I made my way to Matsumoto Kiyoshi for one of my research trips (I was looking at the Kose Sekkisei range) and remembered that one of my customers suggested that I look into Ma Cherie products.

A budget hair care line by Shiseido, Ma Cherie is available at prices below 1,000JPY for most of their products.

I chose Ma Cherie’s Gloss Charge Essence, shampoo and conditioner for dry hair. I made a mistake (as usual) between moisturizing (shittori) and shiny (sara sara). I’m not sure what is the exact difference but I gather that sara sara is probably for normal hair. Like for facial wash, those labeled with “fresh” (sappari) are geared to those with normal skin, while shittori is for dry skin.

Well, I think Ma Cherie’s shampoo and conditioner smell pretty with a fresh, citrus scent, but it was too rich for my oily scalp. My hair gets a bit oily towards the end of the day but I think that’s fine if I’m at home and would wash my hair the next morning.

I always remembered what my beauty colleague always asked me when I tested products for her, “Is it nice to use?” — which meant, did it feel good on you?

Texture and fragrance are very important components in a beauty product. I think if you had some magical formula, but it stank and felt slimy, you won’t be able to get it off the ground with women. I had a chuckle when I read Viva Woman’s post about using eggs as an anti-aging mask.

So in all my reviews, I would definitely consider these factors on rating products. Ma Cherie is utilitarian with a pleasant fragrance but don’t expect the works.

I was quite disappointed with the Gloss Charge Essence because I think it contains alcohol as it has a cooling sensation when you pump some into your palm. I gave it go three nights in a row but stopped because it made my hair look dry and tangled. Why would they put alcohol in a hair product? I have no idea. Maybe it’s not alcohol, but some other chemical, but whatever it is, it sure doesn’t do anything good for my hair.

Related posts:

1. Is Pantene Clinicare any good?
2. A deconstruction of Japanese shampoos Part One
3. Tsubaki Water Spray Review: Silky effect and gives volume