ProductWhores

Awaken Your Roots

As much as I love fancy, high-end products, I think I love a good drugstore run even more.  I could seriously spend almost as much time roaming around the aisles of a drugstore as I could reading magazines at the bookstore.  (And that is A LOT of time, people.  I sort of made a deal with myself that to save money, I would let myself buy a big mocha latte and then read all the weekly fashion and gossip magazines at Borders instead of buying them because the amount of money I was spending on them was ridiculous considering that it takes like, ten minutes to "read" each one.  So needless to say, I've been spending even more time in bookstores lately than usual).  Anyway, I said that I was going to try John Frieda's new Root Awakening line this week and I did.  I'm totally digging it - it's a great addition to John Frieda's vast offerings and because you can find it in drugstores, it's perfect for when you go on a trip or to visit family (what I'm doing right now), forget to pack shampoo and conditioner and have to make a run to the nearest store. 

The Root Awakening line is formulated to "purify, stimulate, feed and nourish roots and scalp."  It totally smells like Eucalyptus, which I love (it contains both that and Peppermint Oil) and it even tingles a little when you use the shampoo, which is kind of a nice way to start the morning, especially in the hot weather during the summer.  (For those of you who hate that feeling though, don't worry, it's not a big tingling.  You won't be like, throwing your head back and gasping like in the Herbal Essences commercials).  There are three different varieties of shampoo and conditioner - Health Infusing is for those with normal hair, Nourishing Moisture for those with dry hair, and Strength Restoring for people whose hair is breakage-prone.  There's also a Health Boosting Detangling Spray that goes on every day to keep your hair shiny and bouncy.  I've been using the Strength Restoring shampoo and conditioner for almost a week now and I like the way my hair looks - it definitely feels clean and healthy, which are the two most important things to me.  (Well, that and shiny, but my hair is generally pretty good in that department.  Or so I like to think.  It's possible I might be fooling myself, but if I am and any of my friends are reading this, you're not allowed to tell me I'm wrong.  Just let me have this one).

I think Root Awakening might be my favorite out of all the different John Frieda lines, partly because of the delightful smell.  (It stays in my hair all day!)  I usually need a pick me up around 5pm and dammit, if sniffing my hair helps to keep me going, I'm not ashamed to admit it!  (Well, I sorta am, which is why I only do it if no one's around, but whatever...)  I really like the Detangling Spray too - usually I just leave stuff in NJ if I buy it there, but even though I know I can grab another one of these when I'm back in L.A., I just might have to pack my almost full bottle of that in my suitcase and just pray that some luggage handler doesn't throw my bag and break it.  What can I say?  I like to live on the edge...

Get Great Hair

I've always liked Ali Larter.  She was really good on the first season of "Heroes," she was in one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies of all time, "Varsity Blues," and when I saw her at a restaurant last year, she just looked so naturally pretty and happy.  (And she's from NJ too!)  She was at a party last week to celebrate InStyle Hair, one of InStyle's special issues, and she looked so gorgeous, I just had to get the scoop on her look.  (How pretty is that dress?  It's so different and unique - I could never pull off something like that, but she looks amazing in it).

The party was hosted by John Frieda Root Awakening and Marchesa at the Hotel Gansevoort Penthouse and Ali's red carpet look was created by John Frieda International Creative Consultant Harry Josh.  Here's how he did it.  Josh:  “The look I created for Ali emphasizes how naturally healthy and vibrant her hair is. I started by spritzing hair with Root Awakening Detangling Spray, then blow dried in sections using a natural bristle brush to maintain her hair’s own health and shine. I finished the look with a styling crème to add polish to her naturally sleek, full hair.”  Doesn't her hair look great?  Every time I see someone who looks so good with bangs like that, I want to cut my own bangs again, but it's just not a good idea.  Every time I cut bangs, I end up growing them out three months later and the process takes forever.  I need to give up on the idea of bangs and just accept that I was not meant to have them.

I'm testing out some of the John Frieda Root Awakening products later on this week, so I'll keep you posted.  In the meantime, you can pick them up for yourself at your nearest drugstore or read more about them on johnfrieda.com.  

Weather Proof Your Hair

The weather here in Los Angeles has been kind of weird lately.  One day it's 95 degrees and sunny, the next it's 60 degrees and overcast.  It's very annoying, not to mention the fact that it's making my hair look awful.  On a whim, I decided to test out the new Weather Works by Frizz-Ease shampoo and conditioner from John Frieda ($5.99 each).  Designed with a special Shielding Technology that gives your hair a barrier to seal in the moisture that you need and keep out the extra that you don't, they prevent your hair from frizzing up while protecting it from the sun (with a UV inhibitor) and windy conditions.  So pretty much anyone from Chicago to Texas can use this duo and improve the way their hair looks.  I love all purpose products that I can use year round - there's nothing worse than when you love a summer product and have to give it up in the winter (and vice versa).  I've been using these for a week and my hair definitely looks better.  There seem to be less flyaways and it's smooth and shiny.  (I love when my hair is shiny - it makes me so very, very happy). 

Part of the reason that my hair look so great too might be that I've been pairing this duo with the new Frizz-Ease Crème Serum Overnight Repair Formula ($9.99).  As much as I like the shampoo and conditioner, I love this product.  It's a serum that you rub into your hair at night and it works while you're asleep, giving you healthier hair without any effort.  (No effort improvement is the best, isn't it?  I don't mind working to look better, but when I can make my hair softer while I lay in bed dreaming about calorie-free brownies, all the better).  The best part is that it doesn't leave any weird oil or residue on your pillow while it works.  I was scared that I would love the product and be forced to wash my pillowcases every other day, but that's not the case at all.  Score!  Now if the weather in Los Angeles could just pick a temperature and stay there for more than a day, I'd be a very happy girl.

John Frieda products are available at drugstores, food stores and mass retailers across the country. 

Photos courtesy of John Frieda

Beached Blonde

Even though I haven't been blonde in many a year, I still love my John Frieda Beach Blonde Ocean Waves Sea Spray Texturizing Styler. (Phew, that's a mouthful. Did no one on the John Frieda development team suggest that perhaps leaving off one or FOUR of those words might be a good idea?). This product is basically the cheaper version of Bumble and Bumble's Surf Spray, which is awesome because even though I love that stuff, it's kinda expensive. With the John Frieda version, you just spritz it on your hair, and get volume and that bed head look that's perfect for a night out. Plus, it smells fantastic. It's like a weird combo of coconut and salt and suntan lotion. I feel like if I still lived on the east coast, I would take this bottle out every day in the winter just to remind myself that it would someday stop snowing. The one thing you have to be careful of is over-spraying because it can make your hair crunchy - never good. The last thing you want is for your boyfriend's hands to get stuck in your hair when he's trying to run his fingers through it. (Sadly, yes, I know someone this has happened to - and no, it wasn't me).

Hhhm. I just realized that on Amazon, it says this product is "currently unavailable." After some Googling, it seems like it might have been discontinued. Now I'm upset. And also, slightly impressed that I still have two new bottles of it in my closet since apparently it hasn't been made since around 2005. How crazy! Well, I still stand by my recommendation. I'm sure you could find bottles on eBay and if they ever start making it again, snatch one up. I highly recommend it. And hey, John Frieda development team. Stop thinking of looooong product titles and start making this again. Pretty please?

Shockingly Shiny

On a normal day, I don't put any products in my hair once I'm out of the shower. It's part of my whole, "natural" look, which mostly just means that I'm lazy and none of them seem to make any difference anyway. When your hair is long and straight, it's not like there's a product that's going to make you have awesome, thick curls anyway, right? (I know the grass is always greener, but I really think my whole life would be different if I had been born with curly hair. If anyone ever does a study on this, I totally volunteer to participate). When I was at Target the other day wandering around the hair products aisle (because that's what you do at 3pm when you don't have a job), I came across John Frieda's Brilliant Brunette Shine Shock. I'm a sucker for products that are specifically geared towards my hair color because I always feel like they're just better somehow, even though that theory really doesn't hold up under close scrutiny. There can't possibly be a scientific reason why red hair would be less shiny than brunette hair with this product, right? Either way, I've been using this since I bought it and it works great. My hair's definitely shinier when I use it and it doesn't weigh it down, which is usually a problem for me with hair products. It does claim to banish split ends, which I haven't seen any evidence of yet, but since it's only been a week or so, I don't know if that technically would've happened yet. Plus, and I feel like I'm giving away a big secret here, I really don't have any idea what split ends look like. Is it the kind of thing that if you have them, you just know? My hairdresser always tells me my hair is healthy, so maybe I just can't see them because they're not there, which would be nice. I'm going to pretend that's what's going on instead of the fact that I might be blind and just missing them. That'll make me and my (now) shiny hair feel better about ourselves as we head into the weekend...

Bring on Da Funk

I totally expected to hate John Frieda's Sheer Blonde Funky Chunky, based solely on the fact that I don’t have a funky bone in my body. I’m about the least funky person I know who isn’t collecting social security. So imagine my surprise when I fell head over heels for this hair texturizer.

You can use this product on wet or dry hair, but I found it to be most effective (and fun!) when my hair was dry. I tried a couple of different things – first, I used it on my whole head to make my hair volum-y (Yeah, I know that’s not a word, but it should be). It worked great and my hair is long, so it’ll work even better on short hair. You can also use it on specific sections of your hair, which is when the fun really started. I decided to take the directions literally and gave myself a bunch of different twisty dreadlocks, which sounds hideous, but actually looked kind of cool and (dare I say it?) funky. Perfect for a Friday night out with friends or a concert (although you'd probably fit in better at Ozzfest than say, Death Cab).

One thing I don’t understand – why are they marketing this product solely for blondes? I don’t see how hair color could affect the way it worked, and it was great on my dark brown ‘do. I think this is a case of hair discrimination and we brunettes need to rise up and let the world know that we’re not going to take it anymore! We won’t stand for it! We will fight it until our very last-- Okay, maybe I’m getting a little carried away here. If I’m going to picket for anything, it’ll be something food related. But all of you non-blondes out there, don’t let the name fool you – you can use it too.

John Frieda is available at most drugstores and big chain stores (like I needed another reason to go to Target).