Product Review: Redken Smooth Down

I have a confession to make: I've been unfaithful.
Back in April when I wrote my first post, I told you about my Long Term Relationship with Herbal Essences. And it was good, don't get me wrong. LTR was good to me and for me. But it's hard to be monogamous when there is so much out there and I admit that I was led astray.

First there was a dalliance with Herbal Essences Pin Straight. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it didn't really work out. At first I was dazzled by how much it loosened my curl, but over time I realized that I just needed more moisture. I thought longingly of LTR and vowed to go back and beg forgiveness for cheating, but then my head was turned once more. I think this one is for keeps.

My new love's name is Redken Smooth Down and it is the truth, let me tell you.

After that one night stand I had with Redken Extreme, I was more than willing to try it again. But I knew this time I needed something that would give me the moisture of LTR and the straightening of Pin Straight. Mom, I think I've found the one.

Redken's website promises that the Smooth Down family of products is "specially formulated to enrich and tame extremely dry, coarse, unruly hair". Fortified with macadamia oil (which is supposed to be great for hair) and a whole bunch of other stuff, it provides great conditioning and makes your hair visibly straighter, even before you blowdry.

I couldn't afford the whole line, so I went for the Shampoo, Conditioner, and Heat Glide. Let me break them down one by one for you...

The Smooth Down Shampoo was great: it had good lather and rinsed clean, but left my hair feeling a little stripped afterward. Nothing new; pretty much all shampoo does that. One thing that puzzled me though was the smell. Not that it's bad, it just smells clean. But with the colour of the packaging and the fact that it's got macadamia oil in it had me expecting a warm cocoa buttery-type smell so I was a little thrown off when I sniffed it and just smelled...shampoo. No biggie though.

The Smooth Down Conditioner was nice too. Not as thick as I like, but it did the job. I had a hell of a time rinsing it out though, as usual. But that may have been as much because of my method of rinising my hair in cold water whilst trying not to let said cold water touch my skin as because of the conditioner itself. I know I didn't get it all out, but what was left was just on the ends and they need moisture anyway so...

Now the Smooth Down Heat Glide is serious business. It's a thick serum that just glides through your hair. And it really works! I was already ecstatic with the results after putting it in wet hair before blowdrying, but last night I decided to try an experiment: I put it on my dry hair at night just before wrapping (on just one side of my head so I could compare the results) and when I took it out in the morning the difference was remarkable. This.stuff.really.works.

I'm going back next paycheque for the Smooth Down Butter Treat which I'll use as a pre-poo and maybe even the Sleek Obedience anti-frizz solid serum after I run out of my other serums. I'll skip the detangling conditioner as I don't really have a problem with tangles.

Obviously, the wiwfm verdict on this one is hell's yes!

Product Review: Sebastian Laminates Concentrate Gel

Hi Everyone!
So once again I've been MIA for a while - sorry about that. It's been a tough couple of weeks at work plus a gorgeous long weekend...not a good combination to motivate me to blog. But I'm back now and I've got a slew of things to talk to you about.

So let's get to it. I haven't blogged about it, but I've been having major hair drama pretty much all summer long. Partly because of the weird and incessantly rainy weather, and partly because of the nature of my hair. See I have really curly type 4A hair that just does not want to be straight. But I'm not really the big curly hair type so I try to force it. And for a long while there I was winning the battle, but lately my curls have been kicking my ass and my hair has been a big puffy, frizzy, mass that I constantly have to wear up in a ponytail or a twist, but even that doesn't help because my hair has so many layers that something somewhere is always falling out.

Anyway. So my hair routine in a nutshell goes pretty much something like this: I wash my hair only once a week, usually on a Friday or Saturday. I pre-poo first with coconut oil, olive oil, beaten eggs, deep conditioner, or some combination of those. Then I wash, blowdry (which is my own personal version of hell), and flatiron it. Somewhere throughout that process I put some serum in (usually before blowdrying and after flatironing) and that should be all the product I put in my hair for the whole week.

Problem is, my hair is still a frizzy mess all the time, especially my ends. So I keep putting more and more serum in and it keeps not helping and my hair just gets more and more limp as each day goes by. So finally I said, enough is enough. I'm going to shell out the extra money and buy a professional brand of serum and hopefully that will help with the frizz.

Enter Sebastian Laminates Concentrate Gel.

I marched into Trade Secrets a few weeks ago and spoke to one of the sales associates.
I told her that I had very curly, very thirsty hair that I don't chemically straighten (did I forget to mention that I stopped relaxing my hair about three years ago?) and basically gave her the rundown of my routine. I told her I needed a good serum that I could put in my hair once a week that would actually make my hair shiny and not frizzy. She marched so purposefully over to this product that I thought she knew something I didn't. I was a little skeptical because it looks like a gel and has the word "gel" written clearly on the package, but when I questioned her about it, she assured me that it was indeed a serum. Okay then.

After I finished choking to death over the $24.95CAD price tag, I went to the cash to pay for it. The girl working the register was black (she's the one who gave me the sample of Redken Extreme the last time I was there. I asked her if she'd ever used this stuff or agreed with the recommendation and she was like "oh this gel?" I cut her off. "Is it a gel or a serum?" I demanded. "Let me see it please?". At this point her manager stepped in. This guy literally would not let me hold the tube of gel/serum that I was about to shell out $24.95 for. He was like, "what is it you want to know?" and I told him that I just wanted to read the ingredients. After a whole long rigamarole (during which I never did get to actually hold the tube), he explained to me that it was a serum "in gel form" and that while it did contain alcohol in it, it was basically a serum that just had a little hold. Okay fine. I paid for it and left.

I washed my hair the next day and went through the whole process. I couldn't wait to see the finished product. Sadly, my hair was no less frizzy and no more straight than it ever was. And it was sticky to boot. Not excessively, crazily sticky, but should your hair ever be sticky? I would prefer not, thanks. Luckily my sister showed up the next day bearing a gift: Avon Advance Techniques Dry Ends Serum. Now this shit is a serum! Way better than the Sebastians stuff and about 1/5 of the price. It smells great and actually moisturizes my hair and gives it some shine.

Sebastians Gel has been relegated to pomade status. And even for that purpose it's not the greatest. But I have to find some use for it after all that money I spent on it.

Anyway, needless to say, the wiwfm verdict on this one is no.

cheap but good

hi ladies,

ya'll know i suck right?

it's been a million years since i posted in here and i apologize. my excuses are the same as always - it's really busy at work and the weather has been too nice to be inside typing. i was also getting a little um...action for a while there, which had me a bit distracted. but that's done now and i'm channeling my energy into my one true love - beauty.

sidebar: i'm trying out an all lower-case post today. let me know if you find it irritating and i promise to never do it again.

so those of you who know me personally know i am pretty much always broke-ass. i used to have a soul-sucking job that paid well, but i gave it up for a job i love that pays...not shit, but not enough money to support the bigger bucks that i had when i was working at my other job. my rent and my car suck up about 80% of my paycheque, but i can't get rid of them for reasons too complicated to get into here.

the point is, this year i've really had to scale back on my beauty expenditures. it saddens me to say i no longer hang out in the beauty boutique at my local shopper's drug mart. i've had to find ways to look fabulous on a budget and today i bring you "cheap but good", the best of my finds so far.

first on the agenda is st.ives peel-off hydroxy masque.

it contains a hydroxy complex designed to remove dead skin clear out all the "yuck" (i.e. impurities) beneath the surface of your skin. this stuff is the business, i'm telling you. you spread it across your face (tip: use a thick-ish layer or you'll have real trouble peeling it off), wait for it to dry completely, and then peel off. i don't know about you guys, but peeling off masques is really fun to me.
when i use this i notice a difference in my skin's texture right away, it's refined, feels deeply clean, and looks glowy. i can't remember how much i paid for this, but it was definitely less than five bucks so how can you go wrong?

the only caveat i would offer is that this stuff STINKS. and it makes your eyes sting a bit. nothing earth-shattering, but mildly annoying. but a small price to pay if you ask me.

the wiwfm verdict on this is yes!

next up is clean & clear oil absorbing sheets.


this is an oldie but goodie - i'm sure you're all very familiar with this product. i actually have a slightly different version than the one pictured - mine is in a green package and i think it has like a "fresh scent" of some kind. no matter. the point is that these little sheets suck up oil like i don't know what. i go everywhere with them and actually prefer using them to powder as i feel like it gives me a more natural look - i don't like my skin to be too matte.

only problem is, i feel like i can't do this in front of people. it's one thing to discreetly powder your nose in public, but pulling out a blotting sheet (or 2 - i need more than one to mop up my oil slick of a face) in front of friends just seems far too intimate.

anyway, i've used many different brands of oil absorbing sheets but i keep coming back to these ones because they're cheap and they work. i'd rather spend my money on something more exciting. verdict of oh yes on this one!

one last for today, but cheap but good is definitely going to become a wiwfm series.

tresemme thermal creations heat tamer spray. i ♥ tresemme.
every product i've used of theirs was dirt cheap, smelled amazing, and worked like a charm. this stuff is no exception. since i stopped relaxing my hair two or three years ago, it's a lot healthier but also a lot more fragile. i rely on my flat iron to get the pin-straight look i like, but i have to protect it from the heat. and that's where this jewel of a product comes in. i just spritz it over my hair in sections and comb through my fingers before i flatiron. it smells lovely - reminds me of apple juice.

the funny thing about protective sprays is that for a long time i was like "how do i know it's working?" until it dawned on me - because you're hair's not damaged you dummy! i swear, sometimes i'm so slow lol.

anyway, this stuff is less than three bucks at shoppers! and my canadian ladies knows that sdm stays overpriced so if it's dirt cheap there it must be free at wal-mart! i'll never go back to using any other spray to protect my hair. the wiwfm verdict on this is yes yes yes!

Product Review: Redken Extreme Shampoo & Conditioner

Hah guise!
I was shopping at Trade Secrets the other day and the cashier asked me if my hair was relaxed. I explained to her that I was trying to grow out my relaxer and she offered me samples of Redken Extreme. She said “these are really good products for hair like ours”. Not sure exactly what she meant by that but I never turn down samples. I took them home, stuck them in my sample box, and promptly forgot them. That is until Monday when my hair was so overloaded with hairspray from the MMVA’s that I couldn’t drag my fingers through it. I reached for my Long Term Relationship and remembered that I ran out and haven’t bought more because I'm looking for the specially-marked bottles so I can get a free mani-pedi. Thanks be to G-d I remembered I had this stuff and decided it was as good a time as any to try it out and then blog about it.

Sidebar: Now that I have a blog I can’t stop thinking in blog-speak. Instead of zoning out or daydreaming about crushboy while I do things, I'm now constantly trying to commit every experience to memory in vivid detail to share with you all. My daydreaming time has been seriously reduced as a result of this.

Anyway on to Redken Extreme. I’ve never used any Redken products so I'm a complete novice. I did go on their site the other day to have my hair “profiled” but the guy talking to me on the site was so strange and the results so vague it immediately vanished from my mind.

The site describes the Extreme line (which includes Shampoo, Conditioner, Reconstructing Treatment, Anti-Snap treatment, Rescue Force deep conditioner, and something called a Deep Fuel treatment) as “repair for distressed hair. For hair that is up to 4 times stronger. Extreme strengthens and resurfaces chemically and mechanically distressed hair. Redken's exclusive Interbond Conditioning System delivers a unique 3D Repair Complex to fortify hair so it looks and feels healthier with increased manageability and shine”.

Because I'm reviewing just a sample I obviously can’t comment on the long term effect of the claims, but I’ll fill you in on my experience and you can decide whether to give it a try.

The Extreme Shampoo was a treat. The first thing I noticed was how rich and creamy it was and how great it smelled. Kind of like a vanilla milkshake. It lathered up really well, which I love, and there was enough in the packet to wash my hair twice and still have some left over. It rinsed out easily and my hair felt nice afterward. Clean, but not dry or strawlike. I was instantly impressed.





The Extreme Conditioner was a bit of a different story.


I was nervous as soon as I opened the packed because the formula was quite lightweight, as opposed to the richness of the shampoo. It also had the nice vanilla milk-shakey smell, but there was a chemical undertone to it as well. Although it was thin, it distributed easily throughout my hair. On the site it promises to smooth and detangle your hair and that is definitely true. I noticed right away how easily my fingers slipped through my hair and I don’t even have a problem with tangles. As usual I let it sit in my hair under a shower cap while I did my business and then rinsed it out. It rinses out very easily.

When I came out of the shower my hair just more glossy and shiny than normal, but for me the test is always how my hair looks after I’ve blown it dry and flat ironed it. I won’t bore you with the intricacies of my routine because it’s too tedius to even get in to, but suffice it to say I did notice some key differences in my hair. It was straighter and a lot less frizzy than it usually is, which is good. But it had a little less body, which is not so good. It feels stronger but less soft. See a pattern here? There’s good news and bad news with this. Ultimately I think this shampoo is great if you have damaged hair, but I don’t really so for me the benefits of using it don’t outweigh the loss of body and softness. Still I give it a verdict of yes because it does what it promises.

Product Review: The only long term relationship I’m interested in right now

Hi there!
Welcome to "[But] Will it Work For Me?"
That is what I meant the blog to be called but I somehow forgot to add the "but". So "will it work for me" it is then.
I should give you a bit of intro about myself shouldn't I? Otherwise why would you listen to what I have to say about anything? But it's after 10 o'clock which means I should be in bed. So let me quickly give you the 411 on my new life partner...

Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship

According to Herbal Essence's website, this shampoo/conditioner/leave-in trio is supposed to "…lavish every inch of your hair, protecting against damage and leaving it oh-so luscious. for even more protection, slip into my silky conditioner and split-end protector, too. grow your hair as long as you want!"

Sidebar: I really don’t like the way all of Herbal Essence’s packaging pretends as though the shampoo/conditioner is speaking to me. It’s annoying. And maybe I’m slow but I find it confusing…oh, wait you’re luscious? Oh no I’m luscious! Okay I get it now.

Anyway. Let’s talk about the fragrance first. It has extracts of red raspberry and satin. To me it smells like a combination of Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Revealed perfume with a hint of hubba bubba. When I open the bottle, I get a blast of RDR first (maybe this is the satin) and then it fades and there’s just the gentlest whiff of bubble gum (which would be the raspberry I guess). It’s not bad, but I suspect it’s one of those scents that you either love, don’t mind, or hate with a deep and abiding passion, if you know what I mean.

Okay I’m going to quickly go through the trio one by one.

First the shampoo. It has a great lather, which I enjoy because I don't feel like my hair is getting clean if I don’t get good foam. I’m sure the one has nothing to do with the other, but oh well. It lathers well and rinses off easily enough, but it leaves my hair feeling very dry, matted, and a little straw-like to tell you the truth. This would be a huge problem (for reference, I’m half Black, half East-Indian with fine, super-curly, type 4A hair that NEEDS its moisture) if it weren’t for…

The conditioner. Same smell. A little goes a long way with this, it distributes easily through my hair and quickly takes away the straw-like feeling the shampoo gave. I usually put in on my hair, concentrating on the ends mainly, and put a shower cap over it and continue with my business in the shower so it has time to sit. This can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes depending on how much hot water there is. One thing about this conditioner is that it takes a long-ass time to rinse out. Holy jumping! The worst part is that I rinse with cold water and it’s honestly like torture for me to stand there freezing my tuches off waiting for this stuff to get out of my hair. Honestly I’m sure at least 50% of the time it’s not all gone but I just can’t take it anymore.

The leave in conditioner is optional in my opinion. It has of course the same scent, and again a little goes a long way with this product. I can’t stress that enough. I use the tiniest, smaller than a pea-sized amount on my ends only and that is all I need. (I’m one of those lucky ladies whose hair gets really greasy at the roots and dry at the ends after a few days if I overdo it with product). It does make my ends noticeably softer.

I’ve been using these products for about two months now and my hair has definitely grown which is what I wanted. But I actually think this stuff was meant to keep existing long hair healthy and strong rather than to promote growth. (Those marketing people are too smart to make an ambitious claim like that I’m sure). Either way, I’m pleased with the results I’m getting and at $2.99 a pop you can’t go wrong can you?

The best part about this for me is that my hair still smells good a couple of days after I wash. I’m a stinky smoker so my shampoo fragrance NEVER lingers. Except with this.
So the WIWFM Verdict is…yes!