Clean & Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer Review
The best investment a company can ever make is to put out trial size bottles of their product.
Seriously, without a small, trial size of this moisturizer, I would have never bought a whole 3 oz. tube and I’m in love with it now! As I mentioned, I BOUGHT this product – and I bought the trial size, too, so this is not something I was sent and felt obligated to review. Nope, I love this product, and now that I’ve been using it for a while I’ve decided to share with you my morning burst hydrating gel moisturizer review. If you’re anything like me, you may never have heard of gel moisturizer – I hadn’t before I saw this product.
I’m a sucker for the travel size bins at the store. Besides the fact that I do travel a few times a year and have legitimate use for small containers of product, I’m cheap. I hate spending full price on a bottle of product (whether it’s a lotion, facial wash, makeup, what have you) only to find in the first use that the claims are bogus, or it’s just not working for my particular need.
The Back-story
I’ve mentioned before that I have combination skin, which means dry next to oily areas, and it sucks hard. Most of the time, the oil is easy to control with some blotting paper, but the dryness is awful and flaky when really bad. I also hate heavy moisturizers. It seems, in my quest for a really good moisturizer, that all I come across is thick lotions that feel like they’re sitting on top of my face, and I can’t stand that feeling! It’s one of the same reasons I don’t wear foundation on a regular basis because I prefer a natural feel. But my natural look? A little rough around the edges for public consumption! In the past I’ve tried Ponds, C.O. Bigelow products, Bath & Body Works, Simple, Aveno, a litany of store brands, and many more. Heck, this isn’t even the first time I’ve tried a moisturizing product from Clean & Clear! So far, I was most happy with Meaningful Beauty’s Creme de Serum, but I needed a slightly more economical option.
The Results
A dollop of the gel in my hand.
This is perfect – it’s very light on my skin and truly doesn’t feel oily or greasy. It’s absorbed quickly and I don’t mind using it daily since it is so light. I could tell when I first smelled it that the main scent was cucumber, but there’s something more fruity than just cucumber. Upon doing some research (i.e. reading the back) I come to find that it’s green mango. If you’ve ever smelled the Bath & Body Works Cucumber Melon products, it’s very similar but not quite as sweet as theirs… more crisp. It definitely smells nice when I put it on in the morning and helps wake me up just a little bit. I’m so glad I was able to try a little bit before purchasing as I’m not sure if this is something I’d have tried had I had to pay for it. It’s not overly expensive (Drugstore.com also carries the Clean & Clear Morning Burst Hydrating Gel Moisturizer for $5.94) and a little goes a long way.
From the package:
This ultra-lightweight, non-greasy facial moisturizer wakes you up and leaves skin feeling immediately replenished. It’s formulated with water, not oil, and contains a unique blend of cucumber and green mango extracts, so your skin is left feeling clean and refreshed.
100% of that is true, in my opinion. It’s short, sweet, and really gets to the point of why this is a fantastic product. Troll your local drugstore or big box store’s travel sized items section the next time you’re there and see if you can find a small tube to try for yourself. If you have skin like mine but hate the super thick, oily moisturizers that tend to populate the shelves, you won’t be disappointed. Paired with my Yes to Cucumbers Hypoallergenic Facial Towelettes, these make for a pleasant morning routine!
Read MoreSally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Review #CSMTKO
Is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure a TKO to other polishes? Pretty damn close! The good folks at Influenster decided that I was a good candidate for their #CSMTKO Vox Box, and I was very happy to give the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes another shot. I have one that I love, Mermaid’s Tale (click for picture), but I never really thought of it as not requiring a base or top coat since it’s a glitter polish. When Sally Hansen first launched this line a few years ago I bought a bottle while on a business trip and needing a quick manicure and it wasn’t really all it was cracked up to be.
Read MoreMeaningful Beauty Crème de Serum Review
You’ve seen the infomercials on at 3:00 am. Valerie Bertinelli starts telling you all about this skincare line from Cindy Crawford. They show you pictures of Cindy at 20 and pictures at 45 and point out how remarkably similar they look. The woman seriously doesn’t age… and Val tells you it’s because of Meaningful Beauty products. Cote de Pablo chimes in and also goes on and on about how great it is. She’s only a couple of years older than me, which makes me think I need to step up my anti-aging product game plan here!
I’m sure most of you are somewhat skeptical of most products hawked in late night commercials. I’ve been wowed by some As Seen On TV type products in the past and most fall pretty short of the amazing ways they’ll allegedly change your life. I can only really point to one product I’ve bought from an infomercial that was actually worth the two easy payments of $29.95 I spent. Until this one. So thanks to Influenster, I can share this Meaningful Beauty Crème de Serum Review with you!
I received Meaningful Beauty Crème de Serum complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes. I am under no obligation to write a favorable review, but I will, because I actually really do like this product.
I have combination skin, which means I get oily patches not far from dry patches. My main concern is the dryness, however, and not turning the dry patches into oily patches. A lot of facial moisturizers I’ve tried either feel heavy on my face or oily, or just don’t moisturize like I need.
Meaningful Beauty Crème de Serum actually feels wonderful. It’s a very luxurious feel that is moisturizing and not heavy at all. It almost has a gel like texture when it comes out of the bottle. As the name implies, it’s not thick like a cream and not too slick or thin like some serums. The scent is light and clean, which I like because I usually can’t stand the perfume-like “old lady” smell of a lot of anti-aging products. The ribbons inside the bottle combine flawlessly. I’ve been using this for about a week and I really like it. It somehow takes a little bit of grease away from the oily parts of my face, in addition to really making the rest feel softer and smoother than before. I’m definitely a fan!
Resources:
Read MorePoshly Custom-Tailored Freebies
Recently, I discovered an interesting site to enter to win different beauty products, Poshly.com. In order to enter, you answer a few questions that, I know now, are market research questions. These questions range from things like “How often do you wear foundation?”, “Do you watch what you eat?”, “How would you describe your skin?”, and “How old are you?”. In hopes of winning items from brands like Clinique, Makeup Forever, and Urban Decay, I’ve answered a lot of questions trying to win!
Last week, I got an email saying that some free samples were on my way from Poshly, but no specification as to what would be coming. Great, I thought, whatever it is will be cool. I expected a little sample size lotion or something that I may or may not care to use. Instead, today I received a MASSIVE box full of full-sized products that seem to be hand-picked based on responses I gave on those little quiz questions while trying to win stuff. All of the products in the box seem to address issues I identified in my quiz responses. Turns out, this is Poshly’s goal. From their site:
Our mission at Poshly is to build personalization technologies that connect beauty brands with beauty consumers in innovative, data-driven ways. On Poshly, members discover beauty products that are best suited for their characteristics while brands better understand the preferences and personas of consumers in real-time.
So my beauty exploration and marketing worlds are overlapping! Many of these items are organic, botanical, cruelty-free, and even vegan! All the Sia Botanics products are free of Gluten, Parabens, Sulfates, and Synthetic colorants or fragrances. The Sia Botanics and L’Oreal Paris products are 100% vegan, and they plus the Infinity Sun lip balm are all cruelty-free. I tallied up the prices and the value of what I was sent is easily over $150! So thanks, Poshly! I’m going to try to post reviews of all of them over time since they’re all new products to me. Here’s the list of what I got, and where you can get them for yourself!
- Sia Botanics Desert Aloe & Jojoba Cream Cleanser
- Buy from Amazon for $16
- Sia Botanics Super C Glowing Skin Tonic
- Sia Botanics Prickly Pear Rescue Cream
- Buy from Amazon for $22
- Sia Botanics Prickly Pear Daily Moisturizer
- Buy from Walmart for $14.99
- Femme Couture Prime Wear Long Wearing Lip Creme in Glowing Grapefruit
- Buy from Sally Beauty Supply for $7.99
- Femme Couture Shiny Color Crayon moisturizing lip color in Very Berry
- Buy from Sally Beauty Supply for $5.99
- Maybelline ColorSensational lip color in Red Revival
- Buy from Walgreens for $7.99
- Infinity Sun Avance Balme in Vanilla Bean, SPF 15
- benefit They’re Real Beyond Mascara
- Buy from Amazon for $20.51
- benefit the POREfessional pore minimizer
- Buy from Amazon for $8.89
- Haus MetaDerm 100% Organic lotion for Psoriasis
- Buy from Amazon for $14.50
- L’Oreal Paris EverCreme Sulfate-Free Moisture System Cleansing Conditioner
- Mystic Divine Argon & Monoi Oils Nourishing Hair Masque
- Buy from Sally Beauty Supply for $7.49
Review: The Big Book of Spam
Have you ever actually bothered to ever read some of the subject lines of the ridiculous spam emails you get? Author Daniel M. Clark decided to do just that – and record all this sarcastic and funny gut reactions to them all in his new book, The Big Book of Spam, available for a reasonable $13.99.
I admit – without knowing Daniel or much about the book he was writing, he sent me one to reivew and I was worried that it might be dry with marketing analysis of spam headlines, and that I wouldn’t get around to reading it (like the last Joel Comm AdSense Secrets eBook I received that I still haven’t read). But this was a great fun read while I was jetting around the western United States a couple weeks ago on planes and in airports.
Relatively small considering it’s the BIG book of spam (funny in itself), the fonts are big, there’s generally two subject lines and their remarks per page, and it is really funny. I want to share with you my top 10 from the book. I shall warn you in advance, there’s some off-color language in a couple. More than half the book was devoted to the “Sex and Celebrities” category.
- Do you wish ladies would have an… An…? What? An… aardvark? An… obelisk? An… infection? Eww, no, probably not that. An… ice cream cone? Oooh, yummy! Yes, I wish ladies would have an ice cream cone, because maybe I could get a lick. Of the ice cream cone.
- Avoid enhancement pills I’m working on it. These days the kids are popping enhancement pills like candy, much the same way that my generation used to “smoke the weed”. It’s very, very important for the word to get out on “the street” that enhancement pills are very “dangerous”. Parents, heed the words of our noble spammer. Make sure your “kids” are “staying away” from the enhancement pills. This “public service message” brought to you by The Big Book of Spam, the spammer who sent it to us, donations from viewers like you, and this station. Also by a grant from the Corporation for Annoying the Hell Out of People. And the letter B. And the number 7.
- Girls go wild, screaming and stripping and running after me when they see me at the door. It’s embarrassing, really. Last time it happened, I was walking into a church. Talk about awkward.
- Does your spouse bore you to death? Cheer up! Are you trapped in a boring, loveless marriage? Do you wish you were happy? Do you wish that ugly, overweight, unfuckable hag in the ridiculous house coat would just spontaneously combust? Cheer up! For only three easy payments of $1999.99, we can arrange… something. If you know what we mean.
- No hardware needed, satellite tv on your pc Computer, monitor, network card or modem, a router perhaps… a big satellite in outer goddamn space… nope, no hardware needed at all.
- Cleanse your Excess Weight Look, I know I’m not Johnny Six-Pack in the abs here, but I don’t need to be told to cleanse my excess weight. I do that when I shower, and don’t need to be reminded that I should be hitting the gym instead of sitting in front of a computer for ten hours a day.
- Locate super and despicable Box Software for PC and All Macs!!! Your thesaurus has failed you.
- Open Your Eyes to Extreme Multidimensional Mascara! I hope it stops at three, because once you start getting into fouth- and fifth-dimensional mascara, strange shit starts to happen.
- Have your own Vegas Vacation – Participation Required “Honey, I’m off to Vegas. What? NO, this thing says I have to. I’ll be back in a week, I swear – maybe ten days. Seriously, the email says I have to. No, of course I won’t hire any hookers. No, it won’t be like last time.”
- Paris Hilton Sextape. We keep up to date with today’s hottest stars Her sex tape was news in 2003 – you’re not keeping up very well with today’s hottest stars if that’s the best you can do.
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