cheap but effective shampoo and conditioner

yes, cheap. we're talking 2.99 for 400ml for the shampoo. same price for the conditioner. Both are from Freeman Beauty. Awful designs on the bottle, but large and cheap bottles so I'll look past it.

I tried the Moisture shampoo, which had mangoe in it for the moisture-y bit and papaya for cleansing. both are widely used for these, so it wasn't anything revolutionary. The shampoo smelled somewhat cloying, but when I rinsed it the remaining smell was sweet and subtle. The kind you only smell when you stick your face in someone's hair, so I was pleased. It did its job pretty well too, without making me greasy. sadly, it's chock full of sulfates and parabens.

The conditioner also had papaya, which I found odd. They apparently have little faith in their shampoos if their conditioners contain cleansing agents too, but whatever. This was a Shine conditioner, with lime. I've found a lot of shine-boosting shampoos to contain citrus, so again, not anything special and groundbreaking but a reliable, intelligent choice. It smelled like bottled lime juice, meaning slightly over-ripe but still passable. It left a very subtle scent in my hair, overpowered by the mangoe but adding a little bit of tartness. It did add a bit of shine, but that's compared to a non-shine oriented conditioner. Compared to say, Burt's Bees Super Shiney conditioner, it was rather weak, and still contained sulfates and parabens.

All in all, not a bad purchase on either part, and at around $6 I'm pretty damn pleased. I don't think I'll purchase again, however, as long as I can afford my slightly more expensive, more effective, and always over 95% natural Burt's Bees.