More Lotions and Potions

A couple of weeks ago, from 2 to 4 August 2017, Priceline had its 40% off skin care sale. I eagerly wait for this sale to occur every few months so I can stock up on my essentials and try out new products. In the last sale in January this year, I bought Derma E Hydrating Cleanser, Trilogy Rosapene Night Cream, Sukin Purifying Facial Masque, Swisse Manuka Honey Detoxifying Facial Mask and Botani Boost Balancing Moisturiser. The Trilogy and Sukin were repurchases, but everything else was new. I finished the Botani (reviewed here) and have been enjoying and using regularly both the Swisse mask and Derma E cleanser. This time, I purchased Burt's Bees Sensitive Facial Cleanser, Simple Hydrating Cleansing Oil, Egyptian Magic All Purpose Skin Cream, Lucas' Papaw Ointment and a travel size Avene Thermal Spring Water (not pictured). I wanted to repurchase my NUXE Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm which I use as my nightly lip treatment before bed, but apparently Priceline discontinued stocking the brand in their stores, or so I was informed by a sales assistant.

I originally purchased the Burt's Bees Sensitive Cleanser as a gift for a friend, but decided to buy one for myself after I managed to sample it and liked the texture and how it made my skin feel. I favour cream cleansers (especially for a morning cleanse, or if I haven't worn makeup all day) to foaming cleansers, and was getting a little paranoid that the foaming cleansers I've been using were drying out my face. The Burt's Bees is a nice, rich consistency, slightly on the thicker side. I usually squeeze one small blob (around the size of the above picture) into my hand and rub my palms together, then massage the product over my bare face. The instructions say to wet your face beforehand, but I always find that unnecessarily dilutes the product and makes it more watery. You do have to take a tad more time to wash everything off thoroughly, especially if you're using cold water (which I do most of the time), however the end result is skin that's soft and properly cleansed with no oily residue or stripped feeling whatsoever.

I took a punt on Simple Hydrating Cleansing Oil after it was recommended by Ash. I've been loyal to my Palmer's Ultra Gentle Facial Cleansing Oil for a while now (which would have been $9 for a 192ml bottle), but I figured the Simple was the same cost per millilitre ($0.05/ml or $6 for 125ml, at 40% off), and what if it was better? Plus, the bottle is sleek and compact, making it ideal to travel with. I've only used it a couple of times so far, but I've really been liking it. It's probably too early to make any declarations of its definite superiority over the Palmer's, but so far, I love that it leaves the skin feeling super soft, it's very effective at removing stubborn eye makeup (moreso than the Palmer's, which sometimes doesn't get off all my eyeliner and mascara without intense scrubbing motions), and it doesn't irritate my eyes after I've tried to wash it all off but small amounts still adhere to my waterline. I can already see this being a perennial repurchase, especially come sale time.

I have been super curious about Egyptian Magic for the longest time, so when I saw it stocked in my local Priceline, I was genuinely surprised. I debated whether to get the small (59ml) or large (118ml) tub, but in the end, figured I might as well go for the larger size in case I really liked it. It contains six natural ingredients: olive oil, beeswax, honey, bee pollen, royal jelly and bee propolis. You're meant to take a small amount and rub it in your palms, melting it until it forms an oil. So far I've used it mainly as a night cream, though I have tried it as a hand cream. I'm not entirely convinced it's this miracle product. Firstly, it is distinctly oily in texture, so if the idea of going to bed with a greasy face isn't appealing, it might not be for you. When melted, it is more like a dry oil à la NUXE Huile Prodigieuse or Caudalie Divine Oil, as opposed to something more balmy and sticky like Vaseline. In terms of how my skin felt after I woke up, I don't think it was discernibly better than my usual conventional night cream (whether or not combined with a serum or face oil). It also feels like this waxy, oily layer is sitting on top of your skin as a protective barrier, as opposed to a cream which is absorbed and instantly soothes, hydrates and softens. Egyptian Magic does seem to be a case of marketing hype over substance, especially with their website featuring a plethora of celebrity "fans" waxing lyrical about how they swear by it and can't live without it. Somehow I'm not convinced.

Finally, I repurchased Lucas' Papaw Ointment. I grew to love this stuff. At first I thought it was barely better than Vaseline, but now I use it daily. It's a fantastic lip balm, among its many other uses, and it's great value for money being a generous 25g tube. I only just finished my previous tube and it took me years and years. It soothes skin complaints such as insect bites, it can be used as a spot moisturiser for particularly dry/flaky patches or a replacement hand/cuticle cream, and it's an instantly soothing remedy for dry and chapped lips. It's so multipurpose and a good size to pop into the purse. Plus, the trademark red packaging is distinctive and eye-catching.