Review: Kiehl's Calendula Deep Cleansing Foaming Face Wash

This face wash saved me when Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate started making me shiny. It made my skin smooth and matte again. I love the way it smells, too – faintly botanical, faintly citrusy, and not too floral. It's my new go-to skin-care product.

Review: Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate

I've done skin care on and off for the past few years, but I've never been consistent. This year I've definitely been more off than on. A few weeks ago, though, I tried a sample of this serum from Kiehl's. It's one of their most popular products.

I've been stressed with work and life for a few months now, and when I started using this serum, I was looking especially dry and pale, which is how I look anyway at the best of times. I was delighted with the immediate effects – my skin looked soft and smooth, and it glowed. I bought the full size the next day.

After a few days of using it consistently, however, I noticed that for the first time ever, I began to look shiny. I've scaled down to using this just a few times a week.

Review: L'Occitane Lavender Extra Gentle Soap with Shea Butter

This is a late review of a product I've been using and loving for months now. I tried the Milk and Verbena varieties of this soap first, and I liked them both. I especially loved the Verbena. I don't even remember why I bothered to try this – I guess I just wanted to try everything they had. Well, this has become my all-time favorite. The fragrance is sweet, spicy, and clean all at the same time. I feel so clean every time I use it.

One (bad) thing it does that the other varieties don't – it hurts my eyes when I use it on my face, unless I wash it off right away. But it's still my favorite of the three varieties.

Review: Kiehl's Rice and Wheat Volumizing Conditioning Rinse

I'm very happy with the Kiehl's Rice and Wheat Volumizing Shampoo, and I'm pleased with this as well. It's a bit too light – my hair could use more moisture – but at least it doesn't weigh my hair down, and keeps it bouncy. I intend to alternate this line with the more moisturizing Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner.

Review: Kiehl's Rice and Wheat Volumizing Shampoo

A few weeks ago, after a year of using various L'Occitane shampoos, I started using Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo and Conditioner, alternating with Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner. I enjoyed both lines, but after a few weeks of switching between the two, my hair started to look really flat. I decided to try this shampoo, along with Kiehl's Rice and Wheat Volumizing Conditioning Rinse.

I saw and felt a difference on day one. My hair was lighter, softer, and bouncier, and it actually had some shape. I do think this line has the potential to dry my hair out; I already see signs that my hair is not as moisturized as I would like it to be. I'll probably alternate this with the Olive Fruit Oil line to keep my hair from going too dry.

The fragrance is interesting – sweet and kind of tangy, not what I would expect of a shampoo whose main ingredients are rice and wheat. It's one of my favorite things about this shampoo.

Review: Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Conditioner

I've only used this conditioner a few times, and always with Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Shampoo. This line is more moisturizing than Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo and Conditioner. After a few weeks of alternating between the two lines, however, my hair started to look flat, so I'm taking a break from both.

Review: Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Deeply Repairative Hair Pak

I received samples of this when I bought Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Shampoo. It's a hair mask, and it's very effective; it made my hair look glossy and professionally styled, on days when I hadn't even blow-dried. I tried it with the shampoo alone, and with the shampoo plus Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Conditioner. I preferred the results with the shampoo alone; this plus conditioner may have been too much. I considered buying a full size, because it really worked very well, but I don't think I need super-pretty hair all that often. Also, this can be a pain to use – you put it on after the shampoo and before the conditioner, and you have to wait at least three minutes for it to sink in. Not worth it to me.

Review: Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Shampoo

This was the first Kiehl's product I wanted to try, because my hair tends to be dry, and I thought this was what I needed. I ended up trying Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo first. When I didn't enjoy that on my first use, I bought a bottle of this. I have used this with Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Deeply Repairative Hair Pak, with Kiehl's Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Conditioner, and with both.

I haven't tried this shampoo on its own, but with the Hair Pak and the conditioner, it makes my hair look and feel pretty healthy. After a few weeks of alternating this with the Amino Acid line, however, my hair started to look flat. (Not sure whether it's because of the Amino Acid line, this line, or both.) Also, I'm not especially happy with the scent, which reminds me of vegetables. I'll continue to use this only because I like to alternate products everyday.

Review: Kiehl's Amino Acid Conditioner

I received this as a present along with Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo, which started out so promisingly but ended up not being for me. If you like the shampoo, though, chances are you'll like this too. It has the same subtle coconut fragrance and also feels luxurious on the hair. It made my hair soft and smooth, but either this, or the shampoo, or both, weighed my hair down too much.

Review: Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo

I received this shampoo as a birthday present, along with Kiehl's Amino Acid Conditioner. This shampoo contains pure coconut oil and has a distinct coconut fragrance, which was not immediately appealing to me. Having lived in the humid tropics all my life, I do not associate "coconut" with "clean." Also, the first time I used this, with the conditioner, I thought my hair looked and felt dry. Overall, I wasn't happy. But I read an online review advising that I give the shampoo several tries to feel the full effect, so I kept using it, along with the conditioner. The gentle coconut fragrance began to grow on me, and my hair started to feel softer and smoother. Also, this shampoo is fun to use because it lathers very well, which is something you won't get with any shampoo from L'Occitane.

I was getting really happy with this shampoo, but after a few days, I noticed that my hair seemed flat. I had read a few online reviews saying that this shampoo does tend to flatten hair. I also tried it on its own, without the conditioner, and afterwards my hair looked dry and stringy. So while this shampoo might be very nice for other types of hair, it's still not the one for me. I do plan to use it from time to time, along with the conditioner, because I don't like to use the same products on my hair everyday, plus I really like the coconut fragrance.

Review: L'Occitane Aromachologie Volumizing Shampoo

This shampoo has a fresh, clean fragrance and contains essential oils of artemisia, sweet orange, mint, pine, and rosemary. It didn't give my hair any extra body, but it didn't weigh my hair down, either. It's a good basic shampoo, nothing special. I probably wouldn't buy it again, but it's nice to alternate with other shampoos.

Review: L'Occitane Aromachologie Soothing Shampoo

This is a limited-edition product; I can't find it on L'Occitane's websites anymore, but it's still available in Manila. The fragrance is pleasing and mild (the five essential oils the label refers to are chamomile, mandarin, cedar, basil, and lemongrass).

I was experiencing some scalp irritation at the time I tried this, and I think this shampoo helped calm it down. Like most L'Occitane shampoos, this doesn't lather very well. In fact, it hardly lathers at all, so if lather is important to you, skip this. But you might like it if you have a sensitive scalp, or are just looking for a gentle shampoo.

Review: L'Occitane Aromachologie Repairing Shampoo

This is the first shampoo I tried in L'Occitane's Aromachologie line. It left my hair soft, smooth, and healthy-looking, but there was something about it that I didn't like. I realized what that was when I read the ingredient list, which includes ylang-ylang essential oil (the other four essential oils are angelica, lavender, geranium, and sweet orange). Overall, I'm happy with this shampoo's performance, just not with the scent. But if you like ylang-ylang, you should try this.