Schwarzkopf Bonacure Hairtherapy: Repair Rescue Conditioner

Good evening ladies,

This will be my last review of the Schwarzkopf trio which I bought when I had my hair dyed purple. I've previously reviewed the sulfate-free shampoo and the hair-mousse like conditioner in the middle. So the last will be the small sized conditioner, Repair Rescue.

Packaging:

I don't really like the packaging for the shampoo and the conditioner. The top heavy design does nothing to the product's appeal. The plastic of the bottles are too hard for me to be able to squeeze every last drop of product out of it; additionally, the roundness also adds to my difficulty to cut the bottle in half (again for the purpose of getting every last bit of product out of it). The lid covers, in contrast are made out of thin plastic and break easily. I dropped the shampoo and now the lid's joint is loose.

Product Consistency:

The product is quite light and does not leave a filmy kind-of sticky residue on your hands after application. However, when applied on hair, it does little to de-tangle my somewhat hard, wet hair, and does not feel anything like a conditioner.

Performance: 

When I chose to buy this instead of the sulfate-free conditioner, I was told that this product was used for women with rebonded hair as rebond is very damaging hence assuring me that this was the closest to a hair salon treatment for my hair. I was also given instructions to ensure that I let the product stay for not more than five minutes or else it'll leave my hair hard. Unfortunately, despite following such instructions, I find that this conditioner fails in conditioning my hair. I was disappointed to find out that this expensive conditioner could not even deliver results that a cheaper conditioner could.

Price:

I think the full size will cost around Php 1,000.

In summary:

I do not recommend buying into the temptation of these promo products next time you're in a salon. I guess Schwarzkopf are just not compatible with my hair since they haven't performed well for me; even their hair dyes don't stick as long. With it's poor performance, it's better to stick with cheaper conditioners for your treated hair.

I hope this has helped you a little in deciding whether to go for that promo deal the next time you're asked to buy your salon's products. Do share with me if you had the same or different experience using Schwarzkopf brands.

Cheers,

LIZ

Schwarzkopf Bonacure Hairtherapy Amino Cell Rebuild Moisture Kick Recharger

Good evening ladies,

As promised, here is my review of the freebie conditioner/treatment product I got from Vivere Salon.

The Schwarzkopf Bonacure Hairtherapy Amino Cell Rebuild Moisture Kick Recharger (phew... that was long...) was given to me as a freebie when I purchased their shampoo + conditioner deal. As what they told me, it's a treatment and conditioner which was highly recommended for treated hair.

I am not sure if I heard it wrong or what but I initially thought it was a leave on conditioner/mousse because on my first try I applied it directly onto my hair and did not wash afterwards. Needless to say, it did nothing to soften or make my hair silky smooth.

The second time I used it, since I was going to put it up for review, I took pictures and I saw the instructions for use. After browsing it ended up rushing back to the bathroom to rinse my hair properly.

Anyway, so the product is mousse-like and smells fantastic. After shampooing you apply it on your towel-dried hair and rinse off after 5 to 10 minutes.

Since the product is mousse-like it's a little tricky to spread evenly over the whole of your hair. However, the good thing is, it doesn't feel greasy or too silky when you start rinsing it out.

After use, my hair does feel less gritty when I comb my fingers through it. Dawn commented, it's not as moisturizing and by the looks of my hair after drying, I do agree. Sorry that I don't have any photos up to compare my hair before and after... I did take pictures but the before was too blurry to even do any justice to the after.

Anyway, the product does have staying power as compared to conventional conditioners. My hair usually feels very rough when it gets wet then smooths out after conditioning. The next day's shower after using this product, I noticed that my hair felt pretty soft to the touch, so I guess that's why they said it was pretty much like a treatment also.

One peculiar thing we noticed, was that on drying, our hair looked curly/wavy. Dawn's curls looked more pronounced and my usually straight flat hair had small curls/wave around the tips. We think this product would be more suitable for people with curls than for people with dyed hair.

As for the packaging, as much as I like the whole mousse idea, the bottle is very very slim and does not make this product ideal for everyday use. Also, another thing that makes it bad for everyday use is its price. This product is around 1k+ in amount so it's pretty expensive.

I don't think I'll be buying one anytime soon. Maybe I'll think about buying it when I get my hair curled one day but as of now, I won't be replenishing my stash once it runs out.

So that's it for this short review. Hope this helps you out.

Cheers,

LIZ

Purple Hair Part 2: Recoloring Success

Hello girls,

Remember my post a few weeks ago about my messed up purple hair goal? If not let me refresh you.

Here was my awesome first day post coloring, which I initially really liked because I had purple hair with cool blue highlights. Until...

The purple washed out and turned brown and white and blue in a really badly coordinated way.

And this is why it is very important that you find a really great stylist who takes care of you and your hair. Sent this photo above to Ms. Rich Abella and she took care of the whole hair fiasco. As you know she has been my stylist for the last two years and I trust her with my hair the most; and I trusted that she could fix the whole thing.

So, we recolored my hair to an even darker shade of purple.

Here it was at the start.

She was able to even out the coloring of my hair. 

Goodbye to the browns and blue streaks and the in between.

Like before, since this one was much darker, it looked almost black in dim/indoor light.

Photo above was taken the day after coloring. Up close, you can really see the purple shining through but from afar, it looks black with an outline of purple.

So I did the same washing routine as the first color. My first wash was 2 days post-color and immediately, my crown appeared lighter than the rest of my hair. And it just got progressively lighter with every wash until all traces of purple were gone.

With the recolor, this is how the color turned out after 2nd wash.

Here is how it looks post second wasing under cloudy sunlight. As you can see, it's still dark but you can tell that it's purple and evenly colored.

When light strikes through, this is how it looks. Pretty purple wouldn't you say?

After the third wash, this is how it looks with indoor lighting.

It's a little less darker, and more vibrant than when it started.

Sorry about all the sweating, it was super hot that day.

Here is how it looks under the shade in the afternoon.

My hair looks super dry because I haven't washed it for two days and I just took off my braids.

And this is how it looks under the yellow light of the setting sun.

I am confident that this recolor will last longer than the previous one. However, using the right dye is just the first step to achieving and making your hair color last.

This is arguably my first super vibrant hair color but previous hair coloring experiences have thought me a lot about making hair color last longer.

1. Wash your hair every other day instead of everyday.

I know most people would say eew... but trust me, if you want to keep that color from washing away, you really have to lessen the time you wash it.

2. If you wash it, wash with Sulfate Free shampoo (but limit it to twice a week only).

The first time I used a sulfate free shampoo was when I colored my hair copper after a failed blue black coloring. Which was pretty expensive to say the least. But totally worth it, you can read about that review here. 

I previously shared that L'Oreal had a cheaper sulfate-free shampoo which I found at SM North Edsa. However, when I went back this year, it was no longer there. So I had to settle with the salon brands which cost around 1k to 1.5k per bottle. 

This Schwarzkopf Color Freeze shampoo costs around 1.5k, and is only around 250 mL. 

But since Vivere had a promo, I also bought a conditioner and paid around 2.3k for these three products. The mousse is free and I will review that in the coming days.

The shampoo significantly reduces the color wash out. The rinse water is lighter colored than when you use regular shampoo. I also noticed that when you wash with it, even the rinse water after using a conditioner is lighter compared to when I don't wash it with the sulfate free shampoo prior.

So back to shampoo routine. This advice will not only help you lengthen the vibrancy of your hair, but it will also help you save money from constantly buying sulfate-free stuff.

3. When you wash your hair, never forget the conditioner.

You can forget about using shampoo for every hair wash but never forget the conditioner. It is super important to never forget to use it, especially if you bleached your hair prior to coloring it. My hair is super course after shampoo, even just after wetting it. So even though I never had the habit of putting conditioner on, I now live by it.

 I was not able to find the cheap L'Oreal Sulfate-free shampoo but I did find their Ever Sleek Sulfate-free Smoothing System conditioner. They're 50% less than their salon counter parts so that's a good deal. I actually initially thought I bought the shampoo, and it saddens me that they seemed to have discontinued this. I really wanted to give the shampoo a try and compare with their Pureology product.

This conditioner is less slippery as compared to your regular conditioners, probably due to its silicone free property. It does tame my hair and reduces frizz and hair is very soft afterwards. But, I have not really seen any much difference with using a sulfate-free conditioner and using any regular conditioner like Cream silk. The rinse water is the same whether I use a sulfate-free conditioner and when I use a regular conditioner.

I think the difference will show as you use it longer, but since I don't want to risk losing my purple hair, I can't really attest to that. Sorry. But for anyone who has tried both worlds for a long time, I hope they'd comment and help me sort this one out.

So that's it or my second shot at my purple hair goal. I hope my tips help you and I hope you can help me in keeping my color on for longer by commenting your own tips at making hair color last. 

Cheers,

LIZ

DIY Hair Coloring with Schwarzkopf!

Hi girls!

Some months ago, my sister was in Germany. Some of her 'pasalubongs' were Schwarzkopf Hair Coloring Creams.

A few days ago, my sister wanted me to try one of them. I actually didn't want to since I was scared it will affect my permed hair and make it less curly. But she still ended up persuading me. Oh well...

 Schwarzkopf Hair Coloring Cream in Blonde

Here are the materials inside the box

*I looove the conditioner that comes with it!

 Here's what hair should probably look like when it's done:

 Unfortunately, my hair is black. Haha! So I'll have to wait and see what mine will look like after the whole process. :P

The process of coloring is very easy. I've been doing it for years now and you've seen several posts of me and my sis getting our hairs colored. Even colored some of my friends' hair too! :P

So here's how I did it:

• Be sure to wear a dark/ old shirt. It tends to get messy especially if you have long hair.
• Mix the coloring cream to the bottle then shake it 'til it's evenly mixed.
• Wear the gloves. No one wants weird stains on the hands!
• Apply to hair. The application is different if you've already colored your hair or if you are just gonna retouch it (It's been a long time since I colored mine as you can see in the next picture).
• Wait for 20-30 minutes. Sometimes longer depending on the hair structure.
• Rinse, rinse, rinse! Then conditioner after!

That's it! :P

I left the cream on my hair for only 20 minutes. The formula is VERY strong!! My sis is the one who uses blonde colors on her hair cuz her hair needs stronger doses for it to absorb the color. I usually go with burgundy or reddish brown colors. That's why I was in-shock when I saw my hair getting super brown in just a few minutes!

So here's what my hair looked like before i colored it.

And here are a few pictures after the hair coloring process in different lighting:

 Indoors with minimal lighting

 Outdoors where it's bright and sunny!

 And in an intensively lit room!

I'm glad of what my hair color turned out. If I let it stay longer, my hair would probably be blonde right now! Haha! 

Cheers,

DAWN

Germany, Nivea and Schwarzkopf

Hello everyone! Yes, I still exist.

It's been a month since the summer academy I attended in Germany ended, and here are a couple of happy pictures (unfortunately, of myself --- too shy to ask if my classmates would allow their faces to be featured on a beauty blog haha):

Revlon Fuchsia lipstick all the way!

A guy classmate thinks I'm cute *only* when I wear red lipstick.

Yes that's a bag from Cole Vintage. Got praises from classmates from Macedonia, Ukraine and India!

Inside one of the churches.

Strolling around the baroque city of Eichstaett!

Construction - what a view!

With my best friend, who looks like a Japanese businessman.

At Nuremberg.

Now the loot:

I wasn't able to grab a lot of beauty goodies - because my studies were unbelievably hectic and we did a lot of traveling (and not shopping) - but I made sure I stocked up on two things from a land so far, far away:

1. Nivea (German version)

• There's a little debate going on in Makeupalley about which Nivea is best - there are three variants manufactured in Thailand, Mexico, and Germany; I'm guessing the formula is modified depending on the climate/weather of the market. 
• The German version is the original and apparently, it has the most fans in terms of effectivity and moisturizing power! Anyway, I can't really tell (because the one I received from Nivea Philippines works for me well too), but I bought four cans and 2 minis. These will last me for years and years! 
• And I do love Nivea creme with a passion. It moisturizes hands and feet extremely well, like no other --- I had to teach my other Filipino classmates how to put some on their cheeks and hands because their skin was peeling due to the cold weather in Bavaria! 
• Aside from that, it also heals chapped lips, calms frizzy hair, and, lo and behold, it also makes insect bites disappear! I always bring a tin in my bag =)

2. Schwarzkopf D-I-Y Haircolor

• Black for my mom.
• Browns for my sister (which she will review).
• Blonde colors for me (to "lift" my black hair --- not sure if I will push through though, because I might get my hair colored at Azta Urban Salon instead of experimenting)

Cheers!

Trace