Facial Oils

Worth It? Elma and Sana Argan Oil Review

by

 

A couple weeks ago I did a first look at the Elma and Sana Argan Oil, and now I feel as though I can adequately review the product. Fortunately, this won’t be a talk-your-eyes-off-via-text review.

Verdict: Don’t bother with this one, at least not for facial use.

The consistency of this product is thinner, resulting in having to use more product to effectively moisturize. Granted, this is only a 2-4 drops more than you would need to use of the Josie Maran product – but still. On top of feeling thinner, it somehow also feels greasier. Of course it is going to have a bit of slip to it as it is an oil, but it kind of felt like vegetable oil or canola–if I wanted that, I could probably just grab a jug of Crisco. My skin took longer to absorb it – which makes a ton of sense, I know. I used it nightly for two weeks and thought I was crazy for the first few days, but nope – it really did take longer to absorb. The color of the oil is not the same – Elma and Sana Argan Oil is closer to being clear, which suggests additional processing:

Elma and Sana Argan Oil ReviewElma and Sana Argan Oil vs. Josie Maran Argan Oil

On top of that, this oil does have a smell. You will frequently see that Argan Oil on its own should not have a scent. This has a distinct smell, but it is difficult to describe – but it doesn’t smell very natural, and not at all like the odorless Josie Maran. It is neither foul nor particularly offensive, but when you anticipate an odorless product, having an odor is unpleasant.

Furthermore, I feel that this product caused me to break out. It did not cause irritation or redness, but I did develop blemishes during use of it – I typically only get 1-2 small, manageable ones per month (cycle-related), but I have FIVE that are currently healing (non-cycle-related).  My under-eye area is back to being a bit dull.

I’m going back to using Josie! I think this product is an OK body moisturizer is fine for the ends of the hair (if you’re into that – I’m not, but I tried it for science), and it is definitely nice for cuticles, but I don’t recommend it for use on the face. Something about the way they processed this oil doesn’t really let it do what it is supposed to do for your face.

Especially considering the somewhat-illiterate label and website…just pass on this one.

First Look: Elma and Sana Argan Oil

by

I bought a bottle of Elma and Sana Argan Oil a couple months ago to compare with my more expensive bottle. I wrote a few posts about Argan Oil products (you can find them here and here) in the past and though I am pretty happy with my Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil, I wanted to explore less costly alternatives. A 0.5 fl oz. bottle has lasted me six months so far (and I still have a good bit left!) but I wanted to see if shelling out $14-16 per bottle made sense.

I already knew, from my use of the Josie Maran product, that I enjoyed using argan oil for my face (especially my cheeks and under-eye area). This is not going to be a full-blown review because I do not feel that I have used it long enough to be able to fully speak to the product, but I did want to give you a look at what I’ve gotten and tried recently. I purchased this 2 fl oz bottle of 100% Pure, Organic, Cold-Pressed Elma and Sana Argan Oil from Amazon.com for around $10 (I think it was just under when I purchased; it was on sale). I received it without issue – it was packed securely and safely. Here’s the outer packaging:

Elma and Sana Argan OilElma and Sana Argan Oil

Read more

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil

by

AKA Argan Oil – Is It Snake Oil? Part Two

If you haven’t already, read part one!

Last week, I talked about my initial impressions of the Argan Oil craze. I was ensnared when friends admitted to using the argan produts by Josie Maran and that it seemed to be helping with facial scarring and under-eye blahs.

Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil, 0.5fl oz

The JCPenney in my local mall opened a Sephora in October – on my first trip there, I bought one of the small bottles of Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil, 0.5 fl oz. for $14. I have some pretty stubborn dark circles and had a dermatological procedure coming up that would leave me with a facial scar, so I figured the timing was good.

Read more

Argan Oil – is it Snake Oil?

by

Last year, I was only just starting down the rabbit hole that is the beauty world and started hearing about beauty oils. It wasn’t gradual, it was sudden, it was frequent, and more often than not it was Josie Maran’s 100% Pure Argan Oil ($49). Although some struggle with the idea that facial skin + oil = unparalled catastrophe, that was not my obstacle. My personal obstacle was wrapping my head around

  • the fact that so many people seem convinced that this is a miracle product and that
  • the purveyors of this bottled hocus-pocus were actually selling it for as much as it costs. “It fixes your hair!” they said, “It fixes your face! It soothes ragged cuticles! It feeds the hungry!”

Okay, maybe I got a little carried away there at the end. It doesn’t feed hungry people, not directly anyway.

Argan Does Feed, Though

That said, it does feed hungry goats. The Argan tree, in addition to producing fruit with nuts inside that we get our so-called magical oil from, does in fact feed hungry Moroccan goats. Evidently, these goats determined that the fruits from Argan trees are outstanding because they climb the trees to eat them. Pics, it happened:

argangoats

Read more

Beauty Oils

by

Beauty Oils

Beauty Oils

Beauty oils started increasing in popularity within the last couple years, but mostly among those in the beauty industry or fanatics. It seems that in the last year however, they have just exploded in popularity. Pesky waterproof makeup giving you trouble when it is time to remove? Oil can fix that. Facial cleansing that doesn’t strip your skin–squeaky clean isn’t actually a good thing, people–and leave it dry? Oil. Moisturizing without caking some awkward, likely scented goop on your face and waiting forever for it to sink in? Yeah – oils.

The problem is that many of us have been conditioned for years–hell, decades–with the understanding that oil = bad. Oil = shiny, and oil = blemishes. As it turns out, we’re in the wrong – as with many things, we should not assume that all oils are going to give us trouble simply because some do. We need to clear the cache here and start anew, because beauty oils are not going to ruin your day. Many people with oily skin (or even just combination/oily T-zone) seek oil-free everything. Cleansers, moisturizers, treatments, foundations – all for the fear that additional oil would exacerbate the problem. Not so – in fact, removing too much oil or forcing your skin to be too dry is going to cause your skin to overcompensate and produce more of what you’re fighting against. Using an oil (provided you choose the right one, please do not slap canola on your face and call it a day) can calm your skin down and make it scale back its oil production. Using an oil on waterproof makeup is a gentle and quick way to remove it. Sephora has been pushing them for a while and it really makes you wonder why they didn’t gain popularity sooner.

Read more