I'm currently using the Alberto Balsam Mandarin Shampoo and Conditioner. I'm not brand loyal when it comes to shampoos and conditioners, I'm happy to use whichever products happen to be on offer or seem to be the best value.

The Alberto Balsam range of shampoos and conditioners are available in most supermarkets, Boots, Superdrug, Poundland etc. And they normally retail at just £1 each. I bought mine from Sainsbury's where they are currently on a 4 for 3 offer. 4 for 3 is a bit of a weird number for me as I always use two bottles of conditioner to every one bottle of shampoo, and so a 3 for 2 is absolutely perfect, a 4 for 3 however leaves me with one spare bottle of either shampoo or conditioner. I ended up buying two bottles of the mandarin shampoo and two bottles of the mandarin conditioner and giving one of the bottles of shampoo to my mum.

So the Alberto Balsam Mandarin Shampoo comes in a 400ml bottle. The bottle states that it's a limited edition fragrance. The shampoo itself is quite a thick shampoo, and its a gorgeous vibrant bright orange colour. This limited edition shampoo is infused with mandarin and papaya extracts to strengthen your hair and add a deep shine. It states that it's suitable for normal to dry hair; my hair is probably normal and maybe just a little on the dry side so this seems perfect for me.

As with all shampoos the directions for use are; wet hair, use a good size dollop of shampoo, lather, then rinse thoroughly, have you also tried our limited edition mandarin conditioner? works a treat. I don't find that I need to use 'a good size dollop' of this shampoo, I find that just a small amount of this works adequately. I do always follow this with the matching mandarin conditioner, and I do use a HUGE dollop of the conditioner, hence the two bottles of conditioner to the one bottle of shampoo.

I find that this shampoo lathers up well on my hair in the shower, and that I don't need to use a lot of it to create a rich and foamy lather. It rinses out well and it leaves my hair feeling squeaky clean in the shower, before then following it with the matching conditioner. Once my hair is dry it definitely feels and looks very healthy and clean, and it is lovely and soft and shiny after using this along with the matching conditioner. I normally wash my hair around 3 times a week and this has stayed the same whilst using this shampoo, so it hasn't caused my hair to go greasy or to need washing any sooner. I also find my hair to be just as easy to style whilst using this shampoo.

This smells gorgeous, really fresh and fruity. I can definitely smell the mandarins in this shampoo, and I find that the mandarin fragrance lingers in my hair for the rest of the day as well. I'm not sure that I can smell the papaya in this at all, to me this just smells of the mandarins. The lingering mandarin fragrance isn't too overpowering in my hair, but it's just subtle enough to be noticeable if I've wafted my hair. I do always use this along with the matching conditioner, so I am layering the mandarin fragrance so to speak, it may not last quite as long if you are just using the shampoo.

Overall I'm more than happy with this for the low price. I think that like most shampoos it works best with the matching conditioner, and I'll more than happily buy this again. I'll also probably try other fragrances in the Alberto Balsam range of shampoos and conditioners too.