Boots Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm: I mentioned this cute cleanser
earlier, and it went really fast. It was a decent price, they have it at Target, and it came with a little muslin cloth. I used it in the winter as I wanted to use a cleansing balm instead of a gel cleanser, with the idea it would be less drying. However, I was torn, as I felt like rubbing it off with hot water and a cloth left my face pretty red and may have irritated it more than a standard cleanser. I read this advice on
skinacea which suggested that cleansing balms or oils wouldn't strip skin (of it's natural oils, I assume) but would thoroughly clean off all makeup and sunscreen, unlike some foaming cleaners which can leave residue. However, this was just a bit too much of a pain in the ass. I have a long bedtime routine as it is, and the extra time dealing with the cloth was just a bit much.
Mary Kay TimeWise Age Fighting Moisturizer: Good God, this stuff would not die! Seriously it is the zombie of moisturizers. I was so sick of this thing and could not wait to finish it. I do think I swiped it from my grandma's cabinets a long time ago and so it probably was quite old and none too fresh, and by the end it was starting to possibly smell a bit off but I was on a mission to finish it and it didn't seem to be causing any issues with my skin so I just pushed through. It's actually a decent moisturizer, although I wouldn't buy it again. I only used it at night - I use an SPF lotion in the morning. It's got a pretty thin consistency, lightweight and sinks into the skin pretty quickly instead of an oily balm. It's a little expensive if you aren't in the habit of stealing your grandma's cosmetics but like I said, it did last forever. It's fragrance-free which is nice.
Korres Wild Rose Face and Eye Serum Brightening and Line Smoothing: Quite a name, but honestly this didn't do much for me that I noticed. However I don't really have many fine lines yet and I'm not 100% clear on what "brightening" means as a skin-care claim. I think it's usually for products meant to lighten dark spots or uneven pigmentation, so I probably had no business using this as I have already really pale skin and unevenness in my skin tone is usually post-acne spot redness, not brown pigmentation. I bought this in a moment of weakness at Sephora along with mini sizes of their evening primrose eye cream and white tea gel cleanser. This did last a long time. I wasn't a huge fan of the weird-ish rose scent, or the really thin, almost watery gel consistency, although it did sink in fast and wasn't terribly messy. I think I was just trying to get on the antioxidant/ preventative skin care bandwagon, but I've found better ways to do so by now.
