Josie Maran Hand Healers Set: Bare Naked Nail Wipes and Be Spirited Sweet Citrus Hand Cream

The Argan Hand Helpers set was a Black Friday $10 deal at Sephora, one of about 5 different deals that I picked up that day.  I wasn't really expecting much from the Bare Naked Nail Wipes, but figured the Whipped Argan Oil Intensive Hand Cream would make up for any deficiencies.  Well guess what?  I really liked the nail wipes more!

The nail wipes are not without their detractions, mainly that it takes a little elbow grease and lots of rubbing to remove your polish.  It took a total of 4 to remove polish from both hands, but get this:  they even worked on removing glitter top coats, which is no easy feat.  Plus, they really did feel moisturizing to my cuticles and are acetone free. 

Strangely, the pads feel rather dry and each time I would think "no way is this going to work", and then they would.  Considering I had to use two for each hand, that breaks down to about $1.60- $1.80 per use, as they are $9 for 20 wipes or $16 for 40 wipes .   A bit too expensive, IMO, although I did like them.

The Be Spirited Sweet Citrus Hand Cream does not appear to be available anymore, and indeed the Whipped Argan Hand Creams all say unavailable at the moment.  I thought it was an average hand cream, lightly moisturizing and with a soft, pleasant scent.  Nothing that made a distinct impression, however, and maybe it would be better for warm weather or daytime use.  I prefer a heavier hand cream for night time, which is when I've been using it, so I should probably switch it to my purse.   My impression might be more favorable then :-)

Pink Escape Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée by Josie Maran

I've got another coconut water infused cheek gelée by Josie Maran to show you, this time called Pink Escape.  I acquired this deluxe travel sized cheek tint via Sephora's Summer Stash Favorites set, which is currently on sale at Sephora for $30. 

The Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée formula contains 50% coconut water, and the bouncy gel texture can be applied with either your fingers or a brush (I prefer using a brush).  It feels slightly cool when applied, and leaves behind a realistic but subtle flush of color.  I like how natural it looks, and color can be built up in intensity with multiple layers, but be careful as too much product will result in visible and uneven buildup of the product.

Pink Escape is close in color to Pink Island (full review here), but leans slightly more pink with Pink Island slightly more coral in comparison.  

Is the difference between the two colors enough to justify both?  Probably not.  I also find the smaller pot a tad more difficult to use, as the opening is just large enough to get your finger into.  However, if you want to give the formula a try without investing $22 for a full sized pot, the Summer Stash Favorites set would be a good option, provided there are other products in the set that you will use. 

Island Pink Coconut Water-Color Cheek Gelée by Josie Maran

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

This coconut water-infused cheek gelée is supposed to provide up to  14 hours of color and hydration, making it a hybrid cream blush and cheek stain.  The firm but bouncy gel is a cool formula, and indeed it feels slightly cool when applied, no doubt due to the drying of the 50% coconut water formula on the skin. 

Island Pink ($22), described as a "soft cherry pink" gives a natural and realistic flush akin to walking briskly in cold weather.  Which we rarely experience down here on the Gulf Coast, so it's nice to have something that mimics the effect.

While color can be built up, I find Island Pink to be on the subtle side, making it one of my more natural looking blushes.  I apply with a small but dense brush, as that seemed to deposit smooth color without disturbing my foundation better than with my fingers.  While it does wear well on my oily skin, I'm not sure it's a true stain, as I was able to rub off the arm swatch fairly easily.  Regardless, I've been reaching for Island Pink all week, really like!

Josie Maran Illuminizer

Now that warm weather has arrived, I've noticed that bronzers and shimmery highlighting products are being more prominently featured.  I've got to admit that I don't reach for illuminators very often, as sometimes the look translates to "shiny", which I definitely don't need.  Occasionally though, the idea of a bronzed, luminous face and body calls to me, and I give the few products I've got a whirl.

Josie Maran's Illuminizer is billed as a "bronze shade perfect for highlighting and adding an instant beautiful luminosity to the face, collarbone, and body". It's actually a light gold color to my eye, and a small dab of it packs a powerful punch.  Argan Illuminizer can be used alone or mixed with foundation, and comes in a 1 oz. glass bottle with a pump dispenser.  I find that the pump dispenses way more than you need and considering how concentrated and shimmery this is, unless you plan to use it on your body as well, there will be some waste.

Once blended, it does sheer out to a lovely shimmer.  I like this more for body than facial use, but that's just because of my oily skin and my desire to mattify as opposed to shine.  It does not feel oily on, and argan oil is supposed to be good for oily, acne prone skin as well as for dryer complexions.  I saw many reviews where people said they love mixing it with their foundation and the luminous look that it gives.

Argan Illuminizer is $28 for 1 oz, but like I said, a little goes a very long way.   I got mine as part of Sephora Favorites set, I think called Glitz and Glam.  I looked at the ingredients on both the Sephora and Josie Maran site and they are different.  I'm not sure which one is correct, but the list below is from Josie Maran. 

Ingredients:  Mica**, Zinc Stearate**, Kaolin**, Corn Starch Modified**,Ethylhexyl Palmitate**, Moringa Pterygosperma (Moringa) Seed Oil**, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil**, Lauroyl Lysine**, Hydrogenated Olive Oil**, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil**, Tocopherol**, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil*, Tocopheryl Acetate**, Phytosterols**, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract**, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract**, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil** May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)**, Iron Oxides (CI77492)**, Iron Oxides (CI 77491)**, Iron Oxides (CI 77499)**, Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140:1), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Red 30 Lake (CI 73360), Ultramarines (CI 77007)**, Manganese Violet (CI77742)**, Carmine (CI 75470)**, Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090:2)

Josie Maran Summer Lovin' Argan Lip & Cheek Color Stick Set

Oh, how I love stick blushes.  Tarte's Natual Cheek Stains got me started, but Josie Maran's Lip & Cheek Color Sticks reinforced it.  Offer them in a set with multiple colors and there is no way I'm going to be able to resist.

Summer Lovin' gives you four of the little sticks - the 3 colors Poppy, Rosey, and Summer Lovin', plus a clear one for general moisturizing purposes.  

Poppy

Poppy is my favorite, a vivid coral pink.  These apply sheer but can be built up in intensity.  Poppy has more of a cream finish with no visible shimmer.  These apply smoothly with a balm like texture.  I've got oily skin but do not find these to feel oily or to add much sheen.  I do however tend to use a powder to set these to help with longevity.  Sometimes it's a powder blush on top, sometimes a translucent powder.

Rosey

Rosey is a muted dusty rose with a slight shimmer and is the one color from the set available in the regular collection.  I found all three shades to be quite wearable with my fair but warm skin tone (I'm a Spring in the Color Me Beautiful vernacular, if that helps).   All of the swatches were taken in full sun.  While I tend to use these mainly as cheek tints, they can also be used on your lips.  I don't really care for them as lip tints, however, as the taste and texture just don't work for me.  But, they are multitaskers with good for you argan oil, shea butter, manfo butter, apricot kernel oil, oh heck, I'll list all the ingredients at the bottom.

Summer Lovin'

Summer's Lovin' is a light coppery bronze with gold fleck and has the most visible shimmer.  This actually applies very light on my skin so I have to really build it up for it to show.  It does make a nice highlighter due to the gold shimmer, which you can see better by clicking the swatch to view larger.  All three apply much more sheer than you would think given the color intensity in the tube.  However, details on the Sephora site say "apply to lips and cheeks for a natural HINT (caps mine) of color", so no false advertising going on there.  All of the swatches have been blended on the skin to show the finished look.

Packaging is nice, with both an outer top and a small inner cap to keep the sticks fresh.  I saw a review on Sephora that commented on the size of these, specifically how small they are.  They are about the size of the travel sized Tarte Cheek tints.  However, they last quite a while.  I've yet to completely use up any of my cheek tints.  Okay, I do have a lot, which could be a factor.

The Summer Lovin' set retails for $32 and is available at Sephora.  Poppy and Summer Lovin' are exclusive to this set.

Ingredients:  Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil**, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil*, Beeswax**, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter**, Copernica Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax**, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax**, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)**, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter**, Persea Gratissima (Avacado) Butter**, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E Acetate)**, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil**, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil**, Leptospermum Petersonii**, (Lemon Tea Tree) Oil**, Menthol**, Tocopherol**, Ethylhexylglycerin**, Caprylyl Glycol (and) Phenoxyethanol (and) Hexylene Glycol** May Also Contain: Mica (CI 77019)**, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)**, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)**, Carmine (CI 75470)**, Blue # 1 Lake (CI 42090), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 (CI 15850), Red 22 Lake (CI 45380), Red 27 (CI 45410), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410), Red 30 (CI 73360), Red 33 Lake (CI 17200), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985), Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate**, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate** (*Organic **Natural)
*Certified Organic Ingredient
**Natural Ingredient

Josie Maran Cleanse and Protect

I've enjoyed the few Josie Maran products I've tried and like that they contain argan oil, so when I saw she had added a cleansing oil and moisturizer with 40+ SPF in the product line, I was excited to try them out.  Even better, I could try deluxe sample sizes in the Cleanse & Protect kit without having to invest in the full size products before knowing if they would work for me.


I'm a fan of cleansing oils, or I should say I'm a fan of DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil, as that's the only one I've used for about 5 years now.  It's my holy grail cleansing oil, hands down.  However, I'm always open to trying new products, because you never know when one will surpass your expectations.  Sadly, Josie Maran's Argan Cleansing Oil wasn't that product for me.  This one is a mixture of five different oils:  sunflower, safflower, argan, grape seed, and olive fruit.  Instructions say to apply over a dry face, then wet face and massage into a rich milk, which is fairly standard for a cleansing oil.  I like to massage the oil around on my face for about 30 seconds prior to wetting.  After rinsing, all traces of makeup and dirt should be gone and your skin should feel clean, non-greasy, and ready for whatever steps your skincare routine calls for.  

The problem here?  This left a greasy residue that rinsing did not get rid of.  It also did not completely remove my eye makeup, in particular my mascara.  I don't use waterproof mascara so that was not the problem, and an oil based cleanser should deal with waterproof mascara anyhow.

I swatched various eye pencils, mascara foundation, blush, and a cream and powder eyeshadow on my hand to give you an idea of how this worked.  After massaging with the oil but not adding water, the foundation, powder eyeshadow, and blush had started to dissolve.  After adding water and massaging some more, the cream shadow and black eye pencil are still present.  Given that I probably rubbed my hands more vigorously than I would my face (particularly my eye area), you begin to see the problem.  This, combined with the greasy residue, makes it a fail for me.  Maybe dry skinned folks will feel differently.

Makeup left after using Argan Cleansing Oil

On the other hand, I liked the Argan Daily Moisturizer with SPF 40+.  My biggest problem with sunscreen is the heavy texture and sheen that they leave behind.  I have oily skin and don't need added shine - I produce plenty on my own.  While the Argan Daily Moisturizer does leave behind a sheen, it mostly dissipates after a few minutes and does not feel heavy on my skin.  I tend to avoid using a separate sunscreen under my makeup because of the heaviness and sheen, but this one may work for me.  I like the high SPF factor and that it contains argan oil, which is supposed to help balance oily skin.  However, if anyone out there knows of a sunscreen that dries matte, please let me know!

Sheen after applying Argain Daily Moisturizer SPF+40

I bought the Josie Maran Cleanse & Protect set at Sephora for $20.

Argan Oil: Worth Climbing a Tree For?

You know how you start seeing products that feature ingredients you have never heard of that claim amazing benefits?  Argan oil was one such for me.  It is a featured ingredient in Josie Maran's skincare and makeup line, which is where I first noticed it a few years back.  Then, I would see people commenting online about how they used argan oil for their hair or cuticles.  Now it's showing up in drugstore hair care and other products, so argan oil has achieved mainstream status.  It was only after I saw a documentary on Morocco that showed women harvesting argan oil that I started believing the hype, however.

Argan oil is havested from the fruit of the endangered argan tree, which is found only in a small portion of Morocco.  In the early 1990's, a Moroccan chemistry professor who was intrigued by the local traditional health and nutritional claims about argan oil decided to conduct some research.  What she found is that argan oil's high linoleic acid (precursor of vitamin E) and unsaturated fatty acid content make it a rich source of antioxidants and can indeed help lower cholesterol, reduce wrinkles, acne and scarring, and speed the healing of abrasions.

Goats climbing tree to get argan fruit.

Fast forward a few years and a local cooperative is founded that employs women to crack open the argan fruit and extract the 1-3 nuts inside, which then go through a mechanized process to extract the oil.  A vast improvement over the traditional method, which involved picking undigested pits out of the excrement of goats that like to climb the trees to eat the fruit.  But no way around it, harvesting argan oil is difficult.  Producing 2 pints of the oil require at  least eight argan trees, which explains why the trees have been under the protection of UNESCO since 1999, helping to ensure reforestation for sustained growth.

I use Josie Maran argan oil as a supplement with my regular moisturizer.  A few added drops gives me enough of a boost to counteract that tight, dry feeling my skin gets during the winter.  I also use Moroccan Oil shampoo and conditioner and Marrakesh Oil hair elixir, which all contain argan oil.  To be honest, what sold me on the Marrakesh Oil was the smell, but it does a great job of detangling and smoothing hair, so I'm happy.  Have you used any products containing argan oil?  What did you think?