Name That Late 90's Shampoo-Filter!

February 28, 2014 8:08 AM

Asking for a friend: "I am more that a little embarrassed at how much time I spent trying to figure out what shampoo/conditioner I used to use in the late '90s. It came from the grocery store; the kind I got was in a light blue cylindrical bottle, with this weird cap where you pulled the whole thing up but the middle stayed down. It smelled SO GOOD -- a faintly citrus, faintly marine smell. If I could find it I would pay like $30 on ebay for a bottle just so I could reverse-engineer that smell." Any ideas, Hive?...
posted by julthumbscrew to Grab Bag (11 answers total)

Sounds like Jhirmack to me. Although I don't remember a trick bottle. Seems like they only make one kind now.

The shampoo was bright blue and it had a very marine/beachy smell, tempered with fruit.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:16 AM on February 28, 2014

I don't think it's Jhirmack, that's for silver hair. Alterna has a blue bottle with that type of cap, and a variety of different scents, but I don't totally think it was that either, because I think I remember what you're talking about and it's going to bug me too now...
posted by celtalitha at 8:29 AM on February 28, 2014

Jhirmack used to be for everyone. I think the silver stuff is the only one they make now.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:31 AM on February 28, 2014

I remember the old Pantene bottles were like this, before the Pro-V rebranding. But those are older than she's thinking.

I also definitely had some sort of shampoo around the early 2000s that came in a sorta robin's-egg opaque cylindrical bottle with a dark brown pully-uppy cap the same width. Damned if I can remember what it was, though. This is going to haunt me.
posted by Metroid Baby at 9:11 AM on February 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Ooh! The old Clairol Daily Defense was like this I think!
posted by masquesoporfavor at 9:13 AM on February 28, 2014

I'm wondering if it was Revlon Aquamarine, a shampoo I loved and was obsessed with. It was a marine scent, it was a shimmery blue, and to me it smelled faintly of Dr. Pepper.
posted by Miko at 9:43 AM on February 28, 2014

Those Pantene bottle were very distinctive, but I'm wondering if your friend is talking about a push-pill cap, similar to the kinds used for dish washing soap. That would still be a little unusual for shampoo and might help to identify the one your friend is looking for. If it's neither kind a link to that specific kind of cap would probably still be helpful.
posted by Room 641-A at 9:43 AM on February 28, 2014

Focus 21 Sea Plasma?
posted by vivzan at 9:45 AM on February 28, 2014

Best answer: I think masquesoporfavor is on to something with Daily Defense - I loved that shampoo and I remember it smelling similar to that. The one I used had a clear bottle with clouds on it, which might be the light blue your friend is thinking about.
posted by kerning at 10:14 AM on February 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Nthing Clairol Daily Defense - I think the bottles may have been blue before the cloud style, and I remember the smell as being like you describe. Oh, that smell... (I'd keep an eye on eBay for the shampoo version of this.)
posted by zibra at 10:34 AM on February 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ding ding diiiiiiiiiing... Clairol Daily Defense for the win! She's already purchased some off of eBay. I've said it before, I'll say it again: this place is MAGIC. Thanks, guys!
posted by julthumbscrew at 11:46 AM on February 28, 2014 [2 favorites]