The Quest for Great All Natural Skincare, Are You In?

True! you can't change your genes and with that goes the saying (in the old country atleast) 'you are born with beautiful skin'. That said, taking good care of your skin is an absolute must. Take it from someone who has had a looong, long, very long time to test this.

When I was young and living behind the Iron Curtain, skincare products were basically missing. So, before moving to the U.S. I was relying entirely on 'homemade' formulas made by pharmacist friends and my own 'remedies' (I will leave those for another post...). Yes Girls!  'organic' and 'natural cosmetics' were not yet in the Bulgarian vocabulary at that time -- but looking back on those days I am convinced that the fact that I did not slap on my face anything and everything that came from the shelves, was a major plus. (here and here if interested) I am 65 years old now and --with access to all that modern beauty industry has to offer, I remain very selective of my beauty products. 

About a week ago I received a free sample Super Youth Retinol Moisturizer from Oz Naturals. I had never used the product before and was not familiar with Oz Naturals, but a due diligence search of the company and their product lines got my attention. The reason, you ask? well for one -- the ingredients. According to the label, the Oz Natural Retinol moisturizer is a Vegan formula and does not contain Alcohol, Parabens, PABAS or Sulfates.This is a good start.

Before using a product I have a ritual that has no scientific basis and I claim none whatsoever, but it makes sense to me and I do it every time I am about to use a new skincare product. Here how it goes:

Step One

Before using a product I fist apply it to a cut plant leaf to see if and how the formula will affect it. Let me tell you, it may sound insane but I have seen very 'interesting' results in the past (several jars with $$$$$ sticker shock written all over them were trashed using this method ...). But back to the Oz Natural Super Youth Retinol Cream ...

So,  I started with a beautiful philodendron green leaf from my own gorgeous flower arrangement:

Step Two

I took the leaf out of the water and placed it in the sun, and after it started showing some signs of aging and drying I applied the cream to the leaf

Step three

I let the cream stay on the green for about 10-15 minutes and then wiped the cream dry. 

TWO DAYS LATER

After two days the area of the application did not show any visible yellowing, drying, or discoloration that differed from the rest. 

The cream also did not leave visible film or staining on the surface. So for me that is a green light to use a product. Again, I claim no scientific basis for this approach -- it is one that my previous experience gives me reasons to do. Let's leave it at that ....

The Super Youth Retinol Moisturizer itself has nice light substance and covers well. Since it contains retinol I use the cream only at night and use generous amounts of sun screen  during daytime when going out. So far, the cream is a good one. It did not dry my skin and my skin feels  natural and elastic. No, in two days it did not and could not reduce lines and wrinkles, but I am impressed so far so will continue to use it to measure the results. But I can say this, after using the cream (and only this cream) for three consecutive days I  attended an event the other day and I got a ton of compliments, so let's hear it for vanity! I like this cream.

Will report after I have had a fair amount of time to use and judge the cream further ...

XOXO, mimi

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The product reviewed in this post was received from the company as a free sample. The review I have provided is in no way influenced or paid for by the manufacturer and is entirely my own.