Products worth the splurge #2

 DIOR Diorskin Nude BB Creme

I am a fan of bases that give that skin-like finish and Dior's BB does exactly that. The coverage is light and it looks like you have no foundation on your skin, but it still blurs imperfections as well as somewhat diminishes the circles. My favourite bit is that it's immediately dry to the touch meaning it sets super fast to a semi-matte finish. It goes on so smoothly and blends so well that it's one of the best products to apply in hurry. Rather surprisingly the lightest colour is actually pale enough for me, which is a rarity especially when it comes to shades selection in my country, although 001 is pink toned. Basically, this just is the best BB I've tried.

 NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

Snow Whites like me know how ridiculously hard it is to find pale shades of foundation and concealers. Chantilly is the lightest shade I ever found and it's actually neutral, so it fits me perfectly when I'm at my palest. The formula is super creamy and the coverage is almost full, so it can be used under the eyes as well as on spots. It's no wonder it's one of my favourite concealers.

BALANCE ME Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm

Whatever is in this stuff is just amazing, since out of all cleansers I've tried so far, this is the one that makes my skin look its best. Since I started using it, I had zero dry patches and before they were my perpetual nemesis. It's a balm cleanser, but one with small oatmeal scrub particles that provide gentle exfoliation, and it removes all but "industrial strength" waterproof mascara while leaving my skin feeling clean yet moisturised.  I'm currently trying some more affordable cleansers and I'm already missing this one.

 OROFLUIDO Beauty Elixir

This was the first silicone-oil that I tried and despite trying loads of the competition, it still remains firmly at the top of my favourites. What I love about it is that the texture is quite thick, which really works well for my thick, dry, coarse hair and I need to use only a small amount, so the bottle lasts me ages. I use it on damp as well as on dry hair and it tames flyaways, gives shine and in general makes the hair more manageable. It also smells bloody amazing, I'd describe it as a rich oriental vanilla-amber scent, but I have notes of the fragrance posted in my original review.

 THE BODY SHOP Body Butters

My love for TBS body butters began at 16 when I visited the shop for the first time during my stay in Berlin. I remember feeling very overwhelmed at the bountiful selection of differently scented products and I quickly grabbed one of the premade gifts for Christmas that included bits from the Shea butter line. Since then I may have developed a sort of an addiction and I've tried quite a few scents. They really are so good. I haven't come across a scent I wouldn't like, the texture of them is so lovely (though it depends on the version) and they are so moisturising. My favourite is Vineyard Peach, which I bang on about all the time. Also currently in my stash is the one from the Honeymania collection, which has a spectacular texture. I highly recommend you try one the next time you're around their shop.

Have a great day!

Empties #5

Herbal Essence Bee Strong Conditioner

This is surprisingly good for a drugstore conditioner and it's so affordable at only 2.45€ per bottle. I love the effect of it, the scent is nice and it moisturises my dry, coarse hair very well. My only real gripe is the packaging because when it's about to run out, you need Hercules' strength to get the rest of the product out (hence why mine in cut in the middle). I know there is a pot version available, which I'd prefer, but it's not sold in my country.

Repurchase: Yes.

John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Moisturising Conditioner

An absolutely lovely conditioner that I have been repurchasing for years and have rarely been without a tube of this in my bathroom. In fact, I currently have a 500 ml bottle of this with a pump.

Repurchase: Yes.

Dove Nourishing Oil Care Express Treatment Conditioner

(a.k.a. Dove Oil Care Nährplege 1 Minute Kur-Spülung)

I used up another one of these - I must have gone through at least a dozen tubes so far. This is one of my favourite drugstore treatments for dry hair. It's very thick, which I love, works great on my dry hair and it smells gorgeous. I recently bought the blue Intensive Repair version to try and it's nice as well, but I still prefer this one.

Repurchase: Yes.

Tigi Bed Head Masterpiece Massive Shine Hairspray

This was my only hairspray for years. I used to love it, but since I discovered Lee Stafford's Hold Tight, I find it a bit sticky from the start and doesn't hold as well as I would like. It can also feel a bit crispy, especially when you really go to town with it, while at Lee Stafford that doesn't happen to me. That being said, this is still a great hairspray and my second favourite. It smells like pineapples (like the (old) Dumb Blonde line), so obviously I like it. 

Repurchase: Probably not, only if Lee Stafford's Hold Tight gets discontinued.

L'Oreal Elvital Volume-Collagen Push-Up Spray

I actually bought this only for the packaging. I needed a better, preferably a spray bottle for Alpecin Medicinal Forte that needs to be applied on the scalp. The nozzle looks right, however, the I find it so hard to squeeze.
So on to the actual product. It's a volume spray that is supposed to be applied close to the the roots. It's a liquid that pretty much feels like water and can be used on damp or dry hair. Due to it's lightness, it doesn't weigh down the hair at all. I notice no additional volume, which is not surprising considering that it has no hold at all. It has a high alcohol content, which is never a good thing in my book, and it also contains sollutable collagen - in all honestly, I have no idea how collagen would be creating volume. It has a chemical scent that is nothing special nor does it last. There are far better volumising products.

Repurchase: No.

The Body Shop Coconut Oil Hair Shine

I wanted to like this, but I just can't. Though the ingredients are nice and there are no silicones, it feels too waxy. As a dry ends treatment on dry hair, it feels too heavy, waxy and it doesn't even give much of a shine. As a pre-wash treatment, it doesn't do much of anything either, particularly compared to proper coconut oil. This has a very hard consistency, especially if it's left in bellow 22°C degrees, so it's hard to scoop it out. You need to warm it up a lot between the hands and then it turns into a waxy oil. I place it on a radiator before use and it feels much more creamy, almost buttery and therefore easier to work with. It smells strongly like hazelnuts to me. The tin is nice and great for travel, I just wish there were a better product inside.

Repurchase: No.

Orofluido Shine Spray

It does what it's supposed to and nothing more. This is a typical shine spray with a high alcohol content as so many of them, though it didn't dry out my hair. As it's expected, it gives lot of shine, but doesn't weight down the hair. Orofluido packed it with their delightful fragrance, so I loved using it as a hair fragrance. It's nice, but I prefer Orofluido Sahara because it also provides care on top of shine (but it is much heavier than this). 

Repurchase: No, but it's nice for those whose hair gets weighted down by products and just want shine.

Rosal Milk and Honey Lip Balm

This is a very waxy feeling lip balm, but still moisturising, though you can feel how it mostly just coats the lips. This waxiness makes it less appropriate for wearing it under a lipstick. The scent is more of a honey and milk meet plastic and beeswax, but not in a bad way. 

Repurchase: No.

Labello Soft Rose Lip Balm

A very average lip balm, but one that a lot of people have/had and some really like it. It really doesn't stand out in any respect, neither the scent, colour or effect.

Repurchase: No.

Balea Sweet Wonderland Lip Balm

I used this only once and I'm tossing it. The scent is a weird, chocolate-chemical one, nothing like the yummy smelling shower gel from this LE. The texture and the moisturising power are below average.

Repurchase: No.

Yves Rocher Noix de Coco Malaysian Coconut Lip Balm

Apart from the scent, which is one of the best coconut scents I tried, it's just not worth it. It's not really moisturising and the packaging is very impractical. The opening is way to small, so the only way to get the product out is with a lip brush and I just can't be bothered. 

Repurchase: No.

Essence Matte Top Coat

I actually ended up using this a lot also as a base. It may sound odd to use it in such a way, but I like it because it dries in less than 10 seconds. The bottle didn't last me that long and what was left got completely unusable.

Repurchase: Not sure if they sell it any more, but I liked it.

Essence Profi-Nail File 4 in 1

I bought several of these so far. There are four different textures: one to trim, one to clean, one to smooth and one to polish the nails. I like it, it does what it's supposed to, does that well, and it's affordable. I still have one that I use all the time.

Repurchase: Not sure if they sell it any more, but I'm sure Essence has a similar one and I will purchase that one.

Have a great day!

Orofluido Update

I ordered a new bottle of Orofluido and as I opened the box I immediately noticed that the colour is more amber than it just to be. I checked the ingredients and they did in fact change them. Argan oil is now the third ingredient on the list, which is a positive change from before. Basically, they reduced the amount of silicones in favour of argan oil. However, they did add Benzophenone-3 also known as Oxybenzone (8. place on the list) which functions as a photostabiliser and sunscreen. There is a bit of controversy surrounding this ingredient, but since it's in a hair product I'm not concerned. I don't apply it on the skin anyway.

Old ingredient list:

New ingredient list:

As for the texture, scent and results, there is little difference, but it is slightly improved. I compared the new and the old formula of which I still have a few drops left and they feel and smell the same. However, I find that my hair stays moisturised longer than with the old formula. The rest is pretty much the same. You can read the review here.

This is one of my favourite hair products, hence why I repurchased it even after testing other (more) popular hair treatments (even though Elixir Ultime is growing on me, but that's just because of the gorgeous scent, the formula is way too light for me). Oh, and if you're wondering why I purchased it now, when I still have so many other mini sized bottles of other treatments, it's because it had a nice discount on cheapsmells and I paid 14€ for it + 3€ for shipping.

Here is kind of a bonus pic of my first acceptable attempt of a four strand braid. It's a month old picture and the braid is a bit messy. Honestly, it took me way too long to learn it. I watched a few how-to youtube videos, but they only left me more confused. Only when I wasn't concentrating at all where each stand should go, I finally did it. And I've been doing these braids a lot last month. They are a nice change from my usual fishbraids and normal braids. Here is my original inspiration and a tutorial.

Thanks for reading!

Hair Oils Series: Conclusion

Time for a round-up. I want to point out that the differences between all apart from Osmo are really small.  If you checked out the pictures of my hair in individual reviews, you'll see there is little if any difference in how my hair looks. A bigger difference is in how your hair feels. Here is my ranking of the five hair treatments I tested.

Winner: Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment

2nd place: Orofluido Beauty Elixir

3rd place: Moroccanoil Original

4th place: Kérastase Elixir Ultime

5th place: Osmo Berber Oil

For me the winner is Macadamia with Orofluido not far behind. Macadamia provided the sleekest, shiniest and most moisturised results, also it is the best defrizzer. Orofluido and Moroccanoil are almost dupes in results, but differ in price and scent. Also Orofluido leaves your hair with more volume. The same applies to Elixir Ultime which made my hair feel very light, silky and bouncy, but left my ends dry. Osmo made my hair feel a bit greasy at first, but dry in a few hours. However, I still love my combination Orofluido Elixir + Sahara best and I'll stick to it.

Some general information about these treatments.

1. Please don't fall for the extravagant over-the-top advertising. These treatments are very good, but nowhere near the miraculous as they are described by the advertisers. It still baffles me why such high prices  of some these treatments. What am I actually paying for? Silicones are cheap and argan oil can't be that expensive if Alverde's Mandel Argan oil is only 3.5€. The only thing left are the fragrances. The nerve of some brands! On the bright side one bottle does last a long time. Please check the prices in online shops first before spending your money in a salon (Macadamia is around 20€ on eBay, while it's around 35€ in Simple salons).

2. These are described as treatments, I prefer to call them styling products, or better, smoothing serums. Even though they contain oils, the amount of them is small and I'm bothered by the first few ingredients: cones. You can use them as a pre-wash treatment and most brands suggest you do so, but I'd never use a product with silicones for several reasons. First, silicones coat the hair and don't nourish it, just conceal the problems. Second, too expensive. Why would I use the pricey oil and then wash it off. I don't think so. Third: pure argan oil, macadamia, coconut and even olive oil work better than these serums as pre-wash treatments. Not to mention how much cheaper they are. I just use regular oils instead. 

3. Don't over do it. A few drops is enough. A 100ml bottle should last you a long time. Mine lasted two years because I wash my hair once or twice a week and I only used it after washing my hair. But I do find that by using more product on wet hair before blow-drying, I get better results. My hair is then sleeker and less frizzy, specially when using Orofluido and Macadamia. I don't want to use too much silicone products, so I use Alverde Haaröl Mandel Argan which is silicone free for when my ends are dry.

4. They tend to be heavier than their silicon serum predecessors. If your hair is oily, they might be too much. However, they are marketed for all hair types, so if you want to make them work for you, the key is in the amount used and distribution. Kerastaste is the lightest and most appropriate for oilier hair. I heard L'Oreal's Extraordinary oil is quite light as well and Mythic Oil was also way to light for my hair when I tried it once at my hairdresser (all are from L'Oreal btw). The rest are quite thick and heavy. Osmo is really heavy.

5. Most have a strong fragrance. All the ones I tried have quite a heavy perfumey scent, so if you're sensitive to that, try to get a sample first or try it at your hairdresser (if they have it, of course). 

There are exceptions in the hair oils world that don't contain silicones. One of them is Alverde Mandel Argan, which actually deserves to call itself oil. Pure oils like argan, macadamia, coconut and olive are heavy and it's difficult to use them as styling products without leaving your hair greasy. I prefer to use them only as pre-wash treatments. Alverde is a great product for those who want a silicon free product for their ends. It's still an oil, but a lighter version. It won't make your hair as silky as those with silicone, but it will actually nourish your hair. I consider it an actual hair care, not just a smoothing serum like the rest. For that reason I didn't include it in this test and because it's drugstore. I use this on dry hair only, I prefer to use silicones on wet hair before blow-drying.
Ingredients: soybean oil, emollient derived from coconut oil, argan oil, walnut oil, almond oil, burdock oil, two Vitamin E variants, Vitamin C, sunflower oil, and six fragrances derived from essential oils.
Ingredients-wise this is a fantastic product. And best of all, it's cheap. It's around 3.5€ in DM's. It's not the best for oily hair, but if your ends are dry give it a go.

I hope this helped if you're on the fence of which one to get. There are so many on the market for such different prices that it's hard to choose which one is for you.  I would still suggest you go and try it at your hairdresser if they have it, or get the sample size bottle first. I'm sorry for such long posts. I try to keep them short, but I always end up writing so much. It's just that I have so much to say, especially when it comes to hair. Thanks for reading!

Links:

Hair Oils Series: Orofluido Beauty Elixir

This is probably the most raved about product on my blog. It's been featured in numerous favourite posts and I purchased almost all the products from this line. What's so special about it is the absolutely gorgeous oriental vanilla-amber scent. I also love the Orofluido Sahara, which is a lighter version of elixir in spray form and the shampoo is nice as well. Two products that left me unimpressed are the conditioner (to light) and shine spray (too much alcohol, Sahara is better). My bottle lasted me two years and believe me, I used it a lot.

Packaging: A clear glass bottle with a gorgeous oriental design on the front. I think it looks most luxurious out of all, a real decoration on your vanity. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with a pump. It's available in 50ml and 100ml version.

Ingredients (Updated ingredients here): Three cones followed by argan oil, cypress oil, fragrance, isopropyl palmitate (emollient and thickening agent, also anti-static), linseed oil, another fragrance and two dyes. It's most similar to Moroccanoil as it also contains argan and linseed oil.

Scent: One of my favourite scents ever. It's an oriental vanilla and amber scent, strong but not overpowering. Much to my displeasure, it doesn't last on my hair.

Top notes: bergamot, orange flower

Heart notes: amber, red pepper, lily-of-the-valley, cyclamen

Base: amber, vanilla, patchouli, sandalwood

Performance and Results: It has a thick texture that is similar to Moroccanoil and Macadamia Natural oil. As with Moroccanoil, I can use quite a lot on wet hair and never have the feeling that it'll make my hair greasy and limp. During blow-drying it makes my hair incredibly sleek, combats frizz and gives a lot of shine. A few drops on dry hair after blow-drying just adds that finishing touch, again gives shine, smooths it down and helps the ends from feeling dry. I said before it's very similar to Moroccanoil, but it's not in any way far behind Macadamia Natural Oil as well. The only advantage that Macadamia has is that it keeps my ends moisturised longer. I do, however, find that this one leaves me with more volume, others sort of kill it a bit (with the exception of Kérastase, but that one is lighter). 

Where to buy: I bought mine through StudioMa (only for Slovene costumers). It's also sold in some hair salons (Simple) and several online shops including eBay (try this seller), Feel Unique, Cheap Smells, Beauty Bay. Slovenske strani: Mična gospodična, Lepo telo.si.

This is a product that deserves to be praised. It doesn't get as much publicity as Moroccanoil, but it performs the same, is cheaper plus it smells so much nicer. I do find this one leaves me with more volume than Morocanoil and Macadamia. It's appropriate for all hair types, but if your hair is really dry perhaps try Macadamia Natural Oil instead and if it's oily go for something lighter like Kérastase. Even after trying so many other treatments from other brands in the 20€+ range, I will repurchase it.

Hair Oils Series: Introduction

Hair oils have flooded the market in the past years, particularly those containing the ''new'' wonderful argan oil. Words like elixir, miraculous and extraordinary are very freely used by brands. All promise you the ultimate hair care product that is going to transform your hair into silky heaven. Exaggerations just pour from the lips of advertisers, with such extravagant descriptions, I wouldn't be surprised if they claimed it also cures cancer. Almost every brand came out with their version, each with a more dazzling name. Just add the new marvelous argan oil and maybe mix in a few other oils to the cheap silicone based serums that have been around for years, include words like miraculous, elixir or mythic and sell it for a hefty price tag. A bit cheeky if you ask me.

Here are some of them in the 20€+ range: (from the left): Marrakesh Oil, Agadir Argan Oil, Osmo Berber Oil, Macadamia Natural Oil, Kérastase Elixir Ultime, Shu Uemura Essence Absolue, Redken All Soft Argan-6 Oil, L'Oreal Professional Mythic Oil and Orofluido Beauty Elixir.

And some cheaper drugstore versions: Lee Stafford Arganoil, Klas Argan, L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil (ingredients), Fructis Miraculous Oil (ingredients), Gliss Kur Daily Oil Elixir (ingredients), Balea Oil Repair Haaröl, Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil, Syoss Beauty Elixir (ingredients).

Are you  familiar with these?:

These are all silicone based hair serums that have been on the market for years. Sure they don't contain argan oil, however some of them contain other oils, like grape seed, jojoba, avocado etc. I don't recall anyone advertising them as miraculous oils.

It sounds like I all over this argan craze, but I'm not. I'm just fed up with the over-the-top advertisement. It's all about the luxurious oils and making it sound like they're the only ingredients, but they conveniently forget to include it also contains a bunch of cones, fragrances and dyes. But the truth is: Silicone serums with argan oil are brilliant. Of course, nowhere near miraculous, but really, really good (at least for my hair). I've had a lot of silicone based serums (actually all apart from two in the upper picture) and honesty, they leave much to be desired. My hair is very dry and it needs that little bit of extra help to keep it moisturised. I guess that few drops of added argan oil does the trick.

I've been using Ororfluido for two years now and I still love it. However, there is so much talk about Moroccanoil, Macadamia Natural oil, Kérastase Elixir Ultime and others that I started to wonder: Is the grass really greener over there? I ordered small bottles of the most popular brands to compare. I will do a post on each individually and then do a short recap post as a conclusion There will be seven posts in including this one and I'll post one review per day, so keep your eyes peeled. I'll have links in every review to keep it organised. I used the same hair care routine with all of them - shampoo, conditioner (drugstore one, Dove Oil Care) and heat protection- to really see the difference.
Reviews will be posted in the following order:

1. Kérastase Elixir Ultime, 2. Moroccanoil Treatment Original, 3. Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment, 4. Osmo Berber Oil, 5. Orofluido Beauty Elixir.

Links:

What is the deal with argan oil? (feel free to skip this part if you dislike geography and sciency stuff)

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard of argan oil. If you're anything like me, you found it at least a bit curious how this argan oil craze came to be. I mean, until two years ago I've never even heard of this ''groundbreaking'' oil. It's like it just dropped out of the sky and now is added to almost every cosmetic product. Here are some benefits of using this oil on your hair:  

Argan oil penetrates into the hair pores or shafts and enhances the elasticity of hair. It restores the smoothness of hair and makes them manageable again. Vitamin E present in argan oil is very useful in restoring the natural hair and renewing and repairing the damage caused by destructive agents. It is an additional benefit of argan oil that it cures the brittle hair and increases the life of color treated hair. In this job it even surpasses in competitiveness from Jojoba oil. 

Argan tree is native to North Africa, the Atlas region to be precise. It is now an endangered species and under protection of Unesco. It grows wild in semi-arid areas, is adapted to drought conditions and has a deep root system, making it the perfect tree to protect from soil erosion and desertification (I hope you know about the problem of the advancing Sahara desert). Because argan oil's popularity is increasing, these trees became valuable and more effort is given to protecting them. Not to mention the social impact of oil production on local communities, with new jobs and a steady income. So every time you buy argan oil based product don't feel too bad. At least something good came out of trying to satisfy human vanity. 

Thanks for reading!

My Current Hair Care - Part 2

I talked about shampoos and conditioners in the first part (here) and now for the second part, dealing with serums, leave-in conditioners/treatments and styling products. Light green text are links to where you can get these product or to original reviews.

Redken Extreme Anti-Snap is a leave-in treatment that also provides heat protection. If you have dry hair, using a leave-in treatment/conditioner is very important. I apply 2-3 pumps on damp hair after conditioner.This is a protein treatment that helps prevent breakage and split ends. It's a very light lotion consistency with a sort of artificial sweet fruity scent. The bottle is massive, you get 250ml. I've had mine for about 1/2 year and I still haven't used half of it yet (I use it every time I wash my hair). Do I notice my hair being less damaged? Yes. But it's not a dramatic difference. I like it because it's very light, it has heat protection and I noticed my hair is more tamed. I'll probably repurchase, if I don't decide to try the Kerastaste Nectar Thermique and like it more. I bought mine on feelunique.com. Before this, I used John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Shine Shock and I really liked it, but it didn't have heat protection (they changed the name now into Glaze or something).

Orofluido oil is a product I've raved about for years now. I'm actually still using the same bottle, but now I have just a few cm left. This is your basic silicone treatment with argan, linseed and cypress oil, just like all other argan oil treatments which are all the rage now (Morrocan oil, Kerastaste Ultimate oil, L'Oreal Mythic Oil and numerous drugstore replicas including Garnier Fructis, L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary oil , Syoss Beauty Elixir, etc.,...). It help with the frizz, gives amazing shine and keeps it looking more healthy and not dry. What differentiates it from the others is the luxurious oriental vanilla/amber scent that is to die for. Also this is a very thick oil, thicker than most others and you only need 2-3 drops or it might be too much. My only gripe is that it needs a pump, but the bottle is gorgeous. I bought mine in Simple hair saloon, but it also available for Slovene shoppers on StudioMa. Some other online shops where you can get it are feelunique, cheapsmells and eBay.

Alverde Haaröl Mandel und Argan is an exception in the argan oil trend. This one does not contain silicone, just argan, almond, soy and walnut oil with some vitamin E, but works all the same. For a very reasonable price 3€ you get an amazing quality oil. Just read my original review if you want to know more. I use it almost every day and it really helps taming the frizz and more importantly helps with the dryness. I highly recommend it.

Orofluido Sahara is basically a lighter spray version of the original oil. It's a dry oil that protects your hair against sun, wind and dryness. It has UV filters which is great for protecting your hair against the damaging sun, also for helping your hair colour from fading (If you color it, of course). If you ever used dry oils you know how it feels, you can spray a lot of product in your hair and it won't be wet like with spray conditioners.  It's smells amazing, identical as the oil, oriental amber and vanilla. It leaves my hair very shiny and smelling amazing. I use it either before or after I use a hair dryer and every time I want my hair to look a bit more shiny or it feels dry. I got mine from StudioMa (16€), but it's sold everywhere you can get Orofluido products.

Tigi S Factor Flat Iron Shine Spray Heat Defender is an absolutely fantastic heat protection with a lovely sweet apple/pear scent. It feels sort of oily so it instantly smooths, gives shine and makes your hair look very healthy. After straitening or curling your hair, it looks so smooth, even your ends look healthy. You get only 125ml which is not a lot for the price (I paid 13,74 € on cheapsmells.com), but still the quality is superb. Anyway, I'm still using the same bottle and I use this a lot, so it's not ''that'' expensive. This is one of my staple products.

Garnier Fructis Surf hair (around 4€) is a product I use when I feel too lazy to blow dry my hair or at least curl/straighten it. I've done a review with pictures here. My hair is naturally curly, but the curls are not defined. This is a great product for defining and amplifying your curls, but it's difficult to get the amount right. Too much means too scrunchy and weird feeling hair, too little means no effect at all. Also despite that the curls look great the first day, on the second day it looks way too frizzy. I don't use it as much as I used to, but the first day effect is great.

Syoss Volume Lift Dry Shampoo (around 4€) is something I use a lot. Not because my hair get greasy, but to get some volume and freshness. This gives amazing volume and the scent is really fresh and strong. My first can had an odd working nozzle and the gas was leaking, but other ones worked fine. I've used a few bottles so far and I still love it as on the first day. I did a mini rave here. 

I rarely use hair spray, but my favourite is L'Oreal Elnett. It has great hold, but doesn't leave your hair scrunchy. I have the travel version, gold-blue one, it's sold in Müller and not DM. I have some voluminising products, but I rarely use them. One is Got2b Powder'ful Volumen Stylin Powder. It's the Osis+ Dust It dupe (Got2b is also from Schwarzkopf). It gives amazing volume, however, it lasts only 10 minutes. I also have travel sizes of  Balea Power Volume Mousse and Hair spray. The hair spray is fine, but not as good as Elnett. The mousse is great for massive volume that lasts.

For combing my hair I have just an ordinary cheap wide tooth comb from Müller and a black Tangle Teezer which is now about 6 years old. 

I never used a hair dryer before this Summer. I hated them because every time my hairdressers completely abused my hair and left them dry as a Sahara (I haven't found one that would actually know how to cut and treat my hair *sigh*. For the same reason I rarely go to the hairdressers.). So I stayed away from hair dryers and let my hair dry naturally. Of course this only resulted in frizziness and an unkempt look, also my hair felt coarse and hard to the touch, like I used too much hair spray. So my Remington Ionic Protect&Shine hair dryer was just collecting dust until I found this youtube guru, who has similar hair to mine. I bought a round ceramic barrel brush by Ebelin (DM), which has a orange line that turns yellow when it gets too hot (9€ at any DM). Thanks to Carlibell55 I finally learned how to properly style my hair with a hair dryer. It just makes my hair look more sleek and soft. This leaves me with straight hair with volume. If I want really sleek hair, I use my ancient Remington hair straightener (It still works great, though. Half on my family has been using it for the last 6 years). But more often I use my Remington Pro Soft curls curler with an 1'' barrel (2,5 cm). I bought it in the Summer and it was around 30€ in Interspar. It gives me lovely soft curls. I also have a curler/straightener with an 1,5'' (3,8 cm) barrel. This one does not make your hair curly, but more wavy with volume (watch this to get the idea of how it looks). I used to use it a lot, before I got Pro Soft curls.

Here is a picture of how I mostly style my hair in the past moths (bare in mind the lighting was horrible, the weather is horrible lately). I used Remington Pro Soft curls for curls like that. My entire care for this look was: Pyhtopolleine oil, La Roche Posay Kerium shampoo, Dove Oil Care gold conditioner, Redken Anti-Snap, I then blow dried it and straightened it with a brush. I put some Tigi heat protection on the ends and curled it using Pro Soft curls. I finished by combing with fingers through the curls and added some Orofluido. It still looks a bit frizzy, but I never really got rid of that. This is my natural hair colour.

This completes my long epic about my hair care. I know it's a lot of products, but as I said my hair is very high maintenance. But anyway, I wash my hair every 4-5 days. I hope this was useful and thanks for reading!