Aloha Bloggerinos,
This review has been a long time coming because I have had these products quite a while but been pretty busy, what with having a bambino and all that jazz.
As you can see, this is the Botanical Shine Shampoo and Conditioner from Liz Earle for normal and all skin types.
The first thing I liked about these products was the packaging. Yes, I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but with things like this, I do. I've never had shampoo or conditioner in shiny tubes like this, so it was all a bit novel and exciting to me. The second thing I reaallyy liked was the scent. As you all know, I have serious smell-sensitivity and am uber fussy about fragrances, but these smell all zesty and I do love a fruity fragrance- I can even smell apple in these, how often do you find apple smelling haircare? Not very I'd say.
Due to baby related sleep deprivation, I'm going to cheat on the sciencey bit and just quote what Liz Earle have to say about the two items and then tell you what I think. I wanted to be Mrs Eloquent-Sophisticated-Tell-You-About-The-Ingredients-And-Magical-Properties-Pants but Baby Glitter wont allow such things at the moment!
Botanical Shine Shampoo :: With West African shea butter, natural source vitamin E, shine-boosting apple and orange extracts plus naturally derived cleansers, our shampoo gently cleans without stripping to leave hair soft, shiny and smooth. Contains no sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate.
As I said, for me the apple was the prominent scent and I luurrve it. The shampoo lathers really well and a little really does go a long way, which is a winner because for the £7.65 price tag, I would consider this a luxury shampoo and would want to get the most I could out of it. Containing no sodium lauyl or laureth sulphate, this product fits in with the company ethos of lovely natural goodness and really makes you feel you're doing your hair a favour.
Now, I have a negative about this shampoo but I kind of want to say to the product 'hey, it's not you, it's me'. For a loonng time now, I have had a serious shampoo problem. About 99% of shampoos make my scalp really flakey/the shampoo refuses to wash out of my uber thick hair and I'm left with a load of stuff stuck to my roots. Not nice. To combat this is use a Boots own Product Build Up Shampoo as this rinses out well. I tried the Liz Earle Shampoo with trepidation and sadly it did fall into the 99% category but I don't blame the product AT ALL. I gave it to my Auntie Judith and she bloomin' LOVES it, so all is well in the world again.
Botanical Shine Conditioner: Specially formulated with meadowfoam and yangu oils, blue seakale and shine-boosting apple and orange extracts, our creamy, colour safe conditioner leaves normal hair glossy, hydrated and in perfect condition, ready to style. Naturally active ingredients include meadow foam oil to help condition, Kenyan yangu oil to smooth and soften plus apple and orange extracts to boost shine.
I have two words to sum up my feelings for this conditioner- 'love it'. I love that, like the shampoo, I can smell the apple, so the two products compliment each other well. I love that it makes my hair lovely and shiny and soft but without that kind of heavy, filmy effect that some conditioners can give. I love that it looks expensive and regal in my shower (yes, I am secretly a bathroom snob. Forgive me). And also, these days, with Baby Glitter taking up all my time, a hairwash has been pushed pretty far down the pecking order, so when I do finally get to do it, this luxurious conditioner really makes my shower time blissful. Mmmmm even typing this now makes me want to hop in and wash the day (and baby sick) away. Basically, this is a total winner for me and will most likely be forking out the £7.65 to buy it once I have run out.
I really must say that Liz Earle is one of the only 'beauty' brands that has yet to fail me. I've tried and reviewed quite a few of their products now, ranging from skin care to fragrance to hair care, and all (aside from my slight issue with the shampoo but as explained, this is MY issue) have wowed me. I feel a bit like they are the grown up sophisticated big sister of my beloved Lush products. Both being natural and backed by good ethics, but Liz Earle being sleeker and more refined somehow. That's not to say I don't still hanker for a pink glittery bubble bath that smells like sweets!
All in all, I am one happy bunny. If you would like to find out more about these products, check out the Liz Earle website HERE.
Have you tried or would consider trying either of these?
Toodlepip!
xx
PS
Baby Glitter says Hello and that she'll be back in a video as soon as her Mummy feels up to it ;)
