When my daughter and I had a weekend away recently we came home with a supply of lovely Molton Brown products, a brand I absolutely adore but rarely get to use these days thanks to their bizarrely high prices and the fact that with six people in the house 'smellies' tend to be used up far too quickly for me to go for premium options too often!

This Molton Brown Lili Pili Conditioner was one of our haul, and the item I couldn't wait to use as I have a highly irritating hair issue which leads me to try just about every conditioner on the market in a bid to find the 'perfect one'. After rubbing a small amount between my fingertips I ascertained that it was certainly creamy enough to be a contender, so the next morning I toddled off to the bathroom armed with this (hopefully) excellent conditioner to give it a trial run.

My 'hair issue' is that it tangles like nobody's business at the merest hint of dampness, it doesn't frizz or anything like that but after washing I have to use a good conditioner or else risk losing half of my hair through the simple act of brushing. This horrible tangle issue is so bad that if rain is forecast (and it usually is...) I have to wear my hair up as if left loose I end up looking like I've been dragged through the proverbial hedge - obviously there's nothing I can do about the rain (a move back to Kenya, it never rains there!) but I do spend an inordinate amount of money on conditioning products to prevent the issue after my daily hair wash.

First things first. This conditioner smells amazing. Not just gorgeous, or lovely - AMAZING. It's rich and creamy with a delicious zesty citrus undertone, there are elements of ginger in there which work absolutely wonderfully with the citrus notes to create a conditioner which if it works half as beautifully as it smells then I'll be one happy hair washer!

It's a really nice conditioner to use with the smoothest of smooth consistencies to ensure I can massage it through my hair quickly and easily, as with any conditioner I leave it in my hair for a few minutes before rinsing and when the rinsing point approached and I touched my hair I could feel that it was silky smooth and the tangle problem didn't seem to be too apparent. Rinsing is a very quick and easy process and I'd guesstimate every trace of conditioner to have gone from my hair within a minute despite the fact that I have long hair which seems to be pretty porous when it comes to keeping hold of hair products in general and not wanting to give them up to the rinsing water. As I rinsed I noticed with a heavy heart that my hair was beginning to knot up, and by the time the conditioner had gone completely it didn't really seem in any better condition tangle-wise than when I use other (less expensive) conditioners.

I gave my hair a quick squeeze in the towel and proceeded with the hated job of brushing, discovering that the tangles which had formed during rinsing did actually seem to come out a little easier than usual even though I was still slightly annoyed that they were there in the first place. I didn't lose too many hairs while getting rid of them all and it didn't take me as long as usual to drag the brush through my hair - the hairs at the nape of my neck were the most tangled (as per usual) and it was this area where I definitely felt I hadn't been helped by this conditioner despite the fact that I'd carefully applied it here knowing that this is where the majority of my problems occur.

Other than the tangle issue I'd say this is a really lovely conditioner. It left my hair soft with a visible shine, I found my hair is manageable in spite of the softness and I'm highly impressed with how sleek and glossy my hair looks. It doesn't weigh my hair down at all over the day and passes the big test of keeping my fringe looking nice for the duration of the day - a big deal for me as it's a feathery fringe which separates and looks downright awful if I use a conditioner which is too heavy, unfortunately I never can tell if it's going to be too heavy until I've actually used it and often with new products end up having to spend a day with a greasy looking messed up fringe until I get time to wash it again. Thankfully this doesn't happen with the Lili Pili conditioner!

Will I buy it again? At £18 a bottle sadly I won't, simply because although it makes my hair look and feel fabulous it just doesn't do the job that I purchase conditioner for - ie. the tangling problems. I'm in the odd position of still recommending it however, it really is a nice conditioner if you have the kind of hair which doesn't need too much help in the conditioning stakes - unfortunately I need more than Lili Pili can offer me so although I adore the smell and conditioning experience it's back to the drawing board for me, although I must say my partner is more than happy that I haven't fallen in love with this very expensive hair product so it's not all bad!