Kérastase Elixir Ultime

About a month ago I posted a review about Kérastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquid. It didn’t impress me, especially given its $40+ price tag and because of my experience with it, I had low expectations for Kérastase’s Elixir Ultime (both products were received in different editions of my Luxe Box). But happily for me, unlike the first product, this second hair treatment actually works and at $25 for a 50 ml bottle, is appropriately priced.

Kérastase describe this product as, “A blend of four precious scented oils that works for all hair types” (one of which is, yes, argan oil) by “Deliver(ing) ultimate shine, deep conditioning and nourishment” and “Add(ing) softness, strength, and smoothness.

While the use of the word “ultimate” is a bit rich, the rest of this product’s claims are quite accurate as it did leave me with shiny, silky hair. Actually, the results of this product were pretty much identical to the ones I've gotten from Moroccanoil (a product that I haven't used since the end of January so no, the results are leftovers from it). I twice did a split test where half of my hair received the oil and the other half didn’t and both times I could tell just by looking which half hadn’t been oiled up (one side was just a little duller and frizzier than the other).

Of course, like most beauty products out there, this one has a couple of claims that simply can’t be evaluated by a few uses by one lone person trying a product out in the bathroom.  In this item’s case, those claims include the words, “Promotes cellular renewal…” and “protects (hair) from external aggressors.” Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t.

One thing that this product definitely does do is work as both a pre- and post-styling product. While I mostly used it on freshly towel-dried hair, there were a few times when I dabbed a bit on dry hair to fight frizz. While the results weren’t long-lasting, they were immediate and were completely non-greasy.

Actually, I didn’t run into any issues with greasy-or oiliness even after I put a quarter-sized amount of this oil in my hair (Cristalliste Lumiere Liquid only produced results if you heaped it on so initially
I thought that Elixir would behave the same way). It also didn’t make my hair feel or look heavy.

According to Kérastase, this oil can also be used as a pre-cleanse treatment, something I haven’t   tested out yet. I do though plan on trying this product out for that purpose and once I do, I’ll update this review with the results.

Would I buy this product: Yes, I can easily see myself picking up a bottle of Elixir Ultime since the results are pretty much identical to what I get with Morrocanoil but at a lower cost.

Should you buy this product: Yes! It’s reasonably priced, multi-purposed and it works. Oh, and it smells pretty too.