Review: V05 Beyond Blonde Shampoo

This isn't something I thought I'd ever think, never mind write or say out loud, but I feel like I owe this shampoo an apology. I have been dragging out this review for absolute ages, scrolling past the images and thinking, "What the hell are you going to say? It's just shampoo....". But then I started thinking about it. And thought about it some more. And the more I thought, the more I realised, that this is one of the best drugstore shampoos I have used in a long time. So, here we go, V05: I'm sorry for not appreciating you enough.

See, this is a shampoo that works quietly. On the outside it seems just like any cheap and cheerful shampoo: it's got that typical fruity drugstore scent (nothing wrong with that, but it's not exactly luxurious), extremely girly packaging and a very serious lather that means business (but also tons of SLS, so not one if you're avoiding that ingredient!). I wouldn't say it does any of that brightening or colour correcting stuff specifically for blonde hair, so again, if that's something you're after, you need to look elsewhere.

I use this every other wash and usually apply something like a hair mask or deep conditioner afterwards and while I've had various results with the latter, it's the shampoo that's always been consistent. It gets my hair really, really clean, so that it can perfectly absorb whatever's coming afterwards, but even if I just pop on any regular old conditioner, my hair is left feeling soft and smooth and in no way dry or frizzy.

I think haircare is probably the one area where investing in luxury products will get you luxury results (in my experience, at least), but if you don't have upwards of £50 to spend on shampoo and conditioner every month, you still don't have to let your hair suffer. For the price, this works an absolute treat and I couldn't ask for anything else. I bought this huge 500ml bottle about six months ago and I'm only just beginning to scrape the bottom, so it lasts for ages as well! (Though bear in mind that I've only been using it every other wash, as mentioned above)