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Review: Trilogy balancing cleanser
Last year (yes, I am the WORST) I was contacted by Health2000, and asked if I wanted to review some products for them. Of course I would, I said, so they sent me some Trilogy balancing cleanser. The courier package went astray, so I had to go to the depot to collect it, and the depot was closed, and then it was Christmas, and then my girlfriend and I broke up, and all the lights in the world went out, and then work got insanely busy, and and and. And throughout that time, I was washing my face using the cleanser, so I feel very qualified in writing about it now. But first, their description:
Dosage: daily
Description: Say hello to soft, fresh skin and goodbye to dryness and irritation with this uplifting and refreshing gel cleanser.
Benefits: Leaves the skin feeling fresh, clean and velvety soft Helps to balance the skin without drying.
This is a very gentle cleanser, which is a good thing, although it loses in the fight against the insane amounts of black
eyeliner I tend to wear. I do definitely still moisturise after using it, but I don’t feel like my skin would flake off if I managed to lose all my moisturisers under a pile of clothes and couldn’t retrieve them before I had to run out the door to work, and that’s a good thing. I’m not the biggest fan of the smell of it, because I think I don’t like comfrey (it smells a bit like chamomile tea, which I dislike the smell of), but it’s not unpleasant. I definitely like the feeling of it on my skin, and use it happily most days (mixing it up with a scrub, and also a Karen Murrell face wash, because I get bored very easily). I don’t know if I would pay $42.50 for it though. In fact, I know I wouldn’t, because I am lucky enough to have skin that generally gets on just fine with supermarket price products.
Nivea Visage Daily Essentials Extra Gentle Eye Makeup Remover
I first bought Nivea Visage Daily Essentials Extra Gentle Eye Makeup Remover (try saying that three times fast) a few months back after I’d finished a mini-sized bottle of Lancome Bi-Facils which came in a gift pack. Now Bi-Facils is a seriously good product but just too expensive for my budget, so I grabbed a bottle of this off the shelf of a local department store mostly because it said “Extra Gentle” on the bottle and it was well priced.
That impulse purchase turned out to be a good thing – I’m onto my second bottle and this is now my holy grail eye makeup remover. As far as I’m concerned it’s even better than Bi-Facils.
Here’s what Nivea say about their product:
“NIVEA VISAGE DAILY ESSENTIALS EXTRA GENTLE EYE MAKE-UP REMOVER is a light, oil free formulation that gently removes make-up around the delicate eye area, leaving no greasy residue.
HOW IT WORKS
NIVEA VISAGE DAILY ESSENTIALS EXTRA GENTLE EYE MAKE-UP REMOVER enriched with Pro-Vitamin B5 to soothe the skin:
- Gently removes make-up and mascara with no greasy residue
- Prevents stinging or irritation of the delicate skin around the eye
- Dermatologically and opthamologically tested
Your sensitive eye area is gently cleansed and looking beautiful with cared for eye-lashes.”
I don’t know about the ‘cared for eyelashes’ bit, but I can tell you that it does a really good job of melting away even heavy eye makeup so that it can be wiped away without the need for rubbing; it doesn’t sting my eyes (this is important – my eye area is very sensitive) and it doesn’t leave any oily residue. One cotton pad well dampened with remover is enough for one eye, although I wear non-waterproof mascara so I can’t vouch for how well it would cope with the waterproof stuff.
The water-based formula dries quickly on the skin without needing to be wiped off afterwards and doesn’t leave any residue behind, oily or otherwise. I can apply eye makeup once it has dried without it affecting the application, and I often use this on a cotton bud to fix up over-zealous or just plain bad makeup application.
The product is very subtly and pleasantly scented with what seems to me to be a “beachy” scent – but then I’m crap at scent descriptions so I wouldn’t pay any attention to that!
At around $12.00 for a generous-sized 125ml bottle, Nivea Daily Essential Extra Gentle Eye Makeup Remover is widely available throughout New Zealand in department stores, pharmacies and supermarkets.
Ingredients: Aqua, Poloxamer 124, PEG-8, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Glycerin, Panthenol, Isosteareth-20,
Steareth-20, Dipotassium Phosphate, Potassium Phosphate, Trisodium EDTA, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Alcohol, Geraniol, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Limonene, Linalool, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Hydroxy-citronellal, Benzyl Salicylate, Parfum. (Note: I couldn’t find an ingredients list online so I typed this up from the back of the bottle. Apologies if there are any mistakes. Also, congratulations on your super reading skills if you did spot any mistakes!)
More Christmas ideas: L'Occitane
L’Occitane is one of the shops that Eccentric English Boyfriend refuses to accompany me into. Apparently the smell gives him a headache. And yes, to enter a L’Occitane shop is to experience olfactory overload.
I’ll quite happily leave EEB outside the store though because I do rather like L’Occitane. I had a hand/body lotion of theirs once which I absolutely loved both for its formula and its scent, plus they have gorgeous packaging.
L’Occitane’s range of gift sets contains something for most tastes, including those perennial favourite scents lavender and rose (both of which I don’t like so please don’t buy them for me!):
Relaxing Lavender Box ($90.00), contains 500ml Lavender Foaming Bath, 100g Lavender Candle and 75g Lavender Soap:
Rose Shower & Body Duo ($72.00), contains 250ml 4 Reines Rose Shower Gel and 250ml 4 Reines Rose Body Lotion:
How about cute stocking stuffers for a little bit of luxury at a budget-friendly price?
Delice des Fruits Perfumed Soap ($8.00):
Delice des Fruits Bath Ball ($6.50):
Something for the men in your life?
Shaving Essential Gift Set ($79.00), contains 150ml Cade Shaving Cream and 75ml Cade After Shave Balm:
Verdon Essentials ($26.00), contains 50ml Verdon Face Wash, 50ml Verdon Shower Gel and 100gm Verdon Soap (Verdon is described as a blend of peppermint, citrus and aquatic notes and while it may be aimed at the guys it sounds like exactly the sort of scent I would love, so feel free to buy this for me!):
And of course you can’t go too wrong with a
nicely presented set of body care products.
Shea Butter Gift Set($123.00), contains 200ml Ultra Rich Body Cream, 150ml Shea Butter Hand Cream and 250g Extra Gentle Milk Soap.
Mini Hand & Foot Kit ($32.00), contains 30ml Shea Butter Hand Cream and 30ml Shea Butter Foot Cream:
L’Occitane can be purchased from their New Zealand website, or from their stores around New Zealand.
So how goes the Christmas shopping pretties? Panicking yet? I know I am!
Natio Travel Essentials Kit
Airline security and carry-on restrictions may be a pain in the patootie for us travellers, but for cosmetics companies it was a bit of a windfall. Suddenly there was a huge market for travel-sized products and now virtually every beauty company offers something designed with the traveller in mind.
Natio’s new offering looks good and seems to be well thought out:
Attractively
packaged with two toiletry bags (a large and a small) there’s a good range of products in there, and the inclusion of the Gentle Cleansing Wipes seems particularly sensible – much easier than faffing around trying to wash off your cleanser in a tiny aircraft bathroom. I also love that they’ve included two empty bottles for you to fill with your own products –
perfect for shampoo and conditioner, or whatever other products you feel are essential for your travelling comfort (I would probably use them for a hand cream/body lotion and a liquid soap for hand washing).
The Natio Travel Essentials Kit is $42.00 from Farmers stores and pharmacies nationwide.
Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes
I’m pretty sure all of us are aware of the importance (both for our skin and our pillowcases) of removing makeup before bed. But if I asked for a show of hands I can guarantee 99.9% of you (myself included) would admit to at least occasionally letting your heads hit the pillow with a full face of slap still on. Because sometimes the multiple steps involved in makeup removal are just a few steps too many at the end of a long day.
This is where makeup removal wipes should be a godsend – take it out of the packet, smoosh it around your face a bit and throw it in the bin. Job done. Except so many of the cleansing wipes I’ve tried (and I’ve tried more than a few of them) have disappointed. Either they’ve moved the makeup around my face instead of actually removing it, made me breakout, left an oily film on my face that required another cleansing step to remove, made my eyes sting something shocking, or smelt so strongly of alcohol that my eyes started to water as soon as I opened the product. Or sometimes all of the above.
Thank goodness
for Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes.
Simple’s ethos is “No perfume, no colour, no unnecessary or harsh chemicals so it won’t upset your skin”, and the first thing you’ll notice about the wipes is that there is very little discernable scent to them. If I try really hard I can detect a not-unpleasant background scent of
what I can only describe as ‘cosmetic ingredients’.
The wipes themselves are a good size and well-moistened, and they do a good job of removing my makeup without having to rub excessively hard at my skin. One wipe will generally suffice on a normal makeup day (which for me is foundation, eye makeup, blusher and gloss). My eye makeup comes off easily without any stinging of my eyes, although I should qualify this by pointing out that I don’t wear waterproof mascara so I can’t vouch for how well these would cope with that. They are advertised as being suitable for waterproof mascara removal.
My skin is left feeling slightly damp after use but not oily, and within a few minutes this has dried without leaving any residue. On the occasions when I’ve made a boo-boo with my makeup application and used these to remove it I’ve been able to re-apply without an extra cleansing step.
Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes have become a standard in my skin care regime. Most nights these are my cleansing step, followed by moisturiser, and my skin has not suffered any negative effects. In fact quite the opposite, they leave my skin feeling cleansed without over-stripping it.
Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes come in packets of 25, and are widely available in department stores, pharmacies and supermarkets around New Zealand. They retail for around $10, and I would advise shopping around as I’ve seen price variations of up to $5 between stores.
Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes ingredients:
Aqua, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Ceteareth-20, Cetearyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Disodium EDTA, Ceteareth-12, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol, Propylparaben, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid
Kimi Organic Hydrating Facial Cream: a review and a chance for you to win!
A little while ago (longer ago than I should admit to, actually), I was contacted by Kim Girbin, the founder of Kimi Organic, a vegan-registered, certified organic skin care range and holistic New Zealand company, who sent me some products to try. I received two full-size bottles of the hydrating facial cream, and a sample each of the body wash and the face wash. I’ll be straight with you – the sample size didn’t really allow me to try the body wash at all (there’s a lot of me), and I rubbed half the face wash into my hair because the hotel I was staying in for work didn’t have any shampoo. What the? Exactly.
So let me talk to you about the facial cream instead. I really like it. Let’s take a look at the ingredients:
Chamomile Extract, Sunflower Oil, Shea Butter, Cetearyl and Sorbitan Olivate, Cetyl Alcohol,Vegetable Glycerine, Fragrance, Macadamia Oil, Avocado Oil, Guar Gum,Potassium Sorbate,Peppermint Essential Oil, Rose Otto. (certified organic ingredients are listed in bold)
I know what all of those things are. I could eat most of those things, so I feel pretty good about putting them on my skin. Although I don’t follow a vegan diet, I like that Kimi Organic is vegan-certified, and I appreciate the straightforward approach of their trees for life programme.
Of course though, what you’re probably wondering
is what the cream is like. Despite ‘frangrance’ being on the list, there’s not really much of a scent to it, which is nice, just a vague suggestion of chamomile tea. It’s a runny consistency, which is fine, and initially when you put it on, your face might feel slick for a minute before it sinks in. But then my face feels impossibly soft, and also at the same time pleasantly tight – which I might put down to the peppermint, although I could of course be talking out of my ass. I feel like it makes my face glow a little. It is a very nice moisturiser to use.
But don’t just take my word for it! Since I got two bottles, I’m going to give one away! Leave us a comment telling us what pretty pretty pretty things you’re going to be asking Santa for this year, and I will draw one winner at random next Friday. Hurray!
Review: Sukin Cream Cleanser
I’m not someone who will buy “natural” skin care for natural’s sake. I think a lot of scare-mongering and making of false claims goes on in order to sell products. I also disagree with the proposition that there is something inherently better or safer about using plant derived ingredients. Botanicals can cause irritation and sensitivity just as synthetics can. Try putting a drop of cinnamon oil on your skin to see what I mean (note: DON’T).
Nor am I opposed to buying “natural” products. If a product meets my requirements–it works, is economical, doesn’t contain animal products, and is enjoyable to use–I’m more than happy to go hippy.
So. I’ve been on the lookout for a water-rinsable cream cleanser for a while now. I’ve mostly used foaming cleansers throughout my life–they seem to be more popular and readily available–but I’m not actually that keen on them. Wetting my face and then dealing with a drippy foamy mess–blurgh. Princess is far too sensitive for that kind of carry-on.
While browsing the Sukin stand at my local pharmacy I came across their Cream Cleanser, whipped out my phone to check the reviews on Makeup Alley, and decided at $10.99 for 125ml it was worth a try.
I apologise for the stock image. Dead battery on my camera.
Love it. I apply it to dry skin, massage around for as long as I can be arsed, and then remove it with a warm muslin cloth or flannel, finishing with a splash or two of water. It can also be removed with cotton wool if you prefer not to, or can’t, use water.
It is fragranced with tangerine, mandarin, lavender, and vanilla oils and smells lovely. The blend is well balanced and not too overpowering. It’s available with either a pump dispenser or a flip-top cap.
One caveat: the only thing I wear on a daily basis is sunscreen, so I don’t know how well this would remove make-up (the reactions on Makeup Alley are mixed on this point).
The Sukin range covers face, body, and hair, and I’m definitely keen to try more of their products.
Illuminate your face, brighten your skin
Don’t you just hate it when a product you love is discontinued?
I’ve never had any special allegiance to a foundation (I like my makeup cheap and cheerful more than luxe) but I used to adore Revlon Skinlights skin brightener.
It was a lot lighter than foundation, being more like a tinted moisturiser. Skinlights gave a glow without being overly sparkly or shiny looking. It was discontinued and I was disgruntled.
But I just saw a Revlon email about a new product called Age Defying Spa Face Illuminator:
Boost natural radiance for a fresh, luminous glow. Light reflecting micronized crystals illuminate on contact. Sheer colour in a lightweight, oil-free formula. SPF 18.
I’m going to check it out and see if it’s the new version of the Skinlights.
Something for those of us who want something less full on than foundation.
Have you tried this new Revlon product?
Any other recommendations for skin brighteners, tinted moisturisers, or something subtle for your face?
Review: Kiehl’s Rare Earth Pore Cleansing Masque
An artsy-fartsy photo of the product:
According to its page on the Kiehl’s site, this stuff:
- Helps eliminate surface impurities and toxins from the skin
- After use, complexion appears fresher and more refined, with visibly minimized pores
- Contains Amazonian White Clay, Oatmeal, and Aloe Vera
By “Amazonian,” Kiehl’s means that the clay is from “the Marajó Island at the mouth of the Amazon River,” and not anything to do with female warriors, I think. Apparently this product also contains bentonite, a “colloidal aluminum silicate clay” that is “found in Canada and the Midwest.” Who knew a face mask could be so international? Let’s take a closer look:
The consistency is similar to really buttery frosting or ganache — substantial stuff that’ll stick immediately to your face so you can put it on and still walk around without dripping on things. This might be significant if you’re into multitasking. The smell is rather unremarkable – mineral-y and a little like wet concrete — so if you’re looking for an aromatherapeutic mask, keep looking. Okay, enough of the chitchat, let’s do this.
A thumb-sized blob was enough to cover my whole face, and there was a stinging sensation that [thankfully] faded into a pleasant tingle. I have sensitive skin, so maybe other users won’t feel it as strongly. Twenty minutes later, the tingle’s gone and it’s difficult to smile. Time to rinse.
In the Kitchen: Vitamin C Serum
Yesterday I donned my Pretty Pretty Pretty lab coat and ventured in to the kitchen to make a batch of vitamin C serum.
I’d seen mention of a home-made version of this serum at a number of places around the internet, and eventually settled on the very simple recipe I found on this natural skincare site (where you can read more on vitamin C in skincare):
- 5ml water
- 1/4 tsp ascorbic acid powder
- 5ml glycerin
After a bit of a wander around various supermarkets and heath food shops in the Hutt, I eventually found the ascorbic acid powder at Commonsense Organics at $20 for a 125g bag. More than I wanted to spend, but at a quarter of a teaspoon per batch it will go a long way (and if it all goes horribly wrong I can take it orally for some extra winter vitamin C). The glycerin I bought from the supermarket for $3.
I first dissolved the ascorbic acid powder in the water in an old amber glass dropper bottle–light degrades vitamin C so clear glass is not suitable for this. It was slow to dissolve so I left it for about an hour–stopping by for the occasional shake–until all the crystals had disappeared. Then I added the glycerin and put it into the fridge.
Come night time I washed my face as usual, put a few drops of the serum onto the palm of my hand, rubbed my hands together to disperse it and then applied it to my face and the backs of my hands. As the mixture is acidic I found it stung a little around my nostrils which are slightly raw at the moment, but other than that I had no reaction (bearing in mind that my skin isn’t sensitive–think more along the lines of the arse-end of a rhino).
I went to bed and all was well and good until I woke up at 3am to the distinctive smell of fake tan. It was coming from the palms of my hands. I didn’t notice any smell from the backs of my hands where I had applied the serum and from what I could tell my face was fine too.
I dozed back off, slightly weirded out, but it wasn’t until about 6am I suddenly connected the smell of fake tan with the possibility of actually being fake tanned. Looking at my palms (after a good wash and a scrub) I think there is definitely some colour visible along the crease lines.
Poor quality photo:
Thankfully my face seems to be its usual pale self. But what happened?
The brief reading I have done online tells me that dihydroxyacetone (DHA)–the component of fake tan that is responsible for turning skin brown and the characteristic smell–is derived via microbial fermentation from glycerol a.k.a. glycerin.
So do I have freaky palms that emit some strange microbial sweat brew in the night? Was my glycerin, ascorbic acid powder, water, or dropper bottle contaminated? I don’t know enough chemistry to know if these are possibilities, but I’m pretty excited to perform round 2 of the experiment tonight to see if I get the same results again!
And I’ll let you know what–if any–effect the vitamin c serum has on my face too.
D5 Creation