Our Cosmetic Experience

I am going to come back to our ancestry stories soon, right now I need to catch up with my other series posts.

Here is another entry on the cosmetics we tried. I am planning to write about a product/cosmetic once only, even if we like it and buy it more often.

Body care
The cleansing liquid by Cetaphil is fragrance-free and did not cause any skin irritations. However, it is not my favorite body cleanser as it makes my skin feel the same as if I used regular soap - dry and stripped of lipid surface. On the other hand, that cleanser is a good option if you need to replace soap with a milder product considering washing some more delicate body parts or just hand and face.

Would we buy it again? Maybe

Bath salt
The size of the Epsom salt bag was very convenient and pouring the right amount of the salt into the bath was very easy.
Epsom salt makes a bath a relaxing experience. It helps to relax tired muscles and refreshes the skin. Another factor which I find very important is: the salt does not affect the PH of the skin and the intimate body parts as many bubble bath liquids do. Epsom salt cannot be used by everybody - always read the about the product provided by the manufacturer.

More about Epsom salt in my other post.

Would we buy it again? 👍

Body wash by Rossmann
When I lived in Poland, I often purchased cosmetics at Rossmann drug stores. I liked the store brands, its quality and the prices at the store as well. Isana is of their brands too. I got the body wash during our last visit in Poland. It was great - creamy and of rather thick consistency (which made it very efficient). And it smelled so nice - like a bunch of flowers. I liked the flowery pattern on the bottle as well. If I could, I would have bought more cosmetics at Rossmann. Unfortunately, it was not possible - when we were coming back home, my suitcase was filled up to its limits and nothing more could be possibly packed in it.

The body wash by Isana contains Magnolia Liliflora extract.

Would we buy it again? 👍

Leg care

My calves love that horse-chestnut based gel. It improves the blood circulation in varicose veins, makes them less visible. The gel relaxes the tired legs as well. Its fragrance is delicate yet pleasant. When I lived in Poland I always applied some gel with horse-chestnut extract on my calves - morning and evenings.  My legs were fine as my calves did not hurt thanks to the treatment. The thing is this kind of gel is very popular in Poland, available in different versions by different brands.

When I moved to Texas, I tried to find a similar product but, regrettably, nothing like that chestnut extract based gel was available here. That was one of the things on my shopping list when we were in Poland again. I am glad I finally got it! The box was quite big (it contained320g of the product - which was a lot). Wish it had been bigger and lasted much longer than four months.

Besides horse-chestnut extract, rutin is one of the gel ingredients.

Would we buy it again? 👍

Our Cosmetic Experience: January and February

In January and February, we emptied quite a few cosmetic containers.

⓵ Body care: Aloe Fresh Moisturizing Body Lotion - another body lotion by Dermasil.

I really liked it. It has a pleasant, light scent (vanilla + Rosa Damascena?). The lotion formula is creamy and rich, rather thick but not greasy at all. It spreads on the skin evenly. I used the product after showering - the moisturizing agents of the lotion made the skin of my body finely hydrated. I also applied it to my feet and I loved how soft and gentle they felt then.

The lotion ingredients which I liked best:

• Sunflower seed oil,
• Aloe Vera leaf juice,
• Borago officinalis seed oil,
• Sweet almond oil,
• Sandalwood oil,
• Rosa Damascena extract,
• Vanilla Planifolia fruit extract.

Our Pros:
- fast absorbing moistens dry skin well,
- pleasant scent,
- non-greasy,
- paraben free,
- not tested on animals,
- affordable price

The tube contained 10z / 296 ml of the lotion. Quite a lot of good stuff for a low price.

Would we buy it again? Yes 👍

⓶ Body care: Oil of Life Sensitive Skin Body Wash - rather creamy but a bit watery at the same time. The latter was rather disappointing and made the wash not efficient. It did not foam much but cleaned my skin well. A positive thing was that the body wash did not dry my skin, the creamy side of the formula seemed to give the skin a kind of moisturizing protection.

My favorite ingredients of the Oil of Life Sensitive Body Wash:

• Soybean oil,
• Shea butter.

The bottle contained 15 oz/444 ml of the body wash.

⓷ Hair care: Herbal Essences Color Me Happy Hair Conditioner

My favorite ingredients of the conditioner:

• Rosa Centifolia flower extract,
• Passiflora fruit extract,
• Corn Silk extract.

I used to have the shampoo from the same Herbal Essences series. I loved the rosy scent of both products. The conditioner made my hair soft and fluffy. After the hair wash + using the conditioner + drying my hair with a towel, I was able to comb and style my hair easily The strands were soft,  fluffy and they looked fresh. All in all, it made me and my colored hair happy.

Would I buy it again? Yes 👍

⓸ Face care: Daily facial Moisturizer by Cetaphil 👍

It is a very light face cream with SPF 15. It is fragrance-free which is a reason my damaged facial nerve tolerates it *. The cream does not clog pores, it slightly hydrates the skin. However, sometimes it seemed the moisturizing effect was not long lasting enough for my dry skin. I think the cream will be a good summer face care option. On hot days my face needs much lighter creams than in the wintertime. The face cream worked well as a makeup base. Since it is one of the very few face care products which I can actually use on my entire face, I am certainly going to buy it and use it again

* It means I can apply the cream to both sides of my face and no painful reaction to the cosmetic.

⓹ Hand care: Udderly Smooth Hand Cream

I wrote about it in that post. A good hand care product, improving the condition of the dry skin

⓺ Body care: Belle D'Opium perfumed body lotion was part of a cosmetic set, accompanied by body wash and Belle D'Opium Eau de parfum.

The lotion was light but it nourished/moistened the body really well. The fragrance, when spread all over my body was strong enough not to use the regular Eau de parfum afterward.

 ⓻ Foot care: Gold Bond Ultimate Softening Foot Cream

We bought the cream being encouraged by a sample of another Gold Bond product which we had happened to receive.
The cream softens and nourishes the skin = improves its condition. It enveloped my feet like a soft shawl. Pleasant scent.

My favorite ingredients:

• matricaria flower extract,
• lavender extract,
• acacia flower extract,
• rosemary leaf extract,
• urea,
• panthenol

Would we buy it again? Yes 👍

⓼ Face care accessory: Clarisse Cotton Rounds made of 100% cotton. 

This kind of product is something which I use almost every day - a little but necessary item. I must admit, the rounds helped remove eye and face makeup very efficiently. They absorbed the makeup removal products and tonic well enough to finely support the skin cleansing. All in all, good quality product.

Would I buy it again? Yes 👍

⓽ Hand care: Oriflame Diamonds & Pearls Hand Soap

The soap was a gift from my dear friend in Poland. When I lived in the country, I used to purchase Oriflame cosmetics (they originate in Sweden). I liked their face care and makeup items.

The soap bar smelled nice and felt very creamy on hands during washing them. It seemed more like a balm than a soap. Tiny pieces of mica were part of the soap formula. Although it did not foam much, it cleansed the hands well. I liked washing my hands with the soap bar. I wish the Oriflame products were available here (for the same price/prices as in Europe).

⓾ Expired -Throw Away Item

When I bought the hair conditioner, I was pleased with its quality and hair volumizing properties. I wrote more about the product here. I used it from time to time but the size of the bottle appeared to be too big for me and my short/medium length hair. The conditioner expired and became not good before I managed to reach the bottom of the container (20 oz/ 591ml).

Would I buy it again? Yes, but then I would need to use it very regularly to avoid the throwaway option.

Our Cosmetic Experience: December

This year I am going to write more about the cosmetics which have used/tried. Some people call it a 'bottom project' but since the word 'bottom' has different meanings in English, I call my post series 'Our Cosmetic Experience'. To be more specific, every month, having emptied a container/containers of a certain product/products, I am planning to tell you what we think about them - what our opinion about them is (some products are consulted by my husband as well).

Please, take note that our opinion on the cosmetics is influenced by our personal skin/beauty profiles. You can check out my cosmetic profile here. 

The first post of that kind is connected with the three types of balm which we finished using Last December.

1.  I have already written about the hand cream by Neutrogena. Its rich formula helps the very dry, cracked and rough skin. The cream consistency looks more like a transparent gel to me. It is quite quickly absorbed by the very dehydrated skin. My hands are only a bit on the dry side so, every time when I needed to use the hand cream, I only applied a little of it. Otherwise, my hands were covered with a sticky film of the cosmetic, which I did not like. It all made the cream very efficient and last really long.
This kind of hand cream brings relief to the hands if they happened to be exposed to the cold winter weather conditions.

 The tube contains 2 oz/56g of the hand cream

Price:  $3.96 at Walmart*

$4.99 at Walgreens*

* online stores prices 

Our pros
- good for very dry and cracked skin - improves its condition,
- efficient,
- unscented,
- good price.

Would we buy it again? I do not know.

2. We happened to receive the sample of Gold Bond Ultimate Hydrating Lotion when we purchased a totally different item.

I could see it was a 'for man' product but I wanted to try it too. As soon as I spread it on my hands, I could smell a pleasant, cologne-like fragrance. At the same time, I thought to myself: ' What a nice, manly scent!'. Apart from that, I could see how nice it felt on the skin as well.

The lotion has a smooth consistency which spreads on the skin easily and evenly. The lotion is quickly absorbed as well. After the application, the skin appears smoother and pleasantly hydrated.

The lotion smells really manly/fine but (unfortunately to me) it defines the cosmetic as a man's body care item.

According to the information on the tube, the lotion can be used as body, hands and face moisturizer. We did not try it on the face, though.

What I found interesting

The formula of Gold Bond Ultimate Hydrating Lotion is enriched with:

• glyceryl stearate - which gives the skin smoothness and softness,
• dimethicone - skin conditioning agent,
• aloe barbadensis leaf juice,
• hydrolyzed rice proteins,
• silk amino acids,
• panthenol,
• hydrolyzed jojoba esters,
• magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (Vitamin C),
• tocopheryl acetate (Vitamin E acetate),
• glycerin.

All in all, we liked the sample so we bought a regular size of the Lotion.

The tube contained 0.75 oz/21 g  of the body lotion

3. Dermasil Body Balm - we like it. I used it to treat my hands and feet as well. The opening of the tube is big enough, which makes the dosage of the lotion really convenient. The formula of the cream is rather thick but soft as well. However, while applying it, sometimes I had a feeling the lotion spread not evenly on the skin of my body so I had to reapply it. Regrettably, it made the lotion last shorter.

On the other hand, I really like some of the lotion ingredients:

• sunflower seed oil,
• geranium maculatum oil,
• lecithin,
• borago officinalis (starflower) seed oil,
• ascorbyl palmitate - a fatty acid obtained from ascorbyl acid/Vitamin C,
• sweet almond oil,
• sandalwood oil,
• rosa damascena extract,
• vanilla planifolia fruit extract.

 All in all, good quality considering a very low price.

 The tube contained 10 oz/296 ml  of the body lotion

Price: $1 at Dollar Tree

Our pros:

- paraben free,

- good for dry skin - body, hands and feet, 

- hypoallergenic,

- inexpensive.

 

 Would we buy it again? Yes.