Skin Care: The Basics - Esse

Apparently, the first step to recovery is acknowledging you have a problem:

 I like to experiment with face and skin products.

I like foundations, and BB Creams (ok that's a bit obvious, considering my posting history), I like concealers and highlighters, I like contouring, I like makeup and masks. However, between my trying out new products, the stress of work and family life, and a few hormonal ups and downs, I managed to do my skin some damage. 

Growing up, I didn't have that many skin issues, a few acne breakouts which were often stress related, or linked to my menstrual cycle. For the most part, all I needed was a little concealer here and there, and the strength to fight off the temptation to pop Mount Etna as it emerged on my face.

After I started working, however, the breakouts became much more regular. I was almost constantly having a breakout of some kind, and, is common with breakouts, one pimple became the source for a second pimple, and the cycle continued. As these pimples were invariably becoming aggressive white heads, I wasn't comfortable covering them up with makeup in case this aggravated them. I was now getting some rather nasty hyper pigmentation left behind after the pimple had long gone.

I tried a number of products, from what I used in high school (sebamed), to organic skin care products and the high end stuff (Clinique, Clarins, Elizabeth Arden). The best among them would stop the breakouts from becoming worse, and stop the spread of the breakout, but they weren't doing anything to calm the existing pimples, or stopping future breakouts. I also tried out a few products to help with the hyper pigmentation, to no avail.

On the advice of a friend, I went to get a facial and some advice. The beauty therapist suggested I try a trial kit from Esse Organic Skin Care.This is how I was introduced to Esse Organic Skin Care.

Esse Organic Skin Care describe themselves providing:

"...cutting-edge, certified organic products for the professional skincare market. The brand is focused on efficacy. Both clients and therapists expect results. We don’t see any need to use chemicals to improve skin condition – nature offers us all the actives that we need.

Esse is driven to find ways to provide maximum benefit to the communities that source our raw materials from the African bushveld. The success of these community projects will continue to provide us with the incredible actives that make our products unique. It will also provide income to communities that desperately need it. Esse is for people that want effective, healthy and natural products that protect their skin as much as their environment."

(From the About Us section of their website, here)

Personally, I think Esse needs to rewrite their About Us section, because I don't think this particular description does them justice. Esse produce organic products, in some cases with well over 90% of the ingredients being from natural sources. Their products produce results and are real value for money. These for me, are the facts, without any marketing fluff.

I have oily to combination skin, for the most part. I started off with the oily/combination trial pack. The trial pack contains:

• 10ml Gel Cleanser;
  
• 10ml Cream Cleanser;
• 10ml Toner;
• 10ml Cocoa Exfoliator; and,
• 10ml Deep Moisturiser.

The products come in a wooden box, and provide roughly 2 weeks to a month's worth of the complete treatment range.

By the time I had finished the pack, my skin had calmed down considerably. It stopped the breakouts from spreading, and the existing pimples started to dry out and calm down.

I'm now into my third month of using the Esse products, and in that time, I've only had one pimple make its way to white head stage. The breakouts were my major concern, all I was really looking for was something to get rid of the pimples, but I've also noticed that my skin generally looks better.

My skin is brighter, less irritated, I used to occasionally get red patches on my cheeks, nothing to give me cause for concern, but those patches have calmed down, and the breakouts have all but stopped. People also notice that my skin looks considerably better.

I won't say it's a miracle cure, but, it has given me the results I wanted. I had to stick with the product, but, by the time I had finished the trial pack alone, I could already see results:

• The cleansers don't feel harsh, or feel as if the skin is being stripped of any oils. There was no tightness or any uncomfortable feeling having cleansed. On the advice of my beauty therapist, I used the cream cleanser like a face wash, as opposed to using it with cotton wool, which has been known to irritate my skin when cleansing.
  
• The moisturiser doesn't feel sticky or heavy; though, I will admit it took some time for me to get used to the smell and feel of it. The deep moisturiser is quite thick compared to daily moisturisers I've used in the past, it's more like a body butter. I can turn the tub upside down, and it won't drip out. The same moisturiser is used both during the day and at night.
• The exfoliator initially worried me, because I've had bad results with exfoliators spreading breakouts. However, this one hasn't spread any breakouts. 99% of the ingredients are organic. My favorite thing about this exfoliator is that the particles dissolve, so I know to stop and rinse when all the particles dissolve.
• The toner doesn't feel harsh or leave my skin feeling tight or with a mild burning sensation, which I have noticed with other toners in the past. Their toner contains rooibos extracts and olive leaf extract, which protect against environmental damage and pollution.

Price wise, Esse Organic Skin Care products aren't cheap, but, they aren't very expensive either. At the end of the day, my skin matters a lot to me, and I am willing to pay a little more to make sure it is taken care of. It is considerably cheaper than Clinique, which is a skin-treatment brand I hold in high esteem. The normal sized Esse gel cleanser and moisturiser, which last for about 3 months, cost the same as one Clinique moisturizer.

It does seem like this product is more commonly available in South Africa and surrounding countries, but it is available in other countries, if you check out their stockists list on their website.

BB Cream: The Body Shop Vitamin E Cool BB Cream

As I mentioned in the review of The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream, The Body Shop advertised a second BB Cream offering, their Vitamin E Cool BB Cream, which at the time, hadn't hit stores here. Vitamin E is marketed as a powerful antioxident that neutralizes the oxident effect of free radicals. The effect of free radicals can include fine lines, wrinkles and skin dryness. For a full article on Vitamin E and how it benefits the skin, try out Discovery Health's article.

This particular BB Cream only comes in one cool shade. This is a bit of a let down, considering that we don't all come in one cool shade. The Body Shop markets the BB Cream as providing the following:

• Hydrates to protect

• Evens tone

• Fresh-looking skin

• One cool shade

The BB Cream comes in a 50ml.1.69 US FL OZ, plastic tube with a snap shut lid. It smells a little bit like aqueous cream, which isn't bad - it is mild and unoffensive.

It has the consistency of a moisturizer, and applies smoothly without any of the botchy effects of The Body Shop's last offering. It is hydrating, and I don't notice any tightness or dryness during the day. It provides light coverage and to that extent gives an even skin tone. Like almost all BB Creams, it gives a fresh, natural and dewy finish.

I tend to use this particular product as a primer for foundation, or alone at night if I want a fresh faced look, don't need to wear sunblock, and am a little too lazy to apply a full face of war paint. It is, in its own right, a decent BB Cream; it applies easily, it doesn't smell bad, it provides mild coverage, and it isn't bad. It is, hands down, an improvement on the All-In-One BB Cream. 

The major reason I am disappointed with this BB Cream is, like the All-In-One BB Cream, this contains no sunblock. I maintain that BB Creams should do more than even out skin tone and moisturize, they should contain some skincare benefits, the least of which should be sunblock. I appreciate that Vitamin E is good for skin, and I hear it is great for younger skin in protecting against the early signs of aging and environmental stresses, but is it enough to justify this being a BB Cream? I am personally not convinced.

Unfortunately, and I don't know if this is true the world over, this product is still a little pricey, and considering how little it does, I can't see why I should spend more money on this particular product, when there are other cheaper, and more protective products on the market.

In case you're interested, here's another article, from the Huffington Post, this time, on why you should be cautious when applying Vitamin E to your body.

Have you tried the Vitamin E Cool BB Cream? What are your thoughts?

BB Creams: Rimmel BB Cream 9-in-1 Skin Perfecting Super Makeup

I generally like Rimmel, as a product house. They are reasonably priced, and they have a good variety of different coloured products, and I've been using their lipsticks for ages. What can I say? I'm a sucker for the little crown logo.

However, when Rimmel first released their BB Cream here, several months ago, I was immediately biased against it. It hit stores a few months after Garnier's BB Cream came out, and where Garnier marketed its BB Cream as correcting 5 major concerns for skin, Rimmel says they correct 9! It struck me as a childish game of one-upmanship, and in the game of makeup, with all the other options available, "I'm four better than you, nya nya nya nya nyaa," didn't do much to impress me.

Having finally finished my last bottle of Garnier's BB Cream, and seeing that the BB Cream industry has suddenly flourished, I thought it time to get over myself, and try Rimmel's BB Cream.

Rimmel's BB Cream, 9-in-1 Skin Perfecting Super Makeup "promises" the following:

•  Primes, 
• Moisturises, 
• Minimises pores, 
• Conceals, 
• Covers, 
• Smoothes, 
• Mattifies, 
• Brightens, and
• Helps protect. Lightweight, ultra comfortable formula instantly gives a flawless, 100% natural finish. SPF 25

The BB Cream comes in a 30ml (1fl oz) tube, with a screw on lid. There are 3 different shades available here, light, medium and dark (I need to double check this, Rimmel's London site says there are only 2, but I'm sure I saw more than 2 available shades...), I took light, having tested the shades in the store.

It has a citrusy and slightly sun-block like scent to it, that is slightly cloying, but I tend to forget about the scent shortly after applying  it. This is a thicker BB Cream than the other 2 already reviewed, with the same consistency as sunblock in a tube.

Then I hit the first huge stumbling block with Rimmel's BB Cream. When applied to my face, and as I started to stroke it into my skin, the product started to "roll up" and make tiny sausages of product. Remember when you were a child, and you would play with play dough or plasticine, rolling it out with your palm into a long thin sausage? That is exactly what this product started to do, on my face. When I tried to swipe the little sausages off my face, it just caused more product to catch and more sausages were formed. This meant the first few times I used this product I was lightly slapping my face to get these sausages off my face, without streaking the product that had actually bothered to lie flat on my face, all the while trying to avoid anything getting caught in my hair, so it didn't look like I had foundation boogers hanging off of my face. - Charming, right?

Since necessity is the mother of all invention, and this is nearly 3 times the price of the Garnier BB Cream, a solution had to be found outside of throwing away the BB Cream, or just not using it. I happen to have Vitamin C Energizing Face Spritz, from The Body Shop, which I sometimes use just to give my face a bit of life on those dull, drained days. I decided to spray on the mist, and before it is absorbed, apply the Rimmel BB Cream. Success!

Rimmel's BB Cream provides decent coverage and concealer, doing a decent job of covering up acne hyper pigmentation. This does not mean, however, that it fully covers them. If you want to completely hide hyper pigmentation or other discolouration, you will need concealer and most likely foundation. However, it does blur them, and makes them seem less dark. It provides a matte finish, where both Garnier and The Body Shop's BB Cream have a more dewy finish. I did not notice any skin brightening effects from this BB Cream, and certainly no one commented on my skin looking brighter. It is a decent to good moisturizing product; considering that I'm moving into winter now, it is getting drier and cooler here, but this held up quite well, and there was no dryness or tightness in the cheeks as the day wore on. I really like that this comes with a higher SPF, and whilst it does give a slight ghost cast to the colour tint, it is something I'm willing to put up with for greater protection.

In the end, I won't repurchase this. It is the same price as an all out foundation, and a lot of the things Rimmel advertises as the BB Cream's strong points, I can get from a foundation and get better coverage. But the biggest reason I won't repurchase this, or recommend this, is the sausage effect.  The sausage effect was so off-putting, it made my face look like I was either peeling from sunburn, or having an eczema outbreak!

One of the big selling points for BB Cream is it's meant to be for the "girl on the go" who doesn't have the time to put on a full face of foundation, but still wants to cover up a little bit and have a polished finished look. I don't get that if I'm having to reach for a spritz, spray my face, then reach for the BB Cream. Personally, I do not think applying BB Cream should  be a two-stage process.

On the plus side, though, being a 30ml tube, it should finish quickly.

BB Cream: The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream

The Body Shop markets itself as the more environmentally friendly, socially conscious alternative in make up and body products.

A lot of their body product ranges lean towards natural scents, so there are your sweat pea, moringa, shea butter, brazil nut, chocomania, almond, strawberry, passion fruit, sweet lemon, mango, olive and other clean and identifiable scented products. 

Similarly, their face skin treatments come in set ranges, leaning towards natural healers, with ranges based on vitamin E for moisturizing, vitamin C for a pick-me-up, tea tree oil for acne and sea weed for balancing out oiliness. 

They also do a fair range of makeup, with foundations ranging from compact powders, through to mineral based liquid foundations, lipsticks in a variety of different shades, bronzers and body shimmers, blushes both baked and your normal powder blushes, eye shadows, eye shadow pallets, eye shadow duos, concealers, eye defining kohl pencils, lip liners, lip glosses, mascara, and makeup applicators. Ok, so they do more than just a fair range of makeup.

Their pricing varies depending on the product in question, for body butters, shower gels and 'body' products, they are on the expensive side. For makeup, depending on what you're looking for, they're in the upper drugstore range. Generally, there's some kind of special going on in the shop, and you'll normally get a discount of some kind off on something in the store. Having said that, some products will be a bargain, others can be quite the splurge.

The Body Shop has jumped in on the BB Cream scene, with two BB Creams, their All-In-One BB Cream, and their Vitamin E BB Cream, which I've seen advertised online, but haven't yet seen in store.

The All-In-One BB Cream promises the following:

• light to medium coverage;
• adapts to your skin tone;
• 24 hour hydration;
• even finish; and,
• non clogging

(Taken from their UK Website)

It comes in a 25ml, slim metallic silver tube, with a black screw on lid. There are three available shades, 01 for lighter skin tones, 02 for medium skin tones and 03 for dark skin tones.

Coming out of the tube, the 'cream' is fairly runny, having a similar viscosity to a liquid foundation than a moisturizer. The ingredients are written on the back, on one of those peel back stickers. Unfortunately, The Body Shop took it upon themselves to print 7 pages worth of material on a rather slim sticker. I have yet to split sticker page one from sticker page two, and so do not know what is in the BB Cream - I'm sure the website has the ingredients, though. Coming out of the tube, it looks like melted cookie and cream ice cream. When applied, it changes colour and takes on the appropriate shade. 

It blends into the skin quickly, and provides a light weight moisturizing effect. I have to apply it fairly quickly to avoid the colour from sinking in too quickly and becoming too concentrated at certain places on my face. The 01 light shade is a little dark for my skin right now, so it's definitely more of a summer BB Cream shade for me. It gives a dewy and fresh finish to the skin, for a natural look, which is what BB Creams generally like to piggy back ride on.

Oh yeah, let's get this out of the way now, it smells. It has a green-leaf, chemically smell that is rather unpleasant for any product, let alone one that goes on my face, in close proximity to my nose. I'm not sure if the smell disappears after a while, of if my brain just stops noticing it, but smelling the product out of the tube is a little blach. Honestly, the first time I tried it out, I was worried that I had bought an expired tube and hence the smell.

Besides that, there's no sun screen in this at all. This is a huge let down. I maintain that BB Cream is meant to be more than just a tinted moisturizer, it should be doing something for the good of my skin. In this case, I don't see what good this product does to deserve the title 'BB Cream,' it really is just a tinted moisturizer.

As a tinted moisturizer it's fine, it does provide light to medium coverage, it provides the even finish - though I'm not sure how it couldn't do that, and it is kinda cool to watch a spotted white moisturizer change colours. However, it is expensive, at least as far as available mainstream BB Creams go, it smells, it has no sun block, it doesn't brighten or illuminate my skin the way other BB Creams on the market do. It does not work well as a makeup base, I tried putting foundation on top of this, and it seemed to skew the foundation colour, making my foundation significantly darker and a little botchy in certain places. Honestly, given the option between a liquid foundation and this BB Cream, I'd rather get the foundation. Foundation can be applied with a light hand to give the same dewy fresh faced appearance that this product gives.

One last thing, it's the same price as my liquid foundation. It's a shame really, I had wanted to be wowed by The Body Shop's take on BB Cream. I would have thought The Body Shop would really put in the effort to make the most of a product that would be good for the skin, whilst as a secondary function, providing some coverage like foundation. Apparently, I was mistaken.

BB Creams: Garnier BB Cream All-In-One Skin Perfecter

In the beginning, there was BB Cream. Allegedly, formulated in the 1960s by a dermatologist in Germany, for use on patients coming out of surgery to protect their skin. BB Cream later found its way to South Korea where porcelain flawless skin is hugely popular, and there it became a sensation.

I first heard about BB Cream from Jen (Jen is awesome. Please, hit the link and check out her blog, she has so many great reviews) who did a review on a bunch of different BB Creams. Off the bat, it seems that the Korean versions are credited with doing more good for the skin than their Western counterparts, containing mineral properties to help with age spots, hyperpigmentation from acne, anti-aging, and provide anti-inflammatory protection. So far, a lot of the BB Creams I've seen coming out of the Western houses focus more on providing a beautiful image, without necessarily focusing on the good it does for the skin itself.

When Garnier's BB Cream All-In-One Skin Perfecter hit the market, I was on it like a cat on tuna. (Cats like tuna, right?) I had been longing to try out a BB Cream, and ordering online from South Korea was just not feasible.

Garnier's BB Cream claims to be a 'Miracle Skin Perfector'. Being an illuminator, lightweight moisturizer, primer, all wrapped up in the promise of a healthy glow. It also carries SPF15 UV Protection in its arsenal. Down in these parts of the woods, it comes in 3 shades, light, medium and dark. Light fits me perfectly, being pale with yellow undertones. Medium I think would suit more olive complexions, and dark suits my black colleague perfectly, who is the same skin tone as Tyrese Gibson. It comes in a 50ml plastic tube, with a snap lid, which makes it excellent for carrying around in a handbag, in case you wanted to reapply during the day, or are in just too much of a hurry to apply it before leaving home.

So how does it stack up?

It's a lightweight product, that leaves my skin feeling hydrated without being oily. It's a little thicker out of the tube than liquid foundations, so it applies just like a normal moisturizer. It has a pleasant clean citrusy scent to it, and a little goes a long way with this. It provides very light coverage, in terms of hiding eye bags, scarring and hyperpigmentation. However, it does go a ways to hiding them, and making them less noticeable.

Since this is a lightly tinted moisturizer, I don't have to be quite so precise when applying it, it can be applied just like a normal moisturizer (you know the routine, two warpaint swipes on either cheek sweeping downwards and out, the stripe over the forehead and chin respectively, and then the downward neck swipe. Blend til absorbed) without needing a mirror. At the end, moisturized with some colour and coverage.

It worked very well for me. It gave my skin an instant pick-me-up, and people quickly commented on how good my skin looked, that I was healthier than my normal sallow self. I quickly managed to pull my colleague into using it, and she cannot be bothered with foundation and the rest of it, but now practically swears by the stuff.

The vitamin C helps give skin than healthy glow, and vitamin C is meant to help with healing of hyperpigmentation left from pimples. - If you haven't guessed by now, this is a big deal for me. I break out sporadically and my acne tends to leave me with dark marks, which I know I shouldn't aggravate, but covering them up helps me avoid harassing them. Also, no breakouts from this product.

It acts as a good primer for makeup, and on some days I'll skip foundation completely, and just put makeup directly on top of this product. It works wonderfully to give you that 'natural,' look and it looks like you aren't wearing makeup, but you still have beautiful healthy skin.

The downside for me is really the SPF count. I live in very hot and sunny conditions, and SPF15 isn't enough in terms of protection. Don't get me wrong, I can and do put on a heavier duty sunblock underneath this product. But, one of the big selling points of this product is it's marketed to people on the go, who don't want to spend the time applying sunblock, moisturiser, primer, concealer and foundation but want one easy go-to product. I wanted this product to give me more protection from the sun.  Also, when it gets warm, this product melts and gets into my eyes, and this happens way more often than it should, and it stings.

All in all, this is a no fuss, good quality product. It gives a natural, healthy glow, making your natural skin look the best it can, without that made up look. It is good value for money, and I'd recommend it. Now, if only they could bump up the SPF...