Jack & Hill: A Beauty Blog - make-up, cosmetics, perfume, and the substance of style

Alterna Hemp Thickening Compound

I really wish cosmetics companies would resist the urge to over-promise when it comes to their product names and descriptions. Nine times out of ten, they simply under-deliver. What's the business case for disappointing customers 90 per cent of the time?

Take this product, which I received as a PR freebie several months ago and have been using off and on since: I like it. It makes my hair take shape a little more easily, gives it a minimalist hold that I like, isn't sticky, and boosts my fine hair quite nicely. Plus, it contains full spectrum UVA/UVB protection and comes in a pretty blue tube.

But Alterna claims that it will give "dramatic volume, fullness and control". I don't know, maybe our definitions of "dramatic" just differ, but the hype annoys me. Talk about snatching disappointment from the jaws of victory.

love/indifference/hate

Love:

the cooler, but not cold, weather (long sleeves, scarves, but no frostbite - yet)
those custom-designed, hand-made fixtures (spotted at a party at Lightborne Studios)
Diesel Fuel for Life* (it's really grown on me)
that I am going to New York City next week
that I am going to LA for Thanksgiving
rediscovering hair products from my arsenal (always nice to get out of a rut)
Plackers* flossing picks (never get caught between your teeth)
Lancome Definicils (for life, I tell you)

Indifference:

that I am going to London for only two nights (work)
Alterna Caviar Shampoo with Age Control Complex* (overpriced, under-delivers)

Hate:
Dropping and shattering my Physicians Formula pressed powder* into a million billion pieces and dust that gets EVERYWHERE (for obvious reasons)
my skin
the in-between, growing-out status of my hair

Nothing very important on any of these lists, but yes, I am still alive.

*denotes products I received for free, from corporate PR