Welcome to another exciting edition of Haircare Face-Off!, the only online beauty battle in which two similar products square off in an intense head-to-head battle, judged by a an award-winning professional stylist. This edition features two popular molding pastes designed for all types of textured, spiky, and messy styles. Let's take a closer look at our competitors.
Messy Couture is part of the Vavoom Design Pulse line manufactured by Matrix, the beauty behemoth who introduced the world to Biolage, Amplify, and Vavoom. Messy Couture Molding Paste is a firm but smooth yellow paste which claims to separate hair in order to create texture and controlled movement. According to the Matrix website, Messy Couture has a medium hold that is reworkable for limitless looks and is designed for short, choppy, fringed cuts or to exaggerate the ends of long layers.
Alterna's Hemp Seed Modeling Clay is a firm hold product which provides a touchable, semi-matte finish. It is designed for dramatic styles which demand long-lasting hold. Like Messy Couture, this product is also a firm yellow paste that can create texture and separation.
Let the beauty battle begin!
As always, each product will be scored 1-10 in each of the following categories: Performance, Ingredients, Sensory Appeal and Packaging, and Value. However, with this competition Haircare Face-Off! will introduce a brand new feature, a "Report Card" which will grade how each product performed on specific hairstyles!
Performance: The most noticeable difference between the two products is how they emusify in the hands. Messy Couture is a soft solid in the container, but once emulsified it has a smooth buttery texture which is easy to apply to the hair. Alterna Modeling Clay, on the other hand, has a slick texture after it is emulsified in the hands. Messy Couture, although it is labeled medium hold, is a little sticky while the Alterna product is not. Both products are excellent on medium hair types, Alterna performed better on thick and coarse hair, while Matrix performed better on thin and fine hair. Alterna Modeling Clay did provide a slight natural-looking shine, while the Messy Couture produces a completely matte finish. This round is a tie. To see how each product performed on various hair types and styles, see the report card below. (Alterna: 9 Matrix: 9)
Report Card:
Pixie: Alterna (A) Matrix (A+)
Shag: Alterna (A-) Matrix (B)
Bob: Alterna (B) Matrix (B+)
Med. Layers: Alterna (A-) Matrix (C)
Long Layers: Alterna (B+) Matrix (D)
Curly Hair: Alterna (B+) Matrix (D)
Men's/short: Alterna (C+) Matrix (A-)
Men's/med.: Alterna (B-) Matrix (B+)
Ingredients: Matrix Messy Couture's primary ingredients are water, beeswax, paraffin, mineral oil, propylene glycol, castor oil, and other ingredients commonly found in pomades and pastes. Although Messy Couture doesn't contain any "bad" chemicals, it doesn't contain any beneficial botanical ingredients either. Alterna Modeling Clay's primary ingredients are water, vinyl caprolactam, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer, and avocado oil. The Alterna product also contains hemp seed oil, amino acids, and fennel extract. Because of Alterna's inclusion of conditioning ingredients, Modeling Clay wins this round. (Alterna: 8 Matrix:7)
Sensory Appeal/Packaging: When it comes to fragrance, Alterna Modeling Clay just may be one of the best-smelling haircare products of all time- it has an irresistibly fresh cucumber-melon scent. Messy Couture's scent isn't bad, either- it has a faint floral fragrance which isn't the least bit overpowering. My opinion is that Matrix should have gone with a more unisex fragrance, because Messy Couture worked amazingly well on men's styles. Both products are tastefully packaged in round plastic containers, but Alterna's clear green container is definitely more eye-catching. (Alterna: 10 Matrix: 8)
Value: Alterna Hemp Seed Modeling Clay comes in a 2-ounce container and retails for around $17.95, which translates into 8.96 per ounce. Matrix Design Pulse Messy Couture Molding Paste comes in a slightly-smaller 1.7-ounce container and retails for around $15.00, or 8.82 per ounce. Although both products are affordable, Matrix wins this round. (Matrix: 9 Alterna: 8)
And the winner is.......
Alterna Modeling Clay! By defeating Messy Couture, Alterna products are still undefeated in Haircare Face-Off! competition, with a perfect 3-0 record. Alterna may have won this battle, but it was very close. Both products delivered results as promised, and in some cases Messy Couture managed to outperform Alterna. Ultimately, Alterna came away with the victory because of it's awesome fragrance, attractive packaging, and use of certified organic botanical ingredients. (Final Score: Alterna- 35 Matrix- 33)
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