Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Body Products Are Here!

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you may know that I'm in love with the Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla hair products I found at Target last fall (see my review here). I love the deep, toasted vanilla scent so much, I've been using the shampoo as a body wash and the hair oil all over my body when I get out of the shower...just so I could smell like Black Vanilla all day, haha. 

In my review, I also mentioned that I wished Carol's Daughter would create a bath & body line in the Black Vanilla scent, and guess what? They did! 

I picked up the Black Vanilla Body Set from CarolsDaughter.com last week and it's just as heavenly as I thought it would be! It's $30 for 3 full sized products (currently on sale for $24!) and includes the Body Cream, Sulfate-Free Cleansing Cream, and Moisturizing Hand Cream. They're also sold separately and all three products are rich, moisturizing and smell delicious! 

If you're a fan of the Black Vanilla hair products, you'll love these! And if you haven't smelled Black Vanilla yet, stop in to Target one day and give the hair products a sniff...it's amazing. 

Grab yours now at CarolsDaughter.com

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Hair Products I'm Using For Fall- Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla

As the weather starts to turn colder, my hair and skincare needs change quite a bit. I have naturally dry skin and hair that actually gets pretty close to normal in the summertime. But now that it's Fall, they're right back to their old ways, giving me lots of grief! If you have dry, dull or damaged hair, you'll want to keep reading because I've found my new holy grail hair products...

I have fine hair that's dry and damaged,  I needed to find something that would nourish my hair and also not weigh it down. Last month, I went to Target and was checking out the Carol's Daughter section. I've been using mostly Carol's Daughter products for a while now because they're made with the best ingredients and they really work! Plus, her line at Target is much more affordable than the regular line, yet just as effective.  I also love that her shampoos and conditioners come in pump bottles...they're so convenient to use in the shower.

Last Winter, I used the Sacred Tiare line which is supposed to help strengthen your hair and prevent breakage. I really liked it but I'm the type of person who always has to try something new. I guess for me, using the same thing all the time is boring! So I picked up a bottle of the Black Vanilla shampoo and gave it a quick sniff (yes, I am one of those people that you see sniffing shampoos in the hair aisle, but scent is very important to me, okay? LOL). I realized at that moment that I had never smelled anything as wonderful as this...

Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Shampoo and Conditioner ($10 at Target

Dry Shampoo I'm Loving Now: Carol's Daughter Monoi Conditioning Dry Shampoo

A Review of Carol's Daughter Monoi Conditioning Dry Shampoo for dark tones, $22 at HSN

I've been a huge fan of Carol's Daughter for several years now...you may remember my reviews of several of their products in the past (see all of my Carol's Daughter Reviews here), but if not, I have to say that when I splurge on hair products, I go for Carol's Daughter every time. The Monoi line is a dream if you have dry hair with any kind of breakage or fallout. I started using it after having a baby and it's been a miracle worker (check out my review of the Monoi shampoo and conditioner with before and after photos of my hair- it's crazy!). 

For the record, I am caucasian with baby fine hair that's already dry by nature, but then I torture it with heat styling and coloring too, so it's prone to breakage. Monoi Oil (a blend of Tiare flowers and Coprah Coconut Oil) has been a secret of Tahitian women for centuries and it works wonders to repair my hair without weighing it down or making it feel greasy. It also smells like Heaven!  So when I saw that Carol's Daughter had just released a Monoi dry shampoo, I had to have it. Let's take a look...

Carol's Daughter Sacred Tiare Review

Carol's Daughter Sacred Tiare is a line that's exclusive to Target, and I was super happy to see a lower priced option from this brand since I love their Monoi line (the anti-breakage spray is a HG product for me! See my review here). 

These products are priced about $6 below the Monoi line and are also anti-breakage.  Although these products are found in the Ethnic hair care aisle at Target, I am Caucasian with fine, damaged blonde hair and these work like a dream for me.  They contain natural moisturizers instead of silicones that can be heavy and weigh down you hair.  I'll get more in depth with ingredients and how they perform below.

Carol's Daughter Launches at Target this month with Exclusive Sacred Tiare Line

Lately, Target has started to carry a lot more of the big names in hair care, from Toni & Guy to Shea Moisture. And now Target is adding another acclaimed brand to its beauty roster: Carol’s Daughter. Starting in March, guests will find Carol’s Daughter products in U.S. stores and at Target.com.

Founded in Brooklyn in 1993, Carol’s Daughter is known for its high-quality, natural hair care products. Target will be the exclusive retailer to carry the Carol’s Daughter Sacred Tiare Collection, which is designed to stop breakage and smooth frizz at the same time. The collection features sulfate-free shampoo, fortifying conditioner, hair mask, leave-in conditioner, styling cream and smoothing serum.

Target will also carry the Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla Collection, which adds moisture and shine to dry, brittle hair, plus the Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Collection for curly hair.

Carol's Daughter Monoi Shampoo, Conditioner and Hair Mask Review

Ever since I tired Carol's Daughter Monoi Anti-Breakage Spray (see my review here), I've been dying to try the rest of the Monoi line.  I had a Macy's gift card from Christmas, so I decided to get the sample kit ($26) to try it out before I decided to spring for the full sizes. 

The kit includes Monoi Shampoo, Conditioner, and Hair Mask.

Here are the claims:

• Using the Shampoo & Hair Mask, only once, studies showed:

• Prevent breakage by 96%
• Hair lives 13X longer
• Condition of hair was improved by 86%

• Using the Shampoo & Conditioner, only once, studies showed:

• Prevents breakage by 92%
• Hair lives 5.5X longer
• Condition of hair was improved by 84%
• When used with the Monoi Repairing Conditioner:
• 92% less breakage after only 1 use
• 5.5X longer hair life after only 1 use
• 82% better conditioning and detangling after only 1 use
• Monoi Oil gently conditions your hair all over
• Hibiscus Extract help quickly detangle any hair type, but especially delicate, damaged hair
• Coconut-derived cleansers are gentle enough for even the most fragile, distressed hair

 Ever since I had the baby, my hair has been a mess...falling out everywhere and damaged from going back to blonde and heat styling.  

The directions say to use all three products, which I did.

The shampoo is sulfate free, so it didn't lather that much, but it also didn't dry out my hair, which is what I was going for.  The conditioner was nice, but I liked the Repairing Hair Mask the best- it was buttery and thick and when I rinsed it out, my hair felt like silk. 

This also has that Tahitian Monoi scent (Gardenias and Coconut)  that makes you long to be on a tropical island somewhere.

After using this set, my hair felt so soft and my split ends were all but hidden!  My hair actually had shine, and here's the proof.  The pictures below show my hair the day before, where I used John Frieda's Go Blonder Shampoo and Garnier's Damage Eraser Mask.  I didn't use any other styling products- just blow-dried my hair.  

It looks pretty awful, but I wanted this to be a true test, without any styling products to add shine or softness to my hair.

Here's what it looked like after using the Carol's Daughter Monoi Shampoo, Conditioner and Repairing Hair Mask.  Again, no styling products were added- I just blow-dried afterwards.  Oh, and the color looks different, only because the above picture was taken in daylight and the other at night, so my hair looks a little darker.

It's still not perfect, but it's so much smoother and healthier looking!  I actually didn't need to use any additonal styling products, such as split-end repair or shine serums!

Unfortunately, this is so amazing, I'm going to have to find room in the budget for the full sizes ($20, $22, and $32...yikes!).  But they're worth it, if they save my hair from falling out and allow me to keep growing it.  At the very least, I'll make it last by using it only a few times a week.  As a new mom, I don't do my hair everyday anyway! :)

This is definitely splurgeworthy!  If you want to try it, I highly recommend the sample kit.

Carol's Daughter Monoi Anti-Breakage Spray Review

Ok, so I have to admit that I have a bit of an obsession with watching QVC and HSN. It all started this past summer when I spent many sleepless nights up with my newborn, flipping through the channels at 3am. It ended up being a great way to keep up with my favorite brands and see what was new (I've been feeling out of touch since I left Sephora and became a stay at home mom).  And so, my middle-of-the-night home shopping network obsession began.

One night, Carol's Daughter was on HSN, and I was fascinated by the Monoi line. Lisa Price, the owner, talked about Monoi Oil and how it helps stop breakage by 96%. This resonated with me, since bleaching has left my long hair parched, and the post-pregnancy hormones had me seeing tons of hair going down the drain with every shower. 

So in a weak, and bleary eyed moment, I decided to take the plunge and spent $24 on the Monoi Anti-Breakage spray, a light leave in conditioner that seemed like it would work well on fine hair. So did I have buyer's remorse? Read on to find out!

So first, a quick background on Monoi Oil-it's made in Tahiti, by taking 15 freshly picked Tiare Gardenia Flower blossoms and combining them with 15 oz. of Coprah Coconut Oil over a 15 day sacred ritual, passed down only through an oral tradition. 

The scent of gardenia flowers and coconut is pure heaven in a bottle!  It's so intoxicating and makes me feel like I'm on vacation every day. It's not another suntan lotion scent either, it's a bit more sophisticated and tropical.

Here's the description on the bottle:

And the ingredient list:

Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Isododecane, Pentylene Glycol, Agave Americana Leaf Extract, Butylene Glycol, C11-15 Pareth – 7, C12–16 Pareth – 9, Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Fruit Juice, Coconut Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Extract, Dicetyldimomium Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Gardenia Tahitensis Flower Extract, Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Protein, Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch, Lactic Acid, Methyl Gluceth-20, Panthenol, PEG-8 Dimethicone, Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract, Theobroma Cocoa Extract, Trideceth-12, Trimethylsiloxyamodimethicone, Methylisothiazolinone, Potassium Sorbate, Fragrance.

The product itself is a thin liquid that's golden in color.  I spray it liberally all over my damp hair, but focus on the ends.  My hair has never been greasy or oily from this product (and I have fine hair!). I love how lightweight this is and to say that this is my new HG hair product is an understatement!

  

I haven't been using it long enough to know if it prevents breakage, but I do know that after blowdrying, my hair has never looked so soft and shiny, with movement and bounce.  It just looks and feels stronger- no frizz and fried-looking ends!

I don't usually recommend luxury products unless they perform amazingly or if there's nothing else like it for less at the drugstore. Monoi Anti-Breakage Spray is on my short-list of products that are worth the extra money. If you splurge on a hair product, this is it!  It is for all hair types from fine to thick. 

You can get it at HSN or at Carol's Daughter.