A haircut at Spoke & Weal's Soho salon is a Glossier employee rite of passage. When my turn came around, I dove straight into the world of dry cutting with a full-on shag: At its best, my new cut resembled a '70s Ray Manzarek. At its (subjective) worst, it was “The Rachel”. But Jay Braff really knows his stuff—and I'm not complaining. The only real problem with my new 'do was that my previous everyday routine—wash, put in knot, let dry sans product—wasn't going to work for hair now full of short, fine layers that needed some product-based encouragement.

The name of Bumble and bumble’s Brilliantine had been whispered around the office for weeks before it became unsettling. Is this the next step in my hair hazing ritual? I wondered. When I did finally pick up my own tube, it promised "a sort of languid, slept-in, sexy look.” And it delivers! It's also the reason I'm keeping my shag. Brilliantine doesn't restrict movement like a pomade or hairspray might—instead, it adds luster and definition, plus texture that's fully touchable all at the same time. In dried hair, it's still soft and non-greasy, but never ends up looking totally dry (you know how salt spray does that?). No wonder Glossier HQ had it pegged it as the final rite of passage. Guess this makes me official.

Without turning this review into a "how does my hair smell" moment, the scent is also heavenly—lilacs, I think. But Brilliantine's real hero trait is that the result looks like you didn’t do anything at all. You just have really cool hair.

Photographed by the author.

It's all about moisture, moisture, moisture. Read here for the full haircare guide to textured hair.