The best smelling shampoos and conditioners turn your morning shower into a treat for all your senses. Read on to find out my top three favorites, what they’re like, and where to get them.
C.O. Bigelow Not Your Ordinary Daily Shampoo and matching Not Your Ordinary Daily Conditioner
Scented with 100% natural coconut fragrance, this is definitely one of the best smelling shampoos I’ve ever used, and the conditioner offers the same appealing aroma. The fact that the products smell organic and natural gives them a comforting, almost old-fashioned element, but the clean burst of coconut feels distinctly modern. The smell is subtle, warm, and sophisticated. Unlike many of the best smelling shampoos and conditioners which have complex, heady scents, the Bigelow lines are gentle enough to use along with other scented products, like lotions or perfumes, without being overpowering. C.O. Bigelow has earned its reputation as a shopping destination of note in Manhattan’s West Village, and the in-house product lines have a streamlined, upscale, yet appealingly traditional aesthetic that matches the flagship store. This vibe definitely carries over into the scent of the Not Your Ordinary Daily hair care product line. At the Bigelow website, a 12 oz. bottle of either product runs about $12, but you can snag a trial 2 oz. bottle for $4. The trial bottles are perfect for taking on vacation, which is how I discovered this deliciously scented product pair.
Herbal Essences Body Envy White Nectarine and Pink Coral Flower Volumizing Shampoo, and matching Body Envy Volumizing Conditioner
Herbal Essences Body Envy set is one of the best smelling shampoo and conditioner pairs I’ve ever used, and at roughly $4 per 12 oz bottle, it is available for a much lower price than my other top picks. While you’re in the shower, using Herbal Essences Body Envy gives you a blast of floral and fruit aromas, especially when you first lather up the shampoo. I wouldn’t be able to identify it particularly as the “white nectarine” and “pink coral flower” that the product names on its bottle, although the ingredients do list actual coral flower extract. There’s definitely an appreciable scent of fruit mixed with flowers, so that the brightness of the fruit balances the headiness of the floral. Unlike many scented hair care products, Herbal Essences Body Envy is not an overly sweet or strong perfume, but it is distinctly feminine and natural. A selling point that makes this one of the best smelling shampoo and conditioner lines I’ve tried is the fact that the scent lasts in your hair for hours after you’ve used the product. After using this shampoo and conditioner in the morning, I’ve had friends at dinner lean in to appreciatively sniff my hair, or compliment my hair as smelling “pretty”. That’s a fairly hearty endorsement, and not something you can get from many products. The Herbal Essences product lines are available at many major drugstores, or you can find an online or brick-and-mortar retailer through the Herbal Essences website.
Lush Rehab Shampoo and American Cream Conditioner
Lush brand Rehab Shampoo is a really creative scent. It’s mostly mint, but there are hints of fruit and rosemary to balance the sharpness with a little bit of warmth, so it’s a bright smell, but not too aggressive. Using American Cream conditioner smells a little like rubbing heaven on your hair, and a little like showering in a birthday cake. It’s ingredient list boasts honey, vanilla, strawberries, and oranges, so it smells like a delectable dessert, but since all the fragrances are based in natural ingredients rather than in synthetic perfumes, the product avoids the sickly-sweet fake “vanilla” smell that less pure scented products sometimes have. Lush definitely makes some of the best smelling shampoos and conditioners on the market, and since they don’t do matching shampoo and conditioner lines, it’s fun to mix the products and concoct your own combinations. The prices for these two products range from $8.75 to $39.95 depending on the size of the bottle, and you can buy online or find a local store through the Lush website. One of the neat things about Lush products is that they’re all natural and handmade without preservatives, but the one aspect of this that can be inconvenient is that the products have expiration dates, so it doesn’t always make sense to buy a larger bottle, even though that can seem cost-effective at the time of purchase.
