Lush Cynthia Sylvia Stout

After reading such rave reviews on the ability of this shampoo at smoothing and taming unruly hair from frizz knotty messes to sleekness I looked into the mirror at the frizzy mass atop my head and in the next second I had ordered it off of Lush's website.

I was very excited to get it into my hair as soon as I got it in my hands so was very disappointed when after washing it never lived up to the reviews for me.

The formula of this shampoo is very fluid, the liquid is a brown running consistency that resembled stout beer to keep true to its name I guess. However its state mean't that it was easy to run though my hair and build a little lather action but nothing over the top which was good as lathering agents seem to strip my overly dry hair as it is. Fragrance wise it was what you would expect a beer shampoo to smell off, a brewery!! or a flat bottle of beer that has been left open in the sunlight, very malty and hoppy!

Once rinsed out my hair felt nice and clean even giving a little squeak to confirm that. I then continued with my normal routine of conditioner and then curl crème to style. My hair is thick, curly, dry and out of control on good days but I found that once air dried my hair was a lot softer than normal, but the wrong kind of soft it was all patchy with frizz where the curls in my hair had fallen and created knotted mess. Even trying to rescue with a palm full of serum did nothing but make that area look flat and horrible. A little deflated I gave it the benefit of doubt that it could be atmospheric reason for the messy mane to be out of control so I perceived for another 2 days over the weekend where I found it just made it softer and softer.

I was glad I only got the smaller of the sizes available as I don't think this suits my hair, maybe for those with less thick or less dryness would benefit from it but for me personally I'm going to have to give it a miss now perhaps the hubby can use it up for me or I can pass onto someone else who would be better suited to it.

It's seems to be almost every order I make with lush they send me samples of this to try and they just keep getting stashed in the bathroom cupboard. I had been using solid shampoo and my darling children thought it was soap so before it all went down the drain I put it in my bedroom for safe keeping... Then time for my shower and forgot the shampoo bar! Until I remembered I had these stashed away.

I can't comment on the packaging but the samples I have lasts 2 washes out of one sample pot. The scent of this smells like ginger beer and it's quite in your face ginger beer scented. It was ok for a start then it kind of made me gag, the colour does look like an ale a deep dark brown colour. The consistency of it is very runny, definitely the most runny shampoo I have used. It doesn't lather up much and thankfully the scent didn't last in my hair after I had dried it.

As for stopping fizz and fly aways nope didn't notice any difference and think the solid shampoo bars do a better job. Overall I'm glad Lush sent me so many of these samples as I know I won't be buying the full size product. Not a fan of the scent and didn't find it work so great in my hair.

I bought this a while ago from my local Lush store in the 100g size for $14.90. I thought I would get the smaller size to try it out before committing to a bigger size, even though the bigger size is more economical per gram. I'm glad I did this as I am not the biggest fan of this, and would recommend doing this with any lush product as really they are quite expensive. The packaging is the usual clear container (great for seeing how much is left), with the black lid.

Unfortunately the thing that I don't like about this is next, the smell. This is made with beer in it which I don't like the smell of, but also mixed with lemon. For me, who is sensitive to smell, it is just not pleasant. Also the colour looks just like beer also.

The product says it is to add condition, body and shine to frizzy hair. For me I have found that this seems to strip my hair of any natural oils. I use this more as a clarifying shampoo to take out all the product if I have been using dry shampoo etc to get it all out.

Overall I just can't get over the smell, and it doesn't make my hair look particularly nice, so I won't be repurchasing.

I got this from Lush as a free sample. It comes in a small clear container. It has enough for several washes, as you only need a small amount of the product each time.

It looks like thick beer, and the smell is delicious, and very Lush-like.

I found a small amount lathered quite well for me.

The product claims is that it is excellent for hair which goes frizzy in the damp, and even makes curly hair shiny. It did make my hair soft and shiny. What I didn’t like, was when my hair was still wet, it felt kind of crunchy, with a texture like it had been soaked in lemon juice. It was a little too drying for my hair.

I don’t think I’ll be purchasing it. It may be better suited to oily hair, but my dry hair didn’t really love it.

I absolutely love Lush. All the products I use in my shower are Lush products which is why I was so upset that this product wasn't that great.

It is very hard to get a good lather making it feel like I haven't shampooed all my hair. Then when it came to brushing my hair there were so many knots I felt like half my hair came out.

I wasn't a fan of the smell since I prefer fruity shampoos.

While my hair did feel softer it definitely was not frizz free so I was quite disappointed as my hair can be annoying with fly-aways

This product is so far removed from a normal shampoo for me ( I am the typical branded supermaket, not much thought type of shampoo purchaser!) so really excited to trial something such as this, and overall it did not dissapoint. It leaves a really nice smell on your hair all day (less Stout, more Sandlewood or something), which was really lovely and a very nice change. I did stuggle to get a good lather up after I applied it, something which I have always kind of taken for granted, but having long thick hair was a bit of an issue. Once rinsed off it didn't feel as coated as my usual shampoo ( this is probably because it was full of nothing but goodness), and once I was out of the shower, brushing my hair was a bit of a struggle compared to usual due to lots of knots. All that aside (and not having much hope for it at this point), my hair really did look tons better for it. My hair was shiny, and looked full of life - even I couldnt stop playing with it all day! I don't really like the experience of this shampoo, but love the result on my hair - and has really given me food for thought to break out of the habit of same old same old, and get trialling some more natural shampoo's in the futire. Lush here I come!

I used this shampoo twice this week instead of my regular shampoo. The shampoo does not lather much so I was unsure as to how much to use. I ended up squeezing out a cent coin size dollop. Once I used it on its own without conditioner afterwards and the second time I used it with conditioner. Both times after washing and leaving my hair to naturally dry I noticed a huge difference to the condition of my hair! My hair before using this shampoo was brittle, fine and limp looking. I was washing my hair daily because it would get really oily. After the first time I used the Lush Cynthia Stout shampoo my hair was full of volume and looking healthier! I also noticed the next day that my hair wasn't back to its oily self, which mean't I could skip having to wash it again! I used the shampoo again the 3rd day, this time with conditioner after. My hair again dried naturally to a full bounce! It was left soft because of the use of conditioner as well as shampoo. Because of the improvement this had made to my hair, I would recommend this product to others with fine hair. I found the smell of the shampoo not quite to my liking. But it was too terrible that it would put me off using it again :)

My main worry pre using the product was that my hair would smell of stout, but although the product smells a little stouty your hair doesn't smell at all. The product as I said smells a little stouty, it is brown in colour and more runny than the average shamphoo. I have really thick hair and it made it feel clean, soft and the frizz was smooth.

Hi my name is Sarah and I have an addiction to Lush, so its no surprise to those that know me that I have to try like every Lush product and this includes this one. I was a bit sceptical to be honest because I'm not a huge Stout fan. Is Stout the same as beer? always get confused lol.

The bottle is a standard bottle with a click down type lid that allows the pouring of the product, its user friendly but can come out quite quickly. See my tip down the bottom on how to manage this.

The smell is very strange and I must admit I'm not a fan but I just had to tell myself to carry it through but for some it could be quite off putting.

The formula is of a brown consistency and unfortunately is a bit runny and comes out quite quickly.

It lathers up so well and I really enjoyed massaging it and rubbing it into my hair, it was quite therapeutic actually as the smell by then had subsided and wasn't overpowering as it was when I first poured it out.

Now with some Lush products I find that I don't have to use conditioner, so I did the same test of using it without it. So when I initially rinsed it out, it made my hair feel really dry and I really didn't like it as it felt a bit like straw, but then when it had started to dry, all I can say is Wow, completely surprised. It made my hair feel so soft and silky, I couldn't stop putting my hands through it, even my friend put her hand through it and was amazed when I said that there was no conditioner in it he he he.

Overall I really do like this, and apart from the smell and runny formula, I would most definitely buy this again. This will be one of my favourites.

I love Lush products so was always going to like this. I usually use the violet shampoo as I have blonde hair but wanted to try something different; and liked the sound of a boozy shampoo! It does smell lovely coming out of the bottle and goes on well giving a good lather. Definitely gave me hair the softness but unsure of the volume I as looking for. Good to try and may have again if I get bored of my purple shampoo.