I just discovered that Boscia is a Japanese brand and that explains why their products have such a natural wholesomeness to it, I think~ I love the slightly herbal, fresh scents and how everything (except the Black Mask) seems to lean on the gentle (albeit pricey) side. Anyway, this video is a short run down of my February Favorites and a review of the above two Boscia items.
I was having audio problems again :P It's so weird because I record everything in one sitting and normalize the audio on everything yet some clips come out oddly quiet. AHHH it drives me nuts! Almost as crazy as I get when iMovie, which is supposed to auto-save, randomly does not save certain things after I close the program. Sometimes after I reopen videos, some of the text has been removed! So, every time I close iMovie, I need to watch the video twice to ensure nothing got deleted -__- SO ANNOYING. It's one glitch I can't stand and something Apple is just too damn busy to address since it comes free with MacBooks -_- Anyway, moving on...
February Favorites
The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist
Rainy Days & Lattes' review is what motivated me to try this out. It's very light, leaves no residue, and has slight cooling sensation. Since it doesn't disturb makeup you can pretty much use it any time you want ^_^ with or without makeup. The only (mild) downside is that it is rose-scented (reminds me of grannies) but it's a very delicate, faint scent so it doesn't bother me. This is the first face mist I've tried and I must admit it's definitely a luxury I could get used to.
The Body Shop Cocoa Butter Lip Care Stick
Full review here. One word: Yum. Although I am starting to wonder if my lips are getting used to the formula or something because it seems mildly less moisturizing these days :\
Benefit All You Need Is Gloss Set
I'll do a more in depth review of this later but for excellent pictures in the meantime, go to Vampy Varnish. For now all I will say that:
1.) Each gloss has it's own scent.*sigh* I love Benefit~ I'm glad I waited so long to get this set too :) It was limited edition on Sephora awhile back and was retailing for $26. I picked up mine on Ebay for $15+$3.50 S&H - score :D
2.) Some of the colors are gorgeously pigmented, others are quite sheer (disappointing), so this set is a bit of a mixed bag.
3.) Packaging is superb. I never finish full tubes anyway so these mini-tubes are perfect. Great for traveling too.
4.) 24K is a gold lip gloss and I literally got this whole set because I wanted a gold lip gloss ;)
5.) None of the colors are sticky! This is very important to me.
6.) However, they are not long lasting at all.
7.) Overall, I am pleased :) I pretty much have all the most basic gloss colors so no more gloss-buying ^^
Boscia Intensifying Moisture Pack+
Purchased: $30 @ Sephora or Boscia
Makeup Alley Rating: 4.1/5.0 + 83% Buy Again
I specifically purchased this for the dry skin patches I get on my face in the dead of winter. I generally use this to spot-treat any part of my face or body that's very dry - very multi-purpose ^_^ though you can't use it for lips. This is especially good for that painfully dry and cracked skin some peeps get on their knees and elbows in winter - this has an minty edge to it so it's instant relief! Unfortunately, it seems to me it takes at least 2-3 applications to get rid of dry body skin. I have had no adverse reactions yet (it's been 2 months+), no breakouts, rashes etc. You get a nice tingle when you put this on your skin so you may want to spot-test first before slathering it on your face.
Scent: Cough drop/mint. Quite strong.
Texture: Light gel-cream that leaves an oily residue/sheen while it's soaking in. The color is a light yellow.
Effectiveness: Excellent.
Overall
The only real negative I have is that this is a night-only treatment because you can't use it under makeup. It leaves oily sheen so makeup sticks to it so you may need to rinse a bit in the mornings too. Otherwise, I don't even mind the scent. This is very hydrating and even though it's expensive I would buy it again since a little goes a long way. This one tube will prolly last me a year at least (or even two years since I prolly will only use this in winter). I do not regret buying this and I am very pleased with it :) I recommend this for people with either chronically dry skin or problem dry patches on your face.
RANDOM TANGENT TIME: As for people with specifically bad dry skin on your body, I would actually recommend Karess Krafter's Herbal Salve. I found it on Etsy during my Skin Fiasco of 2009 and while I refrain from using it on my face it is hands down, no questions asked the best intensive moisturizer I've ever used for dry skin neck down. I ought to do a separate review post as it's one of those things you could either hate or love, but I can't resist doing a quick run down now too.
Good:Also I'm sure everyone is aware of my dislike of "tub packaging" by now. I hate dipping fingers into anything tho in this case it's not really all that bad since I don't use it on my face. The texture is a gel-like liquid...like pourable gel. I happen to like it but I can see people thinking it's a little weird. It's a transparent green (like Flubber!) and your skin drinks it up but it leaves a shiny residue in its wake that takes a few hours to soak in completely. I don't think it's an oil-residue or a sign it's not soaking in per se, it's more like it just takes a bit of time to soak in. In any case, the "oils" in this salve are all very beneficial stuff. FYI this is for spot treatment not slathering all over your body, so this tub will probably last you a lifetime. So, yep....that's enough of that ^^
- This thing relieves itching skin caused by dryness, bugbites, and even residual poison ivy amazingly well. And I say this as someone who's tried it on dry skin, bug bites, and poison ivy rashes ^^
- All natural, always a plus :D Also vegan friendly with no artificial ingredients.St. John’s Wort – an excellent herb for the treatment of burns, wounds, sores, insect bites, eczema and itchingStuffed with great ingredients and just about nothing else. Seriously. The cetyl alcohol is just a surfactant that helps it maintain it's weird gel-like consistency I suppose :}
Plantain – is a general wound healing herb that is especially good for bites and stings
Chickweed – soothing, anti-inflammatory that promotes wound healing
Calendula – soothes and aids in quick healing of cuts and abrasions
Ingredients: Olive Oil infused with St. John's Wort, Plantain, Chickweed, Calendula, Jojoba Oil, Virgin Coconut Oil, Cocoa Butter, Candelila Wax, Cetyl Alcohol, Vitamin E, Rosemary Oil
Bad:
- Literally has tiny pieces of herbs. They're pretty small but this is why I don't put it on my face.
- Has a very, very strong scent. It's a very natural kind of smell and it'll clear your sinuses with one sniff but it is very strong and lingers for a few minutes after you apply it. The scent is similar to Hot & Icy in the sense it has a super strong, sinus clearing smell that isn't pleasant per se but isn't an offending smell either.
Boscia Smoothing Facial Polish
Purchased: $25 @ Sephora or Boscia
Makeup Alley: 4.1/5.0 + 71% Buy Again
I honestly just got this out of curiosity. I really like Boscia products overall so I just wanted to try something new. This had very promising ratings on MUA so I just picked this up with my order.
Scent: Delicate lemongrass. It's very pleasing, delightfully natural smelling, and subtle.
Texture: Very intriguing exfoliating beads indeed. They looking like clear little bubbles and were a pain to photograph. They felt like "soft" balls that don't dissolve - very gentle. Apparently these balls are mannan granules:
Mannan is a plant polysaccharide that is a polymer of the sugar mannose.Hmmm...not particularly enlightening ;) but it is definitely one of the most unusual exfoliants I've used. It's really hard to describe...they're just like soft, non-dissolving beads O_o It does feel quite good though!
Detection of mannan leads to lysis in the mannan-binding lectin pathway. It is generally found in yeast, bacteria and plants. It shows α(1-4) linkage. It is a form of a storage polysaccharide.
Effectiveness: I would say it's effective but not that effective. This is ultimately a very gentle scrub that I can use up to 4x a week with no adverse effects (though recommended use in 2x a week), so it almost borders on ineffective. It definitely works and would be a very good option for those with very sensitive skin, but for those trying to get rid of scars it may be too gentle.
Overall
I do think this is a good product, don't get me wrong. Using it is like a spa-experience: it smells lovely, the beads feel really soothing, and it does work - it foams really nicely to boot (which is pretty unusual for a face scrub I think). It's just that for the price it doesn't impress me all that much. This is one of those products I enjoy using but personally would not re-purchase because I am sure there other equally effective and cheaper products out there. I would only recommend this to those with highly sensitive or dry skin. As for me, I'd rather explore a bit more ^^