BEAUTY EMPTIES: BANILA CO, COSRX, L'OCCITANE AND BENTON
Hello everyone, today I am bringing you short reviews of the products I emptied in the past couple months! I forgot to take swatches of the products when I took the first round of photos so my swatch photos are different and the inconsistency is driving me nuts but I'll make sure to be more consistent the next time around!
Products emptied
Skin type: dry, dehydrated, sensitive and acne prone.
1. Benton's Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel
The first empty is the Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel that I bought shortly before my trip to San Francisco back in July 2018. I heard great reviews about it and was searching for a good gel product since it was summer and my skin doesn't need a thick or heavy moisturizer during the hotter months. I also needed something light to use while in SFO because not only is it super hot over there but it's also more humid than where I live (got to love how dry it is in Alberta). I decided to go for Benton's gel because they are known for making products geared towards those with sensitive skin and having a gel that was great for sensitive skin was essential. It is extremely light weight and absorbs really fast. It also made my skin feel smooth and moist and sat well underneath my make up. It doesn't have any artificial or strong scent to it, just a very light fresh one. It didn't irritate my skin at all and if you chill it, it adds a nice cooling sensation when you apply it! I loved using it in SFO because it was hot and humid while we were there and it didn't make my skin feel greasy at all. When I came back home (to Edmonton) it worked great for dry and hot summer weather as well.
One issue that I encountered was that when the weather got colder it wasn't moisturizing enough to use unless paired with other products that were super moisturizing. This was okay because I didn't buy it with the expectation of it being perfect all year round, at the time I wanted something that worked well in the heat. If you have normal to oily skin I think this would work great for you all year round but if you have skin that is drier it might only work best for the warmer months and not during the winter. However, it is still decent in the winter if paired with hydrating products, I used this for a couple weeks along side multiple layers of my snail essence and a hydrating sun cream and it worked well.
Repurchase? Possibly, if I don't find a better gel product!
2. Cosrx's Aloe Soothing Sun Cream SPF 50 PA++++
I think this sun cream was one of the first Korean sunscreens I tried out and I wasn't a huge fan in the beginning. I didn't like the fragrance at all and didn't reach for it that much so I ended up discarding it and tried out some other ones (that didn't work out for me either, will be doing a short review on them soon!). I was initially disappointed because Cosrx is really good for having products that are fragrance free and when I was first using this it felt like the fragrance was a punch to the nose. However, after returning to it a couple years later because I didn't have anything else to use, I began to appreciate it and started using it daily! I grew to love it and have been using it consistently for the past year and a half through summer and winter. Besides the fragrance, the product itself is great. It has a creamy texture that feels like a normal moisturizer, it absorbs relatively fast and doesn't leave a white cast at all. If you want a sunscreen that is mattifying this is NOT for you but if you want one that gives off a slight dewy finish this is for you! If you have oily skin I would imagine this might be a little too dewy but for my dry skin it gives a nice natural and healthy glow! I usually have to wait a minute or so before applying make up after applying it but it isn't that much of an issue because other sun creams take a lot longer to absorb.
I especially love using it in the winter because it provides another layer of hydration that my skin desperately needs when the weather is super cold and dry. When I ran out of face cream, I was able to temporarily replace it with this sun cream during the summer because it was hydrating enough and in the winter it does an okay job at filling in that role (but obviously not ideal). I brought it with me to San Francisco and although it was hot and humid over there it didn't make my skin super greasy and I ended up buying another tube of it in a small Asian beauty store in Japan town! It's a perfect travel size which is great too because you can just easily slip it in your purse, backpack or on your carry on. I finished the tube I bought in SF in around 4-5 months and I could tell a huge difference between when I used it consistently to when I ran out and had to wait for it to come in the mail.
If you're on the market for a cheap but effective sun cream I definitely recommend this. My only complaint is the scent, I've grown used to it and it hasn't made my skin sensitive at all but I would love it a million times more if it was unscented. I think all skin types could use this but those with oily skin might not be able to use it when it's really hot and humid out because I could see it possibly getting a bit greasy. I want to try more sun creams but I can't bare to stop using this since this is the only one that has worked well with my skin!
Repurchase? Heck yes!
Texture shots:
3. Cosrx's Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
It may come as a surprise that the power essence isn't the first one on the list BUT to be fair I've been loving it for years now so it's technically not a new beauty favourite of 2018. Nonetheless, this product has been a holy grail for YEARS and I always recommend it to everyone whether they're struggling with acne, dry or sensitive skin problems or are looking to venture into Asian beauty! It's one of the cosrx products that I think I'll never not have in my arsenal even when I try other brands and products! I have gone through so many bottles of this and have no plans on stopping any time soon. I love how affordable it is so I can justify buying it every 6 months 😋. I bought a new bottle a couple weeks ago and I'm already half way through it because I've been double and triple layering it these days since I ran out of my face cream and gels! I do want to try other essences out on the market but it's so hard to venture out there when you've already found something amazing.
It has the texture that I would describe as being between something watery and gooey. If you never used a snail product before, you would kind of expect the texture of a snail product to be like this (not in a gross way though). It seems gooey but it absorbs super fast and doesn't have a sticky feeling at all and doesn't feel like you have a film over your face after application either. It has no scent at all so those who are sensitive to fragrance like me will definitely enjoy this. I think any skin type could use this as it isn't heavy and doesn't make your face greasy at all. One summer I got away with only using 2-4 layers of this essence and the cosrx sun cream for a couple months and my face was fine. I can't say with 100% confidence that it's drastically changed my acne scarring situation
Repurchase? Yes!
(Sorry I didn't take a texture shot!)
4. Cosrx's Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser
This cleanser has lasted me AGES. I kid you not, I think I used this for a little over two years now.... not the best since it was definitely past its expiration date but I didn't notice any adverse reactions to it so it should be fine (I hope). The first thing I have to say about this is that you really get your moneys worth. It comes in a huge tube, that will last you for a long time and it's super affordable! It probably won't last you for two years like mine did because I didn't use it every single day but it'll definitely last you at least a year. I especially like to use this in the summer when I find my skin isn't as dry as it usual is because it gets the dirt and grime off without being overly stripping or harsh. However, in the winter and after double cleansing it does dry my skin out slightly which is understandable because I do have extremely dry skin during the colder months. Although I enjoyed using this cleanser, I don't think it's ground breaking or amazing. It gets the job done and isn't overly drying like a bunch of other cleansers out there but it isn't moisturizing or anything either. If I used it too much my skin would feel a bit tight (even in the summer) so I think this would work great for those with normal, combo and oily skin! It also works well for dry and sensitive but I wouldn't say it's the best and there's probably other gel cleansers out there that are better suited for those with dry and sensitive skin. I think my biggest hesitation for this cleanser is the tea tree. I know that tea tree works great for a lot of people and if you know it works well with your skin then this cleanser would be great for you but it's hit or miss for my skin. I think this products tea tree was more forgiving since it was a cleanser and I would wash it off immediately versus having it sit on my skin for long periods of time. It has a faint scent of tea tree too which is fine, doesn't linger or irritate the skin. However, I prefer products that don't have tea tree to be on the safe side since my skin isn't a fan of it.
Repurchase? If I can't find a replacement, yes!
5. L'Occitane's Shea Butter Hand Cream
My boyfriend and I have an ongoing joke about how crusty my hands get. I have chronically dry hands (tbh I should probably go to the doctor and see if I have eczema) and it doesn't help that I'm a cashier and have to constantly wash my hands throughout the day (handling money is disgusting). An issue I have is that a lot of creams out there don't DEEPLY nourish my hands and often irritate them because my skin is extremely sensitive to alcohol and fragrance (both of which tend to be in a lot of drugstore creams). The one brand I've never had a lot of issues with is L'Occitane and I don't know why I stopped buying their hand creams for awhile. I used to buy the cherry blossom mini hand cream consistently back in high school and beginning of university but overtime my scent sensitivity got worse and I had to stop using it (however it wasn't making my hands sensitive but just the smell was giving me headaches). So I stopped buying it and was trying to find a cheaper alternative but never really found anything that worked well without giving me headaches or irritated my skin. I went to Sephora this past winter and decided to try out the Shea butter version and I am so annoyed that I didn't try it earlier. I wasted so much money on crappy drug store hand creams that didn't do anything and at times made my hands worse because they irritated them when I could have easily gone to Sephora and just picked this up. I finished it up entirely in 2 months and it made my skin so soft and soothed it too! The scent reminds me of baby lotion and isn't irritating at all! I'm going to go back and buy the bigger size since I know I'll use it and it's worth the price tag (I'm a broke uni student that doesn't want to spend a lot unless I'm 100% sure, I'll love it and put it to good use). I highly recommend L'Occitane if you want a good cream that isn't heavily fragrance or have any irritating ingredients! It feels luxurious but absorbs fast and doesn't leave your hands feeling greasy. I have a huge issue with applying cream to my body because I absolutely hate the feeling of sticky or greasy cream on me and it drives me nuts.
Repurchase? Yes!
(In fact, I bought another small tube to carry around with me and a larger tube to use on my whole body)
6. Banila Co's Clean It Zero #Nourishing
Last but not least, I finished up the nourishing version of Banila Co's clean it zero! This one is formulated for those with dry skin and has royal jelly extract, squalene, ginseng root extract, bamboo extract, evening primrose oil, sunflower and safflower oils! It has a light sweet scent to it and completely melts off any make up without leaving a film on the skin (rinses off easily). I used this up super fast and enjoyed using this. However, if I had to choose between this and the purifying version, I'd choose the latter because I think the ingredients work better for my skin. I didn't find that this irritated my skin at all but I found the purifying one to be slightly more gentle so my skin felt a tiny bit less dry afterwards (since purifying is formulated for those with sensitive skin). However, this cleansing balm is great regardless and if you have dry skin I definitely recommend using it! I think it would also work well for those with combo, normal or sensitive skin too but it might be too heavy for those with oily skin (but they have one formulated especially for oily skin so maybe check that one out). I'm planning to do a overall review over the different versions of the cleansing balms I've used and break down which ones I loved the most to the least! I still need to try the reformulated version of the original banila co balm and if you guys have any other cleansing balms you want me to try out let me know and I'll include it in the master list and break down!
Repurchase? No because I prefer the purifying version, however, if that version gets discontinued I wouldn't be opposed to buying this again!
Products emptied
- Benton's Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel
- Cosrx's Aloe Soothing Sun Cream
- Cosrx's Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
- Cosrx's Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser
- L'Occitane's Shea Butter Hand Cream
- Banila Co's Clean It Zero Cleansing Balm in Nourishing
Note: I am publishing this review very late because I've been swamped with school and didn't have time to post it soon after I emptied these products.
Skin type: dry, dehydrated, sensitive and acne prone.
1. Benton's Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel
The first empty is the Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel that I bought shortly before my trip to San Francisco back in July 2018. I heard great reviews about it and was searching for a good gel product since it was summer and my skin doesn't need a thick or heavy moisturizer during the hotter months. I also needed something light to use while in SFO because not only is it super hot over there but it's also more humid than where I live (got to love how dry it is in Alberta). I decided to go for Benton's gel because they are known for making products geared towards those with sensitive skin and having a gel that was great for sensitive skin was essential. It is extremely light weight and absorbs really fast. It also made my skin feel smooth and moist and sat well underneath my make up. It doesn't have any artificial or strong scent to it, just a very light fresh one. It didn't irritate my skin at all and if you chill it, it adds a nice cooling sensation when you apply it! I loved using it in SFO because it was hot and humid while we were there and it didn't make my skin feel greasy at all. When I came back home (to Edmonton) it worked great for dry and hot summer weather as well. One issue that I encountered was that when the weather got colder it wasn't moisturizing enough to use unless paired with other products that were super moisturizing. This was okay because I didn't buy it with the expectation of it being perfect all year round, at the time I wanted something that worked well in the heat. If you have normal to oily skin I think this would work great for you all year round but if you have skin that is drier it might only work best for the warmer months and not during the winter. However, it is still decent in the winter if paired with hydrating products, I used this for a couple weeks along side multiple layers of my snail essence and a hydrating sun cream and it worked well.
Texture shot:
(please ignore how ashy my hands look, my hands are chronically dry in the winter)
Repurchase? Possibly, if I don't find a better gel product!
2. Cosrx's Aloe Soothing Sun Cream SPF 50 PA++++
I think this sun cream was one of the first Korean sunscreens I tried out and I wasn't a huge fan in the beginning. I didn't like the fragrance at all and didn't reach for it that much so I ended up discarding it and tried out some other ones (that didn't work out for me either, will be doing a short review on them soon!). I was initially disappointed because Cosrx is really good for having products that are fragrance free and when I was first using this it felt like the fragrance was a punch to the nose. However, after returning to it a couple years later because I didn't have anything else to use, I began to appreciate it and started using it daily! I grew to love it and have been using it consistently for the past year and a half through summer and winter. Besides the fragrance, the product itself is great. It has a creamy texture that feels like a normal moisturizer, it absorbs relatively fast and doesn't leave a white cast at all. If you want a sunscreen that is mattifying this is NOT for you but if you want one that gives off a slight dewy finish this is for you! If you have oily skin I would imagine this might be a little too dewy but for my dry skin it gives a nice natural and healthy glow! I usually have to wait a minute or so before applying make up after applying it but it isn't that much of an issue because other sun creams take a lot longer to absorb.
I especially love using it in the winter because it provides another layer of hydration that my skin desperately needs when the weather is super cold and dry. When I ran out of face cream, I was able to temporarily replace it with this sun cream during the summer because it was hydrating enough and in the winter it does an okay job at filling in that role (but obviously not ideal). I brought it with me to San Francisco and although it was hot and humid over there it didn't make my skin super greasy and I ended up buying another tube of it in a small Asian beauty store in Japan town! It's a perfect travel size which is great too because you can just easily slip it in your purse, backpack or on your carry on. I finished the tube I bought in SF in around 4-5 months and I could tell a huge difference between when I used it consistently to when I ran out and had to wait for it to come in the mail.
Repurchase? Heck yes!
Texture shots:
3. Cosrx's Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
It has the texture that I would describe as being between something watery and gooey. If you never used a snail product before, you would kind of expect the texture of a snail product to be like this (not in a gross way though). It seems gooey but it absorbs super fast and doesn't have a sticky feeling at all and doesn't feel like you have a film over your face after application either. It has no scent at all so those who are sensitive to fragrance like me will definitely enjoy this. I think any skin type could use this as it isn't heavy and doesn't make your face greasy at all. One summer I got away with only using 2-4 layers of this essence and the cosrx sun cream for a couple months and my face was fine. I can't say with 100% confidence that it's drastically changed my acne scarring situation
Repurchase? Yes!
(Sorry I didn't take a texture shot!)
4. Cosrx's Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser
5. L'Occitane's Shea Butter Hand Cream
My boyfriend and I have an ongoing joke about how crusty my hands get. I have chronically dry hands (tbh I should probably go to the doctor and see if I have eczema) and it doesn't help that I'm a cashier and have to constantly wash my hands throughout the day (handling money is disgusting). An issue I have is that a lot of creams out there don't DEEPLY nourish my hands and often irritate them because my skin is extremely sensitive to alcohol and fragrance (both of which tend to be in a lot of drugstore creams). The one brand I've never had a lot of issues with is L'Occitane and I don't know why I stopped buying their hand creams for awhile. I used to buy the cherry blossom mini hand cream consistently back in high school and beginning of university but overtime my scent sensitivity got worse and I had to stop using it (however it wasn't making my hands sensitive but just the smell was giving me headaches). So I stopped buying it and was trying to find a cheaper alternative but never really found anything that worked well without giving me headaches or irritated my skin. I went to Sephora this past winter and decided to try out the Shea butter version and I am so annoyed that I didn't try it earlier. I wasted so much money on crappy drug store hand creams that didn't do anything and at times made my hands worse because they irritated them when I could have easily gone to Sephora and just picked this up. I finished it up entirely in 2 months and it made my skin so soft and soothed it too! The scent reminds me of baby lotion and isn't irritating at all! I'm going to go back and buy the bigger size since I know I'll use it and it's worth the price tag (I'm a broke uni student that doesn't want to spend a lot unless I'm 100% sure, I'll love it and put it to good use). I highly recommend L'Occitane if you want a good cream that isn't heavily fragrance or have any irritating ingredients! It feels luxurious but absorbs fast and doesn't leave your hands feeling greasy. I have a huge issue with applying cream to my body because I absolutely hate the feeling of sticky or greasy cream on me and it drives me nuts.
Repurchase? Yes!
(In fact, I bought another small tube to carry around with me and a larger tube to use on my whole body)
6. Banila Co's Clean It Zero #Nourishing
Last but not least, I finished up the nourishing version of Banila Co's clean it zero! This one is formulated for those with dry skin and has royal jelly extract, squalene, ginseng root extract, bamboo extract, evening primrose oil, sunflower and safflower oils! It has a light sweet scent to it and completely melts off any make up without leaving a film on the skin (rinses off easily). I used this up super fast and enjoyed using this. However, if I had to choose between this and the purifying version, I'd choose the latter because I think the ingredients work better for my skin. I didn't find that this irritated my skin at all but I found the purifying one to be slightly more gentle so my skin felt a tiny bit less dry afterwards (since purifying is formulated for those with sensitive skin). However, this cleansing balm is great regardless and if you have dry skin I definitely recommend using it! I think it would also work well for those with combo, normal or sensitive skin too but it might be too heavy for those with oily skin (but they have one formulated especially for oily skin so maybe check that one out). I'm planning to do a overall review over the different versions of the cleansing balms I've used and break down which ones I loved the most to the least! I still need to try the reformulated version of the original banila co balm and if you guys have any other cleansing balms you want me to try out let me know and I'll include it in the master list and break down!
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