Philip Kingsley Moisture Balancing mini's (from Marks and Spencer)

Having long been a fan of Philip Kingsley's Elasticizer I've often looked at their other products but always walked away, purely due to the price tag. I have never bought a designer/high-end shampoo or conditioner, I like most of the drugstore/budget ones I have tried so have never been able to justify a splurge to myself. Then Marks and Spencer sent me a 20% off email....cue hours of filling up my online basket pretending I was able to afford it all! Instead I settled on this cute wee box;



 

The Soft and Shiny Try Me Kit contains 20ml tubes of Moisture Balancing shampoo, Moisture Balancing conditioner, and of course Elasticizer.

 

This kit cost me £4 from Marks and Spencer (free delivery to store), and was a great way for me to actually try a posh branded shampoo and conditioner. It is a real shame that it isn't easier to pick up proper trial sized high end products like this, I would love to try some of the TIGI line and the much raved about Kerastase brand but I am not prepared to pay A LOT of money on something that may be no better than a supermarket's own brand/value product.

 

 

The shampoo is clear with a slight yellow tinge, it has a slight herbal scent to it but it is not revolting. Once the shampoo is lathered up, the scent changes to a pleasant 'clean' smell. The lather is creamy and effortless, this was a surprise to me and a lovely experience. The shampoo rinses out extremely well and doesn't leave that horrid squeaky clean feeling, not does it leave my hair feeling coated in silicone (I always think THIS is going to happen!).

 

The conditioner's scent is almost non-existent and is coloured white. It feels just like any other conditioner to be honest, however, I have substituted my hero Aussie 3minute Miracle conditioner and I do prefer the combination of the Kingsley products together. They do seem to work beautifully together, and I can get to day 3 without washing my hair using them (as opposed to washing every day- I need my hair to feel clean, smell good and shine like the moon on a calm sea!) which has never been achieved using drugstore products. I don't have greasy hair, neither is it particularly dry, I would describe it as 'normal' (the neurotic owner not so much!).

 

The Elasticizer is a real Marmite product; some swear by it (me!!) and some people can see or feel no benefit in using it whatsoever. Personally I use it at least once a week, whack a whole heap ontop of sprayed wet hair and leave it on for as long as possible (all day and overnight when possible) before washing it out. The instructions say at least 10 minutes before shampooing, but I would really recommend leaving it on for at least 40 minutes (optimum time for the hair shaft to absorb the product). It makes my hair feel softer, look bouncier and shinier and even my husband notices the difference......it is a pricey item though, and I really think it needs to be used regularly for its full effect to be seen, which obviously is going to cost serious money in the long run. I would be prepared to keep paying for the effects though-luckily I have quite a few mini tubes from previous beauty boxes I was subscribed to last year, and some that came free in magazines (yes I bought the magazines purely for the Elasticizer!), so don't need to shell out just yet.

 

Overall I enjoyed this wee taster box and will absolutely be keeping an eye out for the Moisture Balancing range being on offer (Christmas sales woohoo!) as I'm actually missing the products now they have been used up.

 

This particular kit is no longer available on Marks and Spencer's website, but these are.

 

What are your experiences of using high-end/professional hair care ranges; are there any that really stand out (positively and negatively)?

 

*UPDATE- I couldn't go back to using other shampoo's so brought a 200ml bottle from Feelunique.com and a 75ml of the conditioner (I have short hair so don't need a big bottle). Feel Unique also have the try me kits that M&S no longer have in stock for the same price. To be a complete enabler I recommend looking at the Half Discount website for codes (and signing up to the Feel Unique newsletter for their very good sales). Happy shopping :0)

 

 

Caiti xxx

 

 

*Products purchased with my own money*

 

 



 



Herbal Essences 'Bee Strong'

I haven't used Herbal Essences products for donkeys years. Not since I was at secondary school (19 years ago!!). I loved the scent and the incredible shine they gave my hair; I have no idea why I stopped using the range. I suspect I was seduced by newer products with flashier packaging and inflated prices *hangs head in shame*

The 'Bee Strong' shampoo was absolutely gorgeous, a lovely yellow pearly colour with a subtle happy summer scent. Not exactly 'honey' but lovely all the same. The kids loved it, my husband liked it, and I loved it. It lasted around 6 weeks with all of us using it. My boys have very short hair and my husband rocks a shaved head, I have a short pixie crop so none of us have to use much shampoo. I could definitely see the boys had very shiny hair from using this, and mine was just as shiny as my previous shampoo (but at a fraction of the price).

This shampoo is supposed to strengthen your hair shaft and is aimed at damaged hair, I'm not sure if it made a difference strength wise but my hair was definitely sitting well/looking less ravaged despite my serious love affair with my straighteners and hair dyes.

This will be repurchased unless the 'Hello Hydration' version is better- it is the next one from my Superdrug online haul to try. My eldest son has asked me to get again just for him, and took some convincing that we need to try and use the next one before buying any more.


I also purchased the accompanying 'Bee Strong' strengthening intensive conditioning mask. I never buy 'normal' conditioner as I have so many tubes from all the box hair dyes I use, and only use a tiny bit as I have such short hair. I am running low on hair treatments, so thought I would try this for an intensive once weekly conditioning treatment.

The mask has a thick creamy consistency and is white in colour, with the same scent as the shampoo. As I intended to use this as a weekly pampering treat, I washed my hair and slapped this on all over my hair and left it in all day as I did face masks, my nails, caught up on You Tube videos......it never seemed to rinse out as the tub says it will, so I always ended up having to wash it out. I don't mind doing this as I like to wash my hair daily anyway (I know I shouldn't but I like my hair and scalp to feel clean) and as I leave it in all day it's nice to wash from head to toe in a steamy shower.

As a conditioner it is so-so, as an intensive conditioner it seems no better than leaving a regular conditioner on my hair all day. I will finish using it up (or putting it in the 'bag of crap' my girlfriends and I share out with each other) but definitely will not be repurchasing. Perhaps if I had long hair it would be a fairer test, but I can see no benefit to using this over any other conditioner, whereas the shampoo has become a firm favourite.

I got these from Superdrug online when they were on offer, and having just checked they still are! Find the range here.


Caiti xxx


*Product purchased with my own money*