bodycare

Today I bring you reviews of products from Neutrogena. Their body products are usually noted for heavy-duty moisture. How would these two fair?

At first, when I tested it on the back of my hand, I thought the consistency might be a little too dense for the whole body and that it might be better suited for particularly dry patches. But it turns out that, for me, it is a good all-over body lotion without making the skin feel greasy or sticky.

It has a rich and densely creamy texture and feels very moisturizing when it goes on. But it spreads easily and absorbs relatively well.

On the whole, this is a competent body lotion with minimal fragrance. Compared with my favorite Dove Body Silk, it feels creamier and more emollient. However, I think the moisture from Dove Body Silk lasts a little longer.

A lot of Neutrogena’s hand creams that I’ve tried have quite a greasy finish. (It seems to be a trade-off regarding some heavy-duty hand creams, and I don’t mind it that much most of the time.) Also, it sometimes seems that most of the emolliency sits on top of the hands and doesn’t sink in any further, and, as soon as it wears off, the hands feel and look dry again.

The Fast Absorbing Hand Cream seems to attempt an improvement. It feels slightly lighter than the other Neutrogena hand creams I’ve tried. While I wouldn’t describe it as “fast absorbing”, it does feel that the emolliency is absorbed a little better. (I always check my cuticle area to see how well the emolliency penetrates.)

However, compared with some of my favorite hand creams (particularly Garnier Hand Cocoon), it is still very similar to other Neutrogena hand creams and is not substantially better. I would probably be more tempted to layer this on top of my usual hand cream before bedtime to help seal the moisture. It would be an extra step that is not really vital.

[By March 31st, with any purchase of Neutrogena product, you can claim a free activity at the Neutrogena website. Promotion is open to UK residents only.]

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The review of Green by Nature Starter Kit has been updated, with details regarding the issue of paraben.

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(SpaSensials Hand & Foot Treatment)
(image from www.spasensials.com)

We are moving into the colder months in many countries. I talked about my favorite body moisturizer earlier this week. Today I am moving to hands and feet.

I always wanted to try moisturizing gloves and wondered what they could actually do. The SpaSensials Hand & Feet Treatment offers the moisturizing gloves I wanted to test out.

They are made with a paper-like material and are designed to be disposable. The gloves are basically dry on the outside (but slightly moist if I squeeze the fabric) and they feel moist and slightly wet (but not sticky) on the inside.

(SpaSensials Moisturizing Gloves)

I wore the gloves and socks for about 20 minutes, as instructed (15 minutes for longer). They did leave the skin lightly moisturized and the moisturizer had a pleasing smell, but I feel that my problem areas, like cuticles and heels, were not effectively tackled by the treatment.

I think these would be good to use before you actually moisture you hands and feet, as they do soften and lightly moisturize the skin, which helps your heavy-duty hand and foot creams absorb better. But, for this purpose, I would simply use a moisturizing masque as a treatment and it would work much better on my problem areas.

But I can see the potential in this type of product. It is fuss-free and I can still, say, flip through magazines during the treatment, whereas I can’t if I have my face moisturizing masque on my hands. I think the key would be to make the gloves and socks fit and adhere to the skin better so the moisturizing ingredients can really get to all the surfaces of the skin. Then we’ll potentially have an all-rounder.

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(From left: Principessa Cattiva Diva Silky Hand Cream
Bacio Me Lip balm,
and Dolce Dreams Whipped Body Lotion)

Principessa is a bodycare line with pink and feminine packaging, which is cute and not overly girlie, and some nice goodies to take care of your body.

Dolce Dream Whipped Body Lotion is my favorite among the three products that I’ve tried. Rich and creamy, it leaves the skin very smooth and moisturized. I also like the fact that, as with the other two products, the Body Lotion is very mildly scented. Unless I am using a body lotion from a fragrance range, I don’t particularly go for the ones with a strong scent. In this case, this one is a great all-rounder for me.

Cattiva Diva Silky Hand Cream has a lighter texture compared with some of my favorite hand creams. But it is pleasantly moisturizing and a little goes a long way. It doesn’t particularly leave the hands greasy so it is something nice to have at the desk.

Bacio Me Lip Balm works very well…on nails and cuticles. Used on the lips, it is greasy and does not absorb well. But I have found that it is a great cuticle moisturizer. I massage it into the nail and cuticle areas right before bedtime. It does leave a slightly greasy film, but I don’t mind it at all. Personally, for a night cuticle treatment, the more emollient the better. The next day, the cuticles look soft, moisturized, and pampered.

If you are looking for body products that moisturize well and look good on the shelves or if you are looking for products that don’t interfere with the fragrances you wear, these items are certainly worth a look.

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(Green by Nature Starter Kit)

Judging by the name of the line, Green by Nature, it seems that it is a line that promotes all-natural ingredients. Indeed, this is one of their claims.

To be more specific, they claim that all their products are 91%- 99.9% natural and 100% paraben, sulfate, and DEA-free.

I have to say I am amazed that they are able to make this claim. It shows that no one is properly regulating the claims that cosmetics companies make.

All the six products in the Green by Nature Starter Kit have propylparaben in the ingredient lists, and five of them also have methylparaben. So none of these six products is paraben-free at all.

Personally, I am not adverse to parabens. Preservatives are essential in preventing bacterial and microbial contaminations in skincare products, especially for those that contain various extracts from natural ingredients. It is much more risky to use a contaminated product than to use one with parabens, which are considered to be less irritating than most other preservatives. Overall, parabens are a necessary evil.

Still, it is far from a precise claim that Green by Nature’s products are 100% paraben-free.

I understand why many people are specifically looking for paraben-free products. If you are one of them, products from Green by Nature are not what you want.

The Green by Nature Starter Kit includes:

Ginger Lemon Body Wash (30g)
Mint Green Tea Body Lotion (30g)
Almond Cocoa Body Butter (20g)
Banana Shea Hand Cream (10g)
Banana Shea Lip Butter (4.25g)
Peppermint Lip Shine (14g)

The ones I like are Mint Green Tea Body Lotion and Almond Cocoa Body Butter. Both leave the skin nicely moisturized. The butter-like texture of Almond Cocoa Body Butter is particularly good for dry patches.

Peppermint Lip Shine includes peppermint oil. While it can have antimicrobial properties, it is also considered to be a skin irritant (which did irritate my lips) and should be avoided in any skincare product.

If you are interested in knowing more about ingredients in cosmetics products, do have a look at these entries and article from Paula Begoun’s website, which quote and eloquently summarize unbiased independent scientific research:

parabens

DEA

preservatives

Updated on December 16, 2008:

After this review went up, I received the latest version of the Green by Nature Starter Kit along with two other tubes of Lip Glaze (formerly named Lip Shine), Cherry Mint and Strawberry Mint. The ingredient lists indicate that all the products are now paraben-free.

Like the Peppermint Lip Shine reviewed above, both Cherry Mint and Strawberry Mint Lip Glaze include peppermint oil, which, as mentioned above, should be avoided in skincare products.

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