I read about the Ava Aussie combo during my early NC.com days. In a rabid fit of PJism, I purchased the two gels since a) they were pretty cheap and b) the reviews of the combo sounded promising. Basically, you mix two Aussie gels (Tizz no Frizz and Gel +Water) to get nice clumps and good hold. Aussie’s gel+water is now their Sun Touched Shine gel and the Tizz no Frizz is Sydney Smooth Gel Tizz no Frizz.
Per the old threads on the Aussie combo, yesterday I applied 2 quarter sized blobs of sun touched followed by 2 quarters of the TnF. The STS gel has a really interesting consistency; its like partially melted jello. Smoothing the gel between my hands didn’t really do much to increase its spreadability. Nevertheless, I kept on and applied the TnF gel which has a consistency more akin to your usual gel. I got pretty good clumping that day but there was no hold to speak of and quite a bit of frizz.
Today, I washed with Wen, poured a 2 oz sample sized bottle of oyin juice and berries over my hair and quickly rinsed it out. 2 half dollars of JCRR and CCSS were then applied followed by the same amounts of the Aussie gels listed above. I followed the mix with a dime’s worth of BRHG. The result is a good amount of clumping, crunch, and softness. However, what I don’t get is wave boosting and a good amount of frizz control. The odd thing about the Aussie gels is the weird foaming I get when mixing the two gels together. I do plan on playing a bit more with the Aussie combo; I figure with the amounts of gel I use, it won’t be very long until I’m done with the bottles.
I’ve been using the Vineyard Grape HT shea butter lotion sample and I’m quite impressed. It leaves my hands feeling silky soft and it retains moisture for a good amount of time. If plain old shea butter weren’t cheaper than purchasing this HT lotion, I definitely would pick it up. My only gripe about HT is that the ingredients aren’t posted online.