My Pantene Aqua Light Blo Bar Experience

Yesterday, I spent part of my early evening at King Street’s Blo Bar, where I was treated to a wash, blow dry and style courtesy of Pantene’s new Aqua Light line. Here’s how it all went down.

The Event Itself

Pantene launched its new line, which, as the name suggests, is all about being weightless, in January. While Pantene is using traditional advertising routes (TV and print ads) to promote the latest addition to its family, it’s also aiming for word-of-mouth/testimonial promotion by inviting bloggers and other regular people to experience Aqua Light first hand in the comfort a blow dry salon (an approach more brands should try, IMHO).

The event I attended was just one of several that have been held across the country over the past month and as you can imagine, it was pretty busy. But it was lacking the confusion and chaos that these types of events sometimes have. It was also pleasantly attitude-free and at no point did I feel like I was a burden on anyone.

I did however feel a bit awkward when things started to get packed up while I was still getting my hair done (I was in the last group of the event). Thankfully, the sudden transition into the tear-down mode didn’t faze my stylist who took her time in doing my hair.

However, I do think that the makeup artist who was giving us post-blow touch-ups did give me the speedy version of her work (or maybe the makeup I wore in was just so damn good that I only needed some lipstick and blush; yeah, that’s it). But she was friendly and her work did look fine on me so I really can’t complain.

One thing I really appreciated about this event is that is wasn’t “pushy”.  While both my stylist and a representative from Pantene chatted to me about the Pantene Aqua Light line, they did so in a way that was relaxed, reasonable and hyperbole free.

Blo Bar
This was my first time at Blo Bar but I can see myself coming back to get my hair done for a special event (the signature Wash Blo Go costs $35). Blo Bar reminds me a bit of the bodyFood spa: Clean, efficient and focused on getting you in and out with the results you wanted.

My stylist (whose name of course I forget) has worked at the King Street location of this chain for the past year. She was friendly, appropriately chatty and asked how I wanted my hair done (always important).

The end results looked great, as you can see from the photo that the Pantene photographer took of me. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay that way for long. Part of the reason for that falls squarely on me. I should have told the stylist to layer on the hair spray, since that’s the only way that way that waves will stay in my hair.

But disappearing waves were only part of the problem. The other issue was that my hair quickly turned into a lion’s mane of static and flyaways and that I blame on the products used…

 Pantene Aqua Light
All participants were given a goody bag that contained a bottle of Aqua Light shampoo, another of Aqua Light Conditioner and another of the Weightless Conditioning Shake, which you apply post-drying and pre any heat.

I want to use all of these items for a bit before I properly review them but I am a bit worried that this line might be too light for my fine, prone-to-breakage-and-flyaways hair, and that’s part of the reason why yesterday’s pretty blowout didn’t last very long.

I guess we’ll find out if that’s actually the case or not.