Garnier Ultimate Blends Conditioner: The Sleek Restorer

I admit I probably use conditioner slightly too much - I just hate the feeling of my hair when I haven't used it. I have used a Herbal Essences conditioner for years; honestly only because it's usually on offer in Boots or Tesco, not because it works wonders for my hair. Because of this I decided to try something different recently and picked this up in Boots as it was on an introductory offer. I believe this is somewhat of a new release, and I think there is a whole range, targeting different hair types and problems - but the one i tried, the Sleek Restorer, is targeted at 'dry, frizzy hair'.

"Our Ultimate Blends Sleek Restorer Conditioner, with Coconut Oil & Cocoa Butter infuses dry hair, leaving it beautifully nourished and silky to the touch"

Garnier claim that this will leave hair with 'touchable smoothness'. I have to say, I wasn't all that impressed with this. It smells lovely but for me this is where the positives end.

I simply felt that this didn't leave my hair feeling soft and smooth; in fact I often struggled to get a brush through my hair after using this. I found it left my hair feeling quite dry, despite being aimed at people with dry hair, which to me, should mean that it is hydrating.

My hair also did not look as shiny as it does when I used the Herbal Essences conditioner. I found my hair looked quite dull and lacklustre as opposed to being beautifully nourished and silky to the touch as Garnier claim.

Overall I'm quite disappointed in this - I hadn't read much into it before I purchased it so didn't know what to expect but I did expect my hair to be left shiny and soft at least. Of course this may work for some people as it's extremely subjective depending on hair type etc, but sadly it didn't work for me.

This is available from Boots priced at £2.79 for 200ml. 

Lush Lip Scrubs

I'm not sure if many companies actually produce lip scrubs - I know the only ones I've ever heard much about are the Lush lip scrubs and some others which are stupidly expensive so needless to say I haven't ventured into trying them. I am, however, a big fan of Lush's offerings.

The two I have are the infamous Bubblegum one, and Lush's seasonal offering, the Santa lip scrub. Both claim to buff away dry/dead skin and leave your lips super smooth and soft. Surprisingly, the two actually have very different textures - the Bubblegum scrub is quite grainy and doesn't hold together all that well, and the Santa scrub feels less harsh but is actually easier to use as it holds together and is easier to get out of the tub. 

The two sugar scrubs are edible - meaning that once you have buffed your lips with them, you can lick your lips rather than remove the product with tissue/a cotton pad. This is a nice concept, although I am aware some people would find this rather disgusting! The bubblegum scrub is (obviously) bubblegum flavoured, and tastes amazing. The Santa scrub is supposedly cherry cola flavoured, although I can't say it actually tastes of cherry coke. It does have a pleasant taste though, which is good.

The Santa scrub actually came with little red hearts on top of the scrub, which looked nice and cute but I have to say they added nothing to the scrub - they seemed to stick to my lips and teeth and tasted horrible! They are just on the top of the scrub though so once you've used the top layer they aren't an issue.

I do like these - they leave your lips extremely soft and would make your lips a nice smooth canvas to apply lipstick should you wish, and the bubblegum one especially tastes amazing. I do think they're slightly overpriced as you could make them yourself since they are predominantly sugar and oil, but I do think they are a nice addition to your collection!

These are £5.50 each and available from lush.co.uk (the santa scrub was limited edition for christmas though - sorry!). I believe these also come in popcorn flavour, and a mint choc chip flavour, so there should be something for everyone!