In this world, there are two types of people: People who can do things with their hair (such as: keep their bangs looking clean, or make a braid) and people who can't. I am people who can't. I get my hair cut four times a year (if that), and I don't colour treat it, save the occasional ill-advised foray into the wild world of that terrible spray-in bleach stuff (you know, Sun In and products of that ilk). I am a low-maintenance hair person, not because I don't care what it looks like, but because I never really learned what to do with it, and, thus, am somewhat forced into not caring what it looks like.
All of this being said, in spite of newfangled things like dry shampoo and cleansing conditioners, most of us still rely on good ol' shampoo and conditioner in our day-to-day lives. Shampoo and conditioner are the types of products that straddle the line between "luxurious self-care" and "basic good hygiene", so, y'know... you can't really get away from it.
Personally, I feel like I'm always questing for that one perfect pairing of shampoo and conditioner. Something that won't dry out my already breakage-prone hair. Something that won't build up and weigh my hair down, necessitating the purchase of yet another product to get the build up out. And something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, because my daddy sure as hell didn't raise me to be spending twenty dollars on bottles of shampoo.
Lately, in the blogosphere, I've noticed a moderate amount of hype for L'Oreal's Evercreme range. Everyone was saying how great it is for dry hair, and because I like to put haircuts off for much longer than any self-respecting adult probably should, my hair was indisputably dry. So, great! This stuff must be made for me! And how fortuitous that I should find the entire product range on sale! I greedily and gleefully snapped up the shampoo and conditioner (both of which claim to be "nourishing" and stipulate that they are "for normal to dry hair"), the cleansing conditioner, the "deep nourishing masque" (please note the unique and sophisticated spelling of the word "mask"; this stuff must be good!), and the leave-in spray. That's a whole lot of hair stuff.
Let's rank these prods from least impressive to most impressive, shall we? I was least impressed, far and away, with the cleansing conditioner. You know that saying, "Jack of all trades, master of none"? Yeah. This stuff has a weird, waxy texture that fails to cleanse or condition in any way. My hair has a natural tendency toward oiliness at the scalp (and dryness throughout the lengths; yeah, I'm a superbabe, whaddup?), and I had to use a palmful of this stuff to get any cleansing action going on whatsoever. Trust me when I say that your usual "dime-sized amount" is not gonna do the trick here. Although it rinsed out surprisingly easily for such a heavy feeling product, it left my hair comically tangled and feeling dry. Womp womp. Oh, not to mention, suppose you actually totally love this product and it works magnificently on your particular hair type? Congratulations! Now, good luck getting all of it out of that hard-plastic pump bottle.
The second worst product in the range was the proper shampoo. Even freshly washed, my hair looked and felt lank (my bangs in particular). Now, I get it: Sometimes, in the world of beauty products, you've gotta compromise a little bit. For a long time, "sulfate-free" shampoo meant "I can't believe we tricked you into buying this garbage, you hippie", because you might as well have not washed your hair at all. But this range specifically advertises that it won't weigh your hair down, so forgive me for feeling a little peeved that I had to alternate a clarifying shampoo with this one in order to keep my hair looking remotely presentable. Yeah, you read that right: Alternate. Not your usual, "use a clarifying shampoo once a week to remove build up" kind of deal. Every other day. To remove the build up caused by a shampoo that purportedly will not cause build up. Weaksauce.
Now we get to the middling products in the range: The conditioner and the leave-in. In my opinion, these products are tied for "meh". The conditioner does the same job that any other conditioner would. My opinion of it was knocked down a peg when my tube started to split down the side, which had the delightful effect of getting conditioner everywhere every time I'd go to use it. The leave-in is weirdly thick, but at least it didn't make the ends of my hair feel or look greasy, so I guess that's a plus? The leave-in does have the advantage of making my hair slippery, and thus, easier to detangle when it's wet, but as a lazy, lazy woman, I'd really prefer for any sort of leave-in product that I'm using to also offer heat protection. My horrifically heat-damaged ends can attest to the fact that this product does not offer any such benefits. So, meh.
Finally, the "masque", which I am just going to call a mask if it comes up again, if that's okay with everyone? This product is essentially a really thick conditioner packaged in a jar. Generally, I'm not fussed over conditioners that come packaged in jars. It's just so damn fiddly to get the top off the jar while simultaneously avoiding any water from the shower getting in and diluting the product. That said, if I was going to repurchase anything from this range, I guess it would be this (although, truth be told, from now on, I'm probably just going to stick to trolling Winners for slightly more luxe stuff for around the same price point). I do notice a difference in how my hair behaves when I use the mask in lieu of the regular conditioner. It seems to be easier to comb and softer and shinier and overall more of an all-around nice guy. So, if you're hellbent on trying something from this range just to say that you did, make it this product.
Overall, in spite of the fact that I find buying new hair stuff really anxiety provoking (what if it makes my hair look gross or dries it out or kills all the fish when it washes down the drain??), I just don't think I can bring myself to buy any of this stuff again. In fact, I've already moved on to a new shampoo (which is, awkwardly enough, also made by L'Oreal... fool me once, you guys... fool me once...) and it's just a matter of time before I use up all the conditioners in their various forms and give something new a spin. And then you'll get to read all about that, too! Hopefully I'll have some better luck next time, but as for this Evercreme range, I feel pretty secure in saying that your life is in no way lacking if you take a pass on this stuff.
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