(This post was written for The Glosse Posse.)

Two weeks ago, I recommended my favourite hairspray from Kérastase, the Laque Dentelle. Not long afterwards, I was looking at drugstore dupes on Pinterest when I found L’Oréal Elnett Satin Hairspray listed as the best drugstore product for hair styling. Apparently, it is what the hair stylists use on Hollywood actresses for the red carpet. The actresses’ hairstyles always looked naturally luminous and smooth, as if their hair did not require hairspray. The second most appealing factor is that it is a fraction of the cost of the Laque Dentelle. The former is around $35-36 for 300ml and the Elnett Satin Hairsprays are 1) C/US$14.99 for 400ml/11.2oz, 2) C$9.99 for 250ml, and 3) C/US$6.99 for 75ml/2.2oz (travel size). (Canadians: It is generally cheaper at London Drugs – if you’re in the West – than it is at Shoppers, which is usually $1-2 more.)

There are many Elnett Satin Hairpray options available:

• Extra Forte
• Extra Strong Hold
• Extra Strong
• Colour-treated Hair
• Lumiere Ultra Strong Hold
• Volume with Pro-Keratine
• Unfragranced/Unscented
• 3 (?) kinds of Styling Heat Spray

All of the above-mentioned hairsprays claim to give a long-lasting hold and shine, as well as fast-drying time.

I went with the 400ml Unfragranced hairspray because I keep encountering people who are particularly sensitive to hairspray. Furthermore, there are more and more cafés and offices that discourage people from wearing any sort of fragrance, including deodorant, hairspray, and fragrant body wash or shampoos. I’m not sure if the Unfragranced is more tolerable for those with sensitive sinuses but at least I can’t smell any fragrance that is commonly found in most hairsprays. I don’t use a lot of hairspray except when I’m modelling for Ivan Sayers’ historical clothing collection. (My hair is very slippery and straight when it’s dry so trying to keep it in a bun is rather challenging without hairspray to aid the hundreds of bobby pins and hair net. Furthermore, I have a lot of baby hair that love to stand on end like Tweedy Bird.) I’ve also read several negative reviews about the lingering rotten eggs odour the other ES hairsprays have. So stick with the Unfragranced. 😉

From the first day that I tried this hairspray, I was very impressed with how well it had managed to transform my birdy hair. It dried so quickly that I didn’t even have to pat down my stray hair while it was ‘wet’ because it had already done that for me. The best part was that I didn’t have hard hairsprayed hair, nor did I have any white residue from the hairspray. As for the shine, it was nothing like the L’Oréal hair ads with Disney Princess glossy hair. Hair simply looks natural with a slight shine. I don’t mind this since I wouldn’t want to look like I used a whole can of hairspray on my hair (if you know what I mean).

Overall, I give this hairspray a 4.5/5 because my only issue with this hairspray is that it is difficult to spray. This has nothing to do with the fact that the 400ml is a long cylinder can. I don’t know what it’s called – not the spray nozzle so maybe the nozzle cap? – but the plastic ‘button’ for pressing the hairspray felt like it would snap if I put too much pressure on it. However, if I don’t push hard enough, the product wouldn’t come out. Kérastase uses a similar nozzle cap but doesn’t have this problem. Maybe I have a week index finger but I end up having to use my thumb.