John Frieda Mixology 101 Event and Product Reviews!

A few weeks ago, I went to an event for John Frieda in Vancouver, held at the Miele Culinary Institute, which was really cool for two reason: 1) The theme of the event (Mixology 101) was basically science class, and the (adorably decorated) classroom worked well for that, and 2) the second half of the evening had some pretty great food and cocktails!

Anyways, the reason for the event was to promote their new Stylist Selections tool--which you can find on the top bar at JohnFrieda.ca:

John Frieda makes some great products, and in a huge array of formulas, so while this tool is of course only going to choose John Frieda products for you, I'm pretty confident that they have something for a majority of hair types and concerns. What the tool does is it presents the user with a survey asking questions about hair type, colour, texture, styling goals, etc. and at the end, presents you with a collection of products best suited to your hair and goals. Sometimes the products will be from the same line, sometimes not, but as they were also promoting, sometimes mixing products to hit all your needs is more effective than using all products from a single line.

Before the event, they emailed a shortened but similar survey to the attendees, and then selected a collection of products best suited to each of our hair types to try out. Here are the products I got:

As you can see, aside from the products, we also each got an apple, pencil, notebook, lab coat, and a Herschel backpack. What? Those things are bloody expensive! I was pretty surprised when I saw them lined up on the counters at the event, but I do admit they are a pretty awesome touch considering the school theme, plus they're a nice gift!

Right, back to the products... I got a mixture of FrizzEase products and Full Repair Shampoo/Conditioner. (I also picked out a couple more products from the displays that interested me, specifically the Dry Shampoo, and the Sheer Blonde lightening spray that I'm now scared I'm not supposed to use on my natural hair (which is darker than most people would classify as blonde, but I digress))

I haven't tried out everything yet, as I want to use each thing fairly steadily to really see how it works for me, before I review, but here's what I've used so far:

FrizzEase Dream Curls Daily Styling Spray:

This spray is meant to lightly condition hair while enhancing natural curl. It is not a hairspray, so it has no crunchiness, and it has a thermal protectant for those who like some form of heat styling.

I love this product. I have very loose curls, which can sometimes fall to frizzy waves, but this product actually helps my hair curl more effectively! It isn't very conditioning, but that isn't really its job, and I don't mind adding a touch of serum or oil once it's dried to help fight off dryness and frizzies. I use this exactly as it suggests on the back, I spray it into towel-dried hair, then scrunch from time to time while my hair air dries.

FrizzEase Original 6 Effects Serum:

This thick serum spreads shockingly well through my thick, textured hair, and my hair loves it! This serum, as its name suggests, is supposed to 1) eliminate frizz, 2) protect against humidity, 3) be a heat protectant, 4) smooth, 5) hydrate, and 6) tame.

I would say it does all those things pretty well. Personally, I use a bit more than it suggests (2-3 pumps vs. 1) and apply to towel-dried hair, instead of soaking wet, but I really do like it! It smells great, like all John Frieda products, and as I said, my hair loves it. My biggest complaint is how tiny one bottle is, but I suppose it's meant to be super concentrated, so we'll see how fast I go through it!

FrizzEase Unwind Curls Calming Creme

This cream is meant to loosen curls and fight frizz. It is fairly moisturizing, but this isn't really my kind of product.

As I said earlier, my curls aren't super tight or defined, and I don't want to loosen them. Which is unfortunate, because now I have two bottles of this (one from the LDBeauty event and one from this John Frieda event)! Maybe it could be good if I wanted to straighten my hair, or if I wanted a wavy style?

And now I wanted to talk about a couple John Frieda products that I received from LDBeauty's event at the beginning of summer, while I'm on the topic anyways:

FrizzEase Secret Weapon Touch-Up Creme:

This is an interesting product, meant for touch-up, not styling. It is meant to eliminate frizz, block UV, and add shine to dry hair whenever needed.

Personally, I don't think it's John Frieda's best product; my hair responds better to oils and serums used in the same way. I see this working better on straighter or finer hair than my own, though, as it is fairly lightweight, while still being hydrating and smoothing!

Luxurious Volume for Colour-Treated Hair Shampoo and Conditioner:

This product is meant to create "boosted volume," "natural-looking fullness," while leaving hair "touchably soft." All while protecting your hair colour.

I haven't coloured my hair in years, so I can't speak to that aspect of this product, but I can talk about this volume it promises. While this shampoo and conditioner definitely leaves my hair feeling silky soft every time, I think it does the opposite of volumizing! Don't get me wrong, I have pretty big, voluminous hair naturally, so this product actually worried me, but somehow this shampoo seems to sleek my hair down instead of boosting it. It's always clean and soft, not oily, but I end up having to fluff my hair more than normal to get my normal body. Very odd. Let me know if you're used this product, and how it worked for you! I'd love to know if my hair's just weird!

FrizzEase Nourishing Oil Elixir:

This elixir contains that argan oil we all know and love for our hair, as well as a thermal protectant, and claims to nourish hair and block frizz.

I love oils for my hair, though this is more of a serum containing oils, but it's great! Wet or dry, this spreads through my hair easily and definitely fights frizz. Excellent, simple product. Again, though, on my thick hair, I use more than the recommended one pump. I think those suggests are so that even those with the thinnest, finest hair won't use too much product, while those of us with thicker, coarser hair need a bit more!

That's all for now! I may do another post in the future when I've tried the rest of my John Frieda products, but make sure to check out the John Frieda Stylist Selections tool online (here) to find your recommendations, if you're interested. And be sure to let me know if you've tried John Frieda before, which products, and how you liked them!

Thanks for reading!

All reviews on my blog have always been--and always will be--100% my own opinions