Shampoo -Unlisted Brand - Macadamia Natural Oil - Rejuvenating Shampoo
SuziBarnes 8/24/2012 2:05:00 PM
Having discovered in the Macadamia treatment mask my HG of masks/conditioners (5 lippies) I excitedly purchased the shampoo thinking I was going to get an ever better end result. Sadly this shampoo does nothing for my hair & unlike the mask which I only need a small amount (I have very long, waist length hair) I needed to use tons of the shampoo to get my hair clean, like half a 100ml bottle! My hair felt awful after washing, matted & brittle feeling & not really clean feeling either. The mask rescued it, but I won't be buying the shampoo again, I think even if it was any good I wouldn't as the amount I needed to use made it very bad value.
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Hair -Unlisted Brand - MACADAMIA NATURAL OIL Deep Repair Mask
SuziBarnes 8/24/2012 1:55:00 PM
After recently bleaching my frizzy, curly locks I was left with a total disaster on my head, think birds nest made of straw! Searching on MUA for something to help I came across this product. I considered the price (£13.99) to be more than reasonable, but as they do a trial size, figured I'd save some pennies & get the trial size. After use... WOW! My hair felt super sleek & silky whilst still wet & once styled looked & felt amazing. I don't know if there are better products out there, but my search has ended since discovering this & I've now purchased the big pot. I normally have to use ridiculous amounts of conditioner/mask to have any effect (I'm talking high end here, no Pantene near my hair) but this I only need to use about a walnut sized amount (my hair is an inch above my bottom, very long) & it does a better job than anything I've ever used before. I will definitely re-purchase & for now believe I've found my HG conditioner/mask.
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Lip Treatments -Lancome - Primordiale Levres - Plumping Balm
SuziBarnes 8/24/2012 1:26:00 PM
I love Lancome so this product was a huge disappointment for me. (I have normal lips without any chapping so didn't need a miracle!) I wanted a lovely lip balm for everyday & thought I was on to a winner with this, promising plump as well as soft lips. It did absolutely nothing! My lips didn't feel at all moisturised & they certainly weren't any plumper, not even a tiny bit. I had to re-apply it constantly which also made it very bad value imo. I've had better results from a 99p balm purchased at a pound shop! I never tested under make-up as I wanted it for make-up free days to treat my lips, but in this case the only people treated were Lancome with my £20 in their pockets! Ah well, at least I get to buy & try more balms in the search for "the one"!
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Cleansers -Biore - Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser
SuziBarnes 8/24/2012 1:14:00 PM
I bought this on a whim (I don't really have acne/blackheads to worry about) but wanted a really great cleanser/wash to leave my face feeling & looking extra clean. It's a nice enough wash, subtle fragrance, cleans well & doesn't irritate my sensitive skin, but... I didn't feel "super" clean (you know, that deep clean that you feel has emptied your pores of muck) & the more I used it, the tighter my skin felt afterwards (easily solved with a little moisturiser). In conclusion, a nice enough facewash, but not what I'd call an HG product, but certainly not bad either.
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Treatments -Unlisted Brand - One n' Only - Argan Oil Treatment
SuziBarnes 8/24/2012 1:03:00 PM
After seeing all the hype & reading the reviews on MUA I decided to take the plunge & buy a 25ml bottle of Moroccanoil (cost £12.85) at the same time I also bought a 100ml bottle of "The one & only" argan oil (cost £7.95). I decided to put them to the test & had my husband decant them both into two unmarked containers & give them back so I could conduct a completely un-biased test. I've now tested them both several times & let me start by saying that they both smell heavenly & both had definite good results, they have both made my bleached, frizzy, frazzled curls into shiny, sleek, touchably soft hair. Now to the winner, one stood out as far superior to the other & please remember I based my decision purely on results, I did not factor in the cost at all. I've given Moroccanoil 3 lippies, but far & away the best results I got were from "The one & only" argan oil treatment, my hair was softer, the curls more defined & had an altogether more "natural" look, proven by the compliments about my hair I've received on the "one & only" days. I have to say I was very surprised as I fully expected the much more expensive of the two to win, but honestly, I can get the same results as the Moroccanoil using any cheap hair serum. With the One & only my hair is absolutely beautiful, you would never know in what bad condition my hair is in & I'm getting complete strangers stop me & ask where I've had my hair done (not been near a hairdresser in years!). When you factor in the cost aswell I could quite easily give this 7 lippies (& 1 extra for the smell) & cannot see me purchasing any other styling product ever again (which is unheard of as I'm a toiletry junkie).
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Hair -Moroccanoil - Moroccan Oil
SuziBarnes 8/24/2012 12:47:00 PM
Having read all the hype & seen the reviews on MUA I took the plunge & ordered a 25ml bottle (cost £12.85) at the same time I also ordered a 100ml bottle of The one & only argan oil treatment (cost £7.95). I had never used either before & to make sure my test was totally unbiased I gave both bottles to hubby & asked him to pour some of each into 2 unmarked containers so that I could test them "blind". So I've now tested both several times without knowing which was which, they both smell heavenly & both definitely made my bleached, frizzy, frazzled curls well defined, shiny & incredibly, touchably soft. However, one also stood out as being far better in results than the other, giving my curls better definition, less/no frizz & generally a more "natural" look. So which won? You can probably guess from the fact that I gave Moroccanoil only 3 lippies. I based my test purely on results, I didn't factor cost into it at all & The One & Only Argan oil won hands down (it gets 5 lippies). My hair just looked so much better, enough for people to compliment me on the "One & only" days. So Moroccanoil is good, but no better really than the average serum you can buy & at £30+ for 100ml it's just not good enough.
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Cleansers -Unlisted Brand - AKAMUTI African Black Soap
SuziBarnes 8/24/2012 12:30:00 PM
My husband has suffered dreadfully over the years with allergies to his hands (developed whilst working as a hairdresser) & literally everything he uses results in the worst exczema I've ever seen on anyones hands. All was fine however as he was able to use good old Pears soap without any ill effects whatsoever, until... Suddenly his hands started reacting terribly, I've never seen anything like it (& I have very sensitive skin) but this was just the worst ever, he had no skin left on his hands & was in agony. I discovered that Pears had changed their formula & my husband could no longer use it. He spent several months in great distress, trying various products, to no avail, he reacted really badly to everything. Then I read about this soap & although more expensive than the average soap, we were willing to pay that bit more if it helped. It has been an absolute little miracle, he can use it with no ill effects whatsoever, he uses it all over his body, not just hands & face, as obviously you need your hands to wash with. The only thing he found he didn't like was the way his hair felt after using it (so we're still looking for a shampoo). But we're not going to complain about that, as finally the skin on his hands is back to normal & this Akamuti black soap has achieved what several very strong medications & treatments were totally unable to do, heal & care for his hands. He doesn't seem to get any of the dryness that others have experienced, but then he does have skin on the oily side (which has also got a lot less problematic since using this soap). All in all, I cannot recommend this soap highly enough for those suffering skin allergies/exczema, it has changed my husbands life & although not suited to everyone, for him it's been wonderful. As for the cost, it lasts forever (130g bar about 4 months!) & it's still lots cheaper than some of the very expensive "natural" products we tried before black soap.
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