Tried and tested: Volume conditioner, face cream, cleanser

Real women roadtest new products every week.

Tried and tested: Alternas Bamboo Abundant Volume Conditioner

Verdict: “Alternas Bamboo Abundant Volume Conditioner is hands down the best volume conditioner I have ever tried! It has many wonderful ingredients and the eco-friendliness of Alterna is evident in every little detail (not only the ingredients but the packaging, too).

I am 31 years old and have frizzy, dry, chemically treated hair with frizzy extensions. Normally I have to use nourishing and rehydrating conditioners which unfortunately make my hair heavy and flat. But no more! Alterna has created a conditioner that takes care of my natural hair as well as my extensions, leaving the both shiny and easy to style. It smells great and has a modern feel. Would I buy it again? Nothing can stop me!

Rated: 5 out of 5.

Tried and tested: Eve Lom Cleanser

Verdict: “This cleanser from Eve Lom is supposed to cleanse and exfoliate and thus give clean, well-balanced and radiant skin. It comes with a cloth and when I read the instruction on how to use the cleanser and cloth I felt a bit confused at first. When I get down to business it was really easy to use them both though. The product itself glides onto skin, smoothly dissolving all make-up, even the most stubborn mascara. I assume it is because of its easy-to-use qualities it has been named the best cleanser in the world by Vogue. Initially I really liked the product as my skin got really clean but didn’t dry out.

But as the days passed my skin gradually got oilier and I noticed some clogged pores. I am 48 years old and have dry and sensitive skin, maybe this cleanser is meant for people with less sensitive and drier skin. I might use it occasionally when I have a lot of hard-to-get-off make-up on, but as a daily cleanser Eve Lom Cleanser wasn’t that great for me.

It feels wrong to question Vogue’s judgement so I won’t, I would just like to know what skin type(s) did their testing and/or if there were monetary compensation involved.”

Rated: 1 out of 5.

Tried and tested: Biotherms Acquasource Gel-crème

The verdict: “Biotherms Acquasource Gel-creme for normal/mixed skin is a light gel-cream created to compensate the loss of hydration for up to 48 hours. The beautiful, but very unpractical, jar is made of solid glass and can be partially recycled. I am 30+ and have a tendency to react to too active ingredients in skincare, I prefer milder and gentler creams and gels. Lately I have noticed some fine lines caused by dryness but if I use a too heavy a skin cream my T-zone gets greasy, so there is a fine line with my skin and I try to tread carefully.

So what about the result? Well, Biotherms Acquasource Gel-creme is not a very interesting product. Neither ingredients nor formulation has anything new to offer but the gel-cream holds moisture pretty well and it didn’t make my skin oily or shiny. It can be used under make-up and gives an all over nice feeling to the skin but it doesn’t do anything for the skin tone nor fine lines. I would also have liked SPF in a day cream. A mediocre cream-gel.”

Verdict: 3 out of 5.