Beautiful shiny hair: Shwarzkopf Essence Ultime Diamond Color Illuminating Oil

Some time ago Schwarzkopf developed with Claudia Schiffer two new lines of cosmetics - Blonde Ultime (hair colourants) and Essence Ultime (haircare). In Essence Ultime line we can find basic stuff like shampoos and conditioners, but also spray conditioners, hair masks, BB cream for hair (kind of leave-in conditioner) and hair oils. One of this oils it the topic of my review today :)

Product description: Dazzling colour luminosity with diamond gloss serum & UV filter for coloured, highlighted hair. Application:
1. Pre-wash for colour sealing
2. After-wash on damp hair to seal and smooth
3. Style-finish for illuminated colour and shine

Oil is in a nice, plastic bottle with 75ml capacity. The bottle has handy pump applicator, which makes application nice & easy. The pump reaches right to the bottom of the bottle, so there shouldn't be any problems with using up the product.

As we can easily expect from drugstore oil, it is not 100% natural product, it contains silicones, perfume (limonene, geraniol) and colourants (CI 40800 - beta carotene). Despite of this it also contains:

• Sunflower Seed Oil - provides a rich source of unsaturated linoleic and oleic fatty acids and Vitamin E. It creates protective film protecting skin/hair from water loss.
• Apricot Kernel Oil - rich in essential fatty acids, which are vital components of the human organism. It creates protective film on the skin/hair.
• Octocrylene - an oil soluble, water resistant absorber covering UVB and short UVA (a.k.a. UVA-2). It is a relatively weak sunscreen, inadequate when used alone. On the other hand, octocrylene is very stable and it both protects and augments other UV absorbers while improving their uniform skin coating. 

Full ingredients list: Cyclomethicone, Dimethiconol, Helianthus Annus Seed Oil, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil, Octocrylene, Parfum, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Limonene, Beznzyl Salicylate, Alpha-Isomethyllonone, Coumarin, Geraniol, Citronellol, CI 40800.

I take care for my oily hair in similar way as for my oily skin - I use basic and lightweight care in the morning and more rich, heavy stuff, that may increase oiliness at the nighttime. Originally I intended to use this oil at nighttime, but it turned out to be surprisingly lightweight. This oil is not very greasy, my damp hair absorbs it quickly. I apply the oil to my fringe and close to the roots, but it doesn't make my hair look greasy, just shiny and smooth. For one application I use 2-3 pumps, a little goes a long way. After two month of using every other day I used only 1/4 of the bottle. Typically for Schwarzkopf product it smells beautifully, the smell stays on hair for a while.

As you can see my hair doesn't look greasy after oil application, just nice and shiny.

Price: about £5, I bought it on offer for £3. In UK it's widely available in many drugstores and supermarkets.

Pros:
+ lightweight, doesn't make hair greasy
+ beautiful smell
+ gives hair glorious shine
+ little goes a long way
+ handy pump applicator

Cons:
- contains silicones, colourants etc. - no use for people looking for natural haircare
- quite pricey for an oil - we could buy two 100% natural oils in this price
- weak UV filter

In general I am pleased with this product, however I am not sure about re-purchase - I would like to try 100% natural hair oils (but if they turn out heavy I will continue using this one in the morning). If you don't mind silicones in you hair care routine this is definitely worth trying.