[Review] Skinfood Watery Berry :: Emulsion and Toner

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay. I'm trying to get a few posts up right now while I can because I don't have much content on here yet, but I've been super busy with school and work. A while ago when I ordered Skin 79's Super BB cream in Gold, I got a free sample from the online store as well! So today we're reviewing the sample, which is Skinfood's Watery Berry Emulsion and Toner.

Product Information::
From the website it says:
"A dewy moisture emulsion that promotes soft, glowing skin with berry extracts and hyaluronic acid".
And "A dewy moisture toner that promotes soft, glowing skin with berry extracts and hyaluronic acid". Not very creative with the variation in descriptions I guess.


Apparently the berries used are cloudberries, lingonberries, and raspberries from Lapland, supposedly rich in antioxidants. Upon doing  a bit of quick research, I found that cloudberries do have a very high vitamin C content, which is an antioxidant. Lingonberries are rich in vitamins C, A, and B, among other things with many health benefits. Raspberries are also rich in vitamin C, so I suppose their claim of these berries making the formula rich in antioxidants isn't without some backing.


Hyaluronic acid (otherwise known as hyaluronan) is used in medicine to treat osteoathritis, and to aid in tissue healing. It's popular in cosmetics for helping improve acne scars and help fight aging of the skin.
I try to research the ingredients a bit when trying out new cosmetics and personal care things, just because I think it's kind of important to make sure the claims aren't false.


Thoughts::


The box is kind of cute, and the little glass bottles are pretty as well. Both the emulsion and the toner have a sort of very faint pinkish tint to them that reminds me of cherry blossoms.


They both smell about the same; it's a sweet, fresh scent with a light hint of berries. I really like it since it's not too overpowering; it's very light but sweet.


The emulsion feels a little runnier than regular moisturizer, and it spreads easily. It's absorbs fairly quickly. It felt just a bit sticky at first, but that feeling faded after a few minutes and just left my skin feeling really soft.






The toner is super runny and clear, like water. I had a bit of a hard time pouring some onto my hand for a swatch test :'D Like the emulsion, it absorbs fairly quickly and feels just slightly sticky at first, but then that stickiness disappears and makes my skin soft.






After using both for a few days, I noticed my skin felt much softer and more moisturized! I haven't seen any particular improvement in acne scars yet, but maybe that's just because I haven't been too diligent about applying it in those areas.


Pros:
1. Smells really nice and not overpowering
2. Absorbs easily and isn't too sticky
3. Makes your skin reaaaaally soft
4. Works well on my combination skin
5. Nice, pretty packaging


Cons:
6. Kind of expensive (when I checked the website, it's about $18 for 160 ml)
7. Scent fades after a few minutes :<
8. Kind of hard to get out of the bottle? Maybe it's because I just had the sample size bottles


Would I buy it again?
Maybe not, because of the price and because there are other toners and stuff I have yet to try. But if I ran across a sale for it, I definitely would.


Final score: 4.5/5

[Review] EOS Lip Balm :: Strawberry Sorbet & Pomegranate Raspberry

Hey there! I guess I'm kicking off this blog with a review. I didn't want to be redundant and write an introductory post in addition to the about page I already included a bunch of basic information on, so here we go.





I've been seeing people use these things a lot nowadays, so I was curious and wanted to try them too. I picked these up at Target at the start of winter break, and have been using them since then. I've also seen them at places like Walmart, or you can order them from the official EOS website http://evolutionofsmooth.com/ .


:: Product Information ::
According to their website, all EOS lip balms are 95% organic and 100% natural, with no parabens or petroleum. In 1990, parabens were declared to be xenoestrogens, which basically means that parabens mimic the effects of estrogen in the body. Messing with natural levels of estrogen has been linked to breast cancer and reproductive problems, so more companies nowadays are trying to limit parabens in their products. Meanwhile, though, the government has deemed parabens relatively harmless in small amounts, so it's not like you need to be overly concerned. The lip balms contain shea butter and vitamin e (as an antioxidant) to promote softness and moistness.


The lip balms come in a round container with a twist-off top; I really like this because you don't have to worry about the cap falling off in your bag like you do with regular stick lip balms. At the same time, though, the unusual shape makes them kind of hard to stick in your pocket or small bag. I don't have an issue with this myself because I almost always carry around a small backpack or messenger bag, but I know some friends don't like it because the shape is awkward.


The lip balm glides on really smooth and goes on clear/invisible. There isn't really anything glossy about it; it just looks completely natural. Before I go on, I'll say this: I'm really, really picky about lip balm/chapstick because I HATE the feeling of having something thick/oily on my lips. I'm just sensitive in general and feel the intense need to wipe stuff off if it feels oily or thick. I really like the EOS balms because since they're made of all natural ingredients, they absorb better than other balms and don't leave my lips feeling like I slathered vaseline all over them.


Strawberry Sorbet::
I really like the scent of this one; it's a light, sweet strawberry scent that doesn't smell chemical or artificial. It also goes on very smoothly, and tastes slightly sweet (though I didn't really get any strawberry flavor from it). This is my favorite scent/flavor so far.


Pomegranate Raspberry::
I was really excited for this one because raspberry is my favorite flavor and I love pomegranates too. However, I was disappointed; the smell was very faint, and just smelled vaguely like some sort of mixed berry. It wasn't bad, but it did smell a bit artificial. This one also didn't seem to glide on as smooth as the strawberry one.


After swiping it over my lips 2-3 times, it lasted quite a few hours (as long as I didn't eat or drink…I had to reapply it after eating and drinking of course).


Pros:
1. All natural and almost all organic
2. Cute, durable container
3. Smells nice
4. Doesn't have an unpleasant taste
5. Absorbs well
6. Doesn't feel heavy or oily


Cons:
7. A bit more expensive than other lip balms; from the EOS site, they're $3.30 for 0.25 oz.
8. Container can be hard to carry around


Rating: 4.75/5


Would I buy it again?
Definitely! At least, the strawberry one. I want to try other flavors too, like the blueberry acai (which I've heard is very good). It seems like one 0.25 oz container will last a while though, and I have 2 to go through.