July 21, 2011

Marie Veronique's Facial Trio Review


For the last three weeks, I have been testing out three of Marie Veronique's products: the gentle face cleanser, the sun protective oil and the moisturizing face screen (both the light tint and no tint shades).

Marie Veronique Organics is a rare company. It is not common that I like the ingredients in every product a company sells. For example, I use Whole Foods brand lip balm religiously, but I would never use their shampoo. I use Jasons toothpaste, but I wouldn't touch their sunscreen. Every single one of the products in this line has healthy ingredients. Not only are the big names I look out for absent: parabens, phenoxyethanol, fragrance, oxybenzone and sodium lauryl sulfate, but all the ingredients they use are actually good for your skin. None of those bland ingredients that are just neutral fillers ever show up.

Beyond their contents, Marie Veronique products are good for you. All their serums are packaged in glass bottles, even their miniature samples. With concern about plastics and BPA, PVC fumes and leaching plasticizers mounting, this scores points in my book. Not to mention that glass is more environmentally friendly because it is infinitely more recyclable and reusable than plastic.


Gentle Face Cleanser

Marie Veroniques loves lactic acid, which is the cleanser in this face wash. They cannot stop raving about its benefits. They say it is supposed to be a good treatment for acne that is gentle on the stratum corneum, a safe, effective skin lightener and a natural defense against aging and wrinkles.

I like the lactic acid because it doesn't leave my skin feeling tight and dry. Typically after I wash my face I follow up with a moisturizer. Not after this cleanser. When I finish washing my face with this fresh and lavender/rosemary scented cleanser, my face feels clean, but not tight. The lactic acid does exactly what they claim: cleanse without damaging the top layer of your skin, the stratum corneum.

If you read the ingredients list, you will find that it contains hydrolyzed jade. Sounds like a jewelry box for your skin, right? But there is a reason for jade in this cleanser. Scientists have found that the infrared radiation emitted by jade and tourmaline may protect the skin against ultraviolet-light-induced-aging.

Sun Protective Oil

This face oil is designed to moisturize and provide additional UV protection. It contains red raspberry seed oil, which can have an SPF of up to 50, as well as astaxanthin, a highly efficient free radical scavenger.

If I had to rate my skin on a scale of 1-dry, I'd probably be a 6. I've got normal skin that sometimes errs on the dry side. But I've never used a skin oil before. It sounds a little unpleasant, right? We spend most of our teens fighting off all that oil, so why would we want to add it from a bottle now? I'll tell you why. This oil may be one of the most heavenly cosmetic experiences I have ever encountered. It applies onto the skin light and weightless, and absorbs in seconds. And all you need are a few drops. Immediately, my skin felt soft, supple, and any remaining tightness from previous harsh face washes I've used seemed to be banished forever. The feeling immediately afterward was nothing I was familiar with. After applying lotion, I'm used to feeling like the surface of my skin is moisturized. This oil made my skin feel like it was moisturized inside and out.

About 6 days into my trial, the difference the face oil made seemed to be permanent. Even before I had applied anything to my face my skin was softer, more plump and genuinely hydrated. My complexion also somehow seemed to even be more smooth and even.

This was about the point where I fell in love.

Moisturizing Face Screen

Light Tint
The light tint sunscreen is about the perfect color for my skin tone. And the application of this sunscreen is absolutely dreamy. Unlike most mineral sunscreens, Marie Veronique's applies so lightly it doesn't even feel like it's there. It's so easy to rub in, you almost would think it's just a light velvety moisturizer. And once it was applied, my skin tone was smoother and more even, with a perfect matte finish. You know the look of someone who has perfect skin, and you're not sure if they're wearing makeup or not? That's exactly how my skin looked. I think I called it "luminous" in a previous post.

For those of you with darker skin than me (and that would be all of you) the moisturizing face screen is also available in a darker shade called "medium tint."

This sunscreen also contains red raspberry seed oil for extra UV protection in addition to 20% zinc.

No Tint
The moisturizing face screen with no tint actually is a tinsy-tiny bit yellow. The reason for this makes perfect sense; yellow neutralizes red, so that the redness in your face is tamed. So even when I used this sunscreen, it seemed to also even out my skin tone (I'm pretty pink). It has the same formula as the tinted version aside from the coloring, so it goes on just as smoothly with the same perfecting finish.

I thought that I was probably the only one who noticed a difference in my skin. After all, I was paying extra close attention during my trial period. But on day 5 of my test I got a compliment from a perfect stranger. She asked what I did to my skin to keep it so beautiful. And then she talked to my boyfriend about my "gorgeous" skin when she got him alone. Guess I'm not the only one noticing.

It probably sounds like I'm peddling these products, I'm singing so many praises. But these products do have their downsides. If you bought the whole collection you might just break the bank.

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Ingredients in Marie Veronique's Gentle Face Cleanser:
Green* & white tea*, aloe vera gel, vegetable glycerin, hydrolyzed jade, lactic acid, xantham gum, potassium sorbate, agave, colloidal oatmeal, rice bran powder, spirulina, marshmallow root, honeysuckle, adzuki bean powder, rosemary oleoresin, lavender essential oil, geranium essential oil.

Ingredients in Marie Veronique's Sun Protective Oil:
Apricot kernel oil, jojoba oil, fractionated coconut oil, avocado oil*, sesame oil*, grapeseed oil, expeller-pressed, meadowfoam seed oil, emu oil, borage oil*, red raspberry seed oil*, yangu oil, broccoli seed oil, pomegranate seed oil*, marula oil*, vitamin E, sea buckthorn oil*, tamanu oil, Rosemary oleoresin, lecithin*, astaxanthin, krill oil, carrot seed essential oil, lavender essential oil, ylang ylang essential oil*, curcuma essential oil. *Certified organic ingredient.

Ingredients in Marie Veronique's Moisturizing Face Screen:
Green* & white tea*, non-nano zinc oxide, jojoba oil*, apricot kernel oil, meadowfoam seed oil, sunflower oil, emu oil, vitamin E, vegetable glycerin, red palm oil, red raspberry seed oil*, lecithin*, potassium sorbate, allantoin, Cosmocil CQ*, xanthan gum, mica, sea buckthorn oil*, yangu oil, rosemary oleoresin, pearl powder, carrot seed essential oil, cistus essential oil, honeysuckle, helichrysum essential oil, iron oxides. *Certified organic ingredients

2 comments:

  1. Marie Veronique sunscreen is wonderful! It can also double as makeup, because it makes your skin look ravishing.

    ReplyDelete