KMS Shampoo, Dry Shine Styler, Travel Kit Review
Apr 10, 2011 by Violet
Before MBBE I had never heard of KMS California but I’m very glad that they included their shampoo and conditioner set in the gift bags because I found something to add to my must-have list.
Out of all the shampoo/conditioner sets that were in those bags, I found the KMS ones to be the most compatible with my hair. If you want to see what it beat out you can see the other items in the gallery here.
Brand: KMS CAlifornia
Name: Moistrepair Shampoo and Conditioner
Price: I googled for Australian prices and the average seems to be around AU$20 per bottle
If you follow me on Twitter you would have seen me asking for recommendations for hair treatments and products to fix my damaged hair. I’ve been dying my hair various colours for almost 10 years now and while I’ve escaped most damage it does take it’s toll.
The bleached sections of my hair are relatively unscathed but the pink dye is drying out the ends like crazy. If you have any recommendations for non-damaging-not-ridiculously-expensive pink dye available in Aus I would love to hear them! So yes trying to be kinder to my hair so I can keep the pink happening as long as possible. I’ve tried quite a few different hair treatments and with the exception of one which I will review later, these two products have by far improved the texture of my hair the most.
After using consistently for 1 month I can really feel the difference in the ends especially. Less straw and more silk if you know what I mean XD
The texture to both products was quite thick. The shampoo feels substantial and while lathering easily it doesn’t produce so many bubbles that your entire head is engulfed. The conditioner feels soft and silky but not so slippery that it runs off the hair, it grips well to the hair if that actually makes sense. There’s no strong smell which is also a plus in my books.
The only major con I have for these (other than the intensely ugly/generic looking bottles) is the price. At $20 for 1 bottle you really need to be prepared to invest in it. For me personally I don’t have the budget to do that unless I can find them on sale somewhere.
| VERDICT: Overall while it’s certainly not on the cheap side, I think this is the best shampoo/conditioner combination I’ve ever used for my particular hair. So if I had the money to make the choice I wouldn’t hesitate to buy them repeatedly. DO WANT.The PR agency for KMS also sent me their Dry Shine Styler as well as the travel kit to test out after I mentioned I have problems with frizz.
Name: Dry Shine Styler
Price: $19.95
Basically it is supposed to shine and smooth down all of your little fly away hairs. I’m sure there is all kind of fancy technology employed to do that but that sort of thing you can read about on their website.
It comes in the form of a glue stick XD The idea is that you can take it anywhere and use it on the go. You are supposed to smooth it straight onto your hair, I found that doing that was too much product and too hard to see what I was doing so instead I applied to my hand and then wiped it onto the hair.
It seems like an odd thing glue-sticking your hair but I remember at school when girls I knew used *actual* glue sticks to do this if they were desperate hahaha!
So does it work? You be the judge…
Before. Unbrushed hair first thing in the morning:
After. Applied very lightly on hands and smoothed down, no brushing:
So yes it does work, and it works very well. You would think it would be heavy and oily to get such a dramatic result but it’s really not. My hair didn’t feel greasy and I couldn’t notice much of a difference at all. There is a light plesent scent with it, kind of smells like a hair salon actually XD
I think the biggest fan of this product surprisingly enough was actually James. As a photographer he is forever having to photoshop out fly away hairs from client work, after one use with me he wanted to take mine to use on shoots. I didn’t want to give it up though so now we argue over who can take it on certain days XD I feel almost like we need a lawyer approved joint custody arrangement!!
VERDICT: Love it. Again pricey but you need so little of it to get results that I imagine it would last for a *very* long time and therefore be worth the investment. James says it’s a must for photographers and I would agree that I can tell when I’ve used it/not used it in outfit photos! DO WANT.
Now small bonus with these reviews, from May 1st if you buy any 2 KMS products you get this cute little travel bag as well as a change to win a $1000 travel voucher. Clearly they know how I think because it’s got my travel motto stamped on it:
“I didn’t come all this way not to look good”
Inside it’s got a bunch of little bottles, sprays and jars to put your travel beauty products. Clear case so you can take it on the plane with you and a pocket inside to hold make up. They even were nice enough to print my name and address onto the label for me XD
So summary? I am very glad that KMS put those first products into the MBBE gift bags because if they hadn’t I probably wouldn’t have been introduced to some of my current favorite products.Very much looking forward to trying and testing more from them in the future. Thumbs up from me. |
I’m a pretty big fan of KMS – their thickening shampoo actually thickens which is great. LOVE the scent too.
I’d also suggest Kevin Murphy products. Since I’ve been dying my hair I’ve had to buy colour care products and Kevin Murphy seems to be the only brand that combines colour care AND volumising shampoo & conditioner. I think they have a variety for hair that is thicker and doesn’t need the extra oomph too :-D
I can also point you towards Revlon Nutricolor – They are available in that tiny haircare store on Elizabeth St (not the one right next to Coles but the one a few doors up). The Nutricolor balls are a conditioner with a lot of pigment attached.
Meant for adding a bit of life back to your colour – I have the 200 which is a strong violet. I apply it to my hair and leave for half an hour or so (it says you only need 3 mins but whatevs, longer is better right?). It really does add quite a bit of colour and since it’s a conditioning treatment it also cares for your hair. I’m pretty sure there is a pink one which would be perfect for adding to your pink at the ends.
They’re not cheap at $40 for one, but I use mine once a week and it lasts quite a few washes – you could even stretch it out further than that.
The Kevin Murphy isn’t cheap either but I try and stretch them out as long as possible. I combine that with a De Lorenzo Cherry Red shampoo and only wash every other day.
The Organic Care products available from Woolworths are a good “filler” shampoo as they are really good quality and only like $3.45.
Anyways – thats quite a ramble…You really should get hold of one of the Revlon Nutricolor balls – they are definitely worth it if you colour your hair!
I so love you for this long awesome comment!! I have so many new products to find and try out now. Adding them all to my “buy” list, thank you so much :D :D :D The Nutricolour especially sounds awesome, totally going to find that store on Elizabeth st. Thank you!!
YES! I tried the KMS Moistrepair leave-in conditioner at a friend’s house recently and it was freaking awesome, so sad that it’s not on Strawberrynet and I might actually have to pay retail for it lol.
I knooooow! Full price makes me say but it really is a nice product!
With the pink hair dye, I found that Directions hair dye is fantastic! It’s not really known in Australia so I order it online and it’s pretty decent price wise too. It’s also conditioning too so it makes your hair feel lovely… At least mine does after I use it :-)
Thanks so much Loli! I’ve never heard of it but I’ll look it up :D
With the pink hair dye, I found that Directions hair dye is fantastic! It’s not really known in Australia so I order it online and it’s pretty decent price wise too. It’s also conditioning too so it makes your hair feel lovely… At least mine does after I use it :-) and with the pink I was using a little goes a VERY long way!
omg girls actually used glue sticks on their hair?? thats crazy!
we sell kms at my work (my chemist) and its usually a bit cheaper than RRP. you should check it out :)
I know, crazy right *_* Ok I’ll start looking in chemists, thanks for the heads up!
Ooh this glue thingy for smoothing down hair looks sooo good!! I really need this!!! Thanks for the review, you are great as always ^^
It’s really cool! I’m glad you liked the review <3
Personally, I haven’t tried KMS but I know some of my friends swear by it. I prefer redken and feel that it does wonders to my dry hair. I also do find that, over time, using moisturising shampoos also causes my hair to lose it’s flounce :(
then again, for my hair, I am willing to spend the money :)
I’ve only tried small samples of Redkin but the ones I tried were very nice too, can never care too much for hair in my opinion XD
Ugh, I so need one of those Dry Shine Stylers! I’m so jealous, I would love to try that out!
It really is a life saver, totally love it!
I’ve tried KMS products before when my hair was reallllllly fried and it’s a great shampoo! I haven’t used it in years but now that my allergy to sulfate is getting bad, I might go back to KMS :3 I think their shampoo is sulfate-free! :D
Eeek sulfate allergy sounds horrible! I’m not sure if these are sulfate free but I hope you can find one soon that is :S
I dont know if you have it where u live but try manic panic or you could try Beyond the Zone-Raspberry kamikaze. it comes out a bit purple it fades to pink and it doesn’t fade as quickly as other pink hair dyes. Neither of these dyes have ever tried my hair out.
I’ve heard of Manic Panic but not Beyond the Zone, will totally have to see if I can get them online. Thanks for the recommendation!
Is the brand Garnier Fructise available in Australia? I always use their Triple Nutrition line (http://www.garnierusa.com/_en/_us/our_products/product-struct.aspx?tpcode=OUR_PRODUCTS^PRD_HAIRCARE^FRUCTIS^FRUCTIS_DISCOVER^FRUCTIS_TRIPLE_NUTRITION) when my hair gets fried by dies and perms. Since its a “drug store” brand, its super cheap, I want to say its less than USD $6 a bottle. You can also get several different kinds of hair masks/ leave in conditioners that will help your hair.
Yep we’ve got the Garnier Fructise line here, I’ve used it for a few months before but I didn’t like it very much. It did smell like heaven though :D I love hair masks!
Why have I never heard of these Dry Shine Styler things before?! That’s exactly what I need for my hair so thanks very much for the review and letting me know they exist! I’m in England and I’m pretty sure we don’t have KMS over here so I’m going to be on the hunt for something similar now. Hopefully I’ll find something and won’t have to resort to a glue stick XD
No problems! I imagine you might be able to buy it online too from this brand. Haha yes please don’t resort to the glue stick XD