A Note from The Belle

The Belle has a lot on the plate at the moment, out of the blue, and hence (again) the lack of updates. My apologies!

My mummy brain needs a rest as it has been plagued by an incessant stream of events in the family. I will not talk about them here, as my family values  privacy. Please give me a little time to adjust, and I will be back as soon as I can. That's a promise!

Excuses Reasons aside, I will be continuing with Series 2 on essential oils shortly, so please do stay tuned!

See you back here soon!

-The Belle

Review: Shiseido Tsubaki Head Spa Shampoo

Here's the story: My much neglected scalp was crying out for help. It was itching even after (daily) shampooing, and scratching produced whitish deposits on my fingernails. And hubby (horror of horrors) started seeing the dreaded white flakes falling all over his shoulders. Hence, we decided that enough was enough and as it goes, the rest is history.

Introducing the protagonist!

Shiseido Tsubaki Head Spa Shampoo

So how did it fare? Let's find out!

Pros:
-Heavenly scent (The camellia flower extract?) that is not too overpowering
-A little goes a long way-I use 2 pumps of shampoo with my normal Asience Shampoo, but with this baby, I only needed 1 pump each time to produce a rich lather
-Clean, clean scalp and hair that stays clean for a longer time (In the absence of hair products) in Singapore's humid weather.
-No itchiness-even when hair starts to feel dirty
-Does not weigh down my fine hair.
-Gorgeous, translucent bottle that allows you see exactly how much is left-we all have those days when we curse ourselves for not bringing in the new bottle of shampoo when one has already stripped down to his/her birthday suit to shower.

Cons:
-A little expensive-it retails at SGD19.90 for a 550ml bottle-mind you, this is not a salon brand shampoo-but no biggie since you use less shampoo than usual
-Hair becomes a little dry and tangles more easily-again, not a big deal since the problem is easily solved with a little of your usual conditioner.

Verdict:
The Belle loves the stuff! I would be likely to repurchase this, unless I find something better for a reasonable price.

The Belle will be back soon with more reads, so keep your fingers crossed. See you again soon, my beauties!

Review: Essential Purely Smooth Conditioner

I had run out of conditioner and was looking around at the nearby beauty supplies store, and this caught my eye.

Essential Purely Smooth Conditioner

Like its predecessors, it promises to nourish your hair, right up to the last 15cm, which is most damaged. Having been a little disappointed by the other versions of this conditioner (one was too light, one was too heavy for my fine hair and caused slight itching), I was hesitant to try this, but eventually caved in. After all, SGD 7.40 for 500 ml is a pretty good deal.(Hey, the Belle needs to watch the household budget...) But did it deliver? Let's move on!

Pros:
-Hair is left light and smooth after drying, and ends look shiny and smooth after drying (now, please note that my hair is almost touching my tailbone, so the ends can get pretty ragged if the conditioner doesn't work well.)
-Non irritating to scalp (Yeah, highly intelligent me got the conditioner on my scalp)
-Unobtrusive scent. (don't you just hate those scents that are too 'in your face'?)
-Pocket friendly.

Cons:
-Effects did not last throughout the next day (I wash my hair at night.)
-Detangling affect was not as thorough as I would have liked. I slept with my hair loose and woke up to tangles on the end-- which were kept to a minimum using my favourite Loreal conditioner

Verdict:
I would repurchase this as it is very pocket friendly, and does what it says it will do, without weighing my hair down. But I am still on the lookout for a good, silicone and sulphate free, as well as budget friendly conditioner for my long hair. Tall order, I know. But one can hope..

Other reviews coming up soon, so keep watching this space. See you again soon, my beauties!

Review: Ellips Hair Treatment Hair Vitamin

My hair ends have been feeling rather rough lately, with more split ends for me to snip than usual (yes, I trim them myself.) So, I was on the lookout for something to help with the damage and prevent more split ends, but at the same time, not break the bank. I was delighted to see this:

Ellips Hair Treatment Hair Vitamin

 Now, The Belle is a little leery of hair products that contain silicone (some of them tend to weigh down the hair, or in the long term, make it dull.) But I couldn't resist a good offer--it was only SGD 2.60. So, here it is!

Pros:
-Damaged hair feels smoother and moisturized
-Hair looks shinier and healthier

Cons:
-Requires long term use to see significant results.
-Felt heavy, especially on my fine hair. (Maybe because of the silicones?)

Verdict:
Hair did feel much less tangled and looked healthier after continued daily use for around a week.However, hair did look a little flat. Would I repurchase? Maybe, since it is rather pocket friendly. But, not for long term use due to the silicone content.

*I know I have been slow with my reviews. I am trying to work faster as I am feeling much better, so please stay tuned! Thank you!

See you back soon, my beauties!