Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Get Glow

Let’s talk about shampoo. I’ve always been a conditioner girl, myself. I have fairly thick, fairly long, wavy and often unruly hair. My whole life the shampoo has been to get the hair clean – you know, get out the twigs and leaves and stuff – and the conditioner has been where it’s at. This line of products has turned all that on its ear.

The first product I sampled from the Get Glow line was the Intense Hair Repair Nourishing Treatment (a conditioner, of course). More about that later, but suffice to say right now that I loved it so much I decided to test the rest of the line. What I found could not have surprised me more.

Moisturizing Shampoo:
I tried this one first. I decided this summer to make my hair a brighter and lighter red than ever before, which involved lightening my hair several shades. I have only done this a couple of times in my life, because normally it leaves my hair, although looking cool, feeling like hay. I like hay – hay is good. If you’re a horse. But I don’t want it on my head. So immediately after coloring, I went straight for the moisturizing shampoo (and the aforementioned Hair Repair Nourishing Treatment). My hair not only looked great, it felt great and continued to do so. Also, I don’t normally like the smell of mint, but in this shampoo, it really works and I love it. This shampoo is a miracle, I thought. Let’s check out the rest of the line.




Clarifying Shampoo:
Wow. I’m an every-other-day hair washer. Normally, by the end of day two, my hair really needs to be washed. I use this stuff and my hair just stays clean and clean and clean. I still wash it every other day, but (I have yet to test this theory) I feel like it would stay clean for a week. By the end of day two it still feels great. I expected this shampoo to be a little drying. My hair still feels healthy and clean and my scalp is definitely not greasy, but also not dry and itchy. This is the one I use most of all and I plan to never – EVER – live without it. Did I say never? Never.

Daily Shampoo:
This is the one I turn to least often, but only because my love for the other two is nearing obsession. I use this one on my kids a lot because it’s gentle, smells great and leaves their hair very clean and very shiny. If you haven’t damaged your hair or you like to wash it every single day…this is probably the shampoo for you.

One final note about the Get Glow shampoos: They are very concentrated. I don’t happen to think the price is all that outrageous - $16 for 8 ounces. But believe me when I tell you that an amount about the size of a dime is enough to get my entire head of hair very clean. This stuff lasts a long long time. Great bang for your buck.

Intense Hair Repair Nourishing Treatment:
First, I fell in love with the packaging. The tub, with the flower on it, the words around the outside – totally adorable. Sometimes I just like to look at it in my shower. Then I opened the jar. The smell is swoon-worthy. And anybody who knows me knows I’m all about the smell. If it works great but smells like crap I won’t use it. This stuff smells phemonenal. I’d love it in a body cream. Now, I did get a little confused about the instructions because it says to towel dry your hair, apply, wait 10 minutes, then rinse out. So I showered, got out of the shower, towel-dried my hair, put the stuff in, then got back in the shower 10 minutes later. My hair stylist sister said “Duh.” Apparently you’re supposed to bring a dry washcloth into the shower with you, get the worst of the water out, apply, then shave your legs, take care of all the other shower stuff until it’s time to rinse it out. This made the whole process much simpler for me. It was an “aha” moment. How does it work, you ask? My hair was shinier, healthier, smelled incredible and just felt like I could spend all day running my fingers through my own hair. Perfect for the soft-light, gentle-wind-blowing hair toss. Talk about Glow.

Light Gentle Silky Conditioner:
This one is not quite heavy enough for my hair. I really do need a heavy conditioner. But it’s chock full of vitamins, smells great and works perfectly on my two daughters, ages 6 & 9, who have straight hair – not exactly fine, but not super thick either. For them, it’s perfect. Gets the tangles out, leaves their hair soft and silky and looking fab. I don’t use it on them every day, but I made sure they used it on school picture day.

Light Reflector Frizz Eraser:
9-year old daughter: “Mommy, does your hair ever get frizzy?
Me: “Yes.”
Daughter: “What does it look like when it’s frizzy, like it looks right now?”

Thanks, kid.

What better time to test the frizz eraser? This stuff tames the frizzies, all right. And leaves a shine. It contains silica, which really adds a bit of sparkle. If you’re having a dull hair day, or just need to get the frizz under control, this stuff will take care of it. This is another product from this line that I will always have in my bathroom.

Ready, Set, Hold! Hair Spray:
I’m not much of a hair spray person. I’ve always hated the sticky feeling of it, and how by the end of the night my hair feels filthy, tacky and disgusting. So it was with some trepidation that I allowed my sister to spray it on my hair one night when I was getting ready to go out. No stickiness. No tackiness. No filth magnet. And it even smells good. My hair was not crunchy, but it retained its style. And it moved, looked natural and I could touch it. I still don’t wear hair spray very often, but when I really need that extra level of control, this is the one I use.

Thickening Spray for Body Volume Control:
This is the only product in the line that I haven’t tried, but I plan to get a friend to use it and post a review.

My final word on the Get Glow line: I spent three weeks in Canada this summer and, in the interest of conserving space, I just packed sample sizes of whatever hair products I had lying around. By the end of week one, I really noticed a difference and wished I had brought the Get Glow stuff with me, or that I could pick it up at the local store. This is a great new line, very word-of mouth right now, and I can’t wait until it’s in salons and stores all over the place. I’m completely hooked. Available at Essential Hair Shops in NYC, The MarioDiab Salon in NYC, Stellie's Salon in Brooklyn and at Essential TherapiesDaySpa in Bolton,MA and, of course, at http://www.getglow.com/

Today’s scent: Vivienne Westwood Boudoir. Reputed to smell like “women’s parts,” I don’t get that. I do get a real smouldering femininity. Lush, rich, deep, this fragrance starts from the base and works its way up. Sandalwood, vanilla, cinnamon and a touch of patchouli give a depth to the powdery floral orange blossom, hint of rose, coriander, marigold stuff on top. This is a somewhat old-fashioned fragrance in that it’s a little heavy and – I get a whiff of tobacco in there too. This is a Boudoir. It’s a hint of masculine pipe tobacco & shaving cream deftly mixed with expensive powder and floral perfumes. It’s moody, better in cooler weather (I can see it being on the cloying side in hot weather) and extremely well blended. It’s a masterpiece.