I went to Lush today and was very curious about the perfumes launched recently. So, I asked for the Tuca Tuca and Imogen Rose sticks to try them out. So, the sales girl applied one on one hand and the other on other hand.
Price: 600 INR for Tuca Tuca and 1200 INR for Imogen Rose (approx)
My Experience
Well, you might end up hating these perfumes if you take a sudden whiff because it has a unique raw wild smell which completely assaults your nostrils. That happened with both the products though Imogen Rose was less strong in notes as compared to Tuca Tuca. And, so, consequently, I rushed out of the shop as soon as I could coz I hated it and thought who makes perfumes like this. I am not much of a perfume fan and don’t really like strong fragrances and Lush has really strong fragrance. So, now, I am sitting in front of my laptop writing this post after around 2-3 hours of my visit to Lush. So, what’s my final verdict?
Well, I have been constantly inhaling the perfume and in the start, it was really a pain to inhale because of the wildness of the smell. But, after an hour or two, the notes of raw and wild fragrance fades and the perfume smells just like itself.
So, Tuca Tuca is really strong but a happy fragrance. I can’t describe it but I really liked it. Ok, this fragrance is so strong that your nose would be impaired to smell anything else. It stays for really a very long time so no worries on that point. It is violet in color.
Imogen Rose is pretty gentle and is not strong at all. It leaves a faint fragrance of Damascus Rose. I feel that this probably might not stay for so long as Tuca Tuca or the fragrance which comes from you would be really subtle. This one is a light pink in color.
I washed both my hands with water and Imogen Rose got washed off leaving a very faint fragrance but Tuca Tuca still has very strong notes.
My Recommendation
Give yourself sometime to like it. It will definitely not be an instant love but it will probably be a permanent one. I loved the Tuca Tuca so do try it out and don’t forget to wait for an hour or two before you decide and I think I would definitely try out the Imogen Rose again and also would give a try to other two I left out. I tried the sticks but next time I’ll probably go for the sprays. They might be a little different in their notes.
PS: This post was written day before yesterday at around 2:00 P.M.
Himalaya Protein Conditioner Softness and Shine {Product Review}
I had reviewed the protein shampoo almost a week back. I was not much impressed by the shampoo but I had pointed out that the conditioner removed all the roughness of my hair.
Price: 70-80 INR for 100ml (approx.)
Ingredients
Key Ingredients: China Rose and Lotus (hair conditioners), Chickpea and Oats (proteins)
Key Ingredients: China Rose and Lotus (hair conditioners), Chickpea and Oats (proteins)
My Experience
I am not one to believe that the shampoos and conditioners must belong to the same product range. I do use conditioners which I like and the shampoos often turn out to be ones which I don’t like. So, if anyone can suggest me a good shampoo which is SLS free, I would be very grateful. So, returning back to the review, I used this conditioner both with its own product range and Pantene shampoo. And, both times, the result was good. My hair felt soft and shiny and it was all tangle-free. But, I have a feeling that this conditioner is only for normal to dry hair. Oily hair would become limp because the conditioner is a little heavy.
There is only one problem with the conditioner. Actually, this is a problem with all the Himalaya conditioners. They are really sticky and need loads of water to wash off. And, this is a very big problem, not only from the environmental point of view, but also from time and patience point of view. But, I would also mention that this conditioner gets washed off easily when compared to the earlier conditioners of Himalaya so I think they are trying to make better products. Ok, one very big problem with the conditioner is that you have to struggle a lot to get it out of the bottle. It is a thick conditioner and doesn’t come out even when I am madly pressing the entire bottle so I often have to take out the upper cap and then thump the bottle on my palm and squeeze it and all sorts of stuff to take it out.
Now, something which I noticed just now is that the conditioner does make the hair a bit oily on the second day. I have dry hair but sometimes it is hydrated and quite soft. It became especially healthy after using the last piece of Lush Caca Noir because of the cocoa butter treatment to my hair. So, avoid this shampoo if you have healthy and fine hair. It will make it limp but it will really suit the dry and frizzy hair well. It also helps in taming the curls so very helpful for curly haired gals.
My Recommendation
Yes, it is a good conditioner which softens the hair well and gives shine to it.
PS: Product provided by brand for consideration.
Franc Essential Exfoliate and Serum {Product Review}
Why did I club these two and those two in the earlier post. Simple reason, I loved these samples. The problem with earlier samples was that they are products which you need to use consistently to judge them where as in the case of Exfoliate, it is a scrub which I have used twice on face and loved it (still left for 1-2 more uses) and in case of Serum, I have been using it since a week and some more is left (might last for another week). So, I have used enough of both of these products to say that they are really worth it.
Franc Essential Exfoliate
Ingredients
My Experience
This scrub is a creamy scrub which has fine bamboo as scrub granules. Well, to think of it, it does sound very harsh coz bamboo is wood, right. And, frankly, when you use it, it does give a feel like that. But, the scrub is really gentle and can be used on the face without any worries. I have combination skin but I could use it without any breakouts or anything. And, the result is a really soft skin which was never a result of other normal scrubs available in the market. And, the face doesn’t feel dry or stretchy and there is no product left on the face. And, while using this scrub, it gives more of a massage to the face. Overall, my experience with this small sample was amazing and I fell in love with it so much that I did not feel like wasting it by using on my hands coz you need more of the quantity na 😀
Franc Essential Serum
Ingredients
My Experience
This is almost like an oil but only gets absorbed into the skin very easily and very quickly. The ingredients as you can see are all oils. The color of this serum is red with a slight orange and it smells really weird but has a sweet hint in it. You can make out very easily that it is an amalgamation of so many things and its amazing. I have been using it since a week every night. Now, my first impression was that the serum would be some what gel-like in texture so when I opened the sample, a lot of serum came into my hand. Of course, I could not pour it back into the sample coz it would have simply spilled so I used all the serum on my face and neck. Obviously, my face became a lot oily coz I could use that much quantity of serum (which fell in my hand) for probably a week to 10 days but my face did not becomes overburdened with the serum or the moisturizer I followed with. You need only 3-5 drops per application and I apply the serum only at night as a revitalizing treatment before applying the moisturizer (Serum is applied before the moisturizer as it is a hydrating treatment generally and also has anti-aging effects). So, my face was so soft and tightened (not that I have a loose face but you can see when the face is toned up nicely) and supple and really hydrated the next morning. I was cautious since the next time while taking out the serum and I have found that the application of this serum improves the performance of the moisturizer too. And, the face doesn’t become sticky or heavy or anything like that. I would say this is just amazing!!!
My Recommendation
Of course, you would have guessed by now that I love both of these products so I would obviously recommend them to you. Kindly go to the Franc Essential website and check out the prices and their product range.
PS: Samples provided by the brand for consideration.