Tuesday, 28 September 2010

Reviewed: John Frieda Root Awakening Shampoo & Conditioner

I've been wanting to try this shampoo and conditioner for a while and Lollipop Loves' post prompted me to give them a whirl.

What they say.....
"For healthier-looking hair, start at the roots. For stronger, more manageable style, start at the roots. Infused with natural Eucalyptus, Root Awakening® products awaken your hair's resiliency from root to tip for hair that's bouncy, radiant and easier to style"

The range consists of Shampoo, Conditioner and a Strength-Boosting Leave-in Spray

What I say....

Packaging The shampoo and conditioner are both packaged in a squeezy tube design. The pale green colour scheme hints at a more natural product (although a quick scan of the ingredients list suggests this is merely good marketing!) I do love that the leaf patterns are textured/embossed - it makes the bottles feel a bit more high-end - but the caps are near impossible to open with wet, shower hands, I've resorted to using my teeth! :(


Product The range includes versions for Dry and Normal hair. My hair gets quite oily at the roots so heeding Laura's advice I went for the Normal hair version.

The shampoo is clear with a slight green tinge and a strong eucalyptus scent. It lathered and rinsed well - I think I probably expected it to feel a bit tingly on the old scalp given the focus on eucalyptus, root awakening etc but no tingles here! The conditioner is quite thick in texture, and again has the eucalyptus scent although its slightly more sweet and buttery smelling than the shampoo - it reminds me of murray mints and I loved it!

Results Immediate results after washing are good. My hair feels clean and the ends were easy to comb through. However I shower in the evening and by the next morning I'm waking up to quite lank roots. The finger of blame is pointed firmly at the shampoo as I never apply conditioner above my ears, it seems even the Normal version is too much for my greasy bonce!

As for the claims, can I say that after a month of use my hair is....
  • Healthier looking? - My hair does look pretty shiny after using these products so if shine = health then yes!
  • Bouncy - Nope but then I do get my hair chemically straightened (more on that soon!) so bounce is not on my hair agenda!
  • Stronger - The ends of my hair can be quite fragile - I haven't seen any more or less breakage since using this range
  • More manageable - Again, the permanent straightening dictates how manageable my hair is but these products keep the small amount of static I do get at bay.
Price Normally £4.79 each for 250ml but I picked them up from Boots on a 2 for £6 offer

Would I re-purchase? Yes but only the (fabulous smelling) conditioner unless they bring out a version of the shampoo for oilier hair

Would I recommend? Definitely to someone with truly normal or dry hair and with a 'proceed with caution' for oilier-haired ladies!

Until next time,


Monday, 27 September 2010

A big hello....

..and thanks for reading my blog. I thought I’d use this first post to do the all-important intro so here goes….

A bit about me (in numbers!)
26. My age. I’ll be 27 in December this year which is scarily close to the big ‘30’ – eeek!

6. The number of places I’ve lived in the UK before settling in Reading, Berkshire in 2009. I’ve actually moved 4 times in the last 5 years but am pleased to say my nomadic lifestyle is over….for now!

3. The number of years I’ve been with my awesome other-half Andy who I bought met on a well-known dating website. Yey for online match-making!

9. The number of months I’ve been part of the blogging world with ADateAtTheTate - a personal journal of my trips, travels and life in general.

37 (and growing). The number of beauty blogs I’ve been secretly stalking for the last year. I can’t quite remember how or why I started reading them but can recall that it was the fabulous Lipglossiping that popped my beauty blog cherry and the obsession just grew from there!

52.5 – The number of minutes I spent browsing the aisles of Boots this weekend (much to Andy’s dismay) and which has made me think its time to join in the fun with a beauty blog of my own.

A bit about my blog
Firstly I’m no expert or guru - more of a beauty 'explorer'! My budget is mostly high street with a splash of high-end and I’ve never been trained in how to apply make up. Everything I know is a mix of random experimentation & YouTube tutorials (whilst keeping the make-up remover wipes handy for when it goes wrong!) 

I’m all for natural beauty – for those who can rock the bare-faced look - but after a decade of mild teenage acne, that’s unfortunately not me. As I’ve got older I have definately become more comfortable in my own skin but to put it simply I just love the confidence that beauty and cosmetic products give me.

So can I promise to deliver anything drastically different to the amazing blogs that already exist out there? Probably not if I’m honest! This blog will simply be a record of my journey to find beauty products that bring out the best in me. And if I can inspire just one reader the way that I have been by online beauty blogs, I’ll consider it a job well done!



p.s just so you can put a face to the name, this is me (with the result of my online dating adventure!) x x x