I am fairly easy to please when it comes to beauty products. In fact, I like way more products, especially skincare products, than I dislike. However, here are two skincare products that disappointed me…so much so that I don’t expect to finish them. And that is rare for me to throw something out that’s not used up.
Neutrogena Deep Moisture Night Cream
I needed a facial moisturizer to leave at Jeff’s house. Since it was autumn, the heat was turned on, and Jeff doesn’t have a humidifier, I knew I should buy a heavy, very hydrating moisturizer. I remember that I stood at the shelf at the CVS near his house for ages trying to decide which product to buy. I probably should have bought Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream, but I hate to spend the money to buy that one at CVS when I know I can get two jars at Costco for almost the same price as one at CVS. I finally settled on Neutrogena Deep Moisture Night Cream, a product I had never tried. The benefits and language on the box were what sealed the deal: “intensely moisturizes without a heavy, greasy feel”.Also, “It’s clinically proven to dramatically increase skin’s moisture level in one week”. Finally, it was affordably priced at $13 or perhaps a little less.
It is a nice thick cream that has a nice feel to it. It isn’t greasy. Unfortunately, it comes in a jar instead of a pump, but it’s so thick, I don’t know if a pump would work.
So what’s the problem, you ask? Neutrogena Deep Moisture Night Cream makes my skin feel like it’s burning! It is soooooo painful. If I had the receipt, I would return this product. I have been using a product with retinol since August, but I don’t use that product when I use this night cream. Perhaps the retinol has made my skin a little more sensitive, but no other facial skincare product I use bothers my skin at all. Just this one. Period.
Maybe it’s because cetyl alcohol is the third ingredient listed? I don’t know, but I do not recommend this product. Sorry, Neutrogena but you let me down!
Ingredients: water, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, dicaprylyl carbonate, stearic acid, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, silica, BHT, petrolatum, ethylhexylglycerin, cholecalciferol, calcium chloride, caprylic/capric triglyceride, sodium polyacrylate, caprylyl glycol, phenoxyethanol, fragrance
Nivea Extended Moisture Daily Lotion for Dry to Very Dry Skin
I have very dry skin all year round. The skin on my arms and legs actually looks dry. It gets that awful shiny, dry look that I hate. I am an ardent moisturizer, putting on more lotion whenever I get a chance. I’m always looking for body lotions that deeply moisturize and that last for a long time.
Nivea was a brand that had a bit of a mystique about it when I was in college, because it wasn’t available in the U.S. Whenever I or anyone else went to Paris or anywhere in Europe, actually, we brought back a little tin of Nivea cream. It seemed so exotic. The little blue tin with the Nivea name was just about a status symbol. So I had good feelings about the brand, in spite of the fact that I hadn’t used it in a long time.
I had used up my Curel Ultra Healing Lotion for Extra Dry Skin, and either I couldn’t find it at CVS or Nivea was much less expensive or I noticed the claim on the Nivea bottle: “Relieves dry, tight skin for 48 hours”. My old lotion lasted for 24 hours, so I thought maybe the Nivea was more effective. I bought the Nivea.
First, the good things. It is very hydrating. It goes on easily, absorbs quickly, and doesn’t feel greasy at all…not at all. It makes my skin feel soft and “coated”.
What I can’t stand about it is the scent. It’s a horrible, rather strong, commercial chemically scent. It does fade after a while, but when applying the lotion, it is so strong, it almost makes me sick. I hate to throw out lotion just because of the scent, but I may end up doing just that. I wish there was a way to tell a product’s scent before trying it (without having to open it which is very unsanitary).
Another issue that I’ll throw out there is that Nivea, as well as lots of other lotions and personal care products, contain parabens, a chemical that helps prevent bacteria and fungi from growing in the products. Over the past several years, concern has been raised about the safety of parabens. There all kinds of opinions about whether to avoid products with parabens or not. Parabens are phytoestrogens that have weak estrongenic effects on the body. Apparently metabolites of parabens — not parabens themselves — appeared in cancerous breast tissue. As a result, parabens came under suspicion. However, the amount of parabens in health & beauty products is very small. In fact, I believe it’s much lower than the amount of phytoestrogen that we get in our diet: there are phytoestrogens in tofu, edamame, miso soup, and blackberries among other foods. And there are new and ongoing arguments and data that products with this small amount of parabens are not dangerous, from organizations including the American Cancer Society, the FDA, the Personal Care Products Council and the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety. Ultimately, the decision is up to you. Read more about this issue on My Beauty Bunny’s recent post on parabens: http://www.mybeautybunny.com/parabens-beauty-products-safe/#ixzz2mdXRitqY
So do you have any products we should add to my growing list of “Pass On This” products? Please let me know in the comments!
I don’t care for the Nivea body lotion either. I had a different version, but it was the smell that turned me off as well. It also wasn’t very moisturizing.
Have you tried the Ellovi Butter yet? I love it, and it’s all natural! It doesn’t contain water, so no preservatives are needed! 🙂
Thanks for the science-y info too. I love learning more about ingredients! <3
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No, Amber, I haven’t tried the Ellovi Butter yet, but I remember you mentioning it or reviewing it in one of your posts. After I use up my Curel and Nourish Organic (that I really like) and all my Perlier body butters, I’ll try it lol 😉
I would never open a product in the store before buying it to smell it either. Instead, I open it as soon as I get into my car. That way, if I don’t like the scent, I can walk right back into the store with the receipt and return it.
What a great idea, Liz! Why didn’t that ever occur to me? Thanks so much for commenting! I was thinking about you on Thursday during the snowstorm. Hope you’ll well! Happy New Year!
Thanks for the info Allison. I too have a bottle of Nivea “Extended moisture body lotion”..and its been sitting on the bedside table (almost still full) for almost a year because…I too HATE the scent. Maybe I should throw it away…:) Good idea for the new year!
Yes!! And I should send Nivea an email, if I can figure out how to do that, letting them know the scent is AWFUL!
yes! YOU should let them know ( given your background and what you do now :))
I just sent them an email via their contact form. Let’s see if I get a response!
I was looking at my products today as I do at the beginning of the year and thought.. ‘should I dump this” .. etc. I didn’t get too far today .. lol. I am going to make sure that I purchase products without parabens going forward and try to purchase more organic lotions that are absorbed through my skin.
I tried to do this with lipstick, but have failed 😛
Monica
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Monica, if you are looking around for organic lotions, check out Quench from http://www.authenticskinremedies.com and also Nature Island Beauty free shipping till Fen 27 and products are 10, 20 25% percent off. http://www.natureislandskincare.esty.com I love the lotions/body butters from both these brands 🙂 PS I agree with you on the lipstick. There are too many non-organic ones to pass by, unfortunately!
I honestly found neutrogena deep moisture night cream to be heavy and greasy. I always felt like it sat on top of my skin and didn’t soak in very well. I have fairly oily skin in the first place, so that may be a factor. There was no noticeable change in my skin over the time it took me to finish the tube. I moved on to using Lifecell Cream on my face and it moisturizes much better.
Yes, Emily, Neutrogena Deep Moisture wouldn’t be a good choice for oily skin. Also, it comes in a jar, not a tube so maybe it was a different product. Nevertheless, I didn’t like the Neutrogena Deep Moisture either. Although the thickness was good for me, some ingredient in the product burned my skin. I have not tried Lifecell. I see that you sell that brand. I will have to visit the website to learn about it.
I haven’t tried either product, but both brands are fairly decent. I think Neutrogena has good products, but not all of them are hits for sure 🙂
Monica.
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There was some ingredient in that particular Neutrogena moisturizer that actually burned my skin. I think N is a great brand, but that one product did not work for me.