Why this shampoo
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I bought this shampoo several weeks ago as part of my attempts to find another shampoo to replace the Herbal Essences old style shampoo that I used to love. I have being trying several brands to find one that I like and this was the latest in a series of shampoo thrown into my basket at the supermarket.

What is it?
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This shampoo from the L'Oreal Elvive range it is designed for mid to long fine and claims to have a refreshing shine booster from pearl proteins and citrus. The bottle packaging contains various claims including a long lasting clean and a light feel for your hair with a mirror shine and a cashmere touch.

The pink plastic bottle has pink and green writing on it. The green parts are to highlight this is the light version of the product. The bottle has a flip to lid for easy use and is recyclable.

These are the claims the shampoo make:

"To revive your hair's shine, the L'Oreal Laboratories have developed Elvive Nutir-gloss light .The active elements concentrated in Pearl Protein give natural pearls their brilliant shine and resistance. Pearl Protein is combined with Citrus, known for its purifying properties." It also promises to nourish and smooth the surface of the hair to capture and reflect the light.

In use
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I think you need to know my hair type so you can compare it to your own to see if this review will help you decide whether to try it or not so here goes. I have long straight shoulder length hair that is fine but there is lots of it so it is quite dense which means it can end up looking heavy and lacklustre so as this shampoo promised softness and to remove deposits and claimed to be lighter than most shampoo's I had high hopes.

On my first use to wash all my locks I used a £2 piece size globule of shampoo. The shampoo itself is a baby pink colour and rubbing it between my fingers it did feel very smooth and silky to the touch. The smell of the shampoo wasn't citrus which is what I was expecting as citrus was on the label and had been highlighted by the bottles claims to remove deposits to clean the hair. The smell I find really hard to define really it certainly has floral notes to it that do get accentuated when lathered up.

When I put on to my hair it lathers up really well and produces a nice head full of fluffy bubbles. The bubbles are white with a hint of pink to them. The rinsing off process took a little longer than it used to with Herbal Essences but the hair was left feeling clean to the touch and with no residual tackiness or stick. There is a wonderful squeaky clean noise as I run my fingers through my hair which I personally like as it make me feel the hair is well and truly clean. The other thing that I like about this shampoo was that following rinsing off the shampoo my hair wasn't knotted or tangled as it has been with some shampoo's I have tried. This of course made it easier to apply the conditioner.

I then have used the conditioner in the same make (but that's a separate review). Once my hair is dry I have to admit it does live up to the softness claims my hair feels very floaty and not heavy at all. There is still a slight lingering fragrance of flowers to my hair which I personally find very pleasant. My hair also has a more noticeable shine to it now you can't admire your reflection in my hair like a mirror but it does appear to reflect the light better and look glossier.

I don't normally wash my hair every day as I find this can leave my hair feeling heavy and laded down with product. The shine and softness that have noticed with my hair from using this shampoo certainly lasts over the two days in between washes and it is only starting to droop and look a bit limp by the end of the second day before I am ready to wash again on an evening.

Over the course of using this shampoo for a month I have noticed my hair has certainly been softer cleaner and has been less prone to grease which I personally find a great thing from shampoo. Over the course of a month using the a £2 coin size globule of shampoo I still haven't reached the end of a 400ml bottle so I think the shampoo last a reasonable length of time too.

Ingredients
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For those of you with allergies the shampoo contains all the following:

Aqua / Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cyclodextrin, Dimethicone, CI 17200 / Red 33, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Cocamide MIPA, Sodium Methylparaben, DMDM Hydantoin, Sodium Cocoate, Hydrolyzed Conchiolin Protein, PPG-5-Ceteth-20, Limonene, Linalool, Propylene Glycol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Carbomer, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol, Methyl Cocoate, Citrus Medica Limonum Extract / Lemon Fruit Extract, Hexyl Cinnamal, Parfum / Fragrance, (F.I.L. C28530/1).

Overall and recommendation
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I would definitely recommend this shampoo to other people who have similar to myself the shampoo lives up to its light claims and my hair has never felt heavy with product since using it. Since using it my hair has been less greasy and with more shine and healthier to look at. I will certainly be buying it again.

Where from
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This is available at most chemists and supermarkets and costs around £3-£3.50 for a 400ml bottle.