Any regular readers of my cosmetic reviews will know that I like to vary my conditioners so that my hair, which I'm trying to grow long, doesn't lack for certain nutrients. As such, when I saw Boots had an offer on L'Oreal Elvive 400ml treatments, I invested in a couple. I have used conditioners from the range before and found them to be perfectly adequate by high-street standards, also the 400ml bottles are useful to have as they last well and therefore represent pretty good value in comparison to the higher end of the high street market.

One of the conditioners I chose was Nutri-Gloss Shine Conditioner. As I said, as someone trying to grow their hair, also in autumnal conditions, outside a lot and commuting / working in air conditioned environments regularly, I want to keep my lengths in as high condition as I can. This product is for "mid to long dull hair". There is also a light version available.

THE PRODUCT

This conditioner comes in a pink bottle that stands on it's lid, so you don't have to eek out the last of the product by shaking it. It has a flip lid which I have never seen to leak on this or any others in the range.

This retails at £3.79 for 400ml but is frequently subject to promotional offers.

Available from supermarkets and chemists, as well as online.

The front of the bottle claims that this product provides "mirror shine" and "cashmere touch". Grand claims! It also notes that the product includes proteins and pearl - this is clarified on the back of the bottle as being powdered mother of pearl.

The pearl aspect is meant to provide the mirror shine, while the protein is meant to nourish the hair to provide the cashmere softness. Other claims on the back of the packaging include "instantly detangled" and "shine, vitality and softness".

I didn't use this with the other products in the range but after using my usual shampoo.

MY OPINION

I have used this product for a while now on various days and have found it to be precisely how I expected - perfectly adequate for a high street range, leaving my hair feeling conditioned and manageable.

The product isn't overly thick and I find that I don't need to use as much of it as I do with some products. The treatment is the same pink colour as the packaging and smells pleasant - a berry-like scent but quite obviously manufactured.

I have a routine with my conditioner whereby I always wash my hair first then apply conditioner thoroughly throughout lengths and ends having squeezed out excess moisture. I then do the other "bathroomy" stuff us girls do - washing between toes and all that! - to ensure my hair gets the full benefit of the conditioner. Therefore this was in my hair about a good four minutes.

It rinses out easily and instantly my hair felt silkier and conditioned. There were no tangles and I dried my hair as normal.

THE EFFECT

My hair is softer, feels conditioned and a small tangle I developed when trying a new hairstyle came out very quickly - so I feel that this product has rights to lay claim to being useful for hair that tangles easily and it certainly does provide softness. "Cashmere" may be pushing it as I've had far stronger effects from higher end products but against it's peers I feel this product delivers on this front at a good price. Also I would note that this is a strong product for longer hair, particularly if your ends sometimes feel the strain, as my hair is soft throughout after using, not just in the healthier mid-lengths.

However, the thing that means this only gets three stars is that "mirror shine" claim. I have brunette hair and it's usually very shiny but I feel that this product is no better than average on this front. It's a grand claim to put out there and as far as shine is concerned I feel this product does not deliver. Shiny, yes, but mirror shine? I've known other products not much pricier than this which are far better. Therefore, I'm dropping this a couple of stars.

OVERALL

Affordable, last well, smells nice, leaves my hair soft and conditioned and feeling healthy. But this product makes grand claims that it doesn't deliver on across the board. As a high street brand this is useful to have in the bathroom armoury, probably outperforms most things in the same price bracket in terms of softness, and is a perfectly adequate conditioner. But mirror shine remains sadly elusive.