For years i've been having an ongoing battle with my hair. I like to think of it as one of those epic old fashioned wars with horses and the guns with the little knive things on the end. I put endless different products in it to try and make it look a little more presentable and in return it sulks and just goes limp and thin and frizzy and dull again (My sister used to often ask me with disdain whether i'd brushed my hair or not). We often come to an uneasy truce (Me and the hair, me and my sister is a whole seperate issue), i ignore it, it ignored me. I always come back to the same question, why can't I have one product that's straight forward and easy that does everything. Now i think i've found it, but i don't use it as a shampoo.

~What is it~
Batiste is an areosol spray that acts as a dry shampoo. "Batiste Dry Shampoo banishes oily roots, giving dull, lifeless hair the makeover it needs without water. A quick burst revitalises hair, adds body and texture and leaves it feeling clean and fresh too. No need to worry about skipping a shampoo" so the website blurb states.

Well, there's really two seperate thing, what is meant to be used for and what i use it for. The product's main purpose to serve as a dry shampoo to clean your hair when you can't or don't want to do it via the standard means (ie real shampoo and water). Last summer i broke my foot and had a cast up to my knee for 10 weeks. I used Batiste so that i could extend the amount of time between real shampoos due to the sheer effort of washing my hair. Batiste kept me going out in public, it did a brilliant job as a shampoo.

My hair is always pretty much thin and liveless, no matter what i do with it. I'm not one of thise people who can spend hours and hours sorting it out. I've tried many different products to actually make it look like the stuff is flopping about my head with some purpose but they always only seem to work temporarily. Now, i don't use any products at all. I simply wash and towel dry my hair and spray Batiste in it every day (Regardless of how clean my hair is) in order to give it some life. Now it actually looks like a style rather than just a can't be bothered.

Batistie, is the best styling product i've ever had, my hair gets some volume with it but not too much (Am curious if the XXL Volume one makes you're hair go a bit 1960's, we'll see), it's not limp but rather a bit glossier with some movement in it and is less frizzy. I could use volumniser, hair glosshair spray and anti-frizz and still not get the same effect.

I currently use the colour tone version for dark hair (My hair is medium brown) which seems to make my hair a bit glossier than the other varities but i truthfully only choose this one to try as superdrug are doing a 50% promotion at the moment so i thought i'd try it. If i can't get it on offer then i'd probably switch back to one of the cheaper varities. Some people have stated that the non colour tone versions leave a residue in your hair which i did find when i used it as a shampoo but i use a lot less to use it as a styling product so i don't have this problem any more. The smell is nice, but is not as great as some of the other varities.

Colour tones come in three options:

Light - Blondes
Medium - Aburn/Brunette
Dark - For Dark hair

I'm not sold on the hint of colour element, but it does give my hair a nice gloss effect. I would have to try light and medium to know if it is actually a hint of colour doing this (I do have suspicions with things like this that actually all three are the same but in different colour cans).

~Easy to use~
Basically it's shake, spray, massage it in with your fingers a bit and then brush. Easy peasy. The can advises keeping the nozzle 30cm away from hair.

~Price~
The normally price for 150ml of colour tones cans is £3.50, i generally tend to stock up when it's on offer in superdrug or boots which is quite frequent. Other varitieis without colour tones are cheaper (Around £3 for 200ml) and superdrug do their own cheaper version but i'm never quite as happy with the result from other types. I'm not convinced that the colour tones varitiy is worth more money than the others provided below.

~Other Varities~
I always hate it when a product gets so many different varities, why do they need so many? I guess it comes down to personal choice of which one you prefer. (Please note, i haven't used all of these so descriptions are from the Batiste website).

Cherry - Cherry is for anyone that loves their look sweet, smooth and full of luscious retro flavour. Our fun new fragrance delivers a rich cherry scent as it livens up your locks, and looks just as great on your dressing table as in your vintage handbag. (I love this one, why can't i have this smell with a colour tone in one can??)

Original - Are you a one off? Then get to grips with Batiste Original. Adored by innovators and originators, it's the classic dry shampoo that instantly makes your hair feel clean, fresh and full of body and texture. (i used this one the most before colour tones came out.

Lace - Lace is for ladies that love the vintage look. Oozing pure elegance and style, and with an oh-so-sophisticated scent, a few quick sprays instantly leaves locks feeling clean, fresh and as lush as lace itself.

Wild - Wild is for daring girls who are in touch with their animal instinct. A feisty Oriental fragrance with loads of personality, it's the perfect partner when you're out on the prowl. (Animal print on the can. Animal print scares me).

Blush - The essence of femininity, Blush is the floral, flirty way to turn heads. A few quick sprays instantly leaves hair feeling clean, fresh and full of body and texture. (not sure why my dry shampoo needs to flirt exactly).

Brit - Its time to give your hair some fashion heritage! A few quick sprays of our uber dry formula gives your hair that clean feeling, body and texture that you've come to expect from the nation's favourite dry shampoo. (Hadn't seen this one until recently so as far as i can tell it's just to cash in on the Olympics).

Fresh - Contemporary, tantalisingly, cool & crisp notes make this unisex dry shampoo as liberating for blokes as it is for babes. It's the ideal way to instantly clean and freshen up your hair between washes, whilst making hair feel thicker too! Just remember to share nicely.

Shimmer - This gorgeous edition is a beautiful way to freshen up between washes, for clean fresh hair with a touch of glamorous pearl shimmer that's full of body and texture too. You're guaranteed to glisten whenever you want to catch someone's eye. (May try this one next to confirm the hype).

Tropical - Caribbean heat, coconut aromas and party vibes are locked into this Tropical edition. It's the instant, deliciously exotic way to get clean, fresh hair full of body and texture. And there's no need for water!

XXL Volume - Claims to have extra volume power. (Agin, may try this in the near future to prove or disprove).

~Stockists~
Superdrug, Asda, Boots, Sainsbury's, Lloyds, Waitrose, Tesco, Wilkinsons, ASOS, Morrisons, Acado, Co-op (Including Scotmid Co-op), Sally and Beaytique.com (Never heard of the last two).

~Awards~
I generally never trust these things as the companies advertise in the magazines that they are winning prizes from but here goes:

Pure Beauty Magazine have awarded Batiste Volume XXL with the Bronze Award for Best Hair Styling Launch 2011

2011 CEW Award for Best New Haircare product for Fresh.

2011 Best Volumiser by Shout magazine

2011 Company Magazine Awards "Best Dry Shampoo"

~Technical Bit~
Incredients - Butane,Isobutane ,Propane ,Oryza Sativa (Rice) Starch ,Alcohol Denat. ,Parfum (Fragrance) ,Limonene ,Linalool ,Geraniol ,Benzyl Benzoate ,Distearyldimonium Chloride ,Cetrimonium Chloride.

Protect from sunlight and do not expose to temperatures exceeding 50°C (120°F).

This review is published under my user name on both Ciao and Dooyoo.