Product Review: Tresemme Liquid Gold

I have been a big fan of hair oil since someone gave me a bottle of the one that kicked off the whole craze: Moroccan Oil, in their distinctive brown, blue and orange packaging. It smelt lush and made my hair as soft as a babies bum. After using that for a while, a Moroccan friend brought me back some pure Argan oil, the active ingredient, from a trip to Morocco. Now while this definitely didn't smell as nice it still did the trick.
For some unknown reason, after that ran out I kinda just...stopped using oil on my hair. With all the dye and heat damage I put my hair through, my hair has finally had enough and is now getting it's own back by trying to make me look like Worzel Gummidge. I'm sorry hair! Gosh!

I was going to give the L'Oreal hair oil a try but I saw this Tresemme one in my local Boots and since I use Tresemme shampoo and conditioner decided I would give it a whirl. It's also only £6.99 so doesn't break the bank and isn't much to spend if you're skeptical about trying a hair oil (You can buy here). Plus I'm a sucker for good marketing and this is called Liquid Gold. That just sounds like it's going to make my hair all Rapunzel-like doesn't it?

Liquid Gold doesn't disappoint, it smells delicious and isn't greasy, as it says 'instant absorption'. After just one use my hair felt softer and the flyaway bits at the front are tamed with just one drop. I tend to rub a couple of drops through the lengths of my hair (I have quite long hair) and rub any residue over the front, then tie up in a top-knot before jumping in the shower, as I find the steam always activates products in my hair. The 'restorative formula' can be used every day to manage and protect hair, both Pre and Post-Styling, on dry or damp hair.

Shanika Says: if your hair needs treasuring, treat it to some Liquid Gold.  

Crowning Glory

Yesterday I headed down to the Theatre Royal Stratford East to watch a new play by playwright Somalia Seaton. First things first, the bar at the theatre serves Caribbean food and I had jerk salmon for the first time, so I mean the theatre already has a lot going for it. Secondly, I was served by the most gorgeous, bearded bartender with a hint of a regional accent, so I was lovestruck (I will most likely be back here soon...naughty!)

The play ‘Crowning Glory’ is Seaton’s first full production and is an exploration of hair and complexion politics faced by black British women today. Often hilariously funny, the play uses a chorus of 7 women to examine the way childhood memories, treatment from complete strangers and the media today all contribute to the big debate – to go natural, to perm or to weave?

There are a series of monologues from the women, Half-Breed, Pickyead, Panther, Hair Comb, Token,  Bal-Ead and Bounty, with the others forming a an interchangeable chorus throughout, which worked better for some speeches than others; they seemed a bit irrelevant and lacklustre on stage during Bal-Ead’s but brilliant as bobbing wigs during Panthers’. Sheri-An (Hair Comb) gives a brilliant performance as a little girl getting her combed by her mother while simultaneously narrating in the Jamaican mothers voice and Allyson Ava-Brown (Half Breed) articulated a lot of my own experiences as a mixed race girl, of people being fascinated by her curly hair while she herself did not see the fascination. There is a danger of leaning too heavily on stereotypes in the cases of ‘Bounty’ and ‘Token’ (I did enjoy that the subversion of ‘Token’, with the token being a white girl rather than a black girl however) and although the emotions displayed by many of the actors allowed us to see their acting ability, I would have liked to have seen a more balanced view, with some more positive stories related to hair and skin; out of 7 only 1 was without any inner turmoil.

The split level stage was a visually interesting performance space and the sliding screens for the multi media videos were a nice touch. One element that actually detracted from the play were the interviews with regular women about their views on beauty and when they feel most attractive. These could have been played as the audience took their seats as it interrupted the flow of the piece and cheapened the production values.

The final ensemble piece was an impassioned speech about self confidence and finding beauty outside the realm of Western beauty, it did veer on the preachy side but was a positive message for the women in the audience – and there were a lot. I counted 4 men, including my mate who I was with!

All in all, an assured debut from Seaton with a strong message and some interesting theatrical devices so try and check it out while it’s still on.

(Runs until Saturday 9^Th November)

Playwright Somalia Seaton