REVIEW: NIVEA In Shower Intensive Skin Conditioner in Almond Oil

I WILL NOT REPURCHASE : ( I heard about this NIVEA In Shower Intensive Skin Conditioner (Almond Oil) a couple of months ago from YouTuber Tanya Burr. I was so excited to see whether this could rival Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner (by LUSH and my top favorite) as they are both rinse-off body moisturizer/lotion, so I immediately checked it out on the boots.com website. I jumped to conclusions that the Philippines would probably get it late, so I was beside myself when I spotted it in our local Watson’s! For 250 ml and 100 ml, you pay PhP189 (USD 4.2) and PhP156 (USD 3.5), respectively. Cheap compared to PhP1200 for a 250 ml tub of Ro’s. I got all three scents/formulations: Camu Camu, Sea Minerals and shown in the picture above (which I like the least and ironically the first tube I finished): Almond Oil.

WHAT IT IS:

It is a body lotion/moisturizer you use inside the shower.  It needs to be rinsed off. For me, this really does not save you any time as it still requires that additional step anyway. You either moisturize your body, in or out of the shower and that decision (might be shallow but it has to be made) will really depend on product preference. I go by how I feel…for the day.

EXPERIENCE:

no, it's not what you're thinking! it IS the lotion.

Anyway, using this product was such an odd experience for me. One should've been there with me the first time—it didn’t help that out of the three, I picked the fragrance I least liked. (I know, I know. I should’ve smelled it before buying. Serves me right.) My face scrunched up because it smelled sooo artificial. Quickly opened the other tubes and was relieved that the other two scents were okay. But the feeling. Ugh. The first time I spread it all over me I was on repeat mode: “oh no!” How was I going to finish all 3 tubes of this slime?! I do not know how to articulate it, so for this reason, buy one and help me figure it out! Please? Okay, just kidding.

I’ll try to explain anyway. Unlike Ro’s, where it still feels like the familiar lotion/oil you’re massaging in, spreading this felt like a useless exercise—in my head I was thinking there was no way this...this thing, was going to be accepted by my skin. It was as if I was spreading molten, slicky, slimy plastic all over me. It did not feel organic. Worse was when I rinsed and toweled off! Without the water for the additional slick, my skin was left with this peculiar rubbery slip to it. This got me scrutinizing the listed ingredients. “Paraffinum Liquidum.” For me, this was its savior. Felt less uneasy because “paraffin” sounds friendly enough. I thought of those paraffin hand treatments my mom used to have and I figured this must be okay. And you know what? It feels less and less weird every time I use it. A good thing as I still have the 2 other tubes to go through.

EFFECTIVE MOISTURIZER:

However, with all that said, I concede that this product did deliver on the primary purpose it was made for. It moisturized my skin and it stayed that way until the end of the day. That’s quite a big achievement. With the exception of my oily face, the cliché, “dry as the sahara,” applies to the rest of my body. It is the kind where a chalky trail is left wherever you scratch it. Take note though, that this will not give you that healthy, glowy sheen other lotions and moisturizers do. 

INGREDIENTS:

 

This product is made in Thailand under license.

Review: NIVEA 3-in-1 Daily Deep Exfoliating Wipes

 

I WILL REPURCHASE.  I bought a pack of this Nivea 3-in-1 Daily Deep Cleansing Exfoliating Wipes (Made in Germany) from our local Watson’s store here in Manila. Choosing the formulation made for Oily/Impure Skin was a no-brainer. My skin is guilty on both counts.  

REASONABLY PRICED. For the price of Php149 (roughly USD3.5), you get 20 WET wipes.  Reasonable! I might even say, a lot cheaper than Neutrogena’s or Simple’s and most definitely cheap compared to Soap and Glory’s wipes. First off, I love makeup wipes and I have been fearless trying different brands from the cheapest to the more pricey ones. I just find them really convenient. (I even have a pack of it in my bag, for a headstart, when on my way home). Heck, even the “driest” of wipes has, at least once, played the hero for those nights (admit it, we’ve attended those too-much-to-drink kind of parties) when I just could not be bothered to go through my nightly ritual.

the rough side

the "smooth" side

EFFECTIVE IN REMOVING MAKEUP. Anyway, back to Nivea’s wipes. The wipe is wet enough. Both the smooth and rough side take makeup off easily—including waterproof mascara (Maybelline’s Hypercurl).  I find that using both sides of the wipe is enough to get me ready to wash my face. I usually use the rough side first to scrub off makeup, then use the smooth side (same wipe) for a second pass. I only use the smooth side, by the way, when I take eye makeup off (if you follow the package instructions strictly, you are to avoid contact with the eyes—makes sense as it lists alcohol as one of its ingredients). For makeup free nights, I skip the rough side as I learned that cleaning my skin with it left it feeling a teeny bit raw.  For those who can’t stand textured wipes or cotton, you might not appreciate even the smooth side of this wipe because you’ld still feel a faint trace of the bumps on the other side. I used this for more than 2 weeks and no breakout, so yey!

OTHER USES: These wipes I also find handy when I put on more elaborate makeup. I clean my gel liner brush with it in between dips to the pot. It’s also useful to surface clean your foundation buffing brush with it, extending its use to contouring.

INGREDIENTS:

It is scented. It has alcohol. 

earlier that evening: )

ready to wash my face!

Sorry, might be TMI. Just wanted to show off what it can do!