I was on a cruise ship in the middle of the Med on my honeymoon when I realised that I'd forgotten to pack any shampoo! Luckily the ship had it's own 'corner shop' so off I went, and the only brand I recognised was L'Oreal Elvive. I paid £5 for 400ml which for the middle of the ocean is excellent, given that it costs £3.80 in my local Sainsbury's!

The type I bought was 'Crystal Shine' which comes in a pink bottle, and has a matching conditioner, which I didn't bother purchasing until I was satisfied that the shampoo suited me. I have extremely sensitive skin, and certain shampoos bring me out in a terrible rash and I have to throw them out immidiately, even ones made for sensitive skin such as Dove or fruit ones like Fructis.

So, I gave the shampoo a try in the shower, and first impressions were very positive.

The shampoo is lovely in the hand, feels thick and creamy and has a white pearlescent look about it. The smell is fresh and clean, I wouldn't say overly perfumed, just creamy and soapy. I probably used slightly too much the first time I used it (a handful), you really do only need a 10p sized amount as I have past shoulder length hair and this is enough to foam up to a thick, creamy lather. It really does foam up well and you do feel all your hair is getting a good all over clean without having to really scrub hard. A gentle massage into the scalp is all you need.

It washes off well and leaves the hair squeaky clean. On drying my hair I found it felt light and clean, without the heavy sticky feeling that some cheaper shampoos can leave you with - like your hair is greasy with residue even though you've only just washed it. It leaves your blow dried hair feeling bouncy and fresh with a light scent. Even on my sensitive scalp there wasn't a tingle to be felt, it was very gentle on my skin. I used the shampoo every day on my holiday and brought the shampoo back to the UK to continue using it, I was a bit disappointed when it ran out, haha!

As I have a baby daughter I tend to use 2 in 1 shampoos and cheaper shampoos such as Herbal Essences but for a slightly more expensive and dare I say more luxury shampoo (well to me anyway) I really enjoyed using the L'Oreal Elvive Crystal Shine and will try other ones in the brand, and am more likely to buy them when they are on offer or when I am going on holiday.

I've used quite a few L'Oreal products now and I've been pleasantly pleased with them all, they're a good mid range brand when you want to use something slightly nicer than your cheaper every day stuff, if like me you usually use value items, or are wary about changing your brand due to sensitive skin I'd say treat yourself to L'Oreal because it does seem very gentle and well made as well as giving excellent results. Four stars from me, a lovely shampoo.