Review: Hydrating Moroccan Argan Oil Creamy Oil Body Lotion

13 fl. oz./385 mL

Ulta: $6.99

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod4190131

Found on OrganixHair.com

This “lavish creamy oil body lotion” is described as having “an exclusive moisture lock system” made up of Moroccan argan oil (“to restore skin’s elasticity”), sugar cane and willow bark (“to soften, giving a radiant glow” and “promote cellular turnover” ), and finally rice milk and bamboo extract (“to make skin supple and touchable all over”). The “moisture lock system” uses a PCA complex (whatever that is- a quick Google search did not clarify anything) that apparently draws moisture in, and a ceramide complex (stuff that resembles the natural lipid barrier of the skin) to lock in the moisture. The argan oil is supposed to be a dry oil, meaning that it sinks in quickly and doesn’t leave a greasy residue.

Ingredients

Water, Disodium Laureth Sulfocuccinate, Socium C14-16 Olefine Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamide DEA, Glycerin, Clycol Distearate, Acrylates Copolymer, Saccarum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract, Cocamide MEA, Laureth-10, Polyquaternium-11, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Milk, Hydrolyzed Collagen (Collagen Peptides), Paullinia Cupana (Cuarana) Extract, PCA, Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract, Ceramide 3, Argania Spinoza (Argan) Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Extract, Paullinia Cupana (Guarana) Extract, Lycium Barbarum (Goji Berry) Extract, Centella Asiatica (Gotu Kola) Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexlglycerin, Parfum.

This stuff is amazing. It lives up to basically every claim that was thrown my way. Moisturizing? Very. Makes skin supple? Yup. Sinks in quickly? Yeah, pretty much. Gives skin a radiant glow? Actually, yes.

So yeah this lotion was moisturizing, but that doesn’t necessarily set it apart from the other good moisturizers out there. What does stand out, though, is that one bit about glowing skin. It sounds gimmicky, but to my astonishment it proved to be actually true. What happens is you apply the product, and it sinks in fairly quickly, but leaves this sheen on your skin. I think it might be the combination of the ceramide complex and the argan oil, but damn it is great. It doesn’t necessarily hide imperfections like say a tinted product might, but it certainly does minimize the appearance of discoloration and cellulite. So as it is winter right now, my legs are very pasty and more than a little bit infested with cellulite. This lotion makes them look so so much better. I cannot wait to see what this does when I have a tan! This doesn’t to my knowledge reduce cellulite necessarily, though- just diminishes appearance. I don’t know how they do it but I absolutely love it.

The sheen is a layer of moisture and definitely feels it, but it isn’t like those products where it takes forever to sink in and you feel sticky. It doesn’t bother me at all, it doesn’t stick to my clothes or anything, but I might see some people that are really sensitive to that sort of thing not loving it.

Something that the description doesn’t mention, though, is the scent. I personally love the smell, it’s sort of sweet and floral (it’s the same smell from the conditioner– it’s probably standard for the line), but it is pretty strong so again this might be a turn off for some people.

Overall, though, this is an outstanding product if the slight sheen and the smell don’t bother you. I will definitely be repurchasing this when it finishes and cannot wait to use it in summer!

Rating: A+

Most Worn Products Tag *Summer Edition*

I really enjoyed watching other people do this tag, so I have decided to turn it into a blog post. Hope you like it!

1) Most worn nail polish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It would probably have to be either OPI’s Lucern-tainly Look Marvelous or Wet n Wild’s Emblazed. Emblazed is a quite summery color, but the OPI color? Not so much… I think it was because the beginning of the summer the whether here in Germany was really super cold.

2) Most worn scent

Image courtesy of Sephora.com

I wore Dior Addict Eau Fraiche quite a bit, but more towards the end of the summer, I really like it. Apparently it has notes of bergamot, grapefruit, orange, freesia, lily of the valley, lotus flower, pineapple, watermelon, grenadine, sandalwood, and white musk, but honestly I wouldn’t know because I am terrible at describing scents. It is a very appropriate scent for summer, it is pretty light. I guess that’s from the floral notes? Anyway, it is beautiful.

3) Most worn hair product

Image courtesy of The Body Shop

Image courtesy of JohnFrieda.com

This is quite easy, The Body Shop Rainforest Shampoo for oily hair and the John Frieda detangling spray. Right now my hair is the healthiest it has ever been, and I am pretty sure it is down to one or both of these products. I cannot rep the Body Shop shampoo enough, I love everything about it. It is sulfate free but still manages to fully clean my hair, and smells phenomenal to boot (to see the full post, click here). The John Frieda detangling spray is pretty good as well, it does the job and smells quite good (and to see the full post for this one, click here).

4) Most worn bag

Image courtesy of Bloomingdales.com

Again, an easy one: I only really ever use one bag outside of school, and that is my Longchamp Le Pliage. I love it (obviously!), it is chic and timeless and goes with everything. It is also a good size for me; it fits everything I need to bring, without being too big. This is very important for me, because I tend to bring a lot of stuff so I need space, but if the bag is too big I will fill it with all kinds of crap that I would never need and I would give myself back problems.

5) Most worn shoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That would definitely be my flip-flops! I hate wearing socks, so as soon as the weather permitted I donned my sandals and hardly took them off after! I got this pair in Italy, from a shop called Scout. I am very impressed with them, they are extremely sturdy and they were only 10€!! When I walk my feet turn in, and I have wrecked so many pairs of shoes, both cheap and not so cheap. For these flip-flops to be in the condition that they are in after a whole summer of wearing them pretty much non-stop is nothing short of amazing.

6) Most worn accessory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sunnies! These are my babies, they are oversized and gorgeous and just generally perfect! They are from Versace, and I feel like a movie star when I wear them.

7) Most worn clothing item

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I guess this would have to be my American Eagle top. This is one of my favorites out of all the tops that I have, I love how baggy it is as well and the pattern on the tie.

8+9) Most worn blush/bronzer and lip product

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have combined these two questions because the answer is the same for both of them. I have used MAC’s Costa Chic both on my lips and on my cheeks because it saves time and looks really nice! It also means less product I have to carry around with me to touch up.

10) Most worn mascara

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I only use one mascara at a time, so this summer was still my Bourjois Volume Glamour Max mascara in its awesome hot pink tube.

11) Most worn eyeshadow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t really wear eyeshadow very much this season, I got really into smudgy eyeliner… my most worn eyeliner, though, would have to be the Body Shop eyeliner in Blue Smoke.

Well, that’s it, I hope you enjoyed my tag post!

Lilla’s Box of Treasures (LBT): May 2012

As the month of May draws to a close I would like to draw your attention to a couple of products that I have really reached for this month.

MAC Eyeshadow in Quarry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have really been neglecting my eye makeup recently (the result of warmer weather, extreme laziness, and the sudden fascination for bright lipsticks, which I unfortunately am not brave enough to wear to school), but when I have done something with my eyes, it often involves this color. One of my biggest pet peeves in the world of beauty (or anywhere, really) is an overly dark crease color. I don’t think having a brown line in your eye socket is attractive, and it sure as hell isn’t fooling anyone when it comes to eye depth. To me, Quarry is the perfect color. A beautiful soft purple-y brown (I don’t think the camera is quite picking up on that), it is subtle enough that it can actually look like a naturally shadowy socket, but does still provide a unique color. I also sometimes use it as an all-over lid color for a subtle and polished eye look (a nice partner for bright lips, for instance), or to blend out the edge of Urban Decay’s Sidecar eyeshadow. As for quality it is a very nice, smooth texture, and provides the perfect amount of pigmentation for a crease/blending color. I really do recommend this shade; it is a very versatile and unique eyeshadow that you can always depend on.

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer in Genius in the Bottle

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have only recently acquired this color, and I have been really enjoying it! It is a beautiful color, one of the many dupes of Chanel Peridot. I have gotten a ton of compliments on this nail polish, and actually a couple of friends bought this shade after borrowing mine, so expect some drooling if you choose to wear it ;).

Wet n’ Wild Megashine Nail Color in 437F Emblazed 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To me this is the perfect summer color: a gorgeous true coral, even if it doesn’t show up on camera as such (it is actually less orange in real life). I currently have this on my toes, and it looks amazing! Another amazing thing: the price (somewhere under $2, I believe…)!

Labello Soft Rose Chapstick

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s just talk about lifesavers for a minute. Along with my face, my lips have been so dry recently. And then, of course, I went and lost my Carmex. I was not amused. So of course I had to trek down to my local drugstore and pick up another chapstick, and I picked up another one of these guys. Well, two of these guys, as they came in a two-pack for a grand total of €1.99 (!). The color provided is really sheer, NOTHING like the Revlon lip butters, but when applied they just give you the prettiest your-lips-but-better lip color imaginable.

Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Lotion SPF 15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has been getting pretty sunny this month, especially now towards the end, so sun protection is getting to be really important (click here to see more about sun protection). This has made it really easy for me to just throw on some protection without needing a separate facial sunscreen. In addition, my skin has been especially dry recently (normally it’s combination, but it has been just flat-out dry), and this also has really helped that.

Clarins Moisture-Rich Body Lotion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, I have been into skincare this month, more so than usual (skincare normally comes as an afterthought to makeup for me). I have been really into this moisturizer this month, because it is fabulous. It is so super nourishing; my dry scaly legs just love to soak it up. Good thing too, considering I have to expose them now that it is warm…

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Daily Nourishment Leave-In Conditioning Spray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been looking for a good detangling spray to use on my rat’s nest after coming out of the shower. Apparently your hair is super-vulnerable when it is wet, so you’re not supposed to yank a hairbrush through it at that point. Oops. Anyway, that’s where this spray comes in: you spray it in your hair, and voila, your brush just slides right on through with no problems whatsoever. I was also very excited to see that it comes with heat protection, so I can blast my hair with a hairdryer and not feel bad. Is it bad that this makes me so excited…?