Leonor Greyl Huile De Palme Is Perfect For Summer Hair

I fell in love with Leonor Greyl's Huile De Palme two summers ago when I changed my hair color from very dark to very light. It made my hair happy. It smelled fantastic. And it conditioned my hair like magic.

Two summers later, I'm still in love with Leonor Greyl's Huile. Just when you think it can't get any better, it does. Not only does this oil work wonders on tired tresses, it actually protects your hair from chlorine and salt water, provided the water is no warmer than 77 degrees. Who knew?

I love to use this oil before showering (truth be told, I sleep in it). I warm it up slightly in the microwave, apply the Huile to my hair and put on a super sexy shower cap and go to bed. The next morning, when I wash the Huile from my hair, my hair feels amazingly soft and smells wonderful all day long. This can even be used as a styling product. Just apply a small amount to your hair, from the midshaft to the ends, and let it dry naturally. You'll get beachy, piece-y hair, without the salt!

Product supplied for review. Leonor Greyl doesn't test on animals.


Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews and more! Copyright 2009-2011, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.

Hair Update: How to Avoid the Blow Dryer

Around the end of 2009, I decided I would grow out my very short pixie haircut into long, luscious hair, like the locks of my new office mate, Miss Coach.




(My new office mate is a dead ringer for Connie Britton.)


I didn't know real people could have hair like that! Now I have something to strive for. My hair is unlikely to ever get that long, as my stylist Bethany will tell you, but a girl has to have dreams, right?





(This is my hairspiration poster I made for my stylist, at her request. I can't believe I left Connie Britton off.)


After a year and a half, my hair is finally (almost) touching my shoulders. It hasn't been this long in more than 15 years. I can even wear it pulled up, which surprises me every time. However, my once short hair now has issues from all of the constant coloring and styling I've done to it. I've been hearing that hair may have an "expiration date", meaning that some hair won't grow and play nicely after a certain amount of time. For me, I was starting to fear I was at that limit. My hair about an inch below my ear was NOT attractive. It was over-processed, dry and had a mind of its own.

So instead of putting my hair dreams back in the closet, I decided to try some other strategies.





The first was to start using a hair growth product again. In the past, I've had great success with some products, so I know they can really work. Right now, I'm using Leonor Greyl's Complexe Energisant. I've been using it for about 7 weeks and so far, I am starting to see a little difference. These things don't happen overnight, so I'll have to get back to you.

My other strategy is to take a major break from the blowdryer and flat iron. So far, I've been avoiding heated styling products for about a week and I am already seeing a major difference in my hair. It's softer, behaving better and has more movement. Granted, some days it's wavy and some days it's casually flippy, but the difference in my hair's texture is amazing. All I do is wash and condition (I'm in love with Giovanni's Colorflage Shampoo and Conditioner for Red Hair) and add a leave in product or texturizer and let my hair dry. The key to avoiding frizz is to avoid touching it, which is fairly hard to do.




I've been searching high and low for the perfect leave in product that allows my hair to dry without frizz or flyaways, while still looking attractive. It's a tall order. I've found that no matter what I use, I need to have a glossing cream nearby, like Phyto's Cream Brilliance, to flatten flyways on the top of my hair and bangs.

What is your favorite way to wet-style your hair? Do you have one? I realize not everyone can let their hair air dry (like Miss Coach, above) without looking like a hobo. But I love the change it's making in my hair.




So far, I've found that using a quarter size amount of Phyto's Phyto7 is making an huge difference in my hair. It's got a bit of natural wave, but doesn't look unruly. And the softness and overall feeling of my hair is amazing!

What is your favorite way to baby your hair and bring it from lifeless to luscious? 


Some products sent for review. Giovanni doesn't test on animals. Phyto does not test on animals. Leonor Greyl does not test on animals.


Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews and more! Copyright 2009-2011, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.

Hair Update : February 2011

I've been letting my hair grow for a little over a year. It's getting fairly long and almost long enough to have a tiny ponytail. I'm not sure why, but my hair always seems to need to get really long before I can do a pony. Maybe I have a goofy head shape? I do have a large head. Maybe my hair has to grow extra long before it can wrap around my supersized head? I am convinced that has to be the reason.

By the way, my bangs are actually a few inches below my eyes. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I brushed them to the side like this - it's weird. Then again, I have bang issues.

I'm finding out that I need trims every two months to stop split ends. This means cutting off at least a half inch out of every two months of growth. It makes the growing go so s l o w l y. (I've also stopped using Peter Lamas Chinese Herbs products for the time being and I am definitely noticing slower hair growth.) Because of coloring my hair so often when it was shorter, and staying red, a color that always needs to be refreshed, my already dry hair appears to be really delicate.


I asked my stylist and a few other pros to give me some tips on how to avoid damaging my already delicate strands so I can prevent needing such extreme trims in the future (although honestly, I think of my hair as being more whiny then delicate. Why can't my hair just suck it up and deal?). Here's what I learned.

1. Don't wash your hair as often. This will help keep your color fresher longer and may help extend the time between visits (and will cause less damage to your hairs).


2. Use a serious conditioning mask on your hair (mid-shaft down) once per week to help strengthen and condition my hair. I'm loving Morrocanoil's Intense Hydrating Mask. A little goes a long way, as it melts like butter into hair when you apply it in the shower. It's seriously good stuff.



3. Use a detangler before combing out wet hair. I'm already using an oil comb, but I'll take all of the extra help I can get. I am digging Leonor Greyl's Lait Luminescence Bi-Phase detangling milk. This spray makes your hair super soft and makes tearing at tangles a thing of the past. Use this sparingly, though. It's very hydrating and a little goes a long way.

4. Let you hair dry naturally as much as you can before styling. The less heat damage, the better. And don't forget, piling hair on top of your head and covering with a towel can lead to more hair snarls than it's worth.


5. Before you heat style, be sure to use a heat protection spray. I tried a few drug store brands and didn't really see a difference (although Tressemme was ok). However, I do really like Condition Naturelle by Leonor Greyl. My hair is so incredibly soft when I use this, it's amazing. It also adds a teeny bit of hold and shine.

6. Be careful of jewelry. I recently noticed one of my favorite rings constantly had hair stuck in it. Running my hand through my hair was causing some serious breakage. It's too hard for me not to subconsciously do that, so for now, the ring is going back into the jewelry box.

7. Stay away from flannel or coarse pillow cases. Delicate hair can get stressed out (I told you it's whiny!) when you smoosh it into a surface that doesn't have much "slip". No satin pillow case? Try wrapping your hair in a silk scarf at night to protect your hair. And if you want to keep it straight, carefully wrap it around your head, secure it with bobby pins and cover with a scarf.




I'm starting to wonder how realistic it is for my hair to get as long as I would like. I'm also starting to get waves on the underside of my hair, so that will make it even more interesting. Any other helpful hints? Please tell me! I need all of the help I can get to regain control of my whiny hair.

I purchased MorrocanOil. Leonor Greyl was sent for review. Neither test on animals. Photos by moi, except for MorrocanOil, which is courtesy of them.

Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews & more! Copyright 2009-2011, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.

Golden Globes How To: January Jones' Wavy Hair

I've been inspired over the last few weeks to wear my normally stick straight hair wavy. While my hair isn't quite long enough to pull off this styling trick, it's a great way for those of you with long hair to change up your daily look without a huge amount of effort. The payoff is beautiful! Check out the step by step instructions on how to get January Jones look from the 2011 Golden Globes.



Subscribe and never miss a thing! Disclosure/Disclaimer Statement. Makeup, beauty, skincare reviews & more! Copyright 2009-2011, Gouldylox Reviews. All Rights Reserved.

Summer Wrap Up : My Favorite Picks From This Season, Part 3

With so many, it is hard to choose, but here are the rest of my top picks from this summer.




Scent: This one is easy! I love Kai fragrance. Love it. The gardenia and white exotic flowers make me (and Mr. Lox) swoon. I can't say enough about this delicate fragrance!

Moisturizer for the Body: I have tried quite a few lotions, but none are leaving my skin as soft at Payot's Regenerating Dry Oil Spray. This light oil hydrates without being too greasy, which sounds weird for a huile, but is true. And it smells fantastic!

Shampoo: For my color-treated hair, nothing is coming close to working as well as EverPure by Loreal. The sulphate-free shampoo keeps my color from fading and leaves my hair feeling clean.

Conditioning Treatment: After getting a little creative at home, I found the best way to help my hair recover from the processing I was bestowing upon it was to steam a towel in the microwave and wrap it around my damp hair after applying Leonor Greyl Hair Masque. Madonna is rumored to use this as well, but I doubt she has to heat her own towel.

Sunless Tanning: This is a tricky one for me, as sunless tanning just makes me nervous (or doesn't work at all on my skin). Out of what I tried, my best results came from Mystic Tanning's Face Kit. The color that is deposited when you apply the tan helps to ensure it goes on evenly. It dried quickly and lasted for a decent amount of time.

Now that summer is over, what you are looking forward to this Fall? Tell me in the comments!

Subscribe and never miss a thing! Copyright 2009, Gouldylox Reviews. All rights reserved.

I Want to Be Eve Myles or How Leonor Greyl is Keeping My Hair Fab, Despite What I Do To It

I have decided I want to take time off from being a red head. Don't get me wrong, I love my red hair. It partially defines who I am. However, I want to try something different and have decided to go really dark brown. Think Eve Myles from Torchwood.


Except there is a problem. My hair (when I started) was a really light, bright red. For those of you who don't know much about how hair color works, you can't take warmth out of your hair (the red) without adding ash (a cool tone). Here is the problem. Adding ash to really warm, light colored hair can sometimes make it go battleship gray. And while I do like Stacy's sparkle-y gray streak on What Not To Wear, it's not for me. My point is, it is a process, trying to get my hair from fire engine red to really dark brown.

Excessive coloring can strip the moisture out of hair and damage the hair cuticle itself. And while my hair is short, I still want it to look healthy and vibrant, not dull and harsh. To keep my hair looking it's best while I continue to dye it darker and ashy-er, a few products from Leonor Greyl have been saving my locks.



Masque A L'Orchidee' by Leonor Greyl has been my go-to hair masque for deep conditioning treaments in-between all of my frequent coloring. This conditioning mask is formulated with plant lipids that strengthen the hair, film-forming silk proteins for unparalleled shine and botanical oils to increase hair flexibility.





The rock star in my hair arsenal to keep my tresses singing is no doubt the Huile De Palme, an oil you apply before you shampoo to really give hair a serious moisture and shine boost. It smells fantastic, too. I have actually been sleeping in this, to get the most out of the treatment. For a decadent experience, apply the oil (or the masque) to your damp hair, microwave a damp towel for about 30 seconds and wrap the steaming hot towel around your hair. This will make your locks drink in the Huile De Palme and leave you with amazing hair.

While I am still working on achieving that Eve Myles color, my hair looks amazing, despite the fact I have colored it three times in as many weeks!

I love it. Check it out!




Subscribe and never miss a thing! Copyright 2009, Gouldylox Reviews. All rights reserved.