Toni & Guy have been synonymous with great hair care for almost 20 years. These British brothers have certainly worked hard to offer products to the public, which help solve many major hair concerns. Their 3D Volumiser spray was no exception. If you’ve read my beauty rants before, you know how frustrated I am with my fine, limp, hair that has difficulty holding a style for more than a few hours.

So I was super excited to try this volumizing spray because it promised to thicken my strands without being stiff and give my hair more body and shine with just a few spritzes. Many volumizing products I’ve used in the past request that you place it on damp hair and then style as usual. I was surprised to discover that I was supposed to spray this product AFTER styling. Yep, this product prefers that you shampoo, wash, blow-dry and then spritz. Interesting.

This isn’t an aerosol can so the product comes out in big, fat drops. Not always the easiest thing to appreciate on top of your freshly styled hair. I found that the product worked best when I flipped my hair over and sprayed it on my roots. I would then flip my hair back to find that my locks definitely had more body throughout the day without being hard or stiff, not to mention that this product smells amazing: fruity and fresh.

I would recommend Tony & Guy 3D Volumiser if:

1. You have fine, limp hair that needs a bit of help
2. Have a casual, layered hair style
3. You don’t want an aerosol product (better for travelling)
4. You are okay with spraying the product after styling

For years, I’ve been solely a make up artist. There are those of us who straddle between being a make up artist and hairstylist, and although I generally feel that you should pick a side and try to be the best at one or the other, I’ll have to admit, knowing both works to their advantage. There are jobs that I want, like out of the country shoots, that just don’t have room for a two-man glam team. So I’ve made it my mission to learn hair.

There are a few basic looks that I feel are essential in every hairstylists bag of tricks. Beach waves, the perfect ponytail, a messy top-knot, an elegant up-do, and my all-time favorite—soft curls. Creating these looks all start out similarly—make sure hair is completely dry, use dry shampoo at the roots if needed to neutralize the natural oils in the hair which can flatten your ‘do. Style as needed, set with hairspray. As a last step on any of these looks, with the exception of beach waves, I spray a light mist of Toni&Guy Glamour Moisturising Shine Spray, a lightweight spray that makes your hairstyle look polished and professional. It also makes your hair hold its shape all day without having that stiff 80s hairsprayed look. When doing soft curls, section the hair and use a curling iron on each section. After all the sections have been curled, soften the waves using your fingers or a paddle brush. I like to spray a little hairspray on the brush before brushing the hair. As a final step, I mist Toni&Guy Glamour Moisturising Shine Spray evenly all over the hair and smoothen it out with my hand.

Years of wear and tear have wreaked havoc on my hair. Straightening treatments, highlight and dye jobs, years of applying direct heat to my hair have left it looking dull and lackluster. Using Toni&Guy Moisture Shine Spray makes my hair look alive again, it gives my hair a healthy looking sheen.

My favorite thing about going to the beach is submerging myself underwater, getting my hair wet, and waiting for it to dry naturally. Although my hairstylist will probably be appalled, this gives the greatest waves EVER. The mixture of the salt in the water and the humidity in the air helps get that effortless surfer chick ‘do. I don’t always have access to the sea, unfortunately, but there are some hair products out there that replicate beach waves.

The one I am using now and the best I have tried is Toni & Guy’s Sea Salt Texturizing Spray. If you look at any beauty product’s ingredients, you will see, in order, just how much of each ingredient is in the product. This one starts with water, and is followed by Sodium Chloride a.k.a salt , so you know you are getting the next best thing to actual sea water! The good thing is it does not dry out your hair and does not give it the “crunchiness” that sea water does. Instead, you will get a nice, tousled, just-out-of-bed look that stays all day.

All you need to do is spray on damp hair (although I have tried it on dry hair and it works just as well) and use your fingers to gently scrunch and style as you wish. You can even flip your head forward and back just to get more volume. This is a great everyday product for girls like me who love looking like they skipped brushing their hair after getting out of bed and for girls with fine hair but want a little more movement in their hair. It is not sticky, nor does it weigh your hair down. A bonus is the signature Toni & Guy fresh scent.

Matrix is one of the more known salon brands, and some of us in the Calyxta Crew were able to road test the different variants in the comfort of our own homes. Our Marketing Manager, Karina, has bleached and colored hair, so she tried out the COLOR LAST. Our Administrative and Technical Support, Cess, tried the HYDRASOURCE for her dry hair. I attempted to keep my frizz-prone hair at bay with the SMOOTH PROOF shampoo and conditioner. I personally love salon-grade products because they are usually packed with a lot more of the good things that their retail counterparts claim to have. Here’s what we noticed after one week of use:

• All of us noticed the strong salon smell of the product. This is not a bad thing, but it’s something one would usually associate with getting a treatment or a blow out. This fades through out the day, leaving you with just a faint scent.

• Karina did not notice anything after her first wash, but after a week of use, she did notice that her hair was softer and no longer felt as damaged as it was prior.

• COLOR LAST is paraben-free, which means it won’t dry out your hair and keeps your current hair color from fading. The less you need to touch up, the less damage to your hair!

• After a week of HYDRASOURCE use, Cess felt her hair seemed a bit flatter than usual, but the lack of volume was replaced by softer shinier hair – a good trade off.

• I used my SMOOTH PROOF shampoo and conditioner for almost two weeks. I don’t wash my hair everyday as it tends to get dry and frizzy. Instead, I conditioned it on the days when I didn’t wash it, and the result was easy to manage, frizz-free hair. Yup, even when the weather was really humid. The only time I would feel the frizz coming out was when my hair actually got wet from the rain – but that was expected.

A couple of years ago, I took a basic hairstyling class. As much as I love a messy bun, I was bored of sporting it everyday. It was time to add variety to my hairstyling repertoire. I learned how give myself a blowout, and though it was leaps and bounds better than what I could do prior, it never quite looked professional. My hair would be bigger than I wanted it to be, the ends didn’t curl softly and it took forever to do. Drying my mid-length hair felt like an hour-long arm workout.

A small miracle happened when I used My Amazing Blow Dry Secret – my blowout time got cut down to 20 minutes. Usually, I have to go over each section of my fine, curly hair multiple times before I can yield it into submission. It only took two passes per lock to tame my stubborn tresses this time. The end result was a nice-looking blowout with just the right amount of volume that could pass as a salon-done job. My hair looked healthier, shinier and smelled great. And I was really amazed at how my hair was unaffected by humidity when it usually starts to look like an afro at the slightest hint of rain.

The secret ingredient of My Amazing Blow Dry Secret is coconut oil. This helps hair stay hydrated enough to be impervious humidity and at same time protects it from the heat of the blow dryer. It works as a leave-on hair conditioner and I couldn’t stop playing with my hair – it felt so soft! Good on all hair types, this cruelty-free product has become a regular part of my hair care regimen.

My Amazing Blow Dry Secret is a product I would recommend to anyone who blow dries their hair. Who wouldn’t want better results at a fraction of the time?

This product can be used two ways, on hair that’s wavy, straight or curly.

1. For hair that is wavy or curly which is prone to frizz, use it on wet hair that has been towel-dried. For short or cropped hair: take one full pump; for mid to shoulder length hair: take two full pumps and for long hair: take three pumps into the palm of your hand and rub them together. The heat caused by friction warms and allows the product to be absorbed quickly and softens it throughout the day. Scrunch the product onto the ends of your hair up to mid-way and air dry. To reshape or reset curls/waves at the end of the day, spritz on some water in a spray bottle and air dry.

2. For hair that is straight, use it on hair that is dry, blown dry or flat-ironed by carefully not applying too much at the roots or close to your scalp – – otherwise you’ll end up weighing down your hair and making it look greasy. Apply it to the ends instead after rubbing product into your palms and warming it.

The great thing about this product is that you can use it as a leave-on conditioner even if you don’t have split ends. It smells nice and can be used on any hair type except for hair that is extremely dry, damaged or color-treated. For hair that is fine and limp, you may want to skip a leave-on conditoner altogether. This product might be too heavy, so opt for a rinse-off conditioner instead.

Founded in Italy in 1983, Davines is a family-owned hair care brand that prides itself on focusing less on elaborate packaging and more on sustainability and making high quality products that your hair is guaranteed to love.

I’ve been smitten by many Davines products in the past, so I was more than happy to review their Nounou Hair Mask: a special blend of olive butter and cherry oil that promises to restructure and moisturize the hair. I’ll admit that when you first grab the package, it doesn’t look very appealing– almost like a tub of peanut butter. But once you open it up, it greets you with an amazing fragrance, a bit floral with a touch of vanilla. You don’t need a whole lot of product even on long strands, just warm a bit on the palms of your hands and spread through your hair focusing on your dry tips. This product goes on the hair like butter and you can feel your locks just absorb it all in. Leave on for a few minutes and then rinse to be left with incredibly soft hair that’s shiny and smells delicious.

This is a wonderful product for chemically treated, colored, or brittle hair. It adds that perfect amount of moisture and shine, but doesn’t weigh your hair down.

It would be a great addition to the beauty arsenal of someone likes playing with different hairstyles and needs to give your hair a bit of daily pampering. It would also be good for someone who spends a lot of time doing laps in the pool or running in the sun.