What's the difference?: L'Oreal Total Repair 5 Damage-Erasing Balm vs. Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque

Both of these hair masks/deep conditioners have received quite a bit of hype and, given that I have dry hair, I bought into it. I tried the Macadamia masque first and I fell in love. It took me a while to finally buy it because it’s freaken 30 bucks for a deep conditioner! These are the moments in life when I ask myself what exactly my priorities are lol. All jokes aside though, it is indeed a great hair mask. It smells divine and it does moisturize and nourish my hair, leaving it softer and silkier. The only downfall for me was the price. I was so in love with how it worked I thought to myself, “There has to be a cheaper alternative that’s just as amazing. There always is right?” Whenever I find a wonderful (overpriced) high end item that works for me I make it a goal to find something more affordable (and reasonable) that works just as good. The L’Oreal Damage-Erasing balm is exactly that. This stuff feels like butter in your hands (and kinda looks like it to). It saturates the hair and doesn’t just slide off like some conditioners can do. It also smells good and leaves my hair feeling more nourished after using it. No to mention it’s less than half the price of the Macadamia hair mask. The Macadamia hair mask goes for about $33 at ULTA while the L’Oreal one goes for about $5-$7 depending on where you buy it. That’s a steal no matter who you are or where you’re from. I love both of these hair masks, but given the choice again I would save my money and go for the L’Oreal one.