Cheap Grocery/Department Store Finds that are Great, Okay, Meh and Hell No!

Just going to share some random stuff that I have that are great, okay, meh or hell no!

hair products most of them are just okay

 So first pic consist of hair products that are under P200 ($5)

1.  PureBeauty Treatment Essence Water
I wanted the oil from this line (many popular bloggers love it) but it's out of stock so I settled with the essence water which is on a buy 1 take 1 promo.  On my first use, I spray it on my dry hair combed plenty of times for the essence to sink in and voila there's not much of a difference on my hair: a little shiny but overall my hair is still frizzy and dry plus as the day goes by the product weighs down my hair and made it a little sticky.  I only liked this product when I use it while my hair is wet then blow dry it because somehow it lessens the frizzeness of my hair but still, at the end of my day my hair feels a little sticky.  Oh this one has a very strong flowery/hairspray smell.
Overall this product is a MEH!

2.  Beauty Formulas Treatment Wax
It will definitely not colour your hair but it doesn't restore the softness, shine, and lustre if you use this product as recommended which is twice a week.  This is more like a conditioner to me in terms of scent, texture and effect and the claims can only be achieve if used on a daily basis plus if the hair is properly blow-dried.
Verdict:  Meh.

3.  Syoss Shampoo and Conditioner
The worst shampoo and conditioner that I tried!  Actually, this brand impressed me on my first and second used the horror started on the third used as it made my scalp itchy.  I used the anti-dandruff variant and dandruff appeared.  I used the moisture variant and it made my hair and scalp very dry.  My sister also tried this brand and we have the same sentiment.
This is a Hell No to me.

4.  Tresemme Hair Treatment
The commercial of this brand is haunting and effective.  I went to the hair section of the grocery and when I saw this the ghostly Tresemme voice played in my head so I bought it.  This hair treatment is decent enough to tame my hair for two days but there's something missing in the instruction that is to blow dry the hair after use.
Verdict:  Okay!

ramdon

The second pic consist of products that can be seen in Watsons.

1.  Veet Hair Removal Cream
I complain a lot about Veet before but finally the formulation improved!  No more harsh smell and effect on my legs and I just have to leave the cream for 3 minutes (but sometimes I go beyond the recommended time).  It's more affordable too compared to Tony Moly's but it doesn't make the hair on my legs less coarse.
Well there's no TonyMoly near us so I'll settle to Veet for a while.
Overall, it's an Okay product.

2.  St. Ives Apricot Scrub
The universal scrub for face and body.  It's an unpretentious product that does what is told to do: to scrub to invigorate and smoothen the skin.  I have no complain with it even my sister who have a problematic skin love this scrub plus it's one of the most affordable scrubs in the market.
Needless to say, this is a Great product!

3.  Glam Green Tea Nose Pore Strips
Most of the time this nose pore strip works.  It removes most of my blackheads and whiteheads.  There are times though that it doesn't properly stick to the skin because of the moist in my nose when the climate is too hot  or when I'm near a steaming cup of ramen or rice.
Verdict:  Just Okay.

4.  TonyMoly Four Way Nail Buffer
A great nail product at a very affordable price (if I'm not mistaken at more or less 80 pesos).  Again an unpretentious product that buff, polish and makes my nails glossy as if I put a coat of clear nail polish.  I just seat on the couch, watching tv with my hands and this buffer on my nails and voila! instant manicure.
It's a Great product!

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Skin Food Argan Oil Silk Hair Mask Pack

Everytime I have my hair chop, the haircutter will always tell me that my hair is dry on some parts.  True!  At the age of 4 or 5, my hair was already permed.  At 9 or 10, my hair is already dyed and at the age of 16 my hair is already rebonded so it's no surprise that my hair is damaged.  And so every now and then I go for a home hair treatment.

Argan Oil Silk Hair Mask Pack Sample
A hair mask pack that contains nourishing argan oil and silk to transform dry, damaged hair into healthy, shiny tresses.

After shampooing, remove excess water and apply to damp hair.  Leave on for 5 minutes.  Rinse off with lukewarm water.

The smell is something that I don't like.  It's a combination of herbs and chemicals and the combination for me is a disaster.  The pack has a thick consistency and has a light brown in color.

As instructed, after shampooing I applied the mask pack to my hair and well I put a shower cap on too then after around 5 minutes I rinse my hair with tepid water.  Then dry my hair with a fan.  The uncolored part of my hair became shiny and smooth but the part that is colored kind of became frizzy and dry especially the ends though shiny. The smell is too strong too for my liking.

I'm a 50-50 about this product.

Thanks for reading.  Till. then.  Bye!

Vanilla Lush

To compliment my 100% Natural Moisturizing Shampoo, I also changed my shampoo to something natural.  Right now, I'm using Human Nature's Vanilla Lush Shampoo.

Natural Moisturizing Shampoo with CREAMFoam in Lush Vanilla
"Whether it's super straight, romantic waves, hair in every trendy shade - we've done it all.  But at what price?  Dry, damaged hair!  Say goodbye to chemicals and start your hair rescue with our Natural Moisturizing Shampoo."

CREAMFoam technology according to Human Nature acts like a lotion to soften and nourish the hair.
The Philippine Coco nectar part for me is very inviting as I grew up putting coconut milk or coconut oil to my hair and it does make my hair strong and shiny.

back part

The scent of this one is so vanilla to me. It's like the vanilla extract that my mom used to put in leche flan (egg pudding): it's a funky vanilla rather than the sensual type.  It's consistency is more liquidy than normal  chemical based shampoo.  It doesn't produce lots of bubbles but still cleanses my hair and scalp well that I only use it every other day.
Expect some itchiness and hair fall when your a first time user of natural or organic hair products.  It took two weeks for my hair and scalp to get used to my current shampoo and conditioner.  Also, once you start using organic hair products, you have to stop or lessen your usage of non-organic treatments and products as it will make the itchiness and hair fall recurring.  Well, that's what I observed.

It's weird at first that the shampoo doesn't produce a lot of bubbles.  I remember shampooing twice just to make sure that my hair is cleansed but got the hung of it after a week since even without the bubbles, my hair still feel clean and fresh.  What makes me more happy about this shampoo is that it doesn't have harmful ingredients like SLS/SLES, ALS/ALES, PEGS, parabens, phthalates or silicones.

from human nature set-oct 2012 catalogue

To get  a clearer view of the mentioned harmful ingredients, please visit www.ewg.org/skindeep or Human Nature's official website at humanheartnature.com.

Thanks for reading.  Till then.  Bye!

Etude House Silk Scarf Hair Treatment

Included in Etude House Bubble Hair Coloring is a small sachet of conditioner-like product which is applied to the hair after rinsing the coloring solution.  It makes the hair smooth, shiny and manageable again after the hardening and tangleling effect the bubble hair coloring gives.  Impressed with its performance, I bought the full size of Etude House's Silk Scarf Hair Treatment.

200ml

P378

Here's the description and instruction from the back of the tube:

"Specially formulated with oil complex and floral scent, this highly concentrated treatment restores and reinforces brittle damaged hair, preventing future breakage and leaving your hair extraordinarily strong, soft, silky, and manageable."

Directions:  Use once or twice a week.  Massage into hair and comb through evenly with fingers.  Let treatment work for 5 minutes and rinse thoroughly.

The hair treatment is light lilac in color and has a mild sweet flowery scent.  Texture is a bit watery than most conditioners that are available in the market so be a little careful in squeezing out the product from the tube.

~watery~

I tried many ways before I achieved the result that  I want.  How do I use it?  Here are the first 4 attempts that I made (sticking to the fourth):

1. As instructed.

• After towel drying, I applied a handful amount of hair treatment into my hair and let it stay for 5 minutes.Result: Hair became soft but not shiny and manageable.

2. Time Extended.

• Same with method 1 but this time I let the hair treatment stay for 20 minutes.  Result:  Hair was soft and shiny but not manageable.

3. Shower Cap

• It seems that the longer I put the hair treatment on my hair the better the results it gives and so I extended the time to 40 minutes and instead of leaving my hair into thin air, I used shower cap.  The result?  I overdid it.  My hair became oily. But after shampooing, my hair became soft, shiny and a little manageable (some parts are still “fly away”).

4. Time is of the essence

• Same with method 3 except for the time.  I guess 30 minutes is enough for my hair.  And voila!  Soft, silky, shiny, manageable hair at last!

*Note:  May hair is rebonded (2011) and is now colored with Etude House Bubble Hair Coloring and I think it's normal that the ends of my hair are a bit brittle even after using the Silky Scarf Hair Treatment.

Thanks for reading and feel free to type in your comments.  Till then.  Bye!