Firstly, a bit of context. My hair is absolutely huge - long, curly, messy. It takes a near genius product to give it some hold and it's often difficult to find a mousse that does the job. I've tried higher end brands, cheap brands and a lot of the shades of grey in between. I picked v05's mega hold mousse up in Boots for around £2.89, a reasonable price for hair care these days.

On first impressions, it smells delicious. It doesn't have that clinical mousse smell typical of such products but has an enjoyable fruity scent that sticks to your locks for a while. I've actually received compliments on it, so that's always a bonus.

The actual texture of the mousse is soft, springy and nice and thick. It swells to a decent size so you don't need to use a huge amount and it runs through the hair nicely, going clear as you would expect. So far, so good. As far as manipulation is concerned, it holds the hair well and did a good job of evening out and separating my curls and stayed pretty well throughout the day. Overall, a decent product which I would most probably buy again.

The product boasts five benefits: climate control to prevent frizz, all day hold and volume, maximum control, shine and a uv filter to prevent damage from the environment. For me, all five boxes are ticked. I'd say that personally, my hair has felt healthy and hasn't looked caked in product when used.