Aloha Bloggerinos!
A couple of days ago whilst I was off work poorly-sick (or should I have written pooey-sick- urgh I know, but we've all been there I'm sure!!), a big parcel came in the post that filled me with glee! It was a stash of Cellnique goodies from Selina at b*liv who had emailed me a little while before asking if I would do an honest review of the products sent, and that I shall do!
Here is what Cellnique says:
Pronounce as ‘believe‘, b•liv has the impeccable pedigree of being the creation of Asia‘s most effective paramedical salon brand -- Cellnique Paramedical, a brand that has emerged as one of the problematic skin expert amongst the industry over the past 12 years. Read more on www.cellnique.com Originally named "Cellnique Pro-Series", the brand was renamed to better reflect its objective of catering for confident, stylish, dynamic and on-the-go youth with a skincare regimen made specifically for them.
I was quite impressed by the initial contact as Selina was thoughful enough to ask what sort of skin type I had so that she could send me products more tailored to my requirements. I explained that I quite thirsy skin and that I moisturise a lot. The products I was sent were: a sample of "Shield Me sunblock", a full sized bottle of "Quench Me moisturising gel", a full sized bottle of "Drench Me moisturising cleansing gel", a "Leach Me moisturising mask" (leaches?!) and a cute b*liv tote bag that says "together we can save our earth" and has a pretty tree motif on it (this will be one of those handy bags I'll use to take stuff to work in that doesn't fit in my handbag-woop woop thanks b*liv!).
My first impression of these items was that the packaging was encouraging as it was simple yet professional. Personally, I prefer the packaging styles of Benefit or Soap and Glory because of it's shelf appeal, but I think this look gives off a "clean" image and I suppose that is something you would want from products that cleanse and moisturise your face!
The website is good, which items colour coded so that you can see what sort of range you should go for, ie, Blue is for products geared towards dry skin whereas orange is for oily skintypes.
Now, so far, I have only tried the Drench Me and Quench Me gels and I have mixed feelings about them really.
So this was the first product I tried- Drench Me, $25 which is probably about £15ish. You will see from the first picture that it has a pump applicator (my camera battery was on it's last legs when I took these pics so I literally had to snap and go) and very 'clean' looking packaging. I love the applicator because it makes using this product with wet hands a doddle.
The cleansing gel comes out a clear-amber colour and you apply it to a wet face and rub in to make a lather. On the back it says to use 1-2 pea-sized drops, which I did and found that whilst it did make a soapy effect on my skin, it didn't really lather. I washed this off with a wet flannel and felt that I needed to repeat the process to get a really good result. The smell was enjoyable, a non perfumed fresh kind of scent, very unoffensive. To it's credit, it did remove my skin and eye makeup, but on the other hand, I didn't have a great deal on in the first place.
On the packaging, it suggests using this 2-3 times a day. I think if you weren't ovely busy you could manage this 2-3 times daily but I certainly wouldn't cart it around in my handbag to use at work/whilst out and about, and being as I did this twice, I'm not too inclined to do it twice a day either. It's more of a do-in-the-shower kind of product if you ask me.
If I had to compare this to something, I would say it's like the Clinique liquid soap. I think it has a lot of qood qualities and I will continue to use it (once a day in the shower) but there were a couple of things I really didn't enjoy. The first was that as soon as I had used it, my skin instantly felt VERY tight. I'm not sure if this is just my skin playing up or not but I was literally scrabbling to get the Quench Me open to alleviate the tightness.
The second point, which isn't a negative to the actual product, is the wording on the back. I think it is one of those cases where the meaning has gotten a little lost in translation because phrases like "Drench Me is a balm for faces soiled and dry", don't really work too well. The word 'soiled' makes me think of soiled baby nappies :(
The second product I tried was the Quench Me moisturising gel which retails at $38 which I think would be about £25ish. I found the packaging very professional. Its a pleasant looking bottle within a card box that has a clear plastic sleeve. The wording on the back reads a little more smoothly than the Drench Me item, so this is another thumbs up.
The bottle has a pump applicater that I enjoy and gives the product a more luxurious feel. The bottle recomemends using a 2-3 pea sized amount but because my skin is a thirsty little bugger, I used a lot more. The scent was the same as the cleanser which is good because it all matches.
Initially I liked the feel of this and thought I was on to a winner, but alas, after a few minutes, I wanted to put my Lush Dream Cream on. On the plus side, the moisturising gel goes on easily and sinks in quickly (maybe because me skin was absolutely gagging for it after the Drench Me tho!). It isn't sticky or greasy and does finish well. The box says the gel "ensures your cell revitalisation process runs without interuption", so that's a brucey bonus eh!
I've not yet tried the mask and sunblock, but as soon as I do, I will let you know my thoughts.
Overall, I didn't think these products were fantastical, but they weren't terrible, just somewhere in the middle. Perhaps if they bought out a different range or improved them slightly, I would be interested in buying some and trying again.
Thank you Cellnique for the opportunity to try this range, I very much appreciate it.
Toodlepip!
xx
