Bumble and Bumble’s Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil products I picked up in Paris because the hotel shampoo was destroying my hair. Not the best photo, but it gets the point across.

What I love about Bumble and Bumble products, besides how wonderful they are on my hair, is that the majority of them come in multiple sizes. Typically, if you want to try a new shampoo, you have to purchase a full-size bottle, which is great if it turns out you like it, but if you don’t, then you’re stuck with a 99% full bottle of shampoo that lives in your cupboard for years until it finally gets tossed in a clean out. With Bumble and Bumble products though, they are sold in at least two sizes, one for the people who know the products will work for them, and the other that are perfect for trying out various products to find the one that works best for you. These smaller sizes are also so easy to travel with because they fall well below the airport’s carry-on liquid maximum of 100mL. In some cases, these smaller sizes even come in little bundles of three, so you can sample three products from a range for the same amount as a full-size container of shampoo. Yet another reason why I love the Bumble and Bumble brand.

Have you tried this out before??? What did you think???

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my 100 followers giveaway for your chance to win a Chanel Autumn 2015 lipstick of your choice and one of Time magazine’s listed 100 best English-language novels!!! Click here to find the instructions for how to enter. *The giveaway is open internationally and will close September 30, 2015 at 11:59pm*

Blog logo

All, Beauty, Product Reviews

Moroccanoil Restorative Hair Mask

July 31, 2015July 25, 2016by Literary and Lovely3 Comments

With the arrival of summer comes salon trips to get highlights and more time spent out in the sun. August is only a day away, which means that many of us have spent a few months now out in the sunshiney weather, and our hair is probably a little worse for wear.

My hair is colour-treated (I’m a pseudo-brunette), and that combined with the heat of the sun and any heated styling tools I might use left my hair weak and damaged. So I went on a hunt for a product that would help nourish and restore my hair to its former soft and shiny glory.

I actually picked up this Home and Away set while doing a bit of last-minute Christmas shopping back in December but, as it sometimes happens, it got buried in the back of my new products cupboard, and was unearthed about a month ago. Let this be a lesson to all: before looking for a new product, always look through stores of already purchased and unopened products. You never know what little goodies you’ll find. I have been using this product once a week for the past four weeks, the recommended time to wait to see visible results.

This set comes with a 250mL plastic jar and a 75mL travel size of the restorative mask. I paid $52.00 for this set, which I know is a lot of money, but here’s a comparison for you: just the 250mL jar of the product is valued at $46.00 so, if you love this product, the extra $6 is worth getting a travel size so it’s easier to pack, plus you actually get more for your money.

But I digress. This hair mask is a 5-7 minute hair treatment that is chocked full of argan oil and protein to help strengthen and restructure hair. It actually infuses protein back into any weakened hair shafts, so hair’s strength and elasticity can be restored.

To use this mask, apply a generous amount to towel-dried hair after shampooing and comb through. Allow the product 5-7 minutes to absorb, so feel free to groove to whatever music you’re blasting in the bathroom if you’re like me and become the next Taylor Swift in the shower. Rinse out and follow up with conditioner. If you already have and love the Moroccanoil treatment, finish this routine up by applying a dime-sized amount to towel-dried hair outside of shower, and comb it through.

*Use this mask no more than once per week, and reduce usage further as hair strength and texture noticeably improves*

This particular hair mask is designed for hair in need of emergency and immediate repair. Think of it as the ER of hair care. If you’re looking for a hair mask to give a little extra conditioning or to tame some frizz, this is not the mask for you. I cannot stress enough that this is a super thick mask for a reason. It is not to be used lightly. It is a short-term fix for damaged hair, not something to be added to a regular hair care routine.

After my month of using this product, my hair is noticeably stronger and softer, and has actually started to grow again. By the end of the first week of using it, I was slightly disappointed because I couldn’t really notice a difference in my hair, but this is one of those products where it is worth waiting for the results. I will be keeping this one in my bathroom cupboards and having it make a cameo appearance in my hair care routine when my hair is a little under the weather and in need of some TLC.

If you’re interested in giving this product a try, click here to be redirected to the Moroccanoil website to order it, but keep in mind that this duo is a limited edition, so it won’t be around forever.

What products have you been using lately to protect your hair, or repair it from heat styling or colour treatment???

Blog logo

Tag: hair care