Intellegent Aesthetics: Truth Based Skin CareBalance Kit & Exfoliating Oatmeal CleanserI love the packaging, very minimal & straight-forward. Print can be too small, but that's life. Loving the tagline, "the end of false hope." After using the line for a week, I did notice a drastic reduction in the blackhead population of my nose, which is nice. The rest of my face revolted, however, and some not-so-pretty spots appeared around my temples & forehead. My oil production system does NOT like attempts at control & fights. Fights dirty, too. The
Exfoliating Oatmeal Cleanser smelled nice. The creamy base is good, but the scrubbing bits were on the huge side. I am all about micro-scrubbers, and these were full-on granules. I know that my skin has a tendency to freak out, but I hurt after this. My face felt raw. Maybe this is really exfoliating? Maybe I have delicate skin? My dad (hey, real men exfoliate) is very happy with this, as he thinks micro-bead scrubbers are girly. He did not use the word "girly," but that it my best translation of the face he made.
Refreshing Pore Cleanser- LEMONS! This is a fairly good cleanser. Salicylic Acid, antioxidants, rinses well. Not too harsh.
Oil Control Skin Primer-- Yes, I am a product junkie who does not understand toner. Having come of age in the sea-breeze & oxy pad era, I think of toners as harsh & semi-evil. Toners that don't make your fingertips peel, I really don't get. So, you wash your face, then you put stuff on it, & that makes it cleaner? Yeah, I don't buy it. It is, however, grossly satisfying to see dirt on a cotton ball-- much like seeing the biore strip post-peel. This is a little Pledge-y smelling, yellow water.
AM/PM Mattifying Complex-- This was cleanly lemony, and does help the clearing process. It has very little to recommend it to those of us who fear wrinkles, except the pomegranate extract. This was a no-harm/no-foul product for me. The line also includes the
Intensive Oil Balancing Treatment, but it has chamomile, so I didn't try it (allergic). I don't know why, but this entire line has Ricinus Communis Seed Extract. That's Castor oil. Why? All told, this is a well developed line. I have come to the conclusion that it is meant for younger &/or less mercurial skin than mine. I am going to have my nieces try it, I do not doubt that it will work well for them.
