Review: Kiehl's Oil-Free Ultra Facial Cleanser

Poor Kiehl's. They kindly sent me their Oil-Free Ultra Facial Cleanser and Gel Cream to review over a month ago, but thanks to travel I haven't been able to really give them a try. Since my face tends to break out and go into a state of flux during travel it didn't seem fair to trial their products until everything had calmed down.

Well I've been using the cleanser almost daily for nearly two weeks (sorry a 3-day business trip got in the way) and I think I can formulate an opinion on it now. The gel-creme moisturiser though will take far more intensive testing.

Cleansers are one of those products that are easy to test but hard to review. Unless they do something miraculous or truly hellish you end up with no real opinions on it. So far, I can tell you that Kiehl's falls into the "good but not magic" category. 

Review: Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate

Before I start this review I'd like to point out that I haven't really used this product as thoroughly as I usually would before a review. I've had it for over a month, courtesy of Kiehl's, but for several reasons have been using it very sparingly, only about once a week and in minute amounts.

I'm still on the fence about this serum. As someone with oily, acne prone skin its benefits on me aren't as dramatic as that of drier skinned ladies like ParisB and Connie. Also it contains Jojoba oil which causes me to breakout a little. However, when I switched to Benzac my skin did grow flaky and dry in parts, so I thought I'd risk it and use this product very lightly.

Review: Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense with SPF 50PA+++

From the start I had mixed feelings about this sunscreen. Hope that it would finally be THE ONE - the high SPF sunscreen I could use without breaking out. But also dread that I would have to fork out RM140 for 30ml to replace it

Alas it seems that this sunscreen was not to be the one. It seemed like it at first though. It was light (when a wee bit is used), fragranceless and hydrating enough that I could skip using my usual Clinique DDMG.

I used a tiny smidgen without moisturiser on my chin for three days and no breakouts or excessive oiliness. So I started using it all over my face.

After two weeks though whiteheads started appearing. I stopped using the sunscreen for two days and with exfoliation they went away. I started again, and they came back.

Now, usually you don't get away with using a whitehead-causing product for 2 weeks with impunity and I'm no exception. Even though I've stopped using it for a week now, cystic acne has started surfacing as my skin purges. I haven't tried any new skincare or foundation product in all this time, so I'm afraid I have only this sunscreen to blame.

Now, bear in mind that my skin hates so many things that it really is breakout prone and hypersensitive. I also have never been able to use any of the sunscreens others swear by. So it seems I'm doomed to be old and wrinkly. *wails*

So for a more thorough perspective, please check out reviews by ParisB and Connie.

Obviously I won't be repurchasing and I may end up passing this on. Although I am tempted to keep it handy for single-day use when I know I'll be out in the sun a lot and a breakout is better than long-term skin damage. It's an awful choice to make though, isn't it?