Hair Shmair (John Frieda Product Review)

This post brought to you by John Frieda. All opinions are 100% mine.

Now, I'll just come out and say it right now: I'm not terribly fancy when it comes to beauty products. I have avoided department store makeup very much on purpose, because I'm worried the difference in comparison to my drugstore makeup will be too great to deny and I'll be forced against my will to spend 4 jillion dollars on makeup each year. And I have only been introduced to salon quality hair products in the past year or two, when I hoped that splurging on fancypants products would make growing out my short pixie haircut a little more interesting and enjoyable. I almost hate to admit that I can tell a difference when I use salon hair products vs. drugstore products, because I hate spending much money on something goofy like my hair, but it is what is it. I'm still avoiding fancy makeup at all costs, but I might maybe may be just a tad converted to at least some salon hair products.

So I was excited to have the chance to try out some John Freida goodies. John Frieda hair care products are salon quality, but can be purchased at Walmart, so best of both worlds I guess, right? You won't spend a fortune, but you'll get some good bang for your buck.

Here are the products I got to take for a test drive: (from left to right) Full Repair Shampoo and Conditioner, plus Full Repair Hydrate + Rescue Deep Conditioner, Brilliant Brunette Colour Protecting Shampoo and Conditioner, Luxurious Volume Shampoo and Conditioner, and Frizz-Ease Smooth Start Shampoo and Conditioner.

My thoughts on the products: The first thing I noticed was that they all smelled fantastically salon-ish, if that makes sense. You know how when you get your hair professionally done, and the products smell out-of-this-world good and, somehow, they actually do smell expensive, and you hate to go back home and wash it in a day or two with your own crappy products because you'll lose that fancy salon smell? These products (especially the Full Repair line) smelled to me like salon products, which I guess makes sense if they are salon quality, and I loved walking around all day catching whiffs of my own fancy-smelling hair.

(Would that the screen were scratch-n-sniff.)

My favorite product, hands down, was the Full Repair Hydrate + Rescue Deep Conditioner. I'm always a fan of a good deep conditioner, and this one did not disappoint. It left my hair feeling incredibly soft and smooth, and I even think it styled a bit easier after use, and held the style for longer than usual. In the picture above, I had just used the Full Repair Shampoo and Deep Conditioner, and I was able to get better-than-usual curls, which lasted well into a second day of wear, and never felt 'crispy' or dry the way curls sometimes do. This is one product I'll be happy to restock when my bottle runs out.

I also liked the Luxurious Volume Shampoo and Conditioner--although I honestly have my doubts that a shampoo or conditioner can do much to help with volume (other than by simply not being a very heavy formula), I think I got exactly the same results using it as I typically get with my Kenra Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner, which cost like 4 times more, which I find really annoying, to tell you the truth. (Will Ulta accept a refund on the Kenra shampoo/conditioner I bought 6 months ago?) Here's a picture of the day I used the Luxurious Volume line.

Enjoy the photobomb of Forrest in the backseat, complete with a tractor in his mouth. Is he eating it? Kissing it? The world may never know.

As for the Frizz-Ease line, I'm not sure I have anything incredible to say in either direction. Apart from the nice smell, I didn't insanely love or insanely dislike it--I thought it was just dandy, I guess. No complaints, no rave review, but frizz is not my greatest hair issue, so I may have been the wrong person to test out an anti-frizz product. And once I realized the Brilliant Brunette line is meant to be used on color-treated hair, I only opened it to take a smell (mmmm), and will be passing it on to someone who dyes their hair (seems like a waste to use color-treated shampoo on my own non-color treated hair), so I can't remark on it, either. But two thumbs up to the Full Repair and Luxurious Volume products, especially the Full Repair Deep Conditioner.

You can find video tutorials and product videos on the John Frieda hair care products brand page if you're looking for more info.

Rip Slip (or, some Ripply Crochet Goodness)

SEO be damned, I’LL NEVER STOP GIVING MY BLOG POSTS STUPID TITLES!!!

If you’re a crocheter/crochet appreciator on Instagram, I’d highly recommend you follow OneCraftyLady. She crochets the loveliest things, and I’m always inspired by her creative color choices and gorgeous photography. Anywho, before I creep her out (is she reading?! I would die), I’ll get to the point: she’s been working on a ripple blanket recently, and it is just so pretty and perfect that I had to try it out myself.

I pulled a few colors from my stash and liked the way this dusty purple, cream, and greige looked together:

No big surprise there, but I’m not terribly adventurous when it comes to my color combos. Nice and safe makes me happy. The ripples are quick and satisfying to crochet—kind of monotonous and repetitive, which makes it sound boring, which I guess it kind of is . . . but sometimes I like boring. It’s nice to be able to crochet without hardly thinking about it.

I used this ripple tutorial from Attic 24 to model my blanket after. I’m doing 3 rows of each color to end up with thick, solid stripes, and her instructions are very clear and simple, so if you’re newer to crochet or have never tried a ripple before, I think you’ll be well-equipped if using her instructions.

And shortly after posting the above pictures, a pregnant friend emailed me a color list to use so I could make one for her soon-to-debut little boy, and it’s coming along swimmingly as well:

(In case my cell phone pictures have distorted the colors, the stripes are light gray, mint, charcoal gray, white, and blue.)

Since there are so many more colors involved in this one, I’m only doing two rows of each color, so each one gets plenty of showtime in the blanket. These are super fun to make, and hopefully I’ll have the little guy’s blanket done in just a few days.

(The pictures are from my Instagram—you can find me at maybematilda if you want more.)

March Goal Recap

So, in an effort to be more productive and not get bogged down by yearly goals that heaven knows I’ll never accomplish, I’m trying out a monthly goal system this year. It has worked decently so far, and I’ve found it really motivating to have a smaller list of specific tasks rather than a huge yearly system. You can see my March ambition HERE, and now that we have entered a new month, it’s time to review my wild success. Ready?

This is going to be embarrassing . . . .

. . . .

. . . .

NOPE.

That’s a big ol’ fail for the entire month. What happened, you ask? Idunno. Forrest spent the first week of the month puking, I had some last-minute travel, then I wasn’t feeling so hot myself, then Jeff ended up having to cover two offices for a week instead of just his own office, plus the weather was nice enough that Forrest and I spent about every spare moment riding his trike outside and visiting the park (where, of course, I interacted nonstop with him because I am an all-star mom hahaha #goodone) . . . phew. I’m tired.

In my defense . . . March wasn’t a total flop. At the very least, I did brainstorm some jewelry storage ideas, and did one or two of the multiple small touch-ups I had hoped to do in Forrest’s room, and although 1 dessert per week was a long shot to start with, I definitely did cut down on my typical treat consumption. And sure, I only made my bed once (that’s right! one time!) all month, and the ‘inviting someone for dinner’ was partially fulfilled when I threw a birthday party for my brother (counts, right?), and my sewing machine is gathering dust . . . but I read some books this month! One goal out of eight: check!

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore: 3/5 stars. It was quick and pretty enjoyable, but in the end, a little too much for me to take.

The Round House: 3/5 stars. Definitely impressive in terms of the writing and construction and delivery, but not one I necessarily loved reading. I respected it, but I didn’t love it.

The One and Only Ivan: 4/5 stars. Adorable and so sweet. I’ll admit: I cried a tad at the ending. So lovable.

Something Missing: 3/5 stars. Quirky and different and endearing and fun. It’s sure not going to change your life or anything, but I read it all in one day while feeling under the weather and it was quick and fun and had a few cute laugh-out-loud moments.

Clockwork Angel: 4/5 stars. I’m a little behind the times on this series, but it’s new to me and I actually really liked the first book! I tend to stay away from YA, and fantasy, and YA fantasy, but I thought this book was really engaging and exciting and unique. I’m working on the second in the series now.

So March wasn’t a total bust, but I can’t say I got many important things done. Oh well, we all need some time off every now and then, right? Right.