I have had the same jar for almost 3 years. I did not know how to use it properly before, so I only used it as a styling aid when wearing my hair pulled back. It eliminated frizzies without a hard hold.
Lately I have been using this whenever I choose not to blow dry and let my hair air dry. I apply moroccan oil serum to very wet hair. Comb with a wide tooth comb, clip hair and get dressed. I emulsify a *smidge* less than dime size of this product between my palms and apply to still damp hair from the bottom up while carefully separating curls and moving pieces away from my face. Let air dry. I am left with soft frizz free curls that are touchable. If going out that night and concerned with hold a VERY light mist of hairspray will do.
Be careful to not apply too much as this will leave you with greasy hair. Less is definitely more with this product.

I need a jar of this at all times. I have long 2b curls and they get frizzy if I am not careful. As curly girls know, you need a routine. Leave-in, Gel, and then this is my finisher. If I accidentally put too much gel in, this will break up the crunchiness - but I use it every day because it always adds glossy shine and just that extra touch of finish and definition to my curls after I air dry them. Looks like jello in a jar and it lasts FOREVER because you use just the tiniest bit. A miracle.

This is a heavy, clear, gelatinous/wobbly pomade. Its scent is like the other Aveda Brilliant products, except a tad milder and it doesn't linger nearly as much. (I tried the Aveda Brilliant Emollient Finishing Gloss as a smoothing product on my dry hair, but it was SO heavily fragranced that I couldn't stand it! Plus it didn't work as well as this product did on me.)

My second-day, brushed-out, wavy/curly hair sometimes looks downright broom-tastic, so I needed a product to make it look softer, shinier, and way less frizzy. The Humectant Pomade works pretty well (I use it on dry hair, not wet). Apply sparingly and gradually add more as needed, as it makes hair look greasy if over-applied (I use less than a pea-size amount and add more if necessary). It defines my waves, makes them look smoother and shinier, and helps prevent my hair from frizzing.

Feb. 2011 Update: for some reason this stopped being quite so effective. I rediscovered an Herbal Essences Cream (already in my stash) that's working much better for me. It's a light cream rather than a heavy pomade.

I finally figured out how to make this work for me!!!
I've been using and loving Aveda's Brilliant Shampoo & Conditioner. However, I've been having a hard time figuring out how to use their styling products - namely the Brilliant Universal Styling Creme & this product - the Brilliant Humectant Pomade. I recently figured out the Styling Creme and dug out the Pomade to see if I could make it work for me and it does. :-) I think the trick is that Aveda products are very high quality and you only need to use a *tiny* bit. I've never experienced that because my hair tends to eat up hair products by the bottle. Any time a hair product says to apply a "dime size amount" I laugh and apply a palmful because a dime would disappear before even covering my ends. :-/ But with Aveda, if it says to use a pea size or dime size amount - do it. It will work like it says.

My hair is baby fine, curly, and tends to be dry even though I hardly ever heat style and don't use any chemical processes or dyes.

When I first used this product it made my hair feel waxy and then dry. I didn't know why so I put it away. Now I've figured out that it's just extremely heavy by itself. So I use it mixed with a drop at a time of coconut oil. Here's what I do: Section hair that is 75% or more dry into 4 sections. Apply less than the tip of my fingernail's worth onto my palm followed by a drop of coconut oil and mix together. Smooth through my hair, braid or twist up until dry(I don't like leaving my wet hair out, it gets on my nerves >_< ). Move on to the next section.

My hair is soft and moisturized all day. :-) Plus I A.D.O.R.E. the scent. I initially bought it for the scent alone and didn't even know how to use it. lol But now that I've figured it out, I'll probably be using it daily. Will definitely repurchase. continued >>

I have a short pixie cut, baby fine hair but TONS of it, and I like it to look as insanely shiny as humanly possible (cuz there isnt much of it!)
I can't count the compliments I get when I have this in my hair. VERY addictive! Smells like Heaven.
I apply it while my hair is still wet and my hair DOES keep that "I-just-showered" look with this product WITHOUT looking like I have a bunch of "gel" in my hair. At least for the morning. Then (sigh!) it dries out on me. I have to keep going to the restroom to dampen my hair and freshen the style - but then I have to do that with EVERY thing I put in my hair. I crave a product that would stay "wet looking" all day but my search continues....

I have long, naturally curly hair and I cannot live without this product - it is the ONLY thing I've found (in probably 20 years of searching), that defines my curls and leaves me with soft, shiny spirals.
It is a very heavy product, so use sparingly - if my hair were very fine or straight, I wouldn't touch this stuff with a 10-ft pole - even on my hair it definitely leaves a slightly "greasy" feeling on my hands if I touch my hair throughout the day (and when I use it I have to shampoo almost daily) - however, it makes works so well that these slight annoyances definitely won't deter me from buying this stuff as long as Aveda makes it!

Not a bad product.
But the line between enough product to be effective, and too much, which will make it oily and lank is very, very thin.
On the odd occasion that I've gotten the quantity right, it has made my curls look glossy and beautiful.
Because it's Aveda, it is very expensive, and the tub in which the product comes is problematic because a) all manner of contaminants (ie. hair) seem to make it into the tub, and b) because it's very difficut to measure the right quantity to use.

I would not buy this again because I think I was directed to the wrong product by my one-time stylist. He should have directed me to the anti-humectant pomade since we live in a town with 95%+ humidity year round. However, he recommended this. I have been using it to add weight and shine to my hair when I straighten it (I have naturally wavy tresses that are hard to control) but now that I see it's use for wavy and course hair I think I'll try it like that to see if I like it for that purpose as well. Overall, I love the scent, packaging and texture and would recommend it. It's not pure love for me on this one (that would be The Body Shop's Coconut Hair Shine) but then again, I have been using it in a way contrary to its intended use! Thanks careless stylist guy!

I had to check the label on my jar to make sure I was using the product that was getting such rave reviews here. It is a clear, thick gel in a blue jar that I find to be very sticky. I've tried to use it on my ends and flyaways, and well, it works like a very weak, diluted gel might. My hair is really coarse, thick, and wiry, and I am not afraid of stuff that "weighs hair down," but the stickiness of this clumps hair in an unflattering way and kills any natural movement. I've found many other ones, such as the Artec pomade, to be far superior - there are options out there that impart light control without stickiness and lack of movement.
This is probably one of the more disappointing styling products I've tried, and this is the most negative review I've ever written. The only merit I see is that Aveda is an environmentally sound company that uses quality natural ingredients. Still, I feel like I wasted $23 on this.

My Holy Grail. Offers great shine and softness as a finishing product on my thick curly hair (African American). I co-wash daily and I usually apply a small bit when I need extra shine/moisture. I will always have this product in rotation, despite the cost. And the smell...simply divine!

I love this product - it is the only thing that has tamed my long straight but fine hair from the evils of rain and humidity. The one down side is you only use a very very little amount as it is heavy and will look oily if you use too much (particularly on fine hair) however the flip side to that is you are using such a small amount it lasts literally forever (okay maybe not literally but a phenomonally long time).
I use a tiny bit, rub it on my palms and then start to distribute underneath the hair and then move to on top. I have tried other Aveda products for control, the hang straight is pretty good, I don't get much out of the newish smoothing product - but I rave about this. I'm in Australian so very $$ to buy retail - but a bargain off Strawberrynet.

A once a year must have! I make an annual purchase of this stuff to define pieces of hair, control fly aways and add shine. It also works excellently as a brow tamer.

I've been using this for a few years now and it's truly one of my "can't do without" products. Love it! It does wonders for my naturally curly hair. I live in the deep South where humidity is a problem nearly year 'round and this pomade really helps with the frizzies. It gives separation to my curls and also provides nice shine and bounce. If it didn't cost so much, I'd give it a 5!

I have been using this product for over 10 years! Once in awhile I have swayed away to try other items but always come back to my lovely pomade. I have curly hair and use this all year round. I mix it with a bit of pantene curling mousse and my curls are just lovely! I always get compliments on how good my hair smells. A little goes a long way! If you use to much, it's grease city. LOVE this!

I had bought this product many months ago and used it a bit, and then put it away. I reacquainted myself with it last month, and have really become addicted to it!
I use it mostly over my gel when I bun or ponytail my hair to minimize gel crunch and to add some humectants to my hair. This product works very well to provide texture definition, and minimize flyaways. I have super curly (type 4) hair, and so using a big finger full works just fine. A jar lasts me about two or three months with daily usage, so it's worth the price in my book. The scent is pleasant, and oddly comforting. Using this on a rainy day "can" cause a little frizz because it's drawing moisture from the humidity, but that's not a real problem for me because that's what it's supposed to do.

I am so surprised that no one has mentioned that this stuff removes nail polish. I bought this after getting a pixie cut and I loved the way it made my hair look, feel, and smell. I thought I had found my HG hair product, but soon after I noticed my polish was gummy and soft, so I removed it and put on clear Sally Hansen Hard as Nails, and soon noticed it was gummy too, right after I touched my hair. I don't know what is in this that makes it do that, because otherwise I love it. It's so much better than American Crew, which is what I switched from. Probably won't repurchase tho...It's sad.

This is one of my favorite pomades, the other one being Water Wax by Redken. However, the price is somewhat high. It does last a long time since you don't need much. I have curly hair and this does a great job of making it shiny and separating out the curls so it doesn't look as frizzy. Love the scent too. I would give it five lippies if it wasn't so costly.

The Aura brand version of this was good but the scent was offensive to my husband and eventually to me so I chucked it, broke down and purchased the Aveda pomade.
First thing I did before forking over the cash was to smell it. The scent was very light and close to being undetectable when applied. Next was the price....$18 for a 2.6 ounce tub....HOLY CRAP! A bit pricey but works so well. The packaging is very pretty with the cobalt blue tub but nothing groundbreaking.
I do like the way the tub goes "boing" when you tap it!!!
The price is the only this that would stop me from buying again.

Wow! Finally something perfect from Aveda. And a great new addition to my hair styling routine.
I've been "blessed" with long, curly, coarse hair, which, as you all know, can often become a frizzy mess. I put a dollop of this through my hair after running the iron through it, and it leaves the curls silky and wavy. Perfect! And well worth the high price. I'd pay $50.00 for this stuff.

This product is a lifesaver for my dry, very coarse and thick hair. It smoothes flyaways and tames frizzy hair. I used this on a summer trip to Japan and even in the extremely humid weather, my hair didn't frizz as it usually does. It's expensive, but as others have mentioned, a little goes a long way. I can get one bottle to last about 8 months. I imagine if you have fine hair this product might be too heavy or greasy, but with my type of hair, this is definitely an HG product for me.