#macaron: Coconut Oil

Monday, 1 September 2014

Review: Balm Balm Super Light Coconut Cleanser

Since I stopped using DHC’s Deep Cleansing Oil (reviewed here) I’ve been trying out loads of new cleansers hoping to find one that removes the day’s make-up and grime and doesn’t cause another horrible outbreak of spots.

I used up my stockpile of samples and found some nice ones in there but they were a wee bit too expensive (Elemis Cleansing Balm). Money down the sink, literally. Sooo I went on a little skincare spending spree (a haul - *barf*) and bought a couple of cleansers from Balm Balm (via feelunique.com).

I thought I’d start my mini-series on cleansers with Balm Balm’s Super Light Coconut Cleanser. (Brace yourselves, thrilling stuff coming your way.)

Ingredients:

-Theres only one ingredient so if you have a reaction, you can return it and avoid coconut oil (caprylic/capric triglyceride) forever. Coconut oil is said to be anti-inflammatory, which is nice to know but you wash it off at the end of the day.

The Good:

- 100% organic. Carries the Soil Association symbol, which I believe has the strictest testing standards for organic products

- Not tested on animals

- Not too expensive at £13.25/100ml

- No discernible smell

The Bad:

The packaging is a bit shoddy. The bottle doesn’t have a pump so it can be quite messy and wasteful.

You use it as you would any other cleanser. Pour a little into the palm of your hand, doing your best not to pour five times the amount you actually need, and massage into skin. It has a thin, runny consistency (similar to REN’s Omega 3 serum) which feels nice on the skin - nothing like the gloopy ones that feel like sunflower oil. (Ick) The oil doesn’t emulsify so you should remove it with a hot flannel (don’t bother with piddly little handkerchiefs calling themselves muslin cloths). Press the flannel into your skin and then wipe off. PURE BLISS. With no filmy residue afterwards.

However. It doesn’t quite remove all traces of make-up, so I use a couple of cotton pads soaked with micellar water (Bioderma) to finish off. This is why you should always double cleanse! But why use a cleanser that doesn’t do the job 100%? Because for me at least, after trying a dozen cleansers, being disappointed that none of them cut the mustard, I just accepted that I need two cleansers -.- (And that I should keep looking in the meantime.) It might be because I use suncream and foundation and both are very long wearing. (Try applying Luminous Silk to the back of your hand. DOES NOT WASH OFF.)
Update 15.09.14: It IS because of the suncream. I was lazy last week and skipped the suncream a couple of times and my make-up washed off completely. So if you don't use suncream, this cleanser will be just fine for you. Also sorry for the lack of posts - no wi-fi at home *shriek* Typing on an iPhone is a nightmare!

I haven’t had any reactions (spots) which is no mean feat because my delicate little face reacts badly to almost everything. (Browse the archives and see for yourself mah -_____- ) So unless I find something better in the meantime ... it’s on my repurchase list :)

Thursday, 1 May 2014

Review : Decleor Aromessence Mandarine Smoothing Night Balm

As promised many moons ago, here are the ingredients in Decleor's Aromessence Mandarine Smoothing Night Balm (£33.50/15ml). (No fancy botanical names in Latin. Sorry)

Ingredients

Sunflower Seed Oil - contains Vitamin E. Helps repair the skin and reduce inflammation

Cera Alba (Beeswax) - thickening agent. Emollient properties

Wheat Germ Oil - emollient

Evening Primrose Oil - anti-inflammatory properties

Coconut Oil - high in fatty acids and acts as an emollient

Chenopodium Quinoa Seed Extract - high in amino acids which helps repair skin

Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) - hydrating

Theobroma Grandiflorum Fruit Extract (Cupuacu Butter) - Contains oleic acid (a fatty acid) which is moisturising and plant polyphenols which act as anti-oxidants. [Says Lush]

Carnauba Wax - thickening agent

Limonene - fragrant. Found in citrus oils

Orange Peel Oil - detoxifies and helps improve skin tone

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil - used to stabilise products

Rice Bran Wax - occlusive moisturiser (I think?). Forms a barrier over the skin - like mineral oil hm...

Mandarin Orange Peel Oil - Decleor have apparently proven that the anti-oxidant powers of mandarin essential oil helps maintain skins’ youthfulness (in vitro tests)

Grapefruit Extract - anti-oxidant. Can be irritating in large amounts

Linalool - fragrance ingredient

Bergamot Fruit Oil - citrus oil (photo-toxic)

Michelia Alba Leaf Oil - fragrance ingredient

Tocopherol - Vitamin E

Gardenia Tahitensis Flower - smells nice, not sure what it does in skincare

Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil - astringent properties

Soybean Oil - helps improve skin tone and is a source of anti-oxidants

Citral - fragrance ingredient

Bitter Orange Flower Oil - may help control oil production

Geraniol, Farnesol, Citronellol - fragrance ingredients

The night balm and the Aromessence Mandarine serum have a number of common ingredients (in orange), like sunflower seed oil and evening primrose oil which are both top five and of course the star ingredient, mandarin essential oil.

It's times like this that I think keeping this log is useful (to me, if not to anyone else lol) because I also noticed that a few of the ingredients are in the cleanser and serum from REN - products which mon visage did not like. Limonene, linalool and tocopherol are at the bottom of the lists so are hardly worth a bother. The balm and Omega 3 serum both contain wheat germ oil and the balm and the clay cleanser both contain sunflower seed oil in the top five ingredients, so I thought one of those could be the cause. I checked my Iris night balm from Decleor and found it has sunflower seed oil and wheat germ oil - yet didn’t give me any problems. In other words: I still have no idea whats wrong with my skin.

Anyhoo as usual I’m going totally off-topic and rambling on about ingredients when a one line review would suffice: I do not like. I tried the new Aroma Lisse products at the beginning of April but stopped after a few days because my skin broke out. At the end of April I thought I’d give this balm another go and in a matter of days, little spotties reappeared…

For that reason I wouldn’t recommend this product. If anything, I’d recommend the Iris night balm (£34.50/15ml) instead. The main ingredients in it are jojoba oil, hazel seed oil, beeswax, sunflower seed oil, shea butter and wheat germ oil so there is some similarity in the formula. (If you wanted the benefits of evening primrose etc. you could buy it as a separate product.) Both ranges are designed to regenerate and hydrate the skin, fight free radical damage and reduce the appearance of wrinkles - but have different target markets. (I wonder if 25-30 year olds were put off using a product recommended for "mature" skin (Jesus Wept I'm not that old/have I aged terribly etc.) and hence the new Mandarine range was born.) I’ve had a better experience with the Iris balm and it’s also free of the potentially irritating citrus extracts.

All Decleor balms are quite waxy, which I don’t mind and find to be quite nice for a little facial massage. My Mom, on the other hand, finds them weird and gross, having used only creams for the last 30 years. It’s definitely worth getting a sample if you’re interested in the Mandarine balm to try out the texture (and in case you have a reaction). The products are pricey but at least Decleor are generous with their samples!

Finally, old customers will be pleased to hear that the packaging of the night balms been re-vamped. The lid on my Iris balm didn’t close properly and was always wonky :/ Very annoying, given how much this little thing cost so in the end I transferred it into another pot. Thankfully, the new jars don’t have this problem :)