What kind of scents are you most attracted to, when it comes to bath and body products? Do you fantasize about florals, or are you more into vanilla-based comfort scents? Are you a woodsy or herby gal, or do Oriental notes float your boat? If you love beautifully scented hair, bath, and body products — this is the review for you. I’ve been sampling a variety of beauty products that’ll have you smelling and feeling positively edible. And even better, some of these products are natural, and made by the kind of small, up and coming businesses owned by bellas for bellas that I have tried and love, love, love.
Let’s start with your glorious head of hair. For heavenly scented tresses, I can’t think of a product line more suited to the cause than Hair Rules, a multi-textural hair care line made by famous hairstylist Dickey — who just did my homegirl Nichelle’s hair! Clicky click to read about her hair experience.
Hair Rules makes products specifically designed for kinky, curly, and wavy hair — and their stuff smells AMAZING. Fruity, floral, like perfume for your hair. Love the smell. However I will admit right now — wasn’t especially blown away by the styling products on my hair — the Kinky Curling Cream left my curls heavy and limp, not moisturized, defined, and fluffy like I prefer. The sistas at Nappturality and Naturally Curly questioned the ingredients of that particular product, and I’m thinking that had something to do with it. My hair didn’t respond well to the styling stuff, but I LOVE the shampoo and condish!
I really dig the aloe and grapefruit clarifying cleanser — I’m working on a bigger post about scalp issues, but spoiler alert — I think this stuff is helping me to clear up my dry scalp issues. And it smells awesome. The daily cleansing cream moisture-rich no-suds shampoo is great — it’s rivaling Devacurl No Poo for my fave regular cleanser. And I agree with Bellasugar — that Quench Deep Conditioner is absolutely incredible. It smells like a fancy dessert, it moisturized my hair par excellence, and made for a divinely easy comb through. Hair Rules is on the pricey side of the street — $22.00 for an 8 oz bottle of conditioner is steep when you’ve got a thick head of curly locks. But if you’re looking for the new hotness and you love a fragranced head of hair, most def hit em up. You won’t be disappointed with your shampoo or conditioner experience.
** edited at 12:21 a.m., Thursday August 14 — Nichelle’s Q&A with Dickey is up, and he honestly addresses the use of mineral oil in his product. Definitely worth a read for you bellas who are especially concerned about product ingredients. I’m working on a curly hair book review, and Dickey’s book, Hair Rules is an informed, engaging read. More to come about Hair Rules and Dickey.
If you want to make your face clean and herbally refreshed, I’d recommend the skin care stuff from Sally B’s Skin Yummies. I really like this entire line of products — but the Shake It Up Organic Cleansers have really made an impression. You do as it says — shake the bottle well before applying the cleanser. The luxury cleanser is scented with lavender, and leaves my skin feeling super soft. This isn’t a harsh cleanser by any means — removing my eye makeup usually takes two washes. My elbows and feet love the shea butter bar — mine is vanilla almond scented and I’ve been tempted to taste it. It smells that good. My favorite skin care product by Sally B’s Skin Yummies is definitely the sugar scrub.
I’d say it’s one of, if not the best sugar scrub I’ve ever tried. It’s milled to the point of perfection, gentle, effective, and doesn’t leave my tub all slippery. The lavender vanilla scent is amazing, finely crushed gentle floral goodness. $16 for a 4 oz tub, and you can definitely make it last. It also comes in other scents, like Ali’s Almond Bliss which sounds right up my alley!
If you’re seeking scrumdiddlyumptious body care, Blended Child is the brand for you. My husband loves when I wear the Vanilla Waffle Sundae body lotion. It literally smells like dessert. The green tea zen is refreshing and soothing, and blended with grapeseed and green tea, plus vitamins C and E, olive oil, shea, and jojoba. Blended Child doesn’t use petroleum, color, or animal ingredients, and their lotions are a sweet deal at $18. I bet their body wash would be the bomb!
South Florida residents should recognize this beautiful bella on sight — Danielle Knox was the morning news anchor at CBS4/My33 for a while. When she had a bouncing baby boy, she left the TV news anchor game for an entirely different enterprise. Play Pretty Beauty is a line of body washes, lotions and creams that are super moisturizing and smell like little jars of heaven. I did a detailed review over at Pretty in the City, so click there if you want to learn more. Her Nohea Ani scent is one of my new favorites — a lush bouquet of hibiscus, muguet, violet blossoms, and fruit. It lingers on my skin for ages, and makes for an awesome apres-bath moisturizer. It seems they’re not yet available online — there’s a wholesale link, but no regular retail prices. If you live in Florida, you can get Play Pretty products at GBS the Beauty Store.
What’s your favorite scented beauty fave? I’m always on the lookout for the new next thing, so let me know!
Hey Bella,all of these products seem great.I have been using the same products for some time now so I need a change.
My favorite scent is anything fruity,and lavender.
All of these products seem so great and fun! I love the water smells and fruity scents.
I just tried a Coconut Milk hydrating shampoo by Alba Botanica (bought at Whole Foods) which had my hair smelling like the Hawaiian tropics. I wanted to continue washing my hair – and the best part is that it does not have any damaging ingredients.
Hey Bella, you might also want to try Jason all natural products. I just recently reviewed the lines Henna Hi-lighting Shampoo and Conditioner on my site and I loved it. It smells like cherries and the products are certified organic. They also have an 84% Aloe vera shampoo and conditioner which I’m gonna try out next.
Well thanks Bella!!! I don’t have to send you that email anymore about the Kurly Kinky products LOL I saw it in the latest essence as was going to ask you what you thought of them.. you haven’t steered me wrong yet with products for my hair LOL
I love clean citrus scents for my shower/bath products (current fave dove grapefruit body scrub) and for my body heavenly chocolate scents.. my fave body butter is love butter or sweetchocolatehoneydip from carol’s daughter
As for my hair.. I’m still trying to find that right groove for my hair..
Thank you for reviewing the hair rules products. I am especially interested in trying their cleansing cream, but I will have to see how well the Curls cleansing cream performs. I really hate how much product I have to use when I cleanse and condition my hair. It always likes the expensive stuff. Even when I was a permie 🙁
On the topic of scented products, Oyin Handmade makes their HoneyWash in Black Cedar Fig scent now. They’ve also changed the formula for it. I wasn’t particularly fond of the original one, but the fact that they offer it in BCF alone makes me want to to buy another bottle.
I’ve been waiting for this post!!! Thanks Bella. I think I’ll be purchasing their shampoo. Not so sure about their other product. I hate spending a ton of money on a product and it not work on my hair. I’d much rather wait until they offer sample sizes.
All this crap is not necesary just to wash your hair and body
I am interested in the Hair Rules products, but the price is pretty high. Not sure I can be spending $22 for an 8 oz conditioner. I have thick hair and i go thru lots of conditioner.
Thanks for the input, Nicola… but this being a beauty blog, you’re going to find reviews like this pretty often. Enjoy your products of choice.
I love Nature’s Gate Body Wash and Hair Conditioner in Lemongrass. It’s a little expensive, but I buy on Amazon where I can get a little discount for buying a 3pk. It smells so fresh, clean, and pure. I am verrrry partial to the right combo of fruit and floral as well.
Just purchased the Hair Rules product line- not loving it. If your hair texture is thick and some what kinky, the curling custard will leave your hair crispy. Not a good look or feel.
On to the next product…
I wanted to try Hair Rules, but it is too expensive and has way too many crappy ingredients in them for me to bother trying them. LOL @ Nicola. Don’t worry Bella, I just think she is lost or something. Complaining about too many beauty reviews in a beauty blog is hilarious. Maybe I’ll go over to the time mag/CNN blogs and complain about all the news! LOL
Candy, that is too funny . . . hahahahaha. I agree with you. Nicola is def at a loss on this site.
I am currently on a roll with the coconut oil and needed a shampoo to implement in my hair maintenance regimen. I will definitely try some of this stuff out. When I get paid again, that is. lol!
First of all, Nicola, please…DO NOT get me started up in here. For real, for real, take that ig’nant crap on…I mean, how you gone come on a beauty product oriented website & start talking about mofos should just use soap & water?! Yeah,yeah, yeah, we know this stuff isn’t “necessary” to wash our arses, but let ME have MY fun. I LIKE to use scented shower gels & cremes & scrubs,shampoos etc. And I like to interact with others that enjoy the same thing. You can do you & just use a bar of Irish Spring, I guess, just don’t come up in here with that…
But I digress…thanks for the post on the Hair Rules product line Bella, I’ve been curious about this line for a couple of months now, definitely going to try them out because I love scented products. And hopefully, he’ll see some of these less favorable user reviews & tweak the products accordingly, cause dude is supposed to be the Kinky hair guru, as such, his products should measure up…Still going to give him a go though.
Ditto for the Yummies stuff, that sounds fun.
Tashina- I wanna try Oyin’s products too. That scent sounds awesome!
Just recently tryed the Organix line Coconut Milk Nourishing Leave-In Conditioner…for $6 at Target…me likey! It makes my hair soft & it smells so good. I’m going to give their Self-Heating Coconut Oil a try next. But for the price, you can’t beat it. I know you’ve written about them in the past, so I finally gave them a try. Was pretty pleased overall.
Another product, as far as leave-in conditioner goes, that leaves my hair so soft WAY above the rest is Hairobics Leave-In Conditioner. It’s not cheap at $15/bottle, but it’s worth it. VERY minty smell though. But man, my hair always feels so good when I use this stuff.
Anyone else have experience with either the Hairobics or Organix? Love to know your thoughts…
Sometimes if you misuse a product and your hair comes out crispy, sticky, or whatever, it just means you have to change the way you use it. I had that problem with a few products until I understood they were best applied when hair was soaking wet, etc.
LOL — y’all got my back! Too funny…
I LOVE that Organix stuff, but haven’t found anything more than the condish I tried at my local Target. I would buy their coconut oil for sure.
Thanks to you all for putting products like Hairobics and Organix and Wen on my radar. I have so many great natural hair brands to try. What should I review next, bellas? Oyin? Qhemet? Or something else?
Flygyrl72, please don’t take offense. Did you address the complaint issue
with a fierceness. You were me bringing back to how we handle haters in the HOV,(MD/VA/DC)with a swiftness. I was cracking up.
I discovered Hairobics back in my permie days, when my frontal hair broke off so bad that my bangs were up to my hairline..It was not good. I called them and received a phone consultation. They suggested the Shampoo, hair and scalp booster,(a smooth fresh peppermint experience)daily and the Hair and Scalp Leave in Conditioner daily. Primo! My bangs were thriving down to the tip of my nose in 3 months. I had been thinking about going back to Hairobics for sometime because I always got the best results. The Pomade is very moisturizing and they use to have a FLEX-it pomade. It was great for the smooth edges!! I hope they bring it back.
Bella,this was a great review post. I’ve have been wanting to hear from you of your thoughts of Hair Rules. I also saw his styling expertise on NBC Today oh about a week ago or so. Great Segment on different hair types. I’m still trying out the kinky curling cream. I hope to build on his line, one product at a time.
Budget.
Bella or anyone. Has anybody tried Vita Amazonia Afro Shampoo/Condish and Finishing Cream?
Tuberose–it’s all about tuberose. I love, love, LOVE tuberose. I’m a hopeless fool for anything with a tuberosey smell. It’s the base for scents like Fracas, Michael Kors, Annick Goutal’s Tubereuse, etc. Also, I’m not sure what the foundations of Lolita Lempika are, but I love the scent of that perfume and their body products.
Not into the citrusy stuff as much.
I’ve actually had a good experience w/Hair Rules. Love the Cleansing Cream Wash and Quench Deep Conditioner! I have curly/wavy hair and use the Curly Whip in the shower. I must say, this is the first product that actually worked for me! It held my curl pattern w/out being too frizzy or limp. Still, I must admit, I bought it only recently and have only used it twice (have relaxed hair, but in the summer I like to go quasi-natural sometimes ;-p ), so I haven’t perfected my technique yet.
The cons, for me, are: 1. def the price – $20-something for an 8oz bottle is beyond; and 2. it is a bit time-consuming – must go through section by sectin w/curly whip in shower…maybe I just need patience…
Still, overall, I was VERY excited to have found a product that really worked! I’ve tried Miss Jessies and Mixed Chicks, and Olive Oil Leave-In, and some other stuff and none of it ever worked. I was always better off taking a dip in the sea, and letting the beach breeze work it out for me. So Hair Rules does get a check plus in my book.
I’m looking for a new stylist too. My friend has been to Dickey and loves him. I wanna try, but am a bit worried he may be out of my budget. We’ll see…
Oh yes, and the smell is amazing. The scent of Quench rocks my world!! ;-p The scent of the Hydration is a bit stronger though. The first time I used it I had a headache, so the citrusy smell drove me insane for the first hour. But, like I said – Quench – the bomb!
Oh – last thing I promise – my hair was soft to the touch (which is a big thing for me), and also looked touchable – not sticky or crunchy.
But, I was kinda afraid to actually touch my hair too much, because I got the sense that if I did my curls would die and I’d have a frizzy poof by the end of the day. But like I said, I still haven’t perfected my technique yet. (As I roll my eyes to the sky wondering why my hair must be manipulated by technique!)
Bella please do a review on Qhemet products!!
Great review and thanks to all with the suggestions of new products to try- I am a product junkie and I am smiling in my office at work as we speak – can’t wait to go to Target to try Organix on my locs . Of course Bella – we have your back – I was going to comment on the hater but she was dealt with quick, fast and in a hurry! LOL
it has been proven that some of those scents not only make you feel clean but also do wonderful things for your mental energy..revive, energise, soothe or calm and lots more…so plain soap and water just makes you feel ….clean
Excellent and Affordable product line at Walmart. Tree Hut’s line includes Scrubs, Washes, Lotions and Butters, usually around $5.88 a pop. I’ve used for about 4 years.
All the scents are heavenly fabulous: coconut/lime,sheabutter,brazilian nut, honey and almond, mango if you can find it. I mix all mine together.LOL. Very moisturizing and enriched.
Check them at http://www.treehutshea.com.
I’m gon’ do the God-created me. – Yeah, that’s how we get down, Chi-town style…LOL… And thanks for the co-sign on the Hairobics. I’ve really had good results with her Leave-In Conditioner & just went to her website & see that not only does she have a head full of beautiful natural hair, but she also has a hair/scalp clinic place out here in Carson, I’m gonna hafta hit her up, cause my hair has been breaking off a lot in the back, driving me crazy… And I’m gonna look into that Vito Amazonia stuff you’re talking about, never heard of it before.
Bella- I’ve tried the Wen Tea Tree cleansing conditioner, last year, it was okay, but I wasn’t really impressed with it, plus it cost like, $24. I didn’t feel as if it was really cleaning my hair at all. Admittedly, I am still very wary of these “no or low-poos”, I just don’t feel comfortable if I don’t have suds… What do you think? Am I being paranoid? Or am I just brainwashed into lather = clean? I use a lotta product on a daily basis, so I just don’t understand how my hair will get clean w/o lather…
I am ever vigilant against that “stale scalp” smell, this big fro captures all kinds of odors, so I like to shampoo every other week, just to be on the safe side. I generally use Goldwell’s Ultra-Rich formula or Therappe, that way, my hair doesn’t feel like straw afterwards…still, I always feel a frisson of panic everytime I read a “shampoo is the devil” testimony from yet another convert to the no-poo method, I’d like to try it, but I don’t want stinky scalp…
And I vote that you review the Oyin stuff, I’ve been curious about them for a while…
Thanks for the post. I’m always looking for no lather cleansers and I love smell goods. My hair is actually relaxed, but I use devacurl no poo cleanser at the suggestion of my stylist. I used to use the conditioner, but my hair tangles easily and the conditioner never really did the job when it came to detangling my hair. Do you know if the Hair Rules conditioners do a good job of detangling as well as conditioning? Thanks.
I have surprised myself with not buying any smell goods this summer! I guess I’ve spent all my money on concert tix! LOL! But once I’m through the summer, I’ll be ready to get my fix and this post will help.
Once I decide to actually wear my hair, I’ll invest in more hair products. I haven’t taken the plunge yet. I worry about my patience with detangling.
I am a HUGE citrus fan. So any fruity scented products are going to be my faves. Definitely love sweet smells. I hear men love vanilla so I always keep some of that on hand too 😉
I’ve been using Hair Rules products for more than a month, and they’re working pretty well for me. I had been using Miss Jessie’s pudding and butter cream. I liked the way my hair looked, but not the way it felt. My curls would be crunchy if I sat under a dryer and it flaked, or it took too long to dry with a blow dryer, and it would feel sticky. I wasn’t crazy about the smell, either. My 5 year old son told me I smelled like pie.
I went to Dickey’s presentation at Urbanbella in June, and picked up the products then. I like the smell and feel of his products. I’m not sure about the clarifying cleanser. I hated the way my hair felt once i rinsed it out. I love the daily cleansing cream and the quench and nourish conditioners. The moisturizing cream doesn’t do anything for me. I think I’ll stick with Jane Carter’s nourish and shine (I think that’s what it’s called.) I use the kinky curling cream for styling. It also produced good results for my daughter’s hair with twists and coils.
So far, the only other styling product I’ve had good results with is bumble + bumble’s curl conscious line. The styling cream, anyway. The shampoo lathers too much, and the conditioner didn’t impress. Has anyone else tried that stuff?
Bella, definitely review Oyin and/or Qhemet! I love both lines. My Oyin faves are the brown sugar pomade (which smells delicious, just like brown sugar) as a finisher to add shine and the shine and define (also delicious, kinda citrusy) for moisture. My number one favorite Qhemet product is the burdock root butter cream, which is light but still really moisturising. I also love the olive cream conditioning detangler (moisture), the olive and honey hydrating balm (moisture and shine) and the honeybush tea gel (light hold). Qhemet products don’t have very strong scents, but you can always add a few drops of your favorite essential oil if you want a certain scent.
As for my favorite scents, I’m really loving foody scents like coconut and ginger right now. I use coconut oil for everything and if you know of any ginger scented hair or body products I would love to know! I also like citrus and vanilla scents. I’m still trying to find a great scented body product, especially one that’s natural, can be bought in stores and isn’t too expensive. I always find myself coming back to suave tropical coconut body wash, which smells great and keeps my skin hydrated. Hey, two out of three aint bad!
Thanks for the Hair Rules Review!! I was going to try these products next. I can’t seem to find a product that wont break my hair off when I don’t comb it for a few days. Help!!
I am about to write my own review on the Kinky Curly products on my site. I really like them but I wonder if my hair is shedding badly because I still have permed ends? What do you do when you don’t comb your hair out for days?
http://poshlifeposhstyle.com/
I forgot to add Oyin’s honey hemp conditioner, which also smells great and works really well as both a leave-in conditioner and a deep conditioner.
Cocoadiva, the shedding is probably from the permed ends. The place where your natural and permed hair meet is really fragile and is likely to break unless you’re really vigilant about moisture and protein, not combing when dry, etc. If you’re experiencing a lot of shedding, it may just be time to cut off the permed ends. If you let the shedding continue, it may damage the natural hair by causing split ends. I recently cut off my hair and went natural in February. I had been transitioning for 6 months and had planned on transitioning for longer, but I hadn’t been taking care of my hair as well as I should have and I had a huge clump of breakage in the back where I put my hair in a ponytail. I had no idea how to comb my hair properly and it got knotted, etc. In the end, it was a blessing because it allowed me to get to know my natural hair and what it likes while it was still a manageable length.
ki nk & CocoaDiva: the Quench Ultra Conditioner is excellent! I hadn’t permed my hair for four months and could hardly comb through my hair. But, when I used Quench it really detangled my hair and made it fantastically easy to comb through with a wide tooth comb. My hair felt soft and nourished. And, like I said before, the smell is divine!
If they decide to sell a sample pack I’ll get it. I don’t want to spend so much for a product (plus shipping) only to find out it doesn’t work for me
Before using these products I really wanted to be able to wash and go but my hair would get really dry and frizzy if I did. I love these products–I am not rich but am willing to put out $20/bottle of product to save myself the bi or tri-weekly hairdresser fees of $70+ that I used to pay (I live in NYC). I have fine kinky hair so I assumed that I had to use the kinky-curly cream, but after trying the curly whip I realized that product definitely gives my curls better definition. The clarifying shampoo and quench conditioner are great, my hair is sooo soft and touchable, and I finally have the hair I wanted!!
..bella…your site is great!
Re Nicola comment: Not everyone can express themselves eloquently. Perhaps, Nicola was expressing her frustration in our dependence on products and loyalty to company’s that don’t support US nor does our community get a big chunk of that pie! Black beauty products are a 20 billion dollar industry!! Please keep in mind I’m not defending Nicola, just always open for discussion or WHY a person may feel that way. I don’t think attacking her point of view is the way to go.
With that said…let me join in on the fun…Have you all tried an economical alternative that you can buy at walgreens…Biofusion (Olive Oil) moisturizing lotion and shampoo. I just watched a youtube rave about it!
Enjoy!
Thank you for taking the time to discuss this, I really feel strongly about it and love learning far more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your webpage with more details? It is particularly helpful for me.
The only problem I have with Black women is why they feel they have to straighten their hair for it to look nice. Making it smell “sweet and edible”, is one thing, straightenning it is quite another. Besides, I don’t care how sweet it smells, I wouldn’t eat it anyway. With a luscious body like Danielle’s, her hair would be the last thing on my mind. Most Black women with those God-awful weaves don’t want it touched.
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