Anyone remember Concoction – the customizable hair care range launched by ex-Apprenctice, Alex Epstein? It launched in the UK to great fanfare but for some reason, just didn’t resonate enough with Brits for it to continue, so it disappeared very quickly. I’d always assumed it just stopped trading, but no – apparently it does very well in the USA and Australia – it’s sold on the American Lookfantastic site for a start. There is obviously something that appeals to a stateside audience about being able to choose your hair care down to the most minute detail that just doesn’t grab us here? I don’t know what it is – perhaps we just aren’t hair obsessed enough or maybe we have enough faith in our hair brands to have done the job already, or maybe it’s because we just can’t quite believe that personalization makes enough of a difference to pay the extra.
I’m not sure that I’m all the way into customized but Function of Beauty, a new brand based in the US that ships (quickly and cheaply) to the UK, has me at least considering there might be something in it after all. Not least because I got to choose my preferred fragrance – I opted for Pineapple and I can’t tell you how much I like it! I even enjoyed filling out the on-line forms that allows you to express your exact hair type, preferences and needs. If you look at the list above, those are all the things I ticked (you’re allowed 5 hair ‘goals) as being things I wanted in a shampoo and conditioner. I can’t fault either the shampoo or the conditioner – they both work beautifully and I had lovely soft and shiny locks post use, but at the same time I can’t specifically say that I’ve noticed less frizzy or more straight strands, or even any ‘replenishment’ which is a marketing word anyway.
I love, love, love the pineapple fragrance – it’s fabulous – and the products are really pretty good and you can choose your strength of fragrance as well as the colour of the products. Things I find weird about the brand are that the writing on the bottle is white and it all but disappears against a white or pale shampoo fill, and also the whole ‘Function of…’ concept. It’s nice that my bottle says ‘Function of BBB’ but it doesn’t really mean anything! It would also be great if you could see how much what you want costs before you have to go through the entire form. The smallest set of shampoo and conditioner is approx £20 I think – that’s the problem right there; I can’t remember what I ‘paid’ (I had a complimentary voucher). In terms of re-ordering, they send you reminder emails (that I didn’t sign up for as far as I’m aware) but it needs a better system in terms of being open about the money. I would be really annoyed to fill in a form all the way through to then discover that I didn’t want to or couldn’t pay for it.
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If you’re a moderate to high spender on hair care, I’d say give it a go – I really do love the products despite there being some ironing out to do with the presentation and the site mechanics. Plus, it’s fantastically Instagrammable! Function of Beauty is HERE.
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All products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.
8 comments
The prices range from £27.50 (+ pp) to £37.50 for various combinations of sizes
Bottle sizes are 225 mls or 450 mls
I would expect to pay VAT and Custom Taxes on top so not sure I’d go for it.
Tempting as it is.
Okay, thank you .. you don’t pay anything on top.. at least I didn’t when mine arrived x
I filled in the form and had a little play around after reading Sali Hughes review in the Guardian. Very pretty and easy to use website.
Didn’t proceed with the purchase (a bit expensive and I am trying to use up existing stuff) but now constantly being sent ‘reminders’ and follow up emails which go straight to junk mail. Slightly off putting with the spammage.
The idea of being able to choose pretty pink coloured shampoo does appeal to my millennial urges (definitely got good instagram potential with the bottles, colours and branding)…but my hair is generally happy with whatever nice smelling shampoo I see in Boots 😀 Hair care is probably my lowest spend beauty category though!
I love the concept, but still haven’t received the shampoo and conditioner I ordered on 23rd June. They have been quite slow to rectify this, and keep marking my issue as resolved before I’ve had a chance to reply to their latest email. If they haven’t arrived within the week I will be asking for a refund.
hmm, that’s not good.
I ordered the Musk smell and I don’t like it BUT the product itself is amazing. I am finishing now my first bottle and placed a second order – this time the limited edition summer scent. Honestly either I ticked the right boxes when I chose the 5 hair goals and I described my hair well (i wasn’t sure if my scalp was oily or normal so I went with normal) but the product is way better than my high end shampoos (Oribe, Kerastase etc.). It is very expensive but I don’t go through shampoos quickly so it is worth the money for me.
Update: the summer scent is amazing. 🙂