{Review} Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer (For Combo Skin)

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know how much I love gel moisturizers, especially those from Clinique. I've gone through several bottles of their Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel and their Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief Moisturizer. However, while my skin feels better, they make my wallet ache. As far as moisturizers go, they aren't as expensive as other brands. But, for what they are, mildly moisturizing gels, they are a bit pricey. So, when I came across Neutrogena's Oil-Free Moisturizer for Combination Skin, I just had to try it. A friend of mine who has tried it said it was a gel moisturizer so I just had to give it a try. And shocker: it's actually pretty good!

Important: although this moisturizer says it's for combo skin, it really will only work well for people with strictly oily skin. I've tried it on several friends with combo skin and it does absolutely nothing for their dry areas.

What it claims:

"Noncomedogenic, alcohol-free, allergy tested, fragrance-free, moisturizes dry areas, won't make oily areas shiny, and will keep oily areas matte throughout the day." That is a lot. For a drugstore moisturizer that cost $11.99, that is a lot. Heck for my HG Clinique stuff that's a lot lol! But we'll see...

Ok, so one thing I'm loving about this moisturizer is the pump. I've never been a fan of the Clinique DD Gel pump because the square shape makes using the pump a bit awkward. That and it dispenses too small of an amount in one pump, but two pumps is a teeny bit too much. This pump gives a generous amount with one pump that is enough for the face and the neck. And the bottle fits comfortably in the hand.

A swatch:

This is one pump. As you can see, it's a liquidy gel formula that is quite thin.

And rubbed in:

It absorbs right into the skin within a minute. It doesn't leave any kind of greasy film or anything like that, so there is no shine on the skin right after you apply it. Now, Neutrogena claims that this moisturizer will control shine throughout the day. Well, it doesn't. In fact, I've yet to come across a moisturizer that actually controls shine. I've used DDF, Clinique, Lancome, Estee Lauder, etc. They may claim to do so, but none of the ones I've used so far have actually kept my face from getting shiny. With this moisturizer my face gets shiny in about the same amount of time it usually does. It I apply it at 7 am, when I'm usually getting ready, then my face will get shiny around noon. It doesn't make my face greasy though because it does absorb quickly, but that's not the same as keeping my face matte.

It's also important to note that Neutrogena also claims that this moisturizer will moisturize dry areas on combo skin types. Well, it doesn't. In fact, if you have combo skin I wouldn't use this product at all. I've tried it on several of my friends who have combo skin and most of them said that the areas where they had some dryness this moisturizer did nothing, even when I applied an extra layer. I've read a lot of reviews on this moisturizer online as well, and people with combo skin rated this product low while people with oily skin rated it high. This moisturizer is basically a mild day moisturizer for people with oily skin. It is good for people with oily skin because we tend to have fairly well moisturized skin to begin with so we don't need as much moisture. People with combo skin, however, have areas on their faces which do need a bit more moisture which this moisturizer will not deliver.

What I also like about this moisturizer is that it layers fairly well under makeup as well. Sometimes whenI layer moisturizers under makeup my face tends to get oilier faster. Not so with this moisturizer. It absorbs within a minute and leaves my face well hydrated for makeup. The only problem I now have is that it doesn't have an SPF, just like the Clinique version, so I've been mixing this with my Neutrogena Liquid Sunblock. Both formulas are so thin that for the most part they do not make my face oilier. That being said, I've been testing them out at the end of winter so my face tends to be a bit less oily to begin with. When summer comes I'll probably use less of the moisturizer, but for now it works well for me.

In the end, a great moisturizer for people with only oily skin, not so for those with combo skin. It is very similar to Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. For the price, I'd actually say the better buy!

Pros:

-Light weight.

-Doesn't clog pores.

-Didn't break me out.

-Layers well under makeup.

-No strong scent.

-Doesn't make my face oily.

-Good price.

-Absorbs very quickly.

Cons:

-Doesn't mattify like it claims.

-Doesn't moisturize dry areas like it claims.

-No SPF.

Info:

Price: $11.99

Ingredients: Water, Cyclomethicone, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Glycerin, Cetyl Ricinoleate, Stearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG 100 Stearate, Methyl Methacrylate Glycol Dimethacrylate Crosspolymer, Lysine Carboxymethyl Cysteinate, Lysine Thiazolidine Carboxylate, Tocopherol (Natural Vitamin E), Silica, Xanthan Gum, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Diazolidinyl Urea, Benzalkonium Chloride.

Disclosure: The product featured in this post was purchased by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in comments.

Updated Foundation Routine

In the past few months my skin has been horrible, especially around the side of my face, the cheek area, where I have never ever broken out :'( I've really tried to go back to a stable routine, using only a few products on my face and as little base foundation or concealer as possible. I don't know what caused the massive breakout, but I'm just beginning to get it under control and I thought I'd share with you what I've been doing.

First off, to treat the acne I went back to my cleansing routine. I was using those makeup remover/moisturizer all in one cloths at the end of the night to remove my makeup instead of actually going and washing my face out fully, which definitely contributed to the acne. It just felt like too much hassle after a long day of work, classes, studying..try to fit a social life in and somethings gotto go. I've been using my Queen Helen Mint Jelep Mask and my Acne Free Terminator which have helped a lot! I've also been using a very basic moisturizer: aloe very. Now, I only use this during the day. I'll wear it under my makeup or I'll dilute my foundation with it to make a tinted moisturizer.


To make the tinted moisturizer I simply mix them on the back of my hand, usually half and half. If I need more coverage, I add more foundation, if not, less. It won't work well with all foundations, but works very well with my Clinique Even Better or Maybelline Mineral Liquid.


Simply mix and apply. It gives me sheer coverage and covers up my redness without looking like a mask. This way I only use my Smashbox HD Liquid Concealer only where I absolutely need it. I've been setting with my NYC translucent powder which I will review soon!

I like aloe during the day because mys kin is very oily and sometimes using a regular moisturizer, even my Clinique DD Gel is too much. I don't know what it is about aloe vera gel, but it sens somehow and makes my makeup last longer. Be careful what type of aloe vera gel you use if you do try this. I'm using Jason Natural Cosmetics Aloe Vera Super Gel. It's very affordable, around $10-$13 for 16 oz bottle (depending on where you buy) and it's 98% pure aloe vera. I use it everywhere: after shaving or waxing, being out in the sun, etc. It's a great multi-tasker. I highly recommend trying this stuff out if you need a very light moisturizer during the day. It won't work if your skin starts to dry out in the winter, but as I use a heavier moisturizer at night, it's not really an issue for me. If you try it, let me know how it goes!

EDIT: I put the aloe vera gel into a smaller container from a used up moisturizer because lets face it, 16 0z is affordable but crazy big and inconvenient when doing my makeup in the morn, lol!

Review: Biore Dual Fusion Moisturizer with SPF 30

If you are a fan of stores like Ocean State Job Lot, Big Lots, and various other discount stores you may have noticed a bunch of the newer Biore products cropping up, and I'm telling you not to hesitate to try them! Biore products are very good as far as drugstore skin care goes in my opinion. While they usually cost a bit more, the ones that I've tried have been very effective, especially the moisturizers and toners. This review is for only a moisturizer but I'll be sure to post some more Biore beauty!

This is a dual moisturizer. This means that it is a combo of moisturizer and SPF, but the products are separated until you actually pump them out and then you mix them and apply them to your face. Supposedly this is supposed to be better as it protects against the degradation of the SPF, but I can't really attest to it.

You can see in these next couple of pics how the product comes out:



This dispenser my only pet peeve with this moisturizer, but I'll get to that later.

Here's what the packaging looks like:

If you think it looks a bit on the small side, you are correct, it is very small, as far as I'm concerned. You only get 1.7 oz of product, which, for a high end brand would be ok, but this is just too little, especially as half of it is the SPF. Keep in mind that this retails for $13.99. This may not seem like too much, but if you do the math it's more expensive that my Clinique DD Gel. The Biore one is about $8.29 per oz, while the Clinique one is about $5.71 per oz, so while I may pay around $24 for the Clinique, I'll actually be saving money in the long run. As great as this moisturizer is, I wouldn't pay full price for it. However, I found this at my local Ocean State Job Lot for $5, which is a steal!!! If you can find it discounted like that, snap it up. Otherwise, it's not really worth it.

Here's the dispenser:

It's got two little holes. One dispenses the sun block and the other the moisturizer. You can tell which is which by the color. The sunblock is white and the moisturizer is green.

The product:

You dispense it and then mix it together before applying it to you face.


When you mix it, it just turns white and then applies clear.


This is right after you rub it in a bit. Ignore the blue shadow in the corner. Idk where that came from :/ It feels really good right after you put it on. My face felt super moisturized, but not greasy/sticky. It feels really light, almost like a gel and absorbs very quickly.

Here's a couple of minutes after I applied it:

My skin feels very fresh after this. The biggest plus for this moisturizer is it's non greasy formula, even though it has SPF 30!!! My biggest pet peeve when using the Clinique DD Gel is that is doesn't have any SPF, so I'd have to layer it over SPF and end up feeling like I've got a ton of product on my skin. This moisturizer goes on very light, absorbs quickly, and doesn't leave me looking oily like almost every other moisturizer with SPF has in the past. Also, SPF 30 is a significant amount of SPF. Usually in moisturizers it's 15. And as it's been proven that we usually don't apply enough of the moisturizer to get full protection, a higher SPF is better. The box also mentions that this is supposed to improve skin tone, but even with continued use (a month and a half) I haven't noticed a reduction in redness, so I wouldn't put much stock in that. This moisturizer is supposedly meant for in between (not a teen, not old enough for serious anti-aging ingredients), but I think anyone can benefit from light moisture and a good SPF.

There really is only one big problem with this moisturizer, and that is how much you have to pump to get BOTH sides of the dispenser to dispense products. If you've used those click pen concealers/glosses you'll know what I mean. You've gotta pump and pump until a ton of product comes out, only here, you've got a ton of product coming out from one side of the dispenser and none coming out from the other side. I must have emptied almost half of the SPF before I wizened up to check out other customer reviews online on how to solve this problem.

Here's what you're supposed to do:

Well let me tell you, tapping the bottle does nothing. I tapped, and tapped, and tapped, and still no green. I Googled the problem and here's what I found:

The dispenser actually removes the show the two pumps that the product comes out of.



You can then pump whichever one you need to catch up (in my case the green) until the product comes out, as opposed to pumping both and wasting a ton of product.

Final thoughts: if you can find it at a discount, then you may wish to try it. It's a great moisturizer with a good amount of SPF in it that doesn't leave your skin feeling oily, greasy, or sticky. However, if you do purchase it, be careful that you don't waste a huge amount of product trying to get both pumps to dispense product. And I wouldn't advise paying full price for this product as it is way more expensive (per oz) than more high end moisturizers.

Info:

Price: $13.99

Ingredients: Octinoxate (3%), Zinc Oxide (3.9%), Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Isohexadecane, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Butylene Glycol, Phenyltrimethicone, Cetyl PG Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Nymphaea Coerulea Flower Extract, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Hordeum Distichon Extract (Barley), Disodium Rutinyl Disulfate, PEG 3 Dimethicone, Polyacrylamide, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Copolymer, C13 14 Isoparaffin, Sodium Stearoxy, PG Hydroxyethylcellulose Sulfonate, Dimethicone/Methicone Copolymer, Laureth 7, Propylene Glycol, Iron Oxides, Disodium EDTA, 1,2 Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Tropolone, Fragrance (Parfum), Green 5, Yellow 5, Green 3

Disclosure: The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Review: Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Matte Moisture Lotion

Before I begin the review, I want to say thank you to all of my readers! I know lately there haven't been that many posts and god, I feel like I haven't done a review in forever, but I thank you all for sticking around. And I thought I would do a review on a skincare products as I've made a few changes in my skincare routine. Fyi, I have fairly oily skin that tends to get blackheads very easily. I don't really breakout that often but I do get an occasional pimple during my cycle. My biggest problem is the oily look that accompanies oily (or combo) skin. Honestly, I spend so much time with primers, blotting powders/papers, etc. It's just such a pain so I've been looking for products to decrease the oiliness of my skin so that I won't need to wear as many products to keep my skin looking matte as they do take a toll on my skin. And I was in Marshalls a while ago and came across Elizabeth Arden's Matte Moisture Lotion clearanced for $5!!! I've had my eye on this one for a while but at full price it is $34 for 1.7 oz, which is a ridiculously small amount. Honestly though, I would pay that much for this stuff cause it is GOLD!!!

I have to say that 1.7 oz of product is absolutely ridiculous. I just finished my Clinique DD lotion and it's 4.2 oz for $24, so a much better value.


The package promises to normalize skin within a week, but let's face, if you have oily skin it's not really going anywhere. It does however get rid of some of the oiliness and my complexion is definitely better.

Here's what the actual bottle looks like:

Yeah, so not nearly as bit as it looks like, only 1.7 oz.

And the dispenser:

I like the dispenser. It's a small pump that is relatively easy to control.

One pump:

The texture is very thin, almost like a serum, but white. It goes on very very light and doesn't feel at all heavy.

Rubbed in:

It leaves my skin feeling very moisturized, but not oily. Within a couple of minutes the lotion absorbed and my skin was left looking nice and flat. It didn't make my skin look completely matte like a mattifying gel might, but my skin did not look in the slightest bit oily. My skin actually looked like normal skin and I was shocked when I didn't have to use my powder as often. Usually, if I apply my makeup in the morning around 7, I'll be oily at around 11-12. Wearing this moisturizer, I didn't really notice my face becoming oily until around 2, almost 3 o'clock, which is awesome!!! Also, when my face does get oily it's not that super greasy/sweating look. Rather, my face looks a bit dewy. I definitely don't get as oily. I have to say that this lotion completely shocked me as I've tried probably 3 or 4 of these types of lotions and I honestly wasn't expecting much. I checked some reviews online and from what I can see people don't think that it is moisturizing enough. If you have normal or dry skin then yes, this lotion will not be moisturizing enough. It's the same complaints I always hear about Clinique's DD Gel. However, both are great for oilier skin types as they give just enough moisture. And if you're the type that gets those pesky dry patches, do what I do and use a heavier moisturizer at night and a lighter gel/lotion in the morning. And getting back to this lotion, it does have a bit of a smell that I don't really like but it's not bad and dissipates pretty quickly. Other than the price, the only other negative I have with this lotion is the same one I have with Clinique's DD Gel--no SPF. Overall though, I had a really good experience with this lotion. Of course, as everyone's skin is different what works for me may not work for you. If you can though, give it a try. Just check out a Marshall's or TJMaxx first. $34 for 1.7 oz...that's just crazy :(

Info:

Price: $34 (for 1.7 oz...yikes!)

Ingredients: Water, Alcohol Denat., Talc, Tridecyl Salicylate, Urea, Butylene Glycol, Sorbitan Oleate, Dimethicone, Ethoxydiglycol, Propylene Glycol Isoceteth-3 Acetate, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Carrot Extract, Commiphora Wightii Extract, Cucumber Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Extract, Grape Seed Extract, Lemon Extract, Rosemary Extract, Witch Hazel Extract, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Ascorbic Acid Polypeptide, Retinyl Linoleate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Allantoin, Panthenol, Phospholipids, C12-20 Acid Peg-8 Ester, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth 7, Polysorbate-60, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sorbitan Stearate, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Polyacrylamide, Phenyl Trimethicone, Fragrance, Phenoxyethanol

Disclosure:The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.

Review: Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief

Clinique Moisture Surge gel is an intensive moisturizer meant for skin that is really in need of moisture, and let me tell you, it does the job! First off, it is a gel, which I really like as I have fairly oily skin and creams make me feel greasy. The texture of this is perfect-it's liquid-y, but not thin. When you put it on, it feels heavenly, very light weight.

I don't know how well you can see the texture in the above image, but it is very nice. I highly recommend this to someone who doesn't like greasy creams. I bought this because last week I completely stripped my skin. I had run out of my Bliss Foaming Face wash and borrowed a bit of a friends Clearasil gel cleanser. It left my skin with peeling dry patches everywhere-my cheeks, right under my brows, around my chin, sides of my nose, even my forehead!!! My skin was red, like I had windburn and PEELING!!! I was wholly unprepared for this as my skin is oily so I don't usually deal with dryness. But after three nights of Clinique Moisture Surge, my skin was back to normal.

Here it is right after I applied it:


Here it is after it's absorbed:

I don't know if you can tell, but it leaves my skin with a sheen. My skin immediately felt silky and smooth, and the gel absorbed within a couple of minutes, so no grease face, haha! I've really been liking Clinique's gels. I've never come across such great moisturizers for oily skin. Other brands advertise for oily complexions, but nothing I've tried has beaten Clinique's light weight, non greasy formula. Now if they could just add some SPF... And interestingly enough, I've been able to apply this over my foundation during the day if I notice a dry patch without displacing my makeup! And I've heard of people using this as a mask (applying it to damp skin for five minutes and then wiping off) but I fail to see how this can be more beneficial than actually letting the gel absorb. Anyway, I've had a really good experience with this moisturizer and highly recommend it to anyone with oily skin!

Has anyone else tried this moisturizer? Feel free to let me know what you think in comments!

Info:

Price: $34-$46.50 (depending on size)

Ingredients: Water, cyclopentasiloxane, butylene glycol, glycerin, birch bark extract, lady's thistle extract, green tea leaf extract, saccharomyces lysate extract, sucrose, aloe barbadensis leaf water, trehalose, hydroxyethyl urea, sorbitol, oleth-10, tromethamine, caffeine, hydrogenated lecithin, hydrolyzed extensin, sodium hyaluronate, tocopheryl acetate, palmitoyl olgiopeptide, caprylyl glycol, dimethicone, glyceryl polymethacrylate, peg-8, ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/vp copolumer, magnesuim ascorbyl phosphate, carbomer, hexylene glycol, disodium edta, phenoxyethanol, red 4 (CI 14700), yellow 5 (CI 19140)

Disclosure: The product featured in this post was bought by me for the purpose of my personal use. If you have any further questions about disclosure, don't hesitate to ask in the comments.