Sample Sundays: Beyond Nature Defense Shampoo (Review)

Hi friends!

So I’m back with another edition of Sample Sundays… on a Monday. Oops >.< I spent this weekend vegging out/in a perpetual haze thinking of things I need to do before I go back home in A WEEK AND A HALF! Wheee! I’m so excited but at the same time it hasn’t really hit me yet. But I can’t wait to be back home for the first time in a year o.O

But moving on!

So what is this week’s sample? I tested out Beyond‘s Nature Defense Shampoo and have a few thoughts I’d like to share with you (if I may be so bold).

Firstly, what is Beyond? I know y’all have heard of Etude House, Skinfood, Tony Moly and of course, my love, Nature Republic. Any Korean cosmetics lover worth their weight in ampoule knows these key players. Beyond, however, is lesser known and perhaps unfairly so. My friend Natallia really loves this brand, and I really like their all-natural ethos. I also really approve of the fact that they do not test on animals. This is pretty rare around these parts, and is something I value in a skincare brand.

Before coming to Korea, I actually stopped buying any products that were not cruelty-free (ie. they engaged in cruelty toward animals) and was pretty committed to it. However, upon arrival here, I was a bit of a lost newbie and I guess my frazzled brain couldn’t take on any extra responsibilities (d’oh!). I am pleased to note, however, that a number of Korean brands have almost committed to dropping animal testing and accepting non-animal tests for cosmetics. You can read a little bit about that here.

So, Beyond already has a lot of ticks in my book (or just one big giant amazing one). Plus, as I mentioned in a previous post, when I tested their Avocado Shield Most Essence in store, it felt like a dream. So smooth and delicious! I guess Beyond’s price point is slightly higher than a number of other Korean brands, and it sort of seems in-between in terms of its ‘luxe’-ness. That is my uneducated explanation of why it is not so well-known yet. There also aren’t that many Beyond shops around, although I can contradict by saying there is one at Guri station!

The first thing I noticed about this shampoo was the smell. It’s yummy! It has a very strong scent, so if that’s not your sort of thing then you should perhaps steer clear. I was slightly surprised that an all-natural brand would put this much fragrance into a product, but it did smell nice and left my hair smelling sweet! It smells incredibly fruity, sort of like fruit-flavoured lollies (candy).

As for the texture, it feels weird reviewing a shampoo like this but it felt thick and substantial…? It lathered nicely and cleaned my hair well, so at least we know it does what it’s supposed to do!

The first time I used this, I just so happened to overcompensate with my hair oils and when my hair dried (naturally), it was quite heavy and limp. Boo! I was concerned that it was perhaps from this shampoo, but I have since dispelled that myth. It was instead due to my heavy hand with the ol’ argan oil, nothing to see here.

Since this sample didn’t come with its corresponding conditioner, it feels odd reviewing it on its own. I can, however, say that my hair smells delicious and does feel particularly smoooth. Would I buy this again? Potentially… although to be honest the scent was a bit too strong for me (I actually just wrote ‘strong’ instead of ‘scent’, which should give you an idea. It’s STRONG). Right now I have 549358043 shampoos just waiting to be used (well, it may perhaps be two or three, but one of those is the L’Occitane Aromachologie Repairing shampoo which I am just dying to get my grubby little mitts on) so I’m in no rush to jump out and buy this. That said, I am keen to try out Beyond’s skincare range because that avocado essence is still burned in my brain. Heaven on a stick/in a pump bottle!

That’s it for today, sorry about the delay and thanks for reading! Next week’s Sample Sunday will feature… Skinfood’s Black Sugar Wash-Off Mask! This is a bit of a classic in the Korean cosmetics world, and I’m finally getting around to testing it. Stay tuned to find out my thoughts next Sunday! And of course, see y’all tomorrow 🙂

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Steph x