Timotei Golden Highlights Camomile Shampoo

Being the cheapskate student type that I am, I'm constanly on the look out for a bargain (well, when it comes to stuff like food and shampoo, anyway - clothes are a completely different matter...). This could go some way to explaining why, a couple of weeks ago, I was to be found skulking around the beauty section of my local Wilkinsons (oh the shame!).

On my little clandestine shopping trip (dark glasses and headscarf ahoy), I spotted this little gem of a shampoo and its matching conditioner (which I'm gonna mention in this op...). Now, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for timotei shampoos, because they remind me of being a kid. This soft spot is only small, but occasionally I buy myself a bottle of timotei, hoping it will restore my hair to its pre-bleach and straightening irons glory ("Fat chance", I hear you cry). Usually, I am disappointed, and am left with nasty, tangled, dry, frizzy hair. Ignoring my recent timotei experiences, I decided to buy this Golden Highlights shampoo and conditioner - mainly because it had a flower on the front of the bottle... (Shallow? me?)

My rather random (I still had 2 half-full bottles of shampoo *and* conditioner in my shower...) purchase stayed in the Wilkinson's bag in my room for a couple of weeks - right up until last night, when I decided to give it a go.

So, what did I think of it?

Well, the shampoo totally appeals to the girly side of me (yes, there *are* other sides, contrary to popular belief!), mainly because it smells nice (camomile-y and non-disgusting - yep, I was shocked too!), and because it's - wait for it - sparkly! Not just any old sparkles, oh no, this is proper, full-on bling bling gold sparkles. Trying (in vain) to contain my squeaky excitement, I took to shampooing my hair. As expected, it did what most shampoos do and lathered up nicely, smelt good, etc. I followed it up with the conditioner, which unfortunately didn't sparkle, but smelt just as good. I left the conditioner on for a few minutes (not "moments" as suggested) because I have ridiculously frizzy hair.

When blow drying my hair, I was pleasantly surprised - it felt just as good as when I use my Sheer Blonde shampoo + conditioner, and actually looked a lot more blonde and shimmering. (I should probably point out here that my hair is bleached, and although it did lighten mine, I can't really comment on how it would work on natural hair) I would honestly say that this is just as good a range as any I've tried, and it's less than half the price (I think I paid less that £1.50 per bottle) than any "designer" shampoo on the market.

The one possible drawback is the rather uninspiring packaging. It's a sort of bland yellow bottle that manages to look like it's been sitting in your bathroom cabinet since 1982. It does, however, have a flower on the label, which somehow makes it all acceptable.

I'm thrilled with my new discovery, and I'm planning on saving myself a fair bit of money by sticking to this one!