Ch-ch-cha-changes…
07/03/2004
An Update on Y
I spoke to Y today and he seemed to be a lot better than he was a couple of days back. On Wednesday, he was truly depressed. Today, he was much more like his usual. He wasn’t laughing or happy or anything like that, but a strange calm came through his voice, which I can put down to 2 possible things: anti-depressants or the book. He mentioned that he read it, and even told me the bits that he thought were good. In any case, I’m relieved that he’s turned the corner.
Making some adjustments
So in a bid to start spending less than I’m earning (who’d have thought it would be a good idea?) I abandoned some of my usual toilettries in favour of less expensive ones. In this instalment I’ll run through the alternative facewash adventure.
Face/Off: Origins’ Checks and Balances vs The Body Shop’s Seaweed Purifying Facial Wash vs Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser
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Checks and Balances Facial Wash Available at: Origins Price: $35 Size: 150ml Skin type: Combination Rating: 4.5 / 5 |
Checks and Balances comes in a nice 150ml size and lasts us about 2 months. A small dab lathers into a rich thick foam which washes off clean. Not squeaky clean like Clinique’s facial soap, but nice and clean without the usual slimey feeling. Ingredients include Konjac Powder which sucks up oil, Wheat Protein which redistributes moisture where you need it – it doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight. Yet the loveliest part of it is the Lavender, Spearmint and Bergamot which makes it smell so heavenly.
The price though, is a bit of a put off. I mean, $35 is in between nowhere. You need $50 to get a stamp in your rewards card, and everything else I use (Have a Nice Day and Nite-a-Mins) would put it over $50 but just under $100. Total bummer. Yeah, I could probably give up on the whole rewards thing, I know. But I use those products anyway.
So anyway. I decided to try The Body Shop again, afterall I used their products religiously growing up. And they’re everywhere so it’s really easy to just pop by one of the stores and pick stuff up.
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Seaweed Purifying Facial Wash Available at: The Body Shop Price: $14.90 Size: 100ml Skin type: Oily Rating: 2.5 / 5 |
I just started on Seaweed wash maybe 10 days ago. I have to say it’s not really satisfactory for me. The consistency of the liquid is runny, but it doesn’t lather so well. Too little water and it sticks to your palms. Too much water and it runs off your palms. It’s a fine art that I haven’t gotten the hang of. Once on your face though, it does its obligatory lather and smells pretty pleasant. However, the wash off is a bit of a pain. It’s one of those that leaves that slimey feel on your face, so no matter how much water you splash on it, it never feels clean.
However, it has kept KF relatively acne free still. Maybe it’s too early to tell. I haven’t fared so well, I’ve got a few spots here and there which gets a little annoying. Somehow I don’t feel that the gel-like consistency really cuts the grease.
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Gentle Foaming Cleanser Available at: Clarins Price: $36 Size: 125ml Skin type: All skin types Rating: 1 / 5 |
I was the most disappointed with this one. It promised a “soap-and-water” clean, but didn’t deliver. It left that slimey feeling on my face, and stung my eyes. It was supposed to cleanse, purify and remove excess oil secretions, but again, didn’t manage that. It couldn’t keep KF’s acne in check, and even I started to break out (not badly, but it’s unusual for me). The worst bit was that it smelled like something my grandma would use. Ingredients include Hazelnut, Jojoba, Shea and Soapwort but it smelled like someone dunked a garden of lilies in there. I stopped using it after 2 weeks. It’s sitting somewhere in my cupboard, waiting for when I get real desperate. Add to that it wasn’t really even cheap. I think they really meant it for more delicate skin.
The moral of the story
If you want to stinge, stinge on stuff that you don’t use on your face. And when the package says Gentle, I think they mean it.
