Here's a quick review of another paraben-free cosmetic, Human Nature's Mineral Lip Gloss. If you want to get that dewy look on your lips, apply a lip gloss.
Lip gloss is translucent; it can highlight the natural color of what's underneath it with a tint of its own, and it gives your lips a sexy shine. You can apply this over your regular lipstick, tinted lip balm, or apply it on its own.
I tried the Pink Hibiscus shade from Human Nature, and frankly it wasn't the shade I expected. The color in the catalog hinted at a brighter shade of pink and what I got instead was a muted old rose. Disappointing, but I'll live. It's not the first time I've been misled by the colors in their catalog, but that's for another review.
So, moving on. I turned the cap and struggled with pulling it out. It shouldn't be so difficult, but there you have it. When I finally pulled the damned applicator off the container, liquid lip gloss splattered all over the place.
The teardrop-shaped applicator was actually bigger than the mouth of the container! It was unreal, and quite a mess to put it back in unless you apply the brush on your lips first. Don't "just look" or else lip gloss will smear the mouth of the container when you try to put it back.
After the initial shock, everything else seemed okay. It has a mild caramel-ey scent which wasn't so bad, and it glides smoothly and evenly, giving you that wet sheen on your lips.
Mind you, the shade is very light and not at all like the pink in the catalog, so this color will probably go well with darker shade lipsticks, or people with fairer skin if you want to use this by itself.
But seriously, unless they change the packaging FOR SURE, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone just yet. They mentioned "Improved Packaging" in their May-June 2013 catalog, but this is what I received as of August 2013. If this was the "Improved Packaging" I shudder to think of how it looked like before.
Now why in the world would anyone just use a lightening facial foam and leave the rest of her body as is? In my case, it's because my face is more exposed to the sun than my other body parts. And I can hardly use an umbrella against the tropical sun while driving a motorbike, right?
And so far, I haven't found any cosmetic face powder with SPF that has no parabens. They always have that lovely ingredient that causes pain in my breasts if I use it for long. So, here's a review of another PARABEN-FREE product that I stumbled upon.
Pond's White Beauty Pinkish-White Glow Lightening Facial Foam is a facial cleanser that claims to:
1. Transform your complexion to a fair pinkish-white glow
2. Cleanse deeply, right down to the pores
3. Remove dullness and brightens the skin
4. Washes away old, weary, sallow skin cells.
These are rather big claims, with the caveat to use this with Pond's white beauty Lightening Cream/Lotion with Lycopene + Pro-Vitamin B3.
The first time I used this cleanser, I noticed three things.
First, it takes very little to work up a thick lather, a foam. Just keep rubbing it over your wet face in circles and you'll see what I mean. A pea sized amount can turn into such a rich foam that'll adequately cover your face.
The second thing I noticed was the mild pleasant scent. It's so mild it won't clash with the scent of any other product you're using.
And you know that "squeaky clean" feeling? You'll get that sensation after rinsing the lather off. That's the third thing I noticed.
It cleanses without drying, and also without that slimy residue that other soaps and cleansers that contain moisturizers leave on your skin.
There was one unexpected side effect though. The first time I used it, my palms itched like CRAZY, five minutes after I towel dried. I couldn't stand it! The itch was only relieved after rubbing my palms on a pumice stone.
Yep, someone needed a hand spa. Off came the dead skin cells from my hands, and ta-daaa! I now have softer hands as well.
As for the lightening effect, I can say that after using this product for 5 days, my face is starting to get closer to my neck's skin tone. My fingers as well, because the backs of my hands protrude from the long-sleeved shirt/jacket I use when I drive and I'm trying to get my fingers to be the same shade as my wrists and arms.
They're starting to lighten. It's still one or two shades darker, but I'm well satisfied with this product and I'm going to keep using it.
