Shu Uemura

One of the best moisturizing spray mist.

Essence Absolue oil is yet another iteration of silicone-based hair oil. It is related to the Elixir Ultime version as the Shu Uemura is also owned by L'Oréal and both have the same ''bones'' and both brands are even made in Spain (oh, sorry if you thought Shu Uemura was made in Japan), but Shu Uemura Essence is notably lighter, it does start out similar to Elixir Ultimate in terms of look and feel, clear silicone, but on my hair, Elixir Ultime gets the botanical oils vs silicone balance *just right* and once the more volatile components evaporate, Essence Absolue doesn't leave my hair quite as frictionless and doesn't add quite as much of a ''finishing touch'' and by the end of the day or sometimes by midday, if the weather is particularly disagreeable, it starts to feel a little unruly and tangly. That doesn't happen with Elixir Ultime or other nicer hair oils, at least not to this extent or this quickly. And I have fine hair with a scalp that produces oils quickly, so too rich oils aren't products I can use and get away with it without looking like a sludge daemon, so in theory, I should love Essence Absolue. I don't. It's just OK. It doesn't stand out as special amongst the myriad of similar oils. I do like how it doesn't weigh the hair down and doesn't add to oily/slick look too much, unless I add like 3-5 pumps of it. Essence Absolue also does leave the hair shiny-looking, the typical ''silicone shine'' and that's its strongest effect, but a hair oil that adds some shine? Hardly revolutionary. It doesn't have or doesn't claim any heat or UV protection anymore. The scent is really nice and almost comforting, it could just as well be a Narciso Rodriguez perfume and I'm thinking there actually might be a perfume that smells like Essence Absolue. Its scent is arguably the best thing about this oil. Essence Absolue oil is quite a bit more affordable than Elixir Ultime or other nicer hair oils, but that's probably on the all-plastic bottle that holds 150 ml of the product, instead of the 50 ml or 100 ml bottles, so ml per ml is slightly cheaper than something like Moroccanoil or whatever. I remember a version of this oil existing that had UV filters, so maybe it was a better product at some point in the last 5+ years, but the current version - is not mind-blowing. I added a picture of the most up-to-date packaging as indicated by the French packaging recycling label (it is a flimsy see-through plastic, so reading or photographing it is a form of torture). Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Camellia oleifera seed oil, Hexyl cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Tocopherol, Parfum / Fragrance

makes my skin tacky. like the gel aspect, but this didnt sink into skin