Mini Review: Pureology Colour Fanatic Deep-Conditioning Mask, Nature's Gate Biotin Conditioner

So far, I love the Pureology Colour Fanatic Mask. You don't need to use much product and it left my hair moisturized and soft. I've only used it once though so we'll see if it continues to perform well. I don't have colored hair so I can't comment on how it works with color.

Nature's Gate Biotin Conditioner has a nice herbal-mint scent, but it seems to take a lot to detangle my hair, and doesn't leave it particularly moisturized. I like the Pureology mask better - less work for better results.

wishlist

My current wishlist:

• Laura Mercier Mini Caviar Stick Eye Colour Quartet $38.00
• CLINIQUE Airbrush Concealer Illuminates, Perfects $20.00

I've read good things about both products.  However, considering the amount of makeup I currently have, and the things I've already bought this year, I will wait till next year, when I might be able to justify the purchases a bit better (hopefully).

In some mini-reviews:

• Gud Softening Conditioner in Red Ruby Groovy by Burt's Bees: meh.  I don't find it particularly conditioning, and the scent gets old pretty quickly.
• Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Eucalyptus Mint Body Scrub: meh.  It is emollient, but that renders the scrubby bits rather ineffective - especially on wet skin.  It smells nice, but I basically use it as an emollient body wash.

Won't repurchase either product.

Dry scalp and dry shampoos

Since my scalp isn't oily, I think the flaky skin on my scalp is the result of dryness - or stress from moving?  Periodically it troubles me.  I'm trying to treat it by washing my hair less frequently and using different treatments.
* Mayonnaise worked really well as a conditioning treatment - spreads easily, but greasy to wash out
* Coconut oil seems to work less well, but virgin coconut oil smells nice.  Just trying to use up my coconut oil though - I find it a pain to have to heat it up to use (it's pretty cool where I am).  Hard to work through the scalp.
* Aveda dandruff treatment - feels great, and spreads easily on my scalp.  I don't think I have dandruff, but this is a salicylic acid preparation so works fine for my purposes also.
* Clear hair dry scalp treatment - to be tested out.  7 doses on sale for $3 at The Grocery Outlet.

In order to shampoo less, I've been using dry shampoos to some extent.

So far I've tried Klorane dry shampoo - I liked it - pretty easy to brush out, hair felt cleaner, and it added body to my hair.  However, being an aerosol, it's a bit of a pain to travel with.

I also got Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo - the jasmine-scented powder.  Being a powder, it's a bit of a pain to apply and brush out - I think using a powder or kabuki brush would probably help a lot with this.  However, the mini size is extremely portable so I may take it along for trips/emergencies.  I find Klorane easier to use.  I don't mind the scent but it can be a bit strong.

Batiste gets good reviews; I will give it a try next.

I've used the Shiseido dry shampoo spray - it is only moderately effective -  you really need to work it through the scalp and I found I needed to reapply later in the day.  It's essentially an alcohol so I did worry that it dried out my scalp.

KATE rouge hg (high glam) in OR-10, LUX hair mask

KATE rouge hg (high glam) in OR-10 is a pretty, wearable coral.  On my pigmented lips it seems moderately pigmented.  Quite good value, as you can sometimes find KATE sold at 30% off list price.  Unless I find a color I absolutely have to have, this will be the most I spend on lipsticks until I use up a few lip products.  Kanebo Media will probably be able to fill the orange lipstick gap in my wardrobe, and Addiction Last Scene has my red lipstick craving satisfied, so I'm set for now.

I'm testing out LUX super rich shine hair mask - in terms of texture and detangling it feels great. After blow-drying, my hair is not quite dry but it's not silky soft either, so I would describe this as average.

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I do love reading Miss Manners.  I just finished reading her Guide to Domestic Tranquility which I found quite educational, although admittedly slow at times.  I will need to read it a few more times and practice actually being polite in certain areas where I have repeatedly failed in the past.