Product Review: John Frieda Dry Shampoo

I have extremely dry, coarse hair so I really can only wash it twice a week or else it feels like straw. I rely on dry shampoo the rest of the week. I am always on the look out for good dry shampoo since I use so much of it and believe me, I have tried almost every single brand out there. I recently bought some of the John Frieda variety since it was on sale and I hadn't tried it yet.

John Frieda Dry Shampoo

For a drugstore variety, I was pretty pleased with this stuff. It definitely does the job and it didn't leave that stiff, crispy feeling that some dry shampoos give you. My complaint is the smell! Yuck! You would think with all the advances in dry shampoo they would have done something about the smell. I have tried other varieties that work and smell better.

Kenra Dry Shampoo. 1st place in my book! This also doesn't give hair that crispy feeling and smells great.

TIGI Rockaholic Dry Shampoo. 2nd place in my book. This dry shampoo definitely gave me the most volume of any dry shampoo but this definitely gives hair a stickier feeling that I think dry shampoo should.

Johnson's Baby Powder. In a pinch? This works fantastic. It absorbs the oil, has no smell, and is definitely the cheapest option. I fall back on this when I am out of dry shampoo and I can't find any on sale :)

This goes on my blog as the worst dry shampoo I have ever tried. I don't think it did anything, it definitely didn't absorb any oil at my roots.

The verdict? I will probably stick with the John Frieda dry shampoo from now on and hopefully, they improve on the smell. While my favorite is Kenra, a bottle is about $15 while the John Frieda retails for between $6-$8 and with coupons, I can get it for free :)

Boston Creme Pie: Round 2

So the hubby requested Boston Creme Pie for his birthday. I had only attempted the Boston once before and the results were less than appetizing. So I was nervous making the cake for Jerame's family but it all turned out for the best. My custard was not overcooked this time and my cakes rose. I did have a snafu with the ganache as my first ganache separated. I had to run the store to get more ganache supplies but my second ganache turned out perfectly! I've made ganache many, many times and I have never had one separate. Oh well, it all worked and the cake was delish!

Infusing the milk with vanilla bean

The finished custard going into the fridge to chill

Cake going into the oven

Cake mess!

The finished cakes cooling

After putting the custard between the cakes

Dark chocolate for the ganache

The finished cake

Ready to eat! Yum!

Jerame's 34th Birthday!

I have been slowly climbing out of the migraine hole, not yet feeling 100%. The migraine came last Friday, knocked me out all weekend, left me in the migraine hangover on Monday and has been hanging on all week! I am not feeling nearly as foggy as I was earlier in the week but definitely still feeling the effects. It is a good thing that I am starting to feel better because yesterday was the hubby's birthday! He had requested his favorite pasta for dinner and Boston Creme Pie for his birthday cake, which of course I obliged. Boston Creme Pie has given me trouble in the past so I am happy to report that I nailed this one! Oh yeah! More on the conquering of that mountain later. We had Jerame's mother and Martha and Ron over for cake and ice cream and then later... Ducks football! Good times were had by all (or so I was told) :)

Jerame's Boston Creme Pie

Jerame and his cake

Jerame, Ron, and Brutus

Cutting the cake

Yum!

Jerame and I in our Game Day gear

We wanted a picture without 70's wallpaper in it, thank you very much