The Body Shop Shea Hand Cream 30 ml Review

Ingredients:

Aqua/Water/Eau, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil/Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Sodium Polyacrylate, Parfum/Fragrance, Cetyl Alcohol, Pentaerythrityl Distreate, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Glycine Soja Oil/Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter/Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Myristamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Myristyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Linalool, Coumarin, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Limonene, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Sulfate, Caramel, CI 19140/Yellow 5.

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- The cream leaves a bit silicony feeling, it can't be seen but you can feel it

- Feels like the cream disappears after you put it on: not in a way that it absorbs and moisturizes the skin, it just disappears and soon it feels like you have dry hands again

- The fragrance lingers a lot, unreasonably sweet and strong for a cream like this, I feel like I can't put it on in a bus or a train, in case someone has asthma or something

- EDIT: After writing this review my thumb started to itch very badly and it continued hours, I don't know if Shea Hand Cream is to blame, but I did slather it on my hands very liberally



+ Moisturizes a bit, gives a moment of relief at least

+ Doesn't leave the skin sticky

+ Tube's design is good, easy to get the product out in exact amounts

+ Size is good to carry in a bag (but can you add it on your hands in public anyway?)

* So, this hand cream was a bit of an disappointment. I did try it in the store and there it felt just fine? I think it's so easy to be tricked to buy something when you test things quickly in a busy environment with lots of different smells, not to mention the sales lady hovering over your shoulder

* I'm still not turning against all the Body Shop's hand creams as I haven't tried and compared them

* I'm just puzzled how shea hand cream can be made this bad because shea butter is so wonderful on its own!

Price: 

6.70 €, I think on sale 5 € / 30 ml

Bought from: 

The Body Shop store

Buy again? 

No.

Worth the money? 

No! Overpriced and bad hand cream in general.

L'Occitane Shea Butter 10 ml Review

Ingredients:

Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- The butter is quite thick so you have to dig it with something and then warm it in your fingers before you get it to melt to lips or hands

- So, not very convenient while travelling, after all

- Not hygienic packaging

- A little pricy considering it's only 10 ml



+ Now, that's an ingredient list I like, haha!

+ Excellent for dry lips and cuticles

+ Nice small pot, fits into any pocket or bag

+ No smell, no irritation, no color

+ I do enjoy the feeling of shea butter, more than my previous lip balms

* I was travelling and needed something for my dry lips and ended up buying this small shea butter jar because it was so much cuter than traditional chapstick

* I would like to explore more L'occitane's products but they are not so easy to get, I have to either travel on purpose to another city or order online

Price: 

About 8 € / 10 ml

Bought from: 

Cruise ship

Buy again? 

Maybe! I could try other shea butter products too.

Worth the money? 

A bit pricy but the pot lasts forever for the purposes I got it for. So for me it's perfect to have small pots as I can finish them by best before dates.

Max Factor CC Color Correcting Cream SPF 10 Review

Ingredients:

Cyclopentasiloxane, Aqua, Glycerin, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Talc, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Water, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Chloride, Niacinamide, Diethylhexyl Carbonate, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Propylene Glycol, PEG/PPG-18/18 dimethicone, Hydrogenated jojoba oil, Citric Acid, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Juice, Bisabolol, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Panthenol, Allantoin, Tocopheryl Acetate, BHT, Aluminum hydroxide, Dimethicone, Lactic Acid, PEG-10 Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Methicone, Trideceth-9, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Parfum, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Eugenol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Linalool

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- Strong fragrance

- I think when sweating, it turned patchy

- Layering or mixing with other creams didn't work well, started to turn patchy at some point ( I tried to fix the color little because I tanned for summer)

- I think the reason I didn't finish the last drops of the Max Factor CC cream tube was the color that was not quite right as I got tanned and undertone wasn't yellow enough for me, also I favored the consistency of Lumene CC Cream that was more liquid



+ I quite liked this CC cream! It's been a while I used it of course, but I remember, it was an easy choice in the morning

+ Quite natural, powdery finish, very good for oily skin

+ Good staying power, especially with powder (that I used to use everyday)

+ I think I layered the cream successfully on my problem areas and it covered redness and pimples well

+ I don't think the cream ever caused me any problems skin wise but I have always had acne so it would've been impossible to tell anyway, but I would remember if it would've made me even more oily or dry

+ Good that it has even a little SPF because I didn't use any sunscreen before, so a little is more than none!

* So, this CC cream is not apparently available anymore, I just found the quite empty tube in my stash and want to add it to my notebook if it's going to be useful for buying new cc creams in the future

* I remember I bought it when all the bb and cc creams were a new thing and every brand seemed to put out one

* I could repurchase Max Factor's CC cream if it still existed. I'll have to take a look if they have a new line or something, I'm so out of the loop!

* The ingredients I found on cosdna with the name "Max factor cc cream" from 2016 so I hope they are the correct ones. Why is it so impossible to find ingredients for products, I just ask? No reviews ever mention them, not brand's own site, not the resellers!

Price: 

Probably 10-15 € / 30 ml?

Bought from: 

Supermarket?

Buy again? 

Impossible! Discontinued.

Worth the money? 

Yes, I think so even though I didn't quite finish it. But it was my own fault for getting the wrong shade.

Lavera Illuminating Eye Cream 15 ml Review

Ingredients:

Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Alcohol*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil*, Dodecane, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice*, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Mica (CI 77019), Fragrance (Parfum)**, Tocopheryl Acetate, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract*, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Extract*, Caffeine*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Xylitylglucoside, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Dehydroxanthan Gum, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Lactate, Glucose Glutamate, Anhydroxylitol, Xylitol, Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Silica, Cichorium Intybus (Chicory) Root Extract, Algae, Magnesium Gluconate, Maltose, Hydrolyzed Pearl, Iron Oxide (CI 77491), Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Sterols, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Linalool**, Limonene**, Citronellol**, Citral**, Geraniol**, Benzyl Benzoate**

* ingredients from certified organic agriculture

** from natural essential oils

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- Irritates my eyes and eye area slightly, enough that it's uncomfortable to use

- The brightening effect... yes, instant white bling bling for your dark circles so that they are even more visible, I feel!

- Also makes me look sick

- Didn't notice any change in my small lines around eyes, then again couldn't really use this product every day or for too long because of the irritation (I think I tried only for a couple of weeks)

- I tried to use this product as a highlighter on my cheeks as well (:D) but it turned cakey and flaky in hours, I don't know it does the same for eyes as I used this only during nights because of the bling

- The fragrance lingers a bit

- When I just tried this product on the back of my hand, it feels tight, unpleasant, no wonder my eyes didn't like it either, see there's alcohol on the ingredient list! The tightness on my hand hasn't disappeared in ten minutes



+ Maybe they have intended that this product is used with foundation or concealer on top of it so that it doesn't look so bad?

+ It certainly does what it says: "instant bright and radiant eyes"

+ The eye cream does moisturize, I'll give it that, it saved my dry eyes after some clay mask sessions when it was impossible to get the mask off and it got into my eyes as well (I'm looking at you, Elizavecca Bubble Clay Mask!)

+ Also the irritation is usually gone the next morning when I put this in the evening, but sometimes not, and even my eye discharge felt like it hurt and there was more of it than usual

+ It's quite light cream

+ It does have a smell but it's not too overpowering, like candy, licorice...?

+ Not sticky either, smooth finish

+ I don't remember getting milia or anything from this cream

* I bought Lavera's Illuminating Eye Cream on a whim while buying groceries because well, I wanted! The packaging was pretty! Pink! Pearls! Organic cosmetics! Back then I didn't look at ingredients and didn't do research of products

* Well, my eye area seems to be very sensitive and since this product I haven't dared to put anything there and I'm struggling to find something I even want to try

* I suppose I had this idea that organic cosmetics are less irritating or something but I have learned my lesson, look at all the oils and extracts and alcohol!

* I'm starting to doubt that I'm sensitive to sodium hyaluronate (in large quantities) as well but it's too early to go make assumptions... particularly because it's not supposed to irritate? Quite the contrary

Price: 

I think 15-17 € / 15 ml

Bought from: 

Supermarket

Buy again? 

No.

Worth the money? 

Absolutely not, at least with that ridiculous mark up that I paid because it was an impulse purchase! For someone who wants the illuminating effect and has a skin and eyes that can handle anything, maybe? This product is not for sensitive people.

Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water Dry & Sensitive Skin 400 ml Review

Ingredients:

Aqua/Water, Glycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Disodium Edta, Poloxamer 184, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- Took 3 cotton pads to remove everything from face, not including eye make-up, and at that point my skin felt a little irritated by all the swiping even though I tried to be gentle

- I feel like it doesn't remove eye makeup well

- I don't enjoy the feeling it leaves on the skin: it's not sticky or anything, just a little... well, I can feel it so I want to rinse my face with water anyway

- The bottle says that the product is good 6 months after opening, that's not a very long time for such a big bottle (400 ml)!



+ Doesn't dry my skin, leaves it soft

+ Cheap, I use this on my body too

+ The bottle cap is nice and functional, easy to open with one hand

+ Doesn't irritate

+ Not fragranced

+ Nice to decant for travelling, temporarily might be just and just enough to take care of all the cleansing needs for a couple of days without skin getting crazy

+ Excellent for wiping my sweaty face, neck and decollete after a workout or a jog quickly so that I don't have to immediately wash and do all of my routine (usually I'm so dead that I just want to sit for a while!)

* My first micellar water, ever! I did buy micellar cleansing gel earlier because I just got too curious about this miracle invention

* If I had to choose between micellar water and micellar cleansing gel, I think I would take the gel... but I live in a perfect world and I can have both

* I don't have much to say about it, yes, it's micellar water, no, it doesn't ruin my skin, yes, it cleanses, no it's not mandatory to have it in your routine but worth testing if you want to have it

Price: 

About 7 € / 400 ml

Bought from: 

Can get it everywhere

Buy again? 

Positive maybe! Why not yes, though? Because I want to explore other options and have bought the micellar water by Simple recently as well. 

Worth the money? 

Absolutely, the bottle is huge and I feel guilt-free using it everywhere and all the time.

Wishlist 2017

Needs

Most of the things I have "needed" in the past have actually been wants. Strangely, the older I get (and my skin) the focus has shifted into actual needs. It's not all new blushers (I NEED ORANGE) or eyeshadows (THIS PALETTE IS SO PRETTY) or lipstick (MAYBE THIS TIME IT LASTS WHOLE DAY: LOOK AT THE COMMERCIAL!). I still find those old palettes in my stash. Some of them, barely even used. Such a waste.

* Winter is coming. I need at least a good sleeping mask now that The Body Shop's Bouncy Sleeping Mask finally has ended. I did think about Cosrx Honey & Rice masks but I haven't had very good experiences with their products plus I've heard those two break out people a lot, so I'm not taking the risk at the moment. I ordered a sample of cult favorite Laneige Water Sleeping Mask just because I want to know if there is something behind the hype.

* Eye cream. I have started to have fine lines around my eyes. Also, surprisingly, even dryness. I feel hesitant about putting face creams on my eye area or anything for that matter. I would like to have something very light, like a serum. Something very basic with a short ingredient list preferably.

* I'm still in search of that perfect face sunscreen that dries fast, works under make up, doesn't pill, doesn't have too much alcohol or chemical filters, doesn't have a white cast/only unnoticeable white cast and isn't too thick or smelly or uncomfortable.

* Foundation or CC cream or BB cream, something very light and serum-like again. As I find more suitable skincare products for my face, I'm starting to get a feeling that actually my beloved and trusted CC cream and CC powder are clogging my pores... nothing major but noticeable as my skin gets worse everytime I wear make-up nowadays. Urgh! Doesn't happen with only sunscreen.



Wants/Curious

Now, my wants section. Quite often wants are something I nowadays don't act upon, but ask and get as gifts if there is an occasion. Or I buy when I see a really good discount. Or when I'm travelling and just want to splurge... I will update this list probably quite often, because my wants are changing continually! Also things that I am curious about but not sure if want quite yet.

* Some combined strobing/contouring palette. Or some highlighters.

* Lumene INVISIBLE ILLUMINATION VALOPISARAT Midnight Sun

* Missha Time Revolution Night Repair Borabit Ampoule 50ml

* TOSOWOONG Enzyme Powder Wash (Enzyme Cleanser) 70g

* Missha 2017 All-around Safe Block Essence Sun SPF45 PA+++ 50ml

* Skin Watchers Ceramizing Cream 50ml

* Beauty of Joseon Dynasty Cream

* Leejiham LJH Tea Tree 90 Cream

* LJH Propolis Ampoule

* Skin Aqua UV Moisture Milk

* Biore SARASARA UV Mild Care Milk Sunscreen 120ml SPF30 PA++ for Face and Body

* ETUDE House Sunprise Mild Airy Finish Sun Milk SPF50+ / PA+++

* CIRACLE Anti-Redness K Cream

* Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner

 * Etude House Moistfull Collagen line

* The Body Shop BRITISH ROSE PETAL-SOFT GEL TONER

* Japanese sunscreens in general

* Rosette Ceramide Gel

* Hadalabo products

* Son&Park Beauty Water

* Some basic liptint

The Ordinary Advanced Retinoid 2% 30ml Review

Ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Ethyl Linoleate, Propanediol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Bisabolol, Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate, Retinol, Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract, Inulin Lauryl Carbamate, Glyceryl Stearate, Ceteareth-12, Ceteareth-20, Cetearyl Alcohol, Carrageenan, Xanthan gum, Acacia Senegal Gum, Cetyl Palmitate, Sucrose Laurate, Polysorbate 20, Isoceteth-20, Behentrimonium Chloride, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Disodium EDTA, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzoic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin.

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- I think after 5-6 weeks it was finally time for me to give up on this product: it is most likely one (biggest) culprit for my increased acne

- Just guessing here, maybe it's the use of carrageenan and other questionable ingredients, the list is too long for me to draw conclusions

- Not for sensitive and acne prone skin, I think

- You have to take care of the bottle and preferably keep it out of light and in a cool place (it's packaged in a brown protective bottle already)



+ As for the positives, this serum doesn't irritate or itch or tickle at all

+ Absorbs and dries fast

+ Doesn't make skin dry ( MAP 10% made it feel drier)

+ Didn't pill under other products, didn't foam or anything else weird

+ For me, I barely noticed any smell at all (everytime someone comments that the product smells like butt or petrol I just can't smell them!!! But when it comes to flowery grandma fake perfume smells, I'm sensitive as hell)

+ In the beginning, weeks 1-2 I could see improvement in my skin, it looked more even (I even wrote a routine post about that because I was impressed)

+ The cost for the bottle is so low that it's not a huge loss to try it and then toss it

+ Bottle is easy to use and you get the amount you want (a couple of drops)

* Yes, I did notice almost immediately after dropping this serum that my skin got better, then I tested in one more time a week later and next day I had gotten more deep pimples, how nice

* It's very evil to have a product like this when in the beginning you are happy with the results and everything's going smoothly, then you start having small bumps and you think "oh so this is purging" and you go on, then you get more bumps, more pimples, big pimples, break outs where you're not supposed to have them (cheeks)

* Of course maybe I did use the product too often (every other day at some point) so that's purely my own fault, but it just didn't feel like it was irritating or drying my skin at all, also my skin hasn't gotten dehydrated/overexfoliated at all. Still it's possible I did the damage myself by using the product more than once a week or something and I'm not keen on trying it the third time now. Learning experience!

* I still have scars from the acne but my skin is much, much better right now, it has taken 6 weeks to heal to this point but every day the situation is better

* Maybe I'm not ready for a retinoid product yet, idk, there's not really hurry to use all the anti-aging things on the market but I have understood that retinoids are the most important ones, backed by science

* Maybe I will still try Granactive Retinoid in Squalane, it's ingredient list is a lot shorter but it has jojoba seed oil which may or may not clog my pores

Price: 

9.80 € / 30 ml

Bought from: 

The Ordinary website

Buy again? 

No.

Worth the money? 

Yes, if you're not a) as sensitive as I am and b) you use it perhaps more correctly. I did like the results in the beginning and the bottle will last ages.

Etude House Sunprise Mild Perfect Relief SPF 30 PA++ 50 ml Review

Ingredients:

Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Zinc Oxide (Ci 77947), Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Cyclohexasiloxane, Propanediol, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Lauryl Peg-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Silica, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Aluminum Stearate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramide 3, Corylus Avellana (Hazel) Bud Extract, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Leaf Extract, Juglans Regia (Walnut) Leaf Extract, Tremella Fuciformis (Mushroom) Extract, Betula Alba Bud Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Bud Extract, Glycerin, Glyceryl Caprylate, Nylon-12, Maltodextrin, Butylene Glycol, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Sodium Chloride, Acrylates/Stearyl Methacrylate Copolymer, Alumina, Ethylhexylglycerin, Xanthan Gum, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Disodium Edta, Fragrance

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- Smells strongly like plastic or some cleaning product and it lingers

- Feels like it leaves a film on face, I can feel it throughout the day

- Leaves very slightly sticky, shiny-ish skin (but not greasy)

- Leaves a noticeable white cast

- Thick paste, thickest of all sunscreens I have tried so far for my face

- Needs quite a lot of care to pat it into skin

- Just overall not a pleasant product



+ Didn't break me out (physical sunscreen) EDIT: A bit pore clogging though if on my face for longer than 10 hrs

+ Actually skin felt quite calm when/after using it

+ Sticks to skin like glue, I can't sweat it off (even washing it off takes time)

+ The ingredients are not turning up any red flags for irritations, acne or safety

+ Actually works really nicely under make-up! Didn't pill and nothing separated or moved during the day.

* I kept comparing Etude House's Sunprise Mild Perfect Relief to Tosowoong Soft Touch I used earlier, they both are physical sunscreens, cost about the same (Soft Touch slighly more because the tube is only 45 ml), leave the same kind of white cast and slightly sticky skin, but Soft Touch feels more moisturizing, is easier to spread to skin, doesn't smell so bad, and doesn't feel like there's a film all day. Etude House is however more calming sunscreen.

* Still, Mild Perfect Relief is not a bad product, don't get me wrong, I am going to use it to the end now that I have it and it's not causing my skin to react in any negative way.

* However I think I use it only on the days I'm at home or for a jog outside, for a normal day I would have to put so much foundation to hide the whiteness and my face would feel like it has a plastic cover.

Price: 

10.18 USD / 50 ml

Bought from: 

Jolse

Buy again? 

No. (Maybe if I need a primer and all other primers break me out.)

Worth the money? 

Only if this is the only product that doesn't make you break out. The white cast, plastic smell and feel and thickness - yikes. There are lots of other sunscreens in the same price range and I would think there are many that are more comfortable to use.

EDIT in March 2018: Now that I have finally finished Mild Perfect Relief, I can appreciate it in a different way. No, I still don't like it as a sunscreen, but if you think it as a primer with SPF, it's great. It works with every foundation I have, it smoothes the skin, looks quite natural, lasts all day. Dries 5 minutes tops and you're ready to add make-up. The only catch is that you apply it a very thin layer and pat it very evenly. You still can "feel" the layer on your skin but it's not that suffocating. Even the thin layer leaves the white cast, but it's ok because I will add the foundation. So, it's worth it as a primer and used like that, lasts forever! However a real primer probably works better, but it all depends on the product.

Pore Shrinking Method Review

I remember coming across interesting article by fiftyshadesofsnail.com about pore shrinking method/getting rid of sebaceous filaments very early when I started to google skincare stuff. I didn't have any products back then that I could've tried it with and then later, I didn't dare because my skin has been through a rollercoaster by trying so many new things.

But I decided that today is the day I test it. Some people say it works, some say it doesn't, some get overexfoliated, some do it every week, some once a month...

So I thought to document my own thoughts about this method and if I find it useful for me. My pores are a bit bigger than normal I would say but I don't think they are extremely clogged as I've been using konjac sponge, acids and this Elizavecca clay mask for a while.

I only treated my T-area as that is where my sf problem is and I don't want to dry out my cheeks.I did this in the morning. I didn't use any exfoliators the day before. All in all it took about an hour to go through to all the steps + the usual skincare after it. I did not use another cleanser after cleansing oil as the oil I used doesn't leave residue and I worried about this method drying my skin.


Products I used:

The Ordinary Salicylic Acid Solution 2% for 20 min

Elizavecca Milky Piggy Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask for 6 min (washing off 5 min)

Tosowoong Apricot Cleansing Oil for 15 min (massage and washing off 3 min)

(Followed by TO's Buffet and Niacinamide + Zinc, Scinic Honey AIO, Missha Madecanol Cream and Tosowoong Soft Touch Sun Cream)



The results:


Did this pore shrinking method make my skin dry?

Yes, somewhat. Horribly dry? No, not at all, but still I can feel it.


Did I get grits?

Haha. I got one that was very small. Honestly, wasn't expecting to get them a lot, but still I thought I would get at least a couple more. However I got some grits in the beginning when I started using oil cleansing method daily (over a half a year ago?) so maybe the rest just are stuck forever or need stronger BHA.


Do my pores look smaller now?

More refined I would say! Not really smaller or "emptied". I would not be able to tell the difference if I hadn't taken some photos right before and after, and after changed immediately when I put my usual products on my face. It made the more refined pores look... almost normal again.


Other benefits?

When putting my products on after, they all sink in super fast. I felt like they barely touched my skin and they had disappeared already, I had to put more! Skin felt softer than usual to touch after putting my normal skincare products (before these products skin felt "normal", not smooth but not dry or patchy either). The clay mask calmed down the redness a little too.


Would I do this again?

Maybe. It does leave the skin very clean feeling, not squeaky clean though. It didn't destroy my skin. Takes a bit of time.


What would I do differently?

I think I must be missing something. Should I maybe have a stronger BHA or let some of the products sit longer? Maybe hydrate my skin more after? Experiment with different products, different clay mask?


Would I recommend trying the method?

It's up to you! Try and see if it works for you. I think it works miracles only if it is clearly noticeable that you have big pores, you can feel the blackheads/sebaceous filaments and you haven't exfoliated much before. For other people it is an exfoliating step that could be potentially drying and probably could be done in different way and the result would be the same (using BHA continually every other day with shorter wait time and once a week a clay mask, for example).

The Face Shop Rice Cleansing Oil 150 ml Review

Ingredients:


Isopropyl Myristate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate, Polyglyceryl-10, Diisostearate, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Water/Eau, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract, Saponaria Officinalis Leaf Extract, Parfum/Fragrance, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Hydroxycitronellal, Limonene, Linalool

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- Stings and irritates my eyes so badly

- Highly fragranced, not pleasant

- Difficult to wash off, takes a lot of time: when water is applied, no matter the amount, it sticks to the skin

- It is a must to use another cleanser after this oil, because it just won't budge and leaves residue!

- Doesn't emulsify beautifully or fast

- I'm not sure if this cleansing oil is breaking me out a little too, but if it is it's very minor

- The bottle design is bad, it squirts the product everywhere, you have to be careful with it

- I didn't get any grits while massaging



+ Nice liquidy consistency straight out from the bottle, the slip on the face while massaging is great, no need to tug your skin or use a huge amount of oil

+ Price point is good

+ Oil lasts long because you don't need very much of it (1-2 pumps)

+ Well, the pink bottle and liquid look very attractive

* I think if  The Face Shop's Rice Cleansing Oil would've been my first cleansing oil experiment it also would've been the last and only one

* I just can't wrap my head around the hype about this product, why is it so popular everywhere? There's nothing good about it except the slip?

* Tosowoong's Apricot Cleansing Oil is superior compared to Rice Cleansing Oil: it smells nice, doesn't irritate eyes, emulsifies fast and easy, doesn't leave residue, is just as affordable

* But for actually cleansing the skin in the end, The Face Shop and Tosowoong are similar and okay, not that good for eye make-up I would say

* I suppose rice water/extract has some brightening results for some people but I don't think I'm one of them

* I have used maybe 1/5 of the bottle and still just dislike it everyday

* I made everything sound like it's a terrible product and doesn't work for anyone but you know, it's not unusable and doesn't wreak a havoc on my skin so that's quite well already (for someone with problem skin)

Price: 

USD 10.18

Bought from: 

Jolse

Buy again? 

Absolutely not. I'm trying to figure out if I suffer through the whole bottle or if I can give it to someone!

Worth the money? 

Sadly, even with the low price, I don't think so as it's so unpleasant to use. It does last a long time and is maybe worth a try if you're just interested in trying different things. I would not recommend it for a sensitive skin though.