Leo Pomade Volumizing Matte Clay review

The Singaporean homebrewer community is really small. I've already mentioned that multiple times by now. About a month ago, I was contacted by one that I've seen from time to time, but not worked with before. Farhan from Leo Pomade Co. reached out to me to be a part of their tutorial video for a brand new product they had (which you can watch here) and after said shoot, they kindly handed me a jar of it to use and review. Here is their Volumizing Matte Clay; a water-based clay featuring a strong hold. Without further hesitation, let's get into it.

Packaging

The Volumizing Matte Clay comes in a 3.5 oz clear plastic jar with an aluminium screw top lid. The label designs are very clean with purple accents throughout. All the information is displayed clearly and has a pleasant look overall.

Scent

Described as a peppermint berry scent, and it's pretty much what you get. Smells very prominently of berries with a tinge of minty freshness and I find it to be really pleasant. It's also a rather strong and long-lasting scent as well, so do keep that in mind if berry scents aren't your thing.

 

Application

The product scoops out easily, feeling really smooth and creamy. It breaks down just the same and goes into the hair with plenty of grip. Turns dry almost immediately once it spreads into the hair, so I do recommend applying in smaller amounts or into damp/towel dried hair.

Texture

You get a pretty good amount of texture with this clay. Especially once it turns dryer in your hair, you can really achieve some decent texture. Slickness and stickiness is definitely one thing it lacks, which does become an issue for me when it comes to controlling my cowlick and strays, but could be a plus point for some of you.

Control

Height and volume is easily achieved with this clay. Whether I applied this in dry or damp hair, it still gives me great results either way. Styling with it isn't a hassle and I can easily get a nice, loose look without much to it.

Strength

A strong hold is truly what you get. It's not too lightweight either so it does a good job of staying where it needs to be. Touching up and restyling isn't necessarily needed much throughout the day, but can be done if required.

Shine

Definitely provides a nice matte finish. 

 

Durability

The endurance you get with this clay is fairly decent. As mentioned earlier, there's hardly any touching up or restyling required when you use this product (depending on weather conditions of course). It's really easy to push or comb your hair back into place and you don't lose much of the hold that you get.

Washability

One rinse gets pretty much everything out, leaving your hair feeling nice and conditioned.

Price-point

The Volumizing Matte Clay costs $38 SGD ($28.79 USD) without shipping. Shipping for locals is free and they have a flat-rate international shipping fee of $12.35 SGD ($9.35 USD) with tracking. A bit pricier than most products, even for us Singaporean, but a fair price for the quality.

Verdict

Leo Pomade Co. has always been in my "to-try list" ever since I first heard about them. They went a little under the radar due to family commitments, but it's nice to see Farhan back in the game and adding new products into their catalogue.

After trying their Volumizing Matte Clay a few times, I can say that I do enjoy using it. Has a really effortless scoop out and break down, styles easily, endures the day and weather well, has a pleasant scent and it washes out without hassle. I like the fact that I can use this in damp hair straight, in blowdried hair as a pre-styler, post-styler or both, and all will give me good end results. I find it to be a really fuss-free clay that's really user-friendly. I do wish it wasn't as thick and dry in the hair and is able to be combed better, but it's not too big of an issue.

At the end of the day, I am ecstatic to be able to use another locally made product. It brings a certain level of pride knowing that this clay was made in the lion city. It's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a clay that's easy to use. Let Leo Pomade's Volumizing Matte Clay tame your mane.

Click here to visit Leo Pomade Co. on their online store

Orien't Texture Paste review

I was recently contacted by Shan from Orien't to do a review on their product line. Even though targeted towards the salon community, the products from this Taiwan-based company aren't only handcrafted but also features natural and well-sourced ingredients as well. Without further ado, I bring you their Texture Paste in all it's glory.

Packaging

The Texture Paste comes in a nice box with all the necessary information across the faces. It's all very clear, well-designed and looks of nice quality. It even has the product name printed across the inner faces of the box which looks much nicer and detailed compared to just being left plain. Inside the box, you'll be met with a little card with a simple infographic on the instructions.

As for the product itself, it comes in a beautiful 3.5 oz glass jar with a screw top lid. You get a label of the product name on the face of the jar and the ingredients and instructions are printed on the other side of the jar itself. Even the company logo is printed on the lid. The overall presentation with Orien't products are breathtakingly detailed and definitely brings a certain level of class to them.

Scent

The product scents aren't stated on their site so I had to ask them specifically what it was (cause I couldn't make it out myself either). According to them, it is a floral and herbal scent which I feel is pretty accurate. It's a very nice, smooth scent with a slight spicy bite to it and I do find it to be pleasant. It's also very subtle and inoffensive so you'll hardly notice it once it's in the hair.

 

Application

Scooping out the product requires minimal effort. It has a thick consistency but breaking it down will be met with a smooth and creamy paste. It applies into the hair with a lot of grip and dryness, a surprise considering how creamy it broke down, so I do highly recommend applying in small amounts.

Texture

Texture is literally in the product name. However, I feel that the texture provided by this product is still on a finer level. Not the greatest amount, but I still feel it's enough for what it is.

Control

Styling with this matte paste is fairly straightforward. Seeing how it's a dryer product, your fingers and wider-teethed combs will be your best friends to style with this product. It provides very nice looser styles and can give a good amount of volume as well.

Strength

Advertised as a medium hold, which deems to be fairly true. The hold may not be incredible, but it's definitely more than enough to style with. It keeps the hair pretty well in place throughout the day and can easily be pushed back into place if needed.

Shine

Provides a matte finish with pretty much zero shine.

 

Durability

This matte paste feels really lightweight in the hair. Even though it has a medium hold, I still find it to last throughout the day really well. I don't find it falling out of place as often as I thought and it's very easy to restyle if needed.

Washability

Stated to be water-soluble, which is true for most occasions, though there are days where I found it needing one wash with shampoo at most. Still really easy to wash out overall.

Price-point

Based on their online store, the product will cost $44.07 SGD ($33.40 USD) including shipping. I'm not sure if it's a flat shipping rate throughout all the other countries as well and I know it's a hefty price to begin with. But considering how it's mainly catered towards the salon community and people are paying an average price of $30 SGD ($22.73 USD) for a 2 oz jar of white-label crap, I think the price is justifiable.

Verdict

I was very interested to give these products a go from the very beginning. Not only are these my first time trying Taiwanese products, but the company and their ideologies as a whole simply intrigued me.

I will be completely frank regarding the Texture Paste. It actually took me a while to get used to using the product, and for one simple (and rather silly) reason. You really can't use a lot of this product at once. Once again, really silly, but it's a habit that I have seeing how I mostly use pomades and it's something that I tend to do with other products as well. When used too much, the Texture Paste can get really thick, unbearable in the hair and just feels like a hot, dry mess. However when used just the right amount, it is an absolutely pleasant experience. I've found that one small scoop as a pre-styler (yes, it works as a pre-styler) and another small scoop as post-styling really works well. It provides a really good amount of hold and volume that lasts all day long, feels lightweight and you can easily run your fingers through your hair to restyle if needed. Another disclaimer that I've found while testing the product is that the results aren't as great when used in towel dried or damp hair alone without any blowdrying involved. Basically, use it in dry hair completely or like how I mentioned earlier on for optimum results.

To wrap things up, I do like this product. I know I went through a lot but that's simply because I've found that this matte paste works best when used with specific methods. I think it's a really nice product that not only appeals to the salon community, but to the homebrewed users as well. If you're a fan of loose, volumised looks, the Orien't Texture Paste is one worth trying.

Click here to visit Orien't on their online store