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

I received a sample size of shu uemura’s “Cleansing Oil Shampoo” alongside a Sephora order. I had heard good things about shu uemura previously and with the expensive price tag of $73 CAD per 400 mL/13.4 oz. I was appreciative of the sample. The sample lasted about 4 washes which is about 1.5 weeks. I was greatly disappointed with the cleansing oil shampoo. The first thing that I noticed was that the first ingredient was water and the second was sodium laureth sulfate. There appears to be at least 3 variations of SLS in the shampoo. I would never purchase a drug store shampoo for $5 that has SLS so why would I spend $73? It definitely cleaned my hair, but I didn’t notice any other benefits such as added shininess or smoothness. Even the consistency of the shampoo did not reflect that it is an “oil” shampoo. I would not purchase a shu uemura product in the future. My favourite shampoo brands currently that are priced comparably are: Briogeo, Fable & Mane, and Ouai. If you want a hair product that removes build up I would recommend Ouai’s “Detox shampoo.”

This is a rich hair oil with a subtle and very pleasant fragrance that will slightly linger after application. I do like its richness and how it makes the hair smooth and shiny without any additional weight. This is built on the same technology as several other Kerastase hair oils are, since both companies are owned by L'Oreal. The major difference is the more refined scent used in the Shu Uemura oil compared to the Kerastase Ultime and Chronologiste oils. The feel and results are the same. Price wise the Shu Uemura Essence Absolue oil is in between the aforementioned products. I will definitely repurchase. Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Camellia Kissi/Camellia Kissi Seed Oil, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Parfum/Fragrance

1st: m hair is platinum, fine textured and straight -and shin. - and at 75 it is a bit thinner. it's also much drier than it used to be. Especially when the air is dry, those fine hairs fl all ver, and the ends get dry and brittle. Following their instructions I apply a little - maybe 3-5 drops - with my fingers while the hair is still damp, on the ends and about the lower third<> half of the hair shafts. NOT on the scalp. When I use the oil, I skip conditioner (for fine hair: someone with heavier, coarser, and curl hair might use it differently.) This keeps hair from accumulating static electricity and it stays smoother, with it being weighed down. it's also great to se as a general conditioner before shampooing ( shampoo lightly, don't scrub it out). You can then blow it dry without over-drying the hair - and that means less breakage. And MORE hair. Also, altho' "expensive", a bottle lasts a long, long time. To me this is in the esteemed category that Shu's face cleaning oils merit: parts of my face and hair care routine that actually perform as promised. Rare.

Overall, it's a good curler! I have very hooded eyes and long eyelashes that go every which way so I sort of expect curlers to do a lot, this does maybe 70 percent of what I would want out of a lash curler mostly cause of my eye shape its pretty hard to work with. I still haven't found one which fits 100 percent of my wants but I've tried a lot of curlers and this is the closest yet.

I think my eyes are an average size, maybe on the bigger side, somewhat almond, perhaps a little round. I’m really lucky because my eyelashes are natural pretty curly, but I wanted to see if using an eyelash curler would open up my eyes a little more. I tried the Surratt, I know everyone loves it, but it felt cheap to me, I don’t know if it’s metal, I think I read somewhere that it’s an acrylic resin, which makes it lightweight, but I want something more substantial. The width across was somewhat flat and it bent my outer lashes in an L shape, and overall I just wasn’t impressed, although, the wider opening is nice. I then tried the Shisheido, nice weight, but too short across the width, and too flat for my lashline. I then tried the Chanel - again, too short across, but if the Shu is too wide and you like the shape, it’s a good one. So I debated on Kevyn Aucoin or Shu and decided to try this one. It is perfect for my eye shape, I feel like it grabs all of my lashes, without pinching anywhere. I also like the weight of it and found the movement to be very smooth. The pads are a bit bouncy, I might try the Shisheido pads to see of they’re firmer, but I kind of like the bounce. Some people talk about the opening being on small side, but I don’t find that to be true. If you want to see some amazing detail on various curlers and the comparisons, the blogger “Lipstick Latitude” has put some serious time into the details and stats, which was really helpful for me. I like this very much, I don’t think I’ll use it everyday, because I don’t really need to, but the fit is so perfect for me, I’m glad I found it for when I feel like a little more oomph.

I was so excited to try this foundation, but I'm left underwhelmed and slightly disappointed. It's described as a second skin glow-breathable perfection foundation but I don't find it particularly natural looking. I think it has too much coverage to really be considered a second skin look and I don't think it sits well on my skin. It ended up collecting around my nose and looking a bit cakey at the end of the day. I prefer the lightbulb essence version of this (oil based) for my dry skin as at least it feels super nourishing during the winter. Perhaps it works better if you have normal-to-oily skin? I'm probably going to de-clutter this as I never reach for it. Shade reference, I'm typically an NC25-30 with slightly more olive vs. yellow undertones and I have this in shade 765 Medium Light Beige. The undertone is a good match and it works well as a winter shade for me but too light in the summer.

good product