Product review - Arbonne Part II.

1. Instant Lift Gel

• Smell: It contains orange peel oil, so this is why the orange smell, which is very pleasant
• Texture: Sticky, colorless gel

I applied just to one side of my face to see if there is any difference. Well, it just sits on the skin and doing nothing. The only difference is that on that side of my face where I applied, my skin felt sticky. After 5 minutes I felt like I am wearing a mask, if I smiled my face were tight, but not in a good way. I was waiting at least 15 minutes to see if my skin will absorb it, but then I run out of patience and I washed it off. It was very uncomfortable to wear. Suprisingly I could wash off the whole Gel and my skin was so dry that I had to apply my Nourish Body Butter. (Yes, I use it on my face and it works great!)

Ingredients

You can see the whole ingredient list on the picture. I am just putting up those that you've maybe never heard, or heard, but don't know what it is and the non natural, synthetic ones. I also highlighted the harmful ones. There are few ingredients that I didn't mention, because of the lack of information.

Glycerin, Sucrose Laurate, Pullulan, Chrondus Crispus (Carrageenan), , Algae Extract, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Panthenol, Lecithin, Phospholipids, Sorbitol, Glucose, Silica, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Xanthan Gum, Cellulose Gum, Cetyl hydroxyethylcellulose, Polyamino Sugar Condensate, Urea, Sodium PCA, Stearamine, Lactic Acid, Thioctic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Limonene, Linalool,

Does it look like to you as a pure, natural, safe product? Because for me it doesn't.

Please note:

Extremely sensitive, oily, or infected skin should steer clear of all topical products containing urea, because it can be irritating to the skin and may cause dermatitis with repeated exposure. Urea's Material Safety Data Sheet indicates that this substance (in its pure form) can cause skin and eye irritation from direct contact.

It also contains ingredients - Retinyl Palmitate and Lactic Acid - that can increase the skin’s sensitivity to sunlight, so be aware and don't use it if you go out. Even in the winter. I don't know why Arbonne didn't bring it to the costumer's attention. It's really important thing to know.

This product is not hypoallergenic, because it contain certain synthetic ingredients which trigger skin problems. Don't forget: There are no industry standards for products that are labeled as hypoallergenic! "Hypoallergenic" products can cause skin inflammation. Just because a product doesn't contain artificial flavors or artificial colors it doesn't mean the product is free of harsh chemicals. Even herbs or botanicals can irritate the skin.

2. Age-Defying Neck Cream

• Smell: The same orange scent
• Texture: The cream itself feels silky and it was easy to apply

When I first applied it, both my skin and the cream started to peel off. So I washed it off and clean my neck and I applied again. The second time was much better. My neck felt smooth, but the truth is it was the cream and not my skin. Did it visible firm and tighten my neck? No. Did it smooth the appearance of the fine lines (I don't have many)? No.

Ingredients

You can see the whole ingredient list on the picture. I am just putting up those that you've maybe never heard, or heard, but don't know what it is and the non natural, synthetic ones. I also highlighted the harmful ones, but please read all of them to get the whole "picture".

Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Ceresin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Isopropyl Palmitate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Dimethicon, Pentylene-Glycol, Polysorbate 20, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Silica, Xanthan Gum, Stearic Acid, Magnesium Aluminium Silicate, Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Limonene, Linalool, Citral

As you can see this product contain mainly silicons. Not because of those silicons, but does it look like to you as a hypoallergenic product? (No, if you ask me.)

Please note: Cyclopentasiloxane doesn't easily biodegrade which means it stays in the environment a long time (persistent). Ceresin is a skin irritant, Isopropyl-Palmitate is very comedogenic, Stearic Acid can sting and cause rash-like symptoms that may occur like small red spots and unless otherwise noted, it is likely to be sourced from animal by-products (in this case I didn't see any little stars beside this ingredient which says it's plant derived...) and Citric Acid may increase photosensitivity.

3. Cellular Renewal Masque

Ingredients

The full ingredient list is on the picture. Sorry for the bad quality.

Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Squalane, Aminomethyl Propanol, Glycolic Acid, Lactic Acid, Salicylic Acid Stearamine, Menthol, Polysorbate-60, Glycerin, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Panthenol, Lecithin, Niacin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Xanthan Gum, Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Limonene,

• Smell: Orange with some spices, this is very strong for me. I'm wondering what makes it smell this strong...
• Texture: Thick and heavy

When I applied to my skin, first it was a thick, white textured cream and when I started to rub it became colorless. I was waiting 5 minutes as the instruction said. My skin wasn't tingling and red while the product was on it. After 5 minutes I saw that my skin pretty much absorbed this mask and when I touched my skin, it felt sticky. When I washed it off it was very slimey.

The result:

My whole side of my face (where I applied) became red like fire. First I saw some red spots, but few minutes later my whole side was red and burning. The instruction said that "slight transient tingling or redness may be experienced and it's normal". Well I didn't feel tingling, I felt hot and my skin was tomato red. But it's normal. Besides this, I didn't feel or see any difference. I should have seen that it visibly improves my skin tone and texture, minimizes the appearance of pores, gives radiant glow, but nothing happened. It didn't yield any visible results. It didn't do anything, just gave me this redness and hot feeling.

You may ask what could really do a mask in 5 minutes? I mean you probably put a mask on your skin before and it had to be on your face at least 15 minutes. This Cellular Renewal Masque contain 3 types of chemical peeling and because of that it can't be longer on the skin. The percentage is another question. Your skin type is another. Was it made in a way that we can generate the most benefit from those chemical peels?

Usually products with 10 percent or less Glycolic Acid don't really do anything, but over the counter products usually contain less, and just sometimes 5-15%. 10% or higher contcentration of Glycolic Acid stimulates the collagen. In this mask I am sure it's less than 10%, because it's almost the end of the list. If you have oily skin, then note, that GA is water soluble and will not penetrate oily skin very well.

Salicylic Acid should be between 0,5-2%. In order for it to work as a skin peeler, the salicylic acid has to be in a 3 to 4 PH, if not it looses its ability to peel the skin (Cosmetic Dermatology, October 2001, p. 65-72). The over the counter acne treatment products containing salicylic acid, have it in a concentration of 0.5% to 2%.

Lactic Acid should be between 20%-40%. This is the most suitable starting point.

When my partner saw my face he was like: "What did you do to yourself?" and he started to laugh. Well, I am trying out a product, so be nice:)

The texture of the mask:

The picture doesn't really show the redness and bumps, but you get the idea. It dissapeared slowly, but it took for a good hour. (Oh, I had chicken pox when I was a kid, so that little rounded scar on my face is the "leftover". I probably scretched it off. Scratching the surface has deep impacts. Good old days:))

Summary:

These are not pure and not hypoallergenic products. How can be this mask with AHAs and BHA hypoallergeic anyways? There are lots of synthetic substances in these products, or ingredients which - although they were produced from natural sources- went through so many chemical steps, that the result is not natural. And of course they contain few dangerous chemicals too.

Honestly, after the 1st harmful ingredient I shouldn't analyze the products anymore, because it's garbage. No matter how many wonderful natural ingredients it contain.

My other problem: There are too many ingredients in every single product, it gives a headache to read it. There is no way that there was someone who actually checked how every single ingredient will interact together and test that exactly these ingredients will be the cure for aging. It seems as if they put everything in it what they found.

I don't recommend these products and I won't purchase it.

My opinion is completely honest and based on my own experience and knowledge. My statements are merely mine opinion.