Remember those television commercials for Clairol Herbal Essences, the ones showing women having highly vocal “Totally Organic Experiences” while washing their hair? Me too. That is, I remember the beginnings of those commercials; I usually changed the channel or left the room before much of their thirty seconds could elapse. Fortunately, Clairol has been promoting its Herbal Essences line in a new direction lately, with more emphasis on the products’ effects and on their fragrances.
The new theme for Herbal Essences is the escape to a “fantasy paradise” of scent. I tried two formulas with different fragrances: Long Term Relationship (red bottle not shown, created to protect longer hair against damage) and Hello Hydration (turquoise bottle as shown, for dry hair). According to Clairol, “Herbal Essences developed each unique scent like a fine fragrance—with top, middle, and base notes.” Can that kind of composition exist in a shampoo or conditioner, the way it would in an oil- or alcohol-based perfume? Somehow, I doubt it (but I’m not a chemist, so who knows). In any case, I tried these two product pairs to see what would happen.
Long Term Relationship shampoo looks and smells like a raspberry-strawberry smoothie drink; the matching conditioner has a plummier berry scent, with a hint of dusky cocoa. Hello Hydration shampoo has a predominant coconut note, surrounded by a fruity-floral blend that might suggest apple or melon, with a few generic white flowers. The conditioner smells a bit muskier, but it’s a soft musk that melts into the coconut and light fruits. In both cases, I did notice the progression from shampoo to conditioner as a shift from brighter to slightly deeper scent blends. I didn’t experience a similar scent evolution on my hair after my shower, nor did I find the fragrances particularly long lasting, which is fine with me; other users’ heads might react differently.
Both these scents happen to feel very on-trend, and should fit easily into many customers’ fragrance tastes: the fruit-over-chocolate combination of Long Term Relationship smells like a more casual, teenaged cousin of Ralph Lauren Notorious, and the tropical, coconut-based floral of Hello Hydration reminded me of “G” from the Harajuku Lovers line. The colorful, text-jammed packaging also seems aimed at younger users, but these hair products could be an easy, temporary way for anyone to enjoy playful, fruity scents that she might or might not necessarily wear as perfumes. (Ecstatic moaning not required.)
For more information, see herbalessences. Clairol Herbal Essences products are available for approximately $4 each at drugstores.
I have both of these. I love the Hydration scent more. I use it during the summer and it's great aromatherapy.
I used to use the “old” Herbal Essence products, but I never had a full throated “organic” experience while shampooing.
I used the Long Term Relationship shampoo because I have very long hair. Before I switched to the shampoo I cut a few inches off. After using the shampoo for a few weeks the bottom 2 inches were dried out and I had crazy split ends.
So then I cut off about 3 inches and switched again and my hair has been fine ever since.
Anyone remember the OLD old Herbal Essences (the bright green shampoo with the flowers-in-her-hair lady on the label)? As yet more proof that I am a Fragrance Philistine, I swear that Ormonde Jayne Woman smells just like it!
And you're so right that it can be fun to use all those hair products with fruity or melony scents that you'd never dream of applying as perfume. Cheap and fleeting fun definitely has its place…
HA — I sure do! I'm much older than Jessica, so don't know if she will. And another old-time shampoo smell that was EVERYWHERE and lasted long after you left the shower — Revlon Flex.
Perfumescents, the scent really does have a summer feeling, doesnt it?
How strange! That would seem to be the opposite of what you'd want… Hm. But it's true… cutting split ends off is the only way to deal with them. Products can't and don't fix them!
Oh yes, I remember the original Herbal Essence! I loved its kelly-green color, and I *adored* the label, with the illustration of the hippie woman surrounded by flowers! Wish they would bring that one back. I'd keep a bottle in my bathroom, just to enjoy looking at it. 😉
Do these still contain sodium lauryl sulfate? The original Herbal Essences did, and SLS is a very drying detergent cleansing agent. The only shampoo I've ever used to cause dandruff.
Eminere, Both shampoos contain ammonium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate. Most mainstream shampoos still do, right? Ideally, I prefer an sls-free formula, but I've been alternating these with my usual shampoos, so I haven't noticed any problems.
Oh my god! I love Flex! I have a stash of about 6 bottles in my cupboard. It is so hard to find. Flex is just the best. I'd even use it as body wash. I'd always wished there was a lotion or body oil with that fragrance. And the other oldie I really liked was the original Pert – so fresh!
Another amazing smelling shampoo is Aveda Shampur. It smells like heaven – too bad it never really did anything for my hair.
I never cared for the smell of any of the herbal essences – too fruity synthetic. I blame that line for ruining the smell of most drugstore shampoos.
I saw some of the old stuff a few years ago in an odd-lots store (along with Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific!). And oh my gosh, Revlon Flex, I can smell it now! Not to mention Wella Balsam and Faberge Organics Wheat Germ Oil & Honey. Vintage shampoo doesn't have quite the same cachet as vintage perfume, but oh, the memories…
I have half a bottle left of the Original Herbal Essence Shampoo. Sure do wish they'd bring that one back. And Wella Balsam. College memories!
I have long, thick, dark (almost black) brown hair… I've been looking at Indian shampoos but I haven't tried any yet.
I wish I knew what kind of shampoo Nicole Scherzinger uses… she endorses a shampoo in the Philippines but I don't think she really uses it
And I think I'm the only person who doesn't enjoy the smell of coconut. the shampoo I use now that a generic “clean hair” smell so I sprayed my hairbrush with Opium. that was a little too strong, though.
I'm dating myself, but yes, I remember the original. I also remember “Gee, Your Hair Smells Terriffic”. I think Vermont Country Store carries both original formulas. Check it out.
How about Prell? LOL. Good grief, I think that stuff was like Palmolive dishwashing liquid or something. You all are taking me back to my childhood and the days when they called it “creme rinse.”
Yes! I remember that too. It was just the thing to fry my hair.
After a few weeks of using Prell, or Gee Your Hair Smells Terriffic, I wound up looking like Rosanne Rosannadanna.
Some shampoos on the market still contain sodium *lauryl* sulfate, which is “bad”, but most shampoos use sodium *laureth* sulfate, which is comparatively a gentler and therefore better cleansing agent.
Oh, I love the Vermont Country Store catalogue (and website). I'll go take a look!
I remember the look and smell of Prell, too. I think we had fewer shampoos to choose between, back in those days… and most of them were anything but gentle. 😉
Hi Ann, I remember Flex, too! I had a friend who used nothing but Flex in college, and its smell will always remind me of him. And it's amazing how many people love the smell of Shampure. That shampoo doesn't work for my hair, either. I think Aveda does have a matching fragrance, come to think of it (as part of their Personal Blends line).
Krokodilgena, I'm not usually much of a coconut fan, either, at least not for all-day wear. I like a little bit of coconut in a shampoo (like this one) or shower gel, but not in a perfume. It must be hard to keep long hair in great shape. Mine is just past shoulder-length, so most moisturizing shampoos do the job. Hope you'll find a great Indian product!
Interesting! It pays to read the fine print. 😉
Jenn, lucky you! 🙂 I have a lot of shampoo-scent memories from college, too. The horror of communal bathrooms has seared them into my mind. 😉
Hi Ann,
They do, it's #5. It can be purchased in spray or a concentrate form.
Thanks, SFL! I can never keep their number system straight in my head. And Aveda is so secretive about it… but yes, this blend is so nice, and has lavender, ylang ylang, bergamot, and other notes.
Oh wow! Thanks for the tip on #5 fragrance — it's just been years since I've been in an Aveda shop, so I had no idea. I'll definitely have to check that out!
Thank *you*, Ann! Only certain Aveda shops have it, so you might want to call ahead… but this is a great way to wear the scent, if you like it! Good luck. 🙂
I've never tried their #5 either – only Yatra. And I once heard a hair stylist confide to another that “she didn't recommend Shampur for anybody.” It sure dried my hair out.
Yes, but you could drop a pearl in Prell, just to show how “luxurious and thick” it was, lol! And it certainly did clean like detergent – my dad once used a soapy bucket of Prell and hot water to clean a part he took off a Buick's engine.
Oh no! lol. I bet if Shampure didn't smell so wonderful, it would have been discontinued long ago. No one would have repurchased it!
Ah yes, the infamous pearl test! That proves it, right?! I like the story about your dad. It reminds me of the list of household uses for Coca Cola (cleaning toilets, etc.).
I was born in Nov '89, so I looked up this commercial on youtube. The one I watched is from 1974
I'm watching a 1978 commercial for Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific now.
I'm really glad they got rid of product names like “Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific” in favor of names like “Henna 'n' Placenta”
What would we do without YouTube?! And… “Henna 'n' Placenta”… ugh!
Yes, I frustrate the Aveda SA's to no end. They always try to get me to purchase shampoo, and I never do!
But… Aveda has lots of nice products for curly hair, that's what I go in there for, and the #5 scent too.
I've not used the Herbal Essence ranges because I've always thought they were gimmicky junk shampoos and I hated the advertisements.I suppose now I'll have to be the weirdo who snorts shampoo in the aisles.
I used to like Pantene before they changed their scent about five years ago. As a teen I loved Finesse – do they still make that? I'm dubious about Vidal 405 brands because it listed formaldehyde in the ingredients and I thought that that can't be good for me.
My current love is the UK brand Naked, and I'm using the Naked Detox set – the conditioner smells amazing! It's like Chanel Mademoiselle with a hint of incense and the shampoo is a clean musky fig scent. if you're in the UK then give them a try – they clean nicely too.
Hi Lywie, I've been caught sniffing shampoo in the drugstore aisle, so you're not alone! Oh yes, Finesse, in the blue bottles… I remember that smell from my teens. And I wish we had the Naked line here, since I've heard a few raves about it.
I use the “Dangerously Straight” conditioner sometimes (I can't use the shampoo because of the sulfates). It smells freaking wonderful. It's like dark fruits, a bit of spice and patchouli. It's like Christopher Shaldrake created it. If you have straight hair and like dark fruity chypres, give it a try.
Sacron, I have curly hair, so I haven't tried that one! Sounds great, though. I would definitely believe that Clairol did some perfume research in developing these scents.
What a nice trip down memory lane! What I liked about the shampoos of twenty or so years ago is that they all seemed to smell nothing like one another–not a dozen variations on the fruity/sweet/floral idea. Wella Balsam was completely different from Herbal Essence, or Prell, or Citre Shine, or Body on Tap.
We could say the same thing about actual mainstream perfumes and the fruity-floral trend, come to think of it! But it's true… shampoo scents carry lots of memories, just like perfumes do. 🙂
Anyone else remember “Body on Tap” that was made with REAL BEER?!?!?
I remember Prell so very well. We used to take a tube of it to summer camp. One wash with that stuff and your hair was squeeeaaaky clean for, like, a week! That tube lasted practically the whole summer!
I wish Flex came in a body spray… I loved the smell of Flex.
Just before seeing your comment I was thinking that those products were probably formulated during the times when people only washed their hair every few days — so Prell leaving your hair squeaky clean was probably the intent!
Even now, my grandmother says, “I've never washed my hair daily in all my life.” I'm all for “hygiene,” but sometimes I do think we've become a bit neurotic with all the washing…. LOL, this thread has been entertaining.
You mean there are people who *don't* sniff all the drugstore products? With the price of toiletries, no way I'm buying something only to get home and discover it makes me gag. If the lid pops open, it's meant to be sniffed. LOL
TwoPeas, I never tried that one! Lush has a beer shampoo, called Cynthia Sylvia Stout. I love its scent, and it works pretty well.
There might be a *few* people who don't… but they're probably not reading this blog. 😉
The obsession with clean has gone kind of crazy, hasn't it? It's a little icky, but the less curly hair is washed, the better it behaves.
Joe and Lizbeth, I agree, washing too much (hair, body, skin) or too roughly can lead to new problems! Moderation in all things, I suppose… (I have a natural antibacterial hand gel that I'd like to review, for example, but then I'd have to deal with the debate over antibacterial products, so I keep putting it off!) 😉
Oh hey now! I'm one of those weirdo's who smell everything before I buy it….
I am tripping down memory lane with this post for sure. Who remembers Apple Pectin? Now that was a great smelling shampoo that actually worked!
I hope some shampoo-makers are reading this discussion. It would be a gold mine of research information for them! 🙂