Review: philosophy purity made simple cleanser

I'm sure many of you have heard about Philosophy's Purity Made Simple cleanser, right? It's been a huge hit recently and was the Best of Sephora Winner 2008! I purchased mine during Black Friday sales (so long ago!) from Sephora for $10. Good deal right? Mine is a 12 fl.oz. version (or 360 ml), but usually they are available in 3, 8, 16, 24 fl.oz.

The Purity Made Simple cleanser is supposed to "melt away dirt, oil, and makeup," in addition to tone and lightly hydrate the skin. The cleanser is made for all skin types. Unfortunately, when I purchased this product, I didn't notice that it contains parabens and imidazolidinyl urea--two ingredients that can cause irritations and allergic reactions in some people... This ingredients list seems to contradict Philosophy's claim that "purity is natural."  

 

MY OPINION

The cleanser does what it says. It's a good cleanser that helps keep my skin clean, soft, and moisturized. The scent is also very pleasant and relaxing~ It also removes sunscreen well, but unfortunately it doesn't remove make up (BB creams) quite so well. ///random insert --> this winter break, I wanted to try using make up, so I also tested this cleanser on the BB creams, but sadly, my skin didn't feel so clean afterwards. I ended up washing my face twice.../// The cleanser also doesn't keep my acne at bay.

When I'm not using makeup--which is most of the time--the cleanser seems to work well. So if you don't tend to use make up, you might like this cleanser. The good thing is that this 12 fl.oz. bottle will last a long time--my sister and I have been using this bottle for a month now and we've only used 1/3 of it. 

Overall, this cleanser is okay. Sadly it doesn't match it's reputation.

Overall rating:     

Packaging: N/A

Ease of use:     

Effectiveness:     

Ingredients:      (CosDNA)

Hygiene:     

Where to find this product?
*prices compare 8 fl.oz.
Sephora - $24.00
DrugStore - $24.00
Amazon - $21.25

My skin care routine 2014

Hello everyone! I finally decided to a "routine" post. I want to share with you all some of the products I use to take care of my skin. So, these are mini-reviews of FOUR products~

Proactiv (left three bottles); Obligé milk cleanser (right)

Left 3: Proactiv

I'm sure lots of you heard of Proactiv before. It's mainly known as a product line for those suffering from acne. Although my acne isn't severe, I still wanted to try it, because there was a $14 deal that came with a trial size cleanser, toner, treatment, moisturizer, and a proactiv deep cleansing brush. I thought it might be worth the money to try. My little bit of facial acne wasn't going away, so I wanted to purchase a product targeting acne anyways.

I actually received this product a couple weeks before I left for China (middle of August). I've been using the set relatively regularly--at least once a day, at night. Proactiv doesn't make my acne magically disappear, but it does help make it a little less severe and red. 

One point to mention: I really like the cleanser (step 1), because it has tiny exfoliating beads, which helps remove dead skin cells and makes my skin feels very clean~ Nevertheless, don't try to rub the beads too harshly against your skin...it hurts >__<

Another point: I wouldn't use Proactiv after exercising. My face gets very sensitive and red after moderate to heavy exercise, so the beads in the Proactiv cleanser really irritates my skin. That why I have two cleansers!

Right: Obligé

This cleanser is really nice and gentle and it smells amazing. I think the milk cleanser has improved and brightened my complexion quite a bit~ This cleanser originally is quite pricey ($20 for 4 fl. oz. bottle), but I actually found it at Marshalls for $7! BINGO~ I was really drawn to this product not only because of the elegant packaging, but also because its 100% vegan, with organic essential oils, and no sulfates, phthalates, and parabens!

Like I mentioned above, I usually use this cleanser when I shower after exercising. My skin is super sensitive at that time, and this cleanser works really nicely for that. The only downside is that when I use physical sunscreens, the cleanser doesn't remove the sunscreen well. That's why I tend to use Proactiv for a deeper cleanse.

Left: EO unscented lotion
This is absolutely my favorite lotion so far. It can be used for face, body, and hands. Moreover, it's natural and (partially) made from organic ingredients. The lotion has no parabens, polysorbates, or EDTA! It's super refreshing when applied, and it's non-greasy, fast-absorbing, and moisturizing~~

PLUS, this lotion was only $10 for 32oz! It's such a good deal T____T Makes me cry with happiness...

Right: Blue Lizard suncreen
This is the sunscreen I was talking about during summer. Sorry I was so late in posting a review about it. I really do like this sunscreen, because it's not very oily and doesn't make my skin look very oily either. The only potential downside is that it makes my skin a little whiter (though I don't mind :)). At least I know that harmful chemicals (from typical sunscreens) aren't breaking down in my skin.



Thanks for reading though my mini-reviews guys~ Hope they weren't too long and hope you guys learned something too!!

Review: simple smoothing facial scrub with rice

Hello! I'm finally doing another review! I've been using the Simple Smoothing Facial Scrub for a while now -- around two months maybe? So I decided it's a good time for me to do a second skincare review~

I purchased this product at the CVS near by school. It costed about $7 for the tube.

DESCRIPTION

• Reveals brighter and more evenly textured skin
• With added vitamins: Pro-Vitamin B5 and Vitamin E
• Contains skin-loving exfoliator: rice granules
• Suitable for all skin types, especially sensitive skin
• No dyes, artificial perfumes, and harsh irritants that can upset your skin

PACKAGING

The packaging was pretty simple and, well, obviously green. It's a 150ml or 5 fl oz container. There's nothing else really to say. The design is concise and to the point.

REVIEW

I was really intrigued by the rice granules in this cleanser. That's one of the main reasons why I purchased it. During winter break, I had my first facial treatment at Ulta (the lady was super nice) and the product she used on me contained rice as well, so I was really on the look-out for a similar but cheaper alternative. I also liked how there was added vitamins and no preservatives. 

Vitamin B5 is moisturizing and acts as a skin healer. It reduces redness and promotes skin regeneration. Vitamin B5 should help with acne.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, meaning that it products from UV, radicals, and pollution that produce radicals. It's good for sun protection, anti-aging, and scar treatment. 

So, now to the actual review. I do like how the feeling of my skin after using the cleanser. My skin feels clean, soft, and elastic. However, the rice granules seemed a little harsh to me, especially since I tend to apply too much pressure when using it. If I use a much lighter pressure, it actually feels pretty good. One problem is that the rice granules are a little sparse; each pea sized amount of cleanser doesn't contain many exfoliating particles. For me, I wish the granules were smaller. The rice exfoliator used during my facial treatment was much more gentle. It was a powder that was combined with water--I wish I paid more attention~

Also, the cleanser didn't help with my acne. In fact, more and more little acne bumps appeared! I was super upset. I was hoping that the Vitamin B5 would help, but It didn't. My acne isn't very red and the bumps remained small, but even after almost three weeks, they haven't disappeared...I feel that my forehead is a bit more oily as well. My t-zone tends to be pretty oily, but this cleanser doesn't help with that problem. It may be much more suited to a different skin type.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall rating:     

Repurchase? probably not.

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Review: Shiseido Skincare 1 2 3: White Lucent Brightening Eclaircissant

For my Christmas present, my mom bought me the Shiseido White Lucent Eclaircissant 1-2-3 starter pack. When I went home for the break, she mentioned that my skin has darkened significantly from school in California, and sadly, that was very true.

So, one day we were walking in Macy's, looking for Christmas gifts for friends and families, and we saw this product. It was still expensive, but being the nice and amazing mom she is, she wanted to give it to me as an early Christmas gift. She told me that I should really start taking more care of my skin, since my nice skin wouldn't last forever with just a plain water wash.

I was super excited for this product because I've never used anything so high-class before. The only face wash that I've ever bought and completely finished using was the Neutrogena acne stress control power-clear scrub (not that there's anything wrong with the brand or that it doesn't work, but I've never used a brand costing $50 for 3 small bottles)!

Anyways, here's the review:

DESCRIPTION

Brightening cleansing foam: removes dirt, pollution, and impurities without drying out skin. [2.8 oz]

Brightening balancing softener enriched: instantly infuses moisture and perfectly prepares skin for the next skincare step. [3.3 oz]

Brightening protective emulsion (spf 18): locks in moisture and nutrients while protecting skin from external aggressors. [1 oz]

PACKAGING

The packaging is cute and simple but nothing really special. The little bits of pink mades the product very girly and sweet. Of course, this type of packaging is nothing compared to some Korean products out there.

REVIEW

Cleansing foam: at first I thought the product left my skin feeling a little to squeaky clean. I don't particularly like that sensation since it makes me think that I've removed both the good and bad from my skin. I wouldn't necessarily say that the cleanser keeps my face moisturized until all three steps are completed. Another thing I noticed was that the cleanser didn't really prevent acne from appearing. Maybe this happened because classes have started again and I'm getting more stressed, but for the first couple weeks, I noticed that I had a tiny bit more acne than before. This could also be due to the fact that my skin wasn't completely used to using a cleanser (water only). During the 3rd week of using it, the acne did die down.

On a high note, after washing my face, my skin does appears a little brighter. Overall, I liked the product.

sorry~ my hands were wet so the pea size amount of cleanser sort of ran~

Softener: I actually ran out of cotton pads, so I've just been dabbing the solution onto my palms and then patting it on my face. It works out fine this way. I agree with the product description here in that my face feels more moisturized after using it. I really enjoy this step because it's fun!

Emulsion: When I saw the size of this product, I was shocked. It was so small...I felt like I'd use it up in a week. Luckily it didn't turn out that way. However, I also didn't apply it at night. I decided that I'd use normal lotion at night since I wouldn't need the sun protection from the SPF.

FINAL THOUGHTS

haha, I think my face is getting too pale for my body. I'd better start using a whitening body soap too, or else my skin tone won't match! Just kidding. :) Nevertheless, I can tell that my complexion is a bit brighter. However, it's not significantly brighter. I haven't completely finished using it, but I've been using it daily for about 3 weeks now. I really enjoy using it, and even though these products are so small, they last for longer than I expected.

Overall rating:     

Repurchase? maybe, if I feel like splurging.
I'm not crazy crazy over this Shiseido White Lucent Eclaircissant. :)


Question for this post: Have you ever used a whitening or brightening product? Which one? Also, do you have any suggestions for what I should include or take out in my reviews?