Garnier Ambre Solaire, Golden Touch After Sun - Product Review

The end of summer is fast approaching but since I know some of you are yet to go on holidays, I think/hope it’s not too late to do a review on the after-sun lotion I took on holidays with me this year: the Garnier Ambre Solaire Golden Touch After Sun.

 For the past couple of years my go-to after-sun lotion/body moisturizer was Sephora’s After Sun Moisturizing Balm. I fell in love the first time I used it. It’s just amazing. And since the price range was so close to that of the drugstore versions, I didn’t even bother to look up for another. This summer I couldn’t find it anywhere – I just hope it hasn’t been discontinued!

 However, this summer when I went to buy my sunscreen (I’ll be reviewing it soon), every single sun-related product was at a major discount (75%!!! What??). There’s no need to tell you, I couldn’t not bring an after-sun with me as well (they were just so super cheap!) Anyway, I looked around and went for this one.

It reads:
- Shimmering hydration lotion enriched with nourishing Monoi oil and a luminous pearl shimmer

-Is the hydrating lotion Golden Touch After Sun for me?

-Yes, if your skin feels tight after sun exposure and you want to moisturize it and enhance your tan at the same time. The Golden Touch Lotion is specifically formulated to nourish and soften skin that has become drier due to sun exposure.

It reads:

- How does it work?

- Its formula is enriched with nourishing Monoi oil and a luminous pearl shimmer.

- Original from Tahiti, Monoi oil results from the combination of Tiaré flower and coconut oil. Monoi oil is recognized worldwide for its nourishing properties as well as ability to restructure the superior layers of the epidermis that were damaged by external aggressions.

- Its texture is subtly enriched with luminous pearl shimmer to illuminate your complexion and enhance your tan, after sun exposure. Its sensual perfume leaves in your skin a sense of being on holidays. Nourished and soothed, your skin stays hydrated for 24 hours and your tan is enhanced.

- How to use it?

- Non-greasy and non-sticky, the Golden Touch lotion is quickly absorbed and leaves your skin with a golden touch and delicately fragranced. Apply to clean skin, after each sun exposure.

 

The description was quite catchy: “Shimmering hydration lotion enriched with nourishing Monoi oil and a luminous pearl shimmer.” Who doesn’t want that?

 It also promised to:

·         Illuminate tan

·         Soothe the skin

·         Provide 24 hour hydration

·         Have a cooling sensation

·         Be dermatologically tested

All good things, right?

Ingredients

 So, what’s my final verdict?

It’s really nice (BUT in all honestly, it doesn’t even come close to the Sephora one, just saying!):

-          My skin didn’t react to it – in a bad way (which is known to happen – I have atopic skin and had my share of allergic reactions)

-          I love the scent, it’s really lovely – quite fresh and summery – but not strong enough to interfere with your everyday fragrance.

-          The lotion is super light and absorbs quickly onto to skin, which is great.

-          It did feel cooling (a little bit – if you are on the look for a cooling product I wouldn’t recommend this).

-          It was hydrating but I guess I’d prefer it if it were a bit more moisturizing – I have normal to dry skin (I’m talking about my body, obviously). In a day-to-day basis this would probably be enough for me but the sun, sand, salt and chlorine always leave my skin feeling much drier.

-          It didn’t hydrate my skin for 24 hours but maybe 6 to 8 hours.

-          I don’t think it prolonged my tan – but can’t be sure. Anyway, it doesn’t promise to do it either, I guess.

-          It soothes dry skin but it isn’t particularly good with soothing your skin if you have been sun burnt, it cools the area a bit but nothing special.

-          All in all, quite an average product but for one thing: the shimmering part. This moisturizer has tiny little glowing golden particles on it. They are only visible on the skin if you are under direct sun light or bright lighting. They give a nice subtle slightly shimmery look to your skin. I liked it but didn’t adore it. Some of you might love it, or hate it though. It’s certainly not for everyone’s taste – if you apply it just to the legs and/or arms maybe – but for an all over body lotion it might be a bit too much if you go clubbing after applying – the lighting effects might make it less subtle (but I haven’t tested it so they may not).

 

The shimmery particles
- Keep in mind that in the picture they are a bit more concentrated than usual - it was just for me to be able to show you more or less the look of them

Do I recommend this product?

-          Maybe. It’s not the best product I’ve ever tried but it’s good enough, just not as good as my beloved Sephora’s one. I’d say, quality wise, it’s quite similar to ones from other drugstore brands such as Nivea. The only difference is that this one has shimmery particles and the Nivea one doesn’t – so if it were me undecided between Garnier’s and Nivea’s after sun I would use the shimmering detail as my decisive factor. If you want subtle shimmer just go for this one, if you don’t the other one might be better for you. If you are interested in buying it, I’m sure you can find it in any supermarket or drugstore that sells sunscreens or you can buy at Feelunique.com for 12,49euros (now, on sale, for only 8,74 euros!)

 Will I repurchase it? 

-        Once again, had I not “met” my darling Sephora’s After Sun Moisturizing Balm I’d probably would but as I have, I don’t think so. Unless Sephora has discontinued it (please, please no!) which would break my hard and put me back on the market for a new “Holy Grail” to replace it.

  

Yours,

 M.

Nivea, Volume Sensation Shampoo - Product Review

Good evening, everyone!

Today I’ll be reviewing another Nivea product, their Volume Sensation Shampoo.

I bought this shampoo because I used to be a Nivea’s girl (no, I never worked for them, nor was I ever sponsored by them or by anyone else as a matter of fact, but I really, really loved the brand and was obsessed with most products they’d launched when I was in my teens - I’m 22 now, if you’re interested).

It reads:
- Volume Sensation, Body & visible volume for your hair;
- Bamboo Extract + Liquid Keratin;
- Fine hair or hair without volume

But, as of the last couple of years Nivea’s new products had become more disappointing than anything else, especially skincare wise – sorry Nivea lovers out there. So, in the name of the “good old days” a couple of months ago I bought several different products and decided to give the brand a go, again. Since I had never tried their hair care stuff anyway, I went for it. Let me tell you – bad idea! (at least in what this product is concerned).

It reads:
- Nivea, Feel the care on your hair;
- Beautiful hair you can feel, thanks to the unique Nivea's formula that includes a combination of Liquid Keratin - a natural component of the hair - and natural ingredients;
- Does your hair look like it lacks in volume and that it doen't have enough body from the root?;
- Enjoy a sensation of body and visible volume to your hair with the Volume Sensation Shampoo. The light formula with bamboo extract: strenghtens the hair from the roots, cleanses and gently cares for your hair, adds texture to your hair without weighing it down.;
- Sensational Volume. A softness sensation.;
- For better results, try other products from the Volume Sensation hair care and styling range.

According to the brand’s website this shampoo is supposed to:

•        Provide impressive volume long-lastingly
•        Gives structure to your look 
•        Do not weigh the hair down
•        Give sensational volume
•        Leave an impressive feel

According to my personal experience:

•        It doesn’t provide impressive volume, much less a long-lasting one
•        It doesn’t give any structure to the hair.
•        It weighs the hair down
•       It doesn’t give a sensational volume
•        It doesn’t leave an impressive feel

Ingredients

I’ll try and explain to you the reasons behind my dislike. It wasn’t the fact that I didn’t see results volume wise that made an impression (a bad one) on me, but the fact that this being a clear shampoo that was supposed to leave fine hair lighter and more voluminous looking would weight it down instead.

I didn’t immediately notice that, I’ll be honest. The first time I used it my impression was ok:

•        It had an ok scent (a fresh one), that didn’t exactly linger on the hair, though (but that was fine by me).
•       It was a clear shampoo so I thought it would really clean the hair well. Even if, after I had washed my hair with it, the hair had never felt squeaky clean. Since I wash my hair every day I thought that might even be an advantage because it would mean clean hair but not hair stripped of all its moisture.
•        I didn’t notice any difference in texture or volume the first couple of weeks.

However, after having been using this shampoo for more than two weeks in a row, I started to notice that my hair felt very limp. I decided to use a purifying shampoo, thinking I might had been using too much styling products. After the purifying shampoo my hair still felt heavy. I stopped using styling products the following week to understand what was going on. After a week of washing my hair every day and still no change in texture, I used my purifying shampoo again and still my hair didn’t fell super clean. It wasn’t the strongest purifying shampoo, I’ll admit. But I tend to prefer my purifying shampoos not to be too stripping since I wash my hair daily so it’s kept pretty clean already.

After changing shampoos and starting to see changes for the better, this was my conclusion: this shampoo really doesn’t wash your hair properly. No matter how well I rinsed, my hair still felt heavy. Moreover, after about a month of usage, I started having dandruff issues because my scalp wasn’t clean enough (and I’m always careful to properly rub it with my fingers, every single day).

Since I didn’t want to jump to conclusions – especially not so nice ones - about their hair care line having just tried one product and taking into account that this shampoo was pretty affordable, I also bought the Fresh Energy Refreshing Shampoo from the same range which was advertised as a more purifying shampoo. Despite having a better fragrance – a citrusy one – it still left my hair feeling like crap.

Something else that also corroborates my conclusion that Nivea’s shampoos aren’t that good: no later than a month, or a month and a half, after having bought these shampoos the Portuguese website from Nivea stopped advertising them. A couple of weeks afterwards, I stopped seeing their shampoos or conditioners in most supermarkets. I honestly think this was a great decision. 

Maybe they’ll relaunch them once they achieve a better formulation (that’s what they should have done in the first place) or they have simply understood that that is just not their field to play… Who knows? Who cares?

Would I recommend this product?

NO,NO,NO. Don’t buy it (unless you really want to and if so, go for it!). They took it from the market here in Portugal for a reason, I’m assuming. Anyway I know they’re still being sold in some countries where maybe the formulation is different. Maybe?

Honestly, if you love your hair choose another shampoo from the thousand hair care brands available. You definitely don’t need this product.

Will I repurchase it?

No!

 They’re not as available in Portugal as they were before but even if they were I guess I wouldn’t repurchase them anyway. I’d rather use the cheapest shampoo on the supermarket shelves (believe it or not some of them are reasonably good!).

Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment down below. And please, if you enjoy my posts, subscribe to the blog!

Yours,

M.

Nivea, Refreshing Cleansing Mousse - Product Review

Hi! 

I'm sorry for not having posted in a while but things have been kind of hectic around here. I promise from now on to do my best to post as often as I can. Hopefully, I'll manage to do it at least twice a week. 

But let's get down to business. Today I am going to talk about another drugstore/highstreet product, this time a cleansing type of product: the Nivea Daily Essencials/Aqua Effect (the name of the collection varies from country to country) Refreshing Cleansing Mousse.

To be honest, I tend to invest more money in skincare rather than makeup. However no matter how much I enjoy my high-end skincare goodies I have to admit that I would love to find cheaper surrogates. So when I saw this product in the supermarket shelves I felt compelled to give it a try. 

It reads: Refreshing Cleansing Mousse

It reads:
Normal to Combination Skin
Deeply cleanses and hydrates
Vitamin E and Hydra IQ

It is a very interesting product. It comes in a plastic bottle wherein it has a very liquid consistency but when you press the pump the product transforms into a white foam. I have to admit it took me a while getting used to. 

This is a very gentle cleansing product which doesn't strip the skin nor does it leave the skin feeling tight afterwards, meanwhile it does do its job. It works well both if you apply it to dry skin (and take it off with a cloth as advised by Caroline Hirons) or to wet skin during your shower (as I usually do). I didn't enjoy using it so much in the beginnig because I was used to cleansers that left my skin feeling squeaky clean, which this doesn´t. However after a couple of weeks of using this mousse I noticed that my skin was as clean as before and with less dry patches. 

It reads:
- Nivea Aqua Effect Refreshing Cleansing Mousse
Enriched with Vitamin E & Hydra IQ
Deeply cleanses and hydrates the skin
Provides a unique cleansing experience thanks to its extra gentle formula and its pleasant fragrancy
- Application:
Its formula becomes a soft foam during usage. Apply the cleansing mousse, gently massaging the face, neck and décolleté. Avoid contact with the eyes. Remove with water. Discover the new, practical and easy to use, cleansing experience
- Dermatologically tested

Ingredients list

The smell is ok. It is clean, fresh and bit soap like. I always have to use two pumps to wash my face cause one is definitely not enough. That means that it lasts less than the normal Nivea gel cleanser which costs aproximately the same (in Portugal both products cost around 5euros) - if I use them once a day, the mousse lasts about 2-3 months versus the gel that lasts 4-5 months. Despite that, since this is not a very expensive product you might think the formulation is worth the extra money, I know I do.

Do I recommend this product? 

Yes, if:

- You have normal to combination skin (might not be enough for oily skin and there is a specific version of this mousse for dry and sensitive skin)

- You are on the lookout for a cleanser that does its job without stripping your skin of its moisture, leaving it soft and supple afterwards.

- You don't want to spend too much money on a cleanser

- You want a cleanser that doesn't irritate the skin (if you have very sensitive skin you might want to try the mousse in the pink bottle instead).

Pay attention, though:

- Keep in mind that I only use this product in the morning because even though it does its job as cleanser it does not provide such a deep cleaning as I prefer at night. So if you have combination skin or normal skin that gets easily congested you may have to alternate this cleanser with an unclogging one or besides cleansing you have to exfoliate or use a purifying mask a couple of times a week to keep your skin in check.

Will I repurchase it?

- Even though I liked this product it didn't impress me enought to make it onto my "Can't live without them" list. It is a good product and a decently priced  one. It worked really well for me as morning cleanser, especially because I don't think I need such purifying cleansers (as the ones I used to use) in the morning. So I might repurchase this in due time but for now I am really curious to try other cleansers and also it gives me the oportunity to share a larger number of produts with you.

I hope you find this review helpful. And please let me know if there are any products you would be interested in a review.

Yours,

M.