Say Goodbye To The Crispy - John Frieda Frizz-Ease Finishing Creme

One of my pet hates is crispy hair. Having curly hair I always find it so difficult to find products that I can use to define and manage my curls without them feeling like crunchy straw for the rest of the day or without them going limp and scraggly because a product has been too heavy for my fine hair and has weighed it down too much.

One of the best products I have actually found so far is the John Frieda Frizz-Ease Finishing Creme. I received a sample of this in one of my monthly sample box subscriptions quite a while ago and put it away in a bathroom draw and promptly forgot about it. I managed to come across it a couple of weeks ago and decided to give it a try and was surprisingly pleased with the results.

This creme claims to tame frizz and smooth frayed ends. It can be used on straight or curly hair and it is recommended to apply it to dry hair by rubbing a small amount into your palms and then distributing through the hair, concentrating on the ends.

I've been using it on my damp hair after showering to define my curls and stop them from turning into frizz city throughout the day. Here is what I end up with, nice and defined curls without that crispy feeling and without being weighed down:

 

Does anyone realise just how hard it is to take a photo of the back of your own head? IT IS HARD!

Anyway, I am really please with how this creme works and will most likely purchase it in full size as it's definitely one of the best products I have found for my hair so far.

Does anyone know of any other great curly hair products that aren't crunchy? I'd love some to hear some other suggestions.

Michelle xx

December GlossyBox - Focus on Haircare

There is only one word that I can use to describe the December Glossybox - Underwhelming.

I have had this box for about three days now and was thinking of not even bothering to post about it due to being so unimpressed but for consistency sake I decided I might as well.

This is what I got in the December box:

1) Tigi Haircare - Bed Head Manipulator (Full size 57ml, RRP $23.95) - I can see that a lot of people would be extremely happy with this product but I have very fine naturally curly hair and products like these are useless to me. I would have no idea what to do with this with my type of hair. Oh well, it will be good for my husband to use in place of his regular gel.

2) Gorgeous Cosmetics - Lip Pencil in Premiere (Full size, RRP $25.00) - This was probably the best product in the box this month as far as I am concerned. It's a nice soft lip pencil in a reddish brown. The actual colour is a little dark for me but it should work well with a lighter lip colour over the top to tone it down a little.

3) Clinique - Turnaround Overnight Radiance Moisturiser (7ml sample, RRP $90.00 for 50ml) - I really like Clinique products so will be happy with using this. I already have a few mini Clinique samples like this though from gift with purchases I've done previously but I guess you can never have enough moisturiser.

4) John Frieda - Frizz Ease Secret Weapon Flawless Finishing Creme (30ml, RRP $16.99 for 113ml) - This product claims to tame frizz and smooth frayed ends. This is actually a product suited to my hair type so it will be interesting to try it out.

5) John Frieda - Frizz Ease Dream Curls Curl Perfecting Spray (30ml, RRP $16.99 for 200ml) - This claims to activate and define silky curls. Again, this was obviously matched to my hair type so will be interested to try.

As you can see the products themselves are all good and I will get good use out of all of them except the Bead Head Manipulator.

My issue is that I subscribed to these boxes mainly to try out different makeup and skin care products so hair care is not something that really interests me. As I said before, I have very fine, curly hair and most hair care products are just too heavy for me and usually cause my curls to just flop and go listless. They seem to do much better if I just leave them product free so long as I use a good conditioner.

Who knows, maybe something like this is what I need to get my hair mojo back? Maybe I'm just too picky and need to keep remembering that I am only paying $14.95 per box and am obviously getting way more value than that even if some of the items aren't really something I'd normally spend money on?

Oh yeah, there was also a voucher to receive a consultation from Clinique in any Myer or David Jones store plus a 7 day supply of foundation. Hopefully I'll remember to use this as I'm terrible with things like this and always either lose them or let them expire.

There was also a candy cane, although mine was broken :-(

What does everyone else think of these boxes so far? Does anyone have a favourite one over all the others or do you just think they are a bit of a waste?

November Empties

Yeah, this post is a little late but we have had almost a week without internet at home and I am only just catching up on everything that fell behind because of that.

This month has been a huge month for using up products, mainly because of the amount of samples I receive now because of the monthly beauty sample boxes.

See below:

1) Marc Jacobs 'Oh Lola' Sample - I really loved this perfume and have been using it quite a bit. It's surprising how much use you get out of those little spray bottles.

2) Palmolive Naturals Shower Gel with Almond Oil & Vanilla - I can't even remember when I bought this shower gel as it literally lasted forever. I swear there were some little Palmolive elves coming into my shower every week and refilling this bottle. Talk about a good value shower gel. This is maybe one to keep as a backup in your bunker for when the world ends and you won't be able to make it to the shops for a while :-)

3) John Frieda Full Repair Shampoo & Conditioner samples - These were nice products to use but nothing to really rave about. I think I only got about three uses out of each one so not really enough time to come to any real conclusion.

4) Sunsilk Super Shine Shampoo & Conditioner travel sizes - I originally purchased these to put in my hospital bag when I was going in to give birth to my son and then completely forgot about them when I got home. I eventually found them again when looking through my bathroom cabinet and decided to just use them up. This is a nice no frills shampoo and conditioner.

5) QV Bath Oil - I love this stuff and put a little into every bath no matter what else I've put in there too. I've also put a small amount into my son's bath now and then if he had any skin flare ups. It leaves you feeling so soft and really helps with any eczema or dry patches you might have.

6) MOR Body Butter samples in Belladonna and Italian Blood Orange - It is no secret that I have a MOR fetish and I received these samples with my last full size body butter order. The Italian Blood Orange is just delicious.

7) Clinique Clarifying Lotion - This was a great toner and made my skin feel super clean and seemed to really help my moisturiser sink in. I think I received this as a gift with purchase many moons ago and was another product I found in my bathroom a while ago and decided to finally use up.

8) Kerastase Shampoo & Treatment samples - These sachets just didn't contain enough product to adequately cover my hair. I could manage to work in the shampoo all over but the treatment was nowhere near enough. I don't even have very long hair (it's only a few centimetres past my shoulders) and it's very fine so there's no way these would be enough for anyone with normal hair.

9) Erborian BB Creme and Elixir Au Ginseng samples - I was surprised at how many uses I got out of each of these samples. I think I got about 3-4 days out of the BB Creme because it was so thick and about 3 uses out of the Elixir. This BB Creme was thicker than most foundations I have used and was a little hard to rub into my face at times. A little really goes a long way and it covered everything! The Elixir was a gorgeous consistency and made my skin feel so super soft after use. I also liked the way it didn't make my face feel sticky after applying like some of these creams have a tendency to do.

10) ROC Complete Lift samples - I am in love with this cream and have been using it every day in the mornings before applying my makeup. It makes my skin look awake and feel super soft. I had a bit of raw red skin around my nose a week or so ago after having a cold that just wouldn't go away and this cream has healed this skin perfectly without any stinging or irritation.

11) Gatineau Anti-Wrinkle Concentrate sample - This sample was teeny weeny tiny and I think I only got 2-3 uses out of it so really not enough to tell whether it was much good or not. I did like the smell, I can at least say that much.

So that's it for November.

I hope everyone is looking forward to Xmas this year? This will be our first Xmas with our little man as a family so it should be super fun!