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Kao´s Essential brand is admittedly one of my favorite haircare series but oddly I haven´t reviewed anything from it yet, just referred to this brand in other haircare reviews!
I think the Essential range is one of the more affordable but excellent Japanese haircare brands..no wonders as this is from Kao who also makes my favorite Asience haircare range...the Shampoo and Conditioner retail for a bit over US$4 on Sasa whereas the Treatment will set you back around US$6. If you get free shipping that´s quite affordable if you ask me.
The Essential haircare is made for damaged hair but is split into 2 different ranges for giving a different finish to your hair style. That´s quite a new concept as mostly haircare brands offer various lines for oily, damaged, normal, dull etc hair but this time you get 2 different varieties for damaged hair but for a different finish.
The Nuance Airy range comes in pink packaging and should give you a "light & bouncy" hair whereas the Rich Premier products in the orange packaging will give you "smooth & managable" hair.
Both lines contain high purity honey and milk protein, the masks also contain shea butter. The mainly advertised ingredient in Nuance Airy is wild rose essence whereas Rich Premier cointains sunflower oil.
Each range offers shampoo, conditioner, treatment, mask and a serum, I tried everything from both ranges except for the serums. Shampoo and conditioner come in 2 sizes/each (200ml/550ml in pump bottle, available from alphabeautyuk on eBay). I do believe there is also some "Treatment Water" but haven´t tried this either and it´s not listed on the Kao SG website.
You can check the Singapore website out here. Seems the brand is getting a kawaii revamp in April, can´t wait to see what they´ll release!
So, finally on to the actual review =P.
The Nuance Airy products feature a pretty (pearly) pink packaging ranging from light (shampoo) over medium (conditioner) to darker pink (treatment).
The items are nicely scented with a fruity floral fragrance so my hair smells really good when using these products.
The Shampoo has a pearly pink color and lathers nicely whereas the Conditioner and Treatment are creamy products.
The Treatment contains 2x more of the "High Purity Honey and Milk Protein" and it feels even more nourishing than the Conditioner.
The Nuance Airy range is definitely a rich haircare making my dyed hair very soft and smooth. It´s not as heavy as the Rich Premier range but it´s still definitely a very nourishing haircare range. I honestly can´t tell if the Nuance Airy products are better in creating a bouncy and airy hairstyle but anyway, it´s a fantastic haircare brand as my hair gets so soft and shiny and it doesn´t weigh my hair down or make it limp so probably the bounciness-promise is true.
I usually use the Shampoo, follow with the Treatment (3-5 mins), then finish with the Conditioner (1-2 mins) though I think that´s not the correct order however I can achieve the best results using it this way.
I think the correct order is shampoo -> conditioner OR treatment but rules are there to be broken, right?
I also use the Ultra Honey & Shea Butter Mask in both the Rich Premier and Nuance Airy versions but will review them individually.
Overall a great haircare range, much better and more affordable than e.g. the Ma Chérie Moist range from Shiseido which was quite a disappointment for me.
Rating 5/5
I think the Essential range is one of the more affordable but excellent Japanese haircare brands..no wonders as this is from Kao who also makes my favorite Asience haircare range...the Shampoo and Conditioner retail for a bit over US$4 on Sasa whereas the Treatment will set you back around US$6. If you get free shipping that´s quite affordable if you ask me.
The Essential haircare is made for damaged hair but is split into 2 different ranges for giving a different finish to your hair style. That´s quite a new concept as mostly haircare brands offer various lines for oily, damaged, normal, dull etc hair but this time you get 2 different varieties for damaged hair but for a different finish.
The Nuance Airy range comes in pink packaging and should give you a "light & bouncy" hair whereas the Rich Premier products in the orange packaging will give you "smooth & managable" hair.
Both lines contain high purity honey and milk protein, the masks also contain shea butter. The mainly advertised ingredient in Nuance Airy is wild rose essence whereas Rich Premier cointains sunflower oil.
Each range offers shampoo, conditioner, treatment, mask and a serum, I tried everything from both ranges except for the serums. Shampoo and conditioner come in 2 sizes/each (200ml/550ml in pump bottle, available from alphabeautyuk on eBay). I do believe there is also some "Treatment Water" but haven´t tried this either and it´s not listed on the Kao SG website.
You can check the Singapore website out here. Seems the brand is getting a kawaii revamp in April, can´t wait to see what they´ll release!
So, finally on to the actual review =P.
The Nuance Airy products feature a pretty (pearly) pink packaging ranging from light (shampoo) over medium (conditioner) to darker pink (treatment).
The items are nicely scented with a fruity floral fragrance so my hair smells really good when using these products.
The Shampoo has a pearly pink color and lathers nicely whereas the Conditioner and Treatment are creamy products.
The Treatment contains 2x more of the "High Purity Honey and Milk Protein" and it feels even more nourishing than the Conditioner.
The Nuance Airy range is definitely a rich haircare making my dyed hair very soft and smooth. It´s not as heavy as the Rich Premier range but it´s still definitely a very nourishing haircare range. I honestly can´t tell if the Nuance Airy products are better in creating a bouncy and airy hairstyle but anyway, it´s a fantastic haircare brand as my hair gets so soft and shiny and it doesn´t weigh my hair down or make it limp so probably the bounciness-promise is true.
I usually use the Shampoo, follow with the Treatment (3-5 mins), then finish with the Conditioner (1-2 mins) though I think that´s not the correct order however I can achieve the best results using it this way.
I think the correct order is shampoo -> conditioner OR treatment but rules are there to be broken, right?
I also use the Ultra Honey & Shea Butter Mask in both the Rich Premier and Nuance Airy versions but will review them individually.
Overall a great haircare range, much better and more affordable than e.g. the Ma Chérie Moist range from Shiseido which was quite a disappointment for me.
Rating 5/5
11 comments:
I bought the Essential hair mask recently and was in love with it! <3 thanks for your review, i should probably buy their whole shampoo + conditioning line XD!
Ohh... this looks lovely. I 've been wanting to try this but somehow couldn't find any online so I use the Ascience one now.
Shipping cost quite abit unless like you've said, the free shipping option over a certain amount of fee.
^0^
I love this line! I had the shampoo and conditioner and mask, and there's some mask left. It's the best one of Japanese haircare that I have tried so far :)
Thank you for the great review.
I've use the ASIENCE Shining Therapy and while I really like the way it makes my hair feel, it is way too rich for my scalp. I've been using Lux now and it's great but again, can be a little too rich for my scalp. I counter this by using Noevir Tokara line every once in a while to clarify my scalp. Unfortunately, I haven't like any shampoo or conditioners from Shiseido. The only thing that I used and liked was the Tsubaki mask.
*Kat*
I have this pink line as well.
I aint promoting this prdt, this is the very first time that i try products other than koreans and i gotta say this is range really worht the 5/5 stars...!
Hi there. Thank you so much for this review. I've been wanting to try this line for some time. I currently use the Asience line and I love the richness. Do you think I should go for the richer formulation? I have very thick and curly hair, so I can take the weight.
i actually recently tried the Essential stuff, both the pink Nuance Airy (shampoo and conditioner) and the orange Rich Premier. I personally prefer the Rich Premier actually. There is definitely a diff in feel and finish of the two types of shampoo. I have naturally ultra thin breakage prone hair that gets oily REALLY easily. With the Nuance Airy, it does make it feel "airy" but because my hair is so fine, it turns into massive flyaways instead. Also it somehow emphasized how THIN my strands are so i was able to see my scalp the next day when my hair's dry! O__O and my hair got far more oily faster using Nuance Airy.
Oddly enough Rich Premier works MUCH better. my hair still experienced some flyaways, but the strands don't feel/look so thin. it's weird because normally the "rich" types of shampoo/conditioner are made for thin dry damaged hair and is said to be too rich for thin hair (and could weigh hair down), but from the stuff i've been trying here in Japan, it's like the opposite. I also tried the Airy type from Ma Cherie, and it was the same way as with Essential Nuance Airy.
My fave so far is actually the Lux Rich Shiny Shampoo & Conditioner, my hair was a lot more manageable and thick feeling and didn't weigh my hair down.
but anywayz, i recommend Nuance Airy for naturally thick hair actually with thick strands. it'll make the hair super soft to the touch, and probably give it a light bouncy feel. for those with thin hair (both strands and amount), i'd skip on the Nuance Airy.
I didn't try the treatment but the shampoo instead.
Bought the Kao Essential Nuance shampoo for airy, bouncy hair by mistake and it was a blessing in disguise! I've got very oily scalp and have tried a million shampoos cheap and expensive over the years. To my pleasant surprise, this shampoo was not scratchy and drying after rinse (like some shampoos for oily scalp) and kept my hair fresh without it looking wet and heavy at the end of the day (this is already very ideal considering my hair type). Normally, my scalp can smell oily on close contact but with this shampoo, it cleans the scalp without drying it out and keeps my scalp fresh smelling! Even hubby commented on it. You could experience some flyaways though but it's very easily managed with some leave-in conditioner.
Overall, it's very nice (oil-control, smell, texture) for it's price at SGD9.50 for a 550ml bottle. I'm gonna try the treatment soon!
I am looking for a new shampoo conditioner for damaged hair that won't weigh my hair down. Thanks for the recommendation! I will definitely try this to alternate with my Tsubaki Golden Repair set.
I can't believe how good the price is on Sasa either! Do you prefer the airy vs the other kind? I was planning on getting this one but am just curious.
mulberrytea
I am looking for a new shampoo conditioner for damaged hair that won't weigh my hair down. Thanks for the recommendation! I will definitely try this to alternate with my Tsubaki Golden Repair set.
I can't believe how good the price is on Sasa either! Do you prefer the airy vs the other kind? I was planning on getting this one but am just curious.
mulberrytea
Thank you thank you for turning me onto Asience. I LOVE it. I’ve tried a bunch of expensive shampoos over here in the US and all of them were failing me (even Kerastase). I colored and permed my hair and everything was making it a tangled, dry mess. I will most definitely pick up the Kao Essential for airy next time we are at the Japanese super market. My husband has oily scalp and everything we’ve tried his hair starts to smell in just hours.
Pam
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