Kiehl's series Nr 14: Midnight recovery concentrate

 

 

Described as a replenishing elixir of pure essential oils and distilled botanicals to visibly restore the appearance of skin in the morning.

 

 

Sometimes you like a product even before you use it; based on the marketing, look and other people raving about it.  I was thus fairly biased when I finally got to try this out.  I bought  the smaller bottle of this remarkable oil and have been using it for some time.

 

I loved this oil.  The instructions were to put only a few drops on your palms, heat this by rubbing your palms together and then pat it on your face.  Pat do not rub. It lasts a very long time since you use only a few drops every day.  I rather just apply it directly to my face, it feels like I get more on my face that way.  The sales lady also gave me fairly strict instructions to never use this during the day.
 

It has a very strong lavender smell. 

 

 

My skin feels soft in the morning after using it the night before.  It is really as if the serum works some magic during the night, because it feels pretty normal when you go to bed.  This is a lovely, hydrating, refreshing serum.  I enjoy using it.  I am not sure that it is any better than Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules.  It is not any worse either.  Both are really great serums that immediately improves your skin.  As someone who has not used serums until about a year ago, I am amazed at how much better a serum makes your skin feel.  What have I been missing.  And so far I like them all.  It does not matter much which brand you use. 

 

It is paraben free, fragrance free (but has a very strong smell) and mineral oil free.

 

 

 

From the packaging:

This lightweight, readily-absorbed elixir effectively restores skin’s healthy appearance overnight, resulting in smoother, more radiant complexion by morning. Enriched with Squalane, a botanical lipid similar in molecular structure to natural skin lipids, Evening Primrose Oil, rich in Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Essential moisture to depleted skin. These naturally derived oils instantly penetrate the skin surface to help replenish it. Our recovery concentrate works at night when skin is most receptive to repairing itself from daily aggressors. With skin hydrated, supple and soft, rest assured you can say goodnight to tired-looking skin.

I thought it would be cute to show you some of the ingredients (Stolen from the Kiehl's website)

Evening Primrose Oil

Evening primrose is a flowering plant originally native to North America that now grows throughout much of Europe and parts of Asia. It blooms every other year and its large, fragrant yellow flowers open at dusk and remain open through the night. Rich in omega-6 and essential fatty acids that the body cannot naturally produce. Also effective on skin-barrier repair.

Lavender Oil

Helps soothe inflamed or irritated skin while helping reduce skin blotchiness for a more even look. Creates a brighter and more radiant look to skin.

Squalane

A healing botanical lipid with a high affinity for skin to instantly restore and replenish.


The ingredient list included a lot of plant oils.

 

There are a thousand reviews of this product online, so I will not attempt to link them.  However, this one was fairly comprehensive.  And one review from South Africa. Plus another one. 

I found this review from Paula's choice very interesting.  This is what she said:  Restoring skin’s healthy appearance overnight isn’t going to happen with this product. Although it contains a few helpful ingredients for dry skin, it is far more loaded with irritating fragrant oils. Coriander, lavender, and rosemary are the biggest offenders; all present problems for your skin, including irritation and collagen breakdown. Please…save your skin and your cosmetics budget and ease your dryness with a well-formulated fragrance-free moisturizer coupled with a non-fragrant plant oil such as olive or evening primrose. You’ll get better results without the irritation Midnight Recovery Concentrate is guaranteed to cause.

 

 Some of the beauty bloggers around South Africa is currently doing a 28 day change your skin challenge with this.  You can read about it here and here.

 

 

Kiehl's series Nr 13: Facial oil-free gel cream

 

 

I did not like this moisturiser.  But I also think it was not meant for me.  I like thick, moisturising lotions, even though my skin could be oily.  This product is a non-oily gel.  It is completely clear.  It was not moisturising enough for me and it was sticky after application, which I think most non-oily gels are.

 

 

 

From the package:  Concentrated hydrating formula for all-day moisture for normal to oily skin types.

This oil-free gel-cream deeply hydrates and conditions skin while providing long-lasting moisture.  Our non-greasy hydrator, specifically formulated for normal to oily skin needs, traps moisture to visibly reduce the appearance of oil - leaving skin  looking more balanced.  With Imperetaca Cylindrica Root Extract, Antarcticine and Cucumber fruit extract, this unique preparation helps skin retain moisture and protect it from arid conditions.  The formula's high level of hydrating ingredients helps to restore skin's moisture barrier for a smoother, fresher and healthier appearance.

 

 

Alcohol is fairly high on the ingredient list.

 

This product was one of the reasons why it is a good idea to try the product before you buy.  I would have been so unhappy had I bought an expensive bottle of this. 

You can find some  reviews  here.

 



Kiehl's series Nr 12: Creme de Corps Soy Milk and Honey Whipped Body Butter

 

 

Wow, what a product. 

 

This is what it look.  A horrible iphone photo, sorry.

 

 

I received a fairly large tub (in the photo) in my Rubybox.  This is a thick, whipped product.  It is soft and smooth and easy to rub in, although it is very non-runny.  The smell is devine.  It smells like cookie dough.  My husband thought I was baking when he walked into the house after I used this.  So only use if you want to smell like something you can eat. 

 

This costs R454 for 226 g, which is WAY out of my price class.  If I was filthy rich, like celebrity rich, I would definitely always have a pot of this around.  Since I am a lot poorer than that, I will be sticking to Palmers.   

 

 

You can read the Rubybox review here.  And some other reviews here.  (This one is here for the lovely photo).



Kiehl's series Nr 11: Ultra Facial Cream

Of all the Kiehl's products I tried, this is the one I liked most.  It is a 24 hour moisturiser.  The moisturiser is a thin, white lotion.  I would describe it as thin, in a good way.  Thin, as in it really penetrates the skin.  It does not sit on top and make your skin oily or greasy, but penetrates and makes your skin feel soft and moisturised.  It does not come with an SPF, a major disadvantage.  Sometimes when I have not used the moisturiser for a while, nd then apply it there is a bit of stinging when applying it.  The same kind of sting you got as a child when you had really dry elbows and applied cream.  Does anyone know what I am talking about?  I interpret this as the cream really penetrating and hydrating.

Of all the Kiehl's products I tried, I think this one is the best value for money and this is actually the one I would consider buying a full size of. 

Here is a review that shows the thickness of the product quite well.  Here is another  review,  another and  one more and the Rubybox review.

Image from the blog linked to above - the photo is brilliant and show how easily the cream is absorbed.

All this reading and writing about beauty products has taught me a few things.  One is that you want to use a moisturiser that does not contain mineral oils.  Vegetable oils penetrates the skin and mineral oils stay on top.  If you have a product with mineral oils in it, it can keep the rest of the ingredients on top, therefore you are wasting your money of you buy a product containing both mineral and vegetable oils.  This moisturiser does not have any mineral oils in it.

It costs R265 for 50 ml, which is not really more expensive than moisturisers from other brands.

Kiehl's is marketed as a brand that is natural and wholesome.  However, this product is not 'natural' and contains parabens and other synthetic ingredients.  You can read rather negative reviews concerning all the 'unnatural' ingredients here , here  
and here. 

 

Kiehl's series Nr 10: Ultra facial oil-free cleanser

I have never been very keen to specifically use oil-free products.  I think I have a normal to oily skin, but I do not like the harsh products often sold as oil-free products. 

I liked using this cleanser.  It is an opaque, white, thick soapy lotion.  You only need to use a little and it foams very nicely.  It did not have much of a smell.  My face felt clean when I washed with this, but it did not feel overly drying.  It is hard to get excited about a cleanser, but this cleanser is just great. 

It is marketed as a lightweight formula that removes excess oil for normal to oily skins. 

If you are into that kind of thing; it is paraben free, silicon free, frangrance free, oil free and sulphate free. 

From the package:  This oil-free, quick-lathering cleansing foam thoroughly removes impurities and visibly reduces excess oil on skin's surface, while leaving skin looking more balances.  With Imperata Cylindrica Root and Lemon Fruit Extracts, our non-stripping, sulphate-free formula leave skin clean and refreshed without over-drying.  Gentle enough for sensitive skin types.

Here is one other review and another one.

Kiehl's series Nr 9: Cucumber herbal alcohol free toner

 

This toner is for all skin types.  I have to confess, until I started using the sample toner I received I have not been using a toner.  I simply cannot see how a toner makes any difference to my face, so I sometimes buy a toner, but do not use it every day and eventually stop using it altogether.

I also am not really sure how to evaluate a toner, since I cannot see what it does.  But I will give this one a try.

 

 

The toner is called a cucumber toner, but cucumber extract is almost the last ingredient on the ingredients list.  There are a lot of other herbal ingredients higher up in the list, such as witch hazel extract, aloe leaf juice, camphor, chamomile  and kiwi fruit extract.  It makes you wonder why this is a cucumber toner and not a kiwi fruit toner?  This is an alcohol free toner.

Kiehl's calls it the mildest of their toners and says it is non-drying and alcohol free.  It is meant for all skin types, particularly dry or sensitive skins.  It had a mildly astringent effect, but did not irritate my skin at all.  I guess that is exactly what you want a toner to do.

 

I noticed some dirt on the cotton wool after using this, but not much.  Kiehl's says it is balancing, and "Leaves skin soft, clean and toned with a beautiful elegant after feel." 

A nice toner, but I am not sure I would be buying it soon.  (But then again, I do not buy toner!)  I liked the smell. 

Here is a review by someone else.

Are all nail polish colours created equal?

I have declared war against nail polish that chips quickly.  I hate having less than perfect nails and do not have the time to do my nails every day.  So I have been looking for great nail polish.  The way I do this is to buy one bottle of a brand, use it and then decide whether I will ever buy that brand of nail polish again.

I bought a nude Essence and thought it was just horrible.  It does not even last a day.  I was so unimpressed that I threw the bottle away before I used all of it. 

And then I got a grey bottle of Sally Hanson and loved it.  After this, I read the following blog post about Nails Inc polish where the blue lasted much longer than the nude colour of the same brand.. 

 

My question is:  Does different colours from the same manufacturer last longer?  Is nude a colour that just does not last and I should not be painting all of Essence's polish in a bad light simply because the nude did not last.  And does it mean that Sally Hansen only impressed me because I tried a bluer colour?

Anyone out there who can solve this mystery?

Rubybox May 2013

While my Kiehl's series is interrupted, I will also give a review of this month's Rubybox, and then continue with the Kiehl's series.

This month my Rubybox was not dispatched.  Rubybox promise delivery between the first and the 15th of the month.  On the 16th I sent them an email, received no reply, but received an email from the couriers with tracking details the next day.  My box was only delivered on the 21st.  So my deduction is that they somehow missed sending my box and was only reminded when I asked.  Not nice.

This month Rubybox had a special Grazia box, which you had to opt in to receive.  The contents of the Grazia box was made know before you opted in .  It did not look very exciting, so I decided to take my chances with the mystery 'normal' box. 

Here is a review of the Grazia box.  And here are some more reviews.

 

 

In my box I received.

1.  Catrice precision pencil
Mine was 020 "Like a Grayer"; a nice charcoal colour.  I have never used these pencils before, but it seems like a nice pencil, soft and really applies easily.

2.  Dove essential nourishment body lotion
A 50 ml sample, with a divine smell.  This is a fairly low priced product, which I can easily try myself in the shops.  I would rather receive smaller samples of more expensive products which is harder to just buy and try.  I am sure I will like it.

3.  Prada Candy perfume
I love perfume samples in the boxes.  This one is an exception.  I have received it about a year ago in a Rubybox and have received one in a Glossybox.  It is therefore not a new perfume to try.  It is a very sweet smelling perfume.  It has a perfect name and actually smells exactly like candy.  Not a favourite.  It comes in a nice spray bottle of 1.5 ml.

4. Rubybox tools eyeshadow brush
This looks like a very nice eye shadow brush with a very long handle and nice soft bristles.  I have always used sponges to apply eye shadow.  These only last so long and I am now replacing them with brushes as they die.  This comes at a good time. 

This box is a bit underwhelming.  Both the eyeliner and the body lotion are cheap enough that I could just have bought it in stead of trying a sample.  It is the expensive products where it helps to know what you are investing in.   So I think this box kind of misses the point of a try before you buy service.  The perfume has been tried before and the brush would come in handy.

There were also a lot of complaints about late delivery and the contents of the boxes on their facebook page.  I do not think the box was a waste of money, but was not overly thrilled either. 

I should have opted in for the Grazia box.  I would have had the brush and a nice perfume, at least.  I also liked Lee Stafford products in the past and might have gotten one I have not tried yet.

Here is another review of the box, with much nicer photos than my review.  Here is another.