[review] oyin handmade juices & berries nourishing herbal leave-in

ingredients:  purified water infused with horsetail, lavender, nettle, roses, and chamomile; organic flaxseeds; aloe vera juice; vegetable glycerine; essences of lavender, sweet orange, ylang ylang; grapefruit seed extract; citric acid

i've had this product for maybe a year now; maybe even before i went natural. i gave my first bottle away to a natural friend who was in love with the smell (and subsequently encouraged me to taste it). a few months ago, i went to their bottling party and picked up another bottle, looking for something quick&dirty to moisturize my slowly-sprouting fade. i got maybe three uses before i stopped using this and stored it away. i decided to revisit my nearly-full bottle and now i'm ready to bang out this review.

you get a very generous 8 oz bottle for only $11, which i think is an excellent price. oyin very recently introduced sample bottles, so you can try out 2 ounces of this for $3.50. i love the idea of cute, portable size products! how cool is it to have something called juices&berries in your purse, ready to whip out in the face of sudden dryness. what i thought was especially cool was that you can buy the sample sizes of all three leave-ins as a set for ten bucks. not bad at all. i am big on options and variety, so this is very nice.

the bottle is a gorgeous deep, cobalt blue, which plays nicely with the juicy reds of the berries on the label. i really enjoy oyin's labels for their clean font. they utilize the entire space and the thick, stylized "juices & berries" just screams of this playful, retro afro-chic that is representative of the oyin brand and their fun, lovable staff.

the scent is very succinctly described in the name - juices and berries. this is a lush, sweet scent that is very natural. it smells like (and tastes like) juice. the berries temper the sweetness just enough with a hint of tartness. the staying power on this is amazing too. you can smell it fill the air when you spritz it. thank goodness the smell is delicious. you can walk around smelling like a smorgasbord of yummy berries all day.

despite all these positive things, the performance left much to be desired.

one thing immediately noticed was how it left my hands feeling. my hands felt sticky and coated and sure enough, my hair felt the same. my ears and neck where the spritz hit felt dirty, like i needed a good washing. i stopped using this when i had my fade because i didn't want a scalp that felt like that. the benefits weren't great enough (if there were any at all) to make me keep using.

i revisited again today, deciding to dampen my hair first then follow up with the spritz. i will say, i really liked how it styled my hair. it caused a bit more shrinkage than usual, but i didn't mind. my hair looked shiny and lush and i was glad that i didn't have to slather more avocado butter in my hair to make it look presentable.

but it took my hair forever to dry. my hair feels fine now, four hours later, but i couldn't help but notice how much my hair dripped. i hate the drippies with a passion, but i have been getting better at minimizing. maybe i just sprayed too much water this morning, i don't know, but having the juices & berries drip all over my face and neck and leave me sticky was not fun. i've noticed that i've had the same experience on dry hair. i don't feel as though the product sinks in quickly at all; 30 minutes later my hair is either still damp or sticky, neither of which i enjoy, nor do i feel i should have to experience.

perhaps this is all user error, seeing as how so many people seem to absolutely love this spray. regardless, i don't feel as though i should have to work with a product but so much to get the desired results, especially when there are already so many minuses. i could dilute it, but i don't feel as though i should have to. i'm not sure what i'm going to do with this product. maybe i'll try diluting it, just to say i did work with it, but if i can't make it work by the time i get to half of the bottle, it's being gifted to my roommate (who is always snooping through my hair goodies anyway).

obviously, i won't be repurchasing this. maybe the other sprays aren't as sticky. i feel as though i kind of set myself up with this one - after all, juice is sticky, so why wouldn't this be? (i know i'm reaching here, lol).

and yes, i did spray some of this into my mouth. it was all natural, so i figured why not. and yes, it do taste like juices and berries (but it has a very weird after-taste). would i do it again... probably.

ftc disclaimer: i am in no way affiliated with this company. i was not paid for this review and the product was purchased with my own monies. :)

[review] ORS creamy aloe shampoo

ingredients: Water Aqua , Cocamidopropyldimethylamine Propionate , Trideceth-7 Carboxylic Acid , PPG-5-Ceteth-10 Phosphate , Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate , Ammonium Laureth Sulfate , Lauramide Glucoside , Lauryl Glucoside , Polyquaternium-10 , Cocoglucoside , Glyceryl Oleate , Disodiium EDTA , Olive Oil Olea Europaea , Cetrimonium Carboxydecyl , PEG-8 Dimethicone , Cetrimonium Chloride , Sulfated Castor Oil , Lecithin , Propylene Glycol , PEG-12 Oleate , Silicone Quaternium-2 , Panthenol Succinate , Fragrance Parfum , Aloe Barbadensis Gel , Glyceryl Polymethacrylate , Propylene Glycol , Polyquaternium-7 , Cocamide MEA , Glycol Distearate , Sodium Laureth Sulfate , Triethanolamine , DMDM Hydantoin , Methylparaben , Propylene Glycol , Propyl Paraben , Methylchloroisothiazolinone , Methylisothiazolinone , Green No. 3 Cl 42053 , Yellow No. 5 Cl 19140

:)

i am happy to be getting around to this review. as i said in a few pages back, i've been using this since the beginning of my natural hair journey - and even before that. i haven't a clue why this has skipped my mind as far as reviewing goes. i suppose this was just one item in my arsenal that was just there; i never really thought about it. it never gave me any troubles, and i never had to worry about how or when to use it; i just use it when it feels right. so let's get this review started.

you can snatch up an 12.5 oz bottle of this for roughly $5-6 dollars, depending on where you shop. you can find this at your local sally's, target, walmart, beauty supply, etc. like almost all of the ORS products, the shampoo is fairly ubiquitous. it's a staple in many people's stashes, cheap, effective, and easy to find. when i first started my HHJ, i was in love with the replenishing conditioner (i even bought the salon size version). i fell off when i heard they'd changed the recipe and moved on to try other conditioners. 

*sidebar* i'm not sure if this is the same shampoo as the "aloe rid," which i have heard a few different people say. i can't find anything on it, so i'm assuming when people say aloe rid they mean creamy aloe.

standard squeeze bottle which is a little stiff. label is kinda oogleh, and the textured background screams cheap 90s to me, but i don't really have any complaints, haha. like i said, this is one item i don't think too much about. so to say that the label isn't egregiously ugly is fine with me.

the scent on this is light and fresh. it shouldn't be offensive to anyone, seeing as how you probably won't even notice it. not that i've ever had a shampoo smell stinky, LOL. 

the consistency of this is creamy, just like the name states. i love how easily workable this is. you only need a little bit to get a delicious, bubbly lather but i always end up using too much (as always). it's fairly thick, but spreads very easily. i like how easy it is to work all over my head.

when i first went natural, i used this once a month and i'm thinking of going back to it. it cleans very thoroughly. i would say that it leaves my hair only very slightly stripped (if that). i haven't had this shampoo cause me any problems with dryness. my deep conditioners usually put back the moisture easily. so i would say that this gives a very deep clean. i love this after a few weeks of styling with gel - it gets off everything. and i like seeing the soap foam up and clump my curls, lol. my hair always feels shiny and new after lathering up with this!

i would say that this is a staple and i would repurchase. i'm not a big shampoo person, so i've been using this just out of simplicity. but i realize now that i wouldn't have continued to use it if i didn't like it! :)

ftc disclaimer: i am in no way affiliated with this company. i was not paid for this review and the product was purchased with my own monies. :)

[review] hairveda's hydra-silica nourishing tea mist

-pic coming soon-

ingredients (on bottle): purified water, chamomile flower water, horsetail, neem leaf, hydroxyetheyl, polysorbate 20, phthalate free fragrance.

ingredients (on site): distilled water, special herb blend, glycerin, hydroxethyl urea, polysorbate 20, germall, light fragrance.

i just got this in the mail the past weekend and i have been using it everyday since then! i had no real reason for purchasing, other than it was on sale and i was looking for something quick&easy for my dry hair. i think it was on sale for only $4.00, so why not?

like all of hairveda's products, the price point on this would be agreeable even if it weren't on sale. for $6.75, you get 4 oz of this spritz. my only complaint... the size. not that there's anything wrong with four ounces - i think it's the perfect size to pop into your purse or to test out, buuut... it isn't nearly enough for those of us who have come to love this spritz. the shelf life on this is 6 months, which is great - but can i get it to stretch that long? i've already made a sizeable dent in the amount of product and it hasn't even been a full week, but that could be because i'm heavy handed or because my pump is faulty (more below).

this tea spritz comes in a simple spray bottle, although it has a solid weight to it and the plastic is solid without being thick or heavy. the top (both the cap and stem) are sturdy and the pump is smooth and pleasing to the touch. however, my pump was broken. :/ go figure. i can get one pump out before i have to wait for it to "pop" back up fully. this is annoying. i plan on buying a bottle to transfer the product into, but i really enjoy the packaging on this product, so that disappoints me a little bit.

the label pleases me in an odd way. i say odd way because it's not a very attractive label, color wise. but i love the dusty dark brown/black because it's not a color you see too often. the colors do agree, but remind me of halloween, despite the muted-ness. the font is smooth and the information on the label is arranged neatly. they took good advantage of their space, which i adore; it makes the product seem very clean and "legit" - you can tell they invest time into their packaging.

the website describes the scent as tropical mango, which i actually didn't notice until i smelled my bottle just now. i was aware that the smell was pleasing, but since it mists out, i only caught a hint of sweetness, which i did notice and enjoy. the scent is very light and airy, with just enough sweetness. i don't know if it's mango (as i have had very little exposure to mangos, lol) but it does remind me of some kind of island fruit, which definite tones of berry. this scent is perfect - just sweet enough and very subtle. i especially like this because it isn't that "candy sweet" smell i experience in so many products. this smells very natural. love it!

i have been spritzing this on my hair once (sometimes twice!) a day and izzy has regained a softness that i'm not even sure she had before. my hair is actually touchable. it absorbs quickly and my hair feels so refreshed and happy. and the feeling lasts all day! i'd never really been into spritzes after trying oyin's juices&berries, but i am so glad i tried this! it's a fast and simple step to my regimen and i feel the effects immediately. 


another thing i like is that i can spray this on dry hair and feel the effects just minutes later. it is absorbed quickly and doesn't leave my hair feeling like it has any type of residue, and it doesn't feel sticky.

now, i will offer a small disclaimer. i notice that this product contains glycerin and i've always been a little wary of humectants. the weather here in MD has been gorgeous the past few days, so i'll be paying close attention to how it performs in colder weather. but as of right now, i don't see why this wouldn't make staple status!

ftc disclaimer: i am in no way affiliated with this company. i was not paid for this review and the product was purchased with my own monies. :)

where did product reviews go!?

so i know i haven't done a product review in forever! i haven't been using a lot of new products, so i don't have much to chime in on. but i do have a few products i would like to review (with a much larger list of what i want to try).


so my goal this week is to review hairveda's hair spritz and the VS so sexy conditioner, two items i love. maybe also the oyin juices&berries and the shine&define. if i can think of anything else to review, i'll be sure to put it in the queue. :)


as for an update on izzy, my hair is sooo deliciously soft now! i haven't been doing anything too differently. gave up my gel for moisturizer in the morning, and added hairveda's tea spritzer to my routine. the tea spritzer may be working miracles on izzy! i am loving it! this might be able to get me through the winter months (until i get my steamer that is!)


how is your hair doing? :)

dear izzy, i still want to marry my denman.

a post dedicated to my dearest izzy. :)


this is the reaffirmation i have been looking for in the past few weeks.


i decided to go home and do laundry (for free) this weekend, and while handling my clothes, why not take this time to treat izzy to the deep conditioning i cheated her out of last week? i shampooed off a week of styling with gel, excited to see the suds bubble up through my curlies. i haven't had a good shampoo in what seems like forever, and i've always loved shampooing my hair.


speaking of shampoo, right now my current staple is ORS creamy aloe, simply because i don't have anything else to use. i'm not sure why i haven't reviewed it yet, because i think it's a great shampoo. i've been using it since day 1 of my natural journey. so i think it's safe to say it'll be a lifetime staple out of simplicity and effectiveness. :) i do still want to buy a full size of the shampoo i got from lush earlier this year.


anyway!


i slathered on a generous glob of jessicurl weekly deep treatment and worked it through. i am still working with this for my review; i feel this may be more of a protein conditioner than moisturizing one, which is fairly new for me. and proceeded to brush it through with my denman. a week of playing in and pulling at my coils had me convinced that i was in dire need of a good detangling.


i fell in love with my denman all over again.


it glided through my hair, clumping them sooo beautifully that my first thought was: "there's no way i can cut izzy again." nope, i just can't do it. it was love - seeing everything coiled, clumped, and juicy. i am ready to finally grow izzy out and see her in her full glory - i am so impatient for an afro. 


i really wish i could've taken pictures - it was such a unique, gorgeous site. natural hair is one of those amazing things where the more you see it, the more you grow to love it. there's just something so profoundly gorgeous about seeing the twists and turns that spring from your scalp, in knowing that you are perfectly beautiful without even trying... that your beauty is natural, and no one can take that from you. :)


sigh. i was feeling it just now, lol.


even more of a unique site is seeing my blonde grow out... my hair has grown over an inch, two in some spots. i don't really know how much you're meant to get in a month, but seeing my blonde ends just suddenly shift into my dark brown is such a cool sight. i've been thinking of coloring again soon, but i'm going to wait until i order my steamer. i don't feel like committing to color again unless i know i'm armed to take care of it. i also plan to order some moisturizers from jasmine's beauty and bath and qhemet, just to see what's out there.


speaking of buying more things... Mozeke is having a sale this wednesday! 30% off! i'd been meaning to order more of the moisturizing masque, so this is especially delicious! :) this would also be the perfect time to try out a few of their samples, if you were interested!


loving this natural life!

here's the plan.

i've decided to just go ahead and let izzy do her thing. i am always surprised at how big she's gotten when i wash my hair. i've been meaning to go in for a shape-up for about three weeks now, so i need to get on that, but i will be growing her out from now on.


while i absolutely adored my short hair (and despite people telling me to fade it again), i am ready for more comb coils, braids, twists, and fro-hawks. i enjoyed my short hair for the summer and i don't have any hats yet, so i need something atop my head in the meantime, lol. ;)


i do plan to color again, this time a deep, warm chocolatey brown. maybe a little reddish. i have a good idea of what i want to do, but my hair has been feeling dry lately so i'm sitting with a deep conditioner in my hair now. i'll probably do two treatments a week while i look for new moisturizers to try.


what i really really really want, without a doubt in my mind is a steamer! the whole idea just seems so deliriously luscious - all that warmth and heat penetrating my strands. imagine kicking your favorite deep conditioner up a few notches.  hell yeah! i've had my eye on the behuetiful steamer, ever since Mae from naturalchica did a review on youtube. her hair looked delicious when she came out. and with my dryness, it looked like just the treatment i was looking for! unfortunately it's sold out now. ;/ go figure. hopefully around christmas i can snatch one up. i'm so excited! it's going on my list to santa!


i've also come to the realization that i just can't leave my hair alone. i just have to cut it or color it. i'm not happy with it just being. which is why i'm ready for longer hair. i can do a lot more, style-wise, so i can leave izzy alone for a while. i'm sure she doesn't enjoy color nearly as much as i do. i have to take better care of her. i've been really lazy and neglectful lately which isn't cool for her or me. so i plan to leave this conditioner on for the rest of the night, then actually style my hair (a shingle), so i can leave my hear alone for the rest of the week.


there's my "extended" update for now!

IWHIPMYHAIR

BACK&FORTH.


hee hee. ;)


it's been soooo long. i have so much to talk about about my hair. first off, apologies. i haven't had any reviews in quite a while. :( partially because i haven't been trying any new products, but there are still a few that i have YET to review. unfortunately, with school back in session, i can't see any coming anytime soon, especially as i'll be sticking with my staples.


as for izzy... things are going okay. i haven't DC'ed in at least a month and poor izzy is so dry. i've just been rewetting and styling every day, so i don't really deal with the issue of actual care. but i plan to do a dc either tonight or tomorrow. i've been picking her out daily just because it's much easier to wear an afro than to re-wet. but i'm learning that this is a big nono. all that rough combing and manipulation is breakage city. but it's so much easier to pick and go. i'll probably shingle once a week and just spritz in the morning instead of saturating.


i plan to order more of my mozeke dc soon. i also want to try the jessicurl weekly deep treatment, which has gotten a lot of great reviews. i also plan on working my way through some moisturizers to see what i like. my avocado butter is still great, but i feel as though my hair does need a little bit more, especially in the winter months.


i'm easing back into that awkward in-between stage with izzy, so i've been torn in-between getting another fade or growing it out. the fade is really calling to me, but i've been dreaming about twisting, and cornrolling, and making puffs, and making flat twists... i think i'm ready to see how long izzy can grow! i didn't realize how much growth i had until i cut around my birthday earlier this year. i wish i had taken pictures.


just a quick update!