**REVIEW** Body Merry (a skincare trio)

I have been slacking just a little. I've fallen behind on my product reviews & they are starting to build up. One issue is that I have been doing way too much in the way of skincare items. To do a fair use and review process, I have to give myself time to see how a product is working on my skin and I don't like to overwhelm my skin with product after product after product. What I've been doing is trying each item and taking notes for blogging the review. (After this latest round of products, I'm going to be reviewing items in other categories: electronics, apps and hair products.)

My latest product review is for a great company with excellent service and quality products - Body Merry. I've used their products before and this time I got to try out a trio:

Body Merry serums & eye cream

Left to right:

• Professional grade 2.5% Retinol Serum with Hyaluronic Acid & Green Tea for wrinkles & fine lines. It also evens your skin tone and addresses dark spots and acne as well. (I don't have acne, but the rest of those problems are sneaking up on me!)
• Eye Cream for dark circles, wrinkles, puffiness, crow's feet, fine lines & bags. It's an under eye treatment with natural & organic anti-aging formula of peptides, retinol, hyaluronic acid, cucumber, rosehip oil, MSM, aloe & More). This one is also for men. (There's that rosehip oil again!)
• Hyaluronic Acid Serum is professional grade and vegan with Vitamic C and  Green Tea. Like the retinol serum, it's for wrinkles and fine lines but additionally offers organic hydration.

Because I am careful about overusing certain products on my skin, I used the serums every other day, alternating between each one, and I only used them in the morning. Both are fairly mild, though I could feel more of a tingling with the Retinol Serum that I didn't get with the Hyaluronic Serum. Odd. I haven't noticed much difference after using them, but I think I need more time than a week.

Speaking of worries about skin reactions, I noted this from the Retinol Serum's product page: "The addition of Plant Derived Hyaluronic Acid provides the much needed hydration so you can reap the benefits of Retinol, without having to suffer any dryness or irritation. Organic Green Tea works its charm as a powerful antioxidant." 

The eye cream is very mild. It was super-hydrating, so I didn't even bother to use my regular moisturizer in that area. Another thing: the cream is so moisturizing, you need to be careful not to pump out too much of it because it literally only takes a tiny dab to hydrate the entire area around the eye. I used this morning and night. I was a little concerned the first time I used this one. The skin around my eye is really sensitive, so I was worried about a reaction. Again, I think this is why it's important to use the tiniest little bit.

The eye cream has over 70 ingredients, so I won't even try to list them all here, but they include:  Vitamins C + E + B5, Peptide Complex, Amino Acid Emulsification, Hyaluronic Acid, Retinol, Antioxidants, and MSM. The product page on Amazon lists these natural and organic ingredients: Aloe, Rose Hip Oil, Jojoba Oil, Coconut Oil, Beeswax, Cranberry, Licorice, Sunflower Oil, Borage Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Lavender, Calendula, Chamomile, Witch Hazel, Cocoa Butter, Cucumber, Green Tea - to name just a few! No harsh chemicals such as Parabens, Sulfates and Phthalates.

Of course, I have to add a final mention that none of these 3 products has an unpleasant odor. I smelled nothing with the serums, and the eye cream had a faint (pleasant) green-ish/tea-ish scent. Not bad at all.

If you try any of these items and find that you aren't happy with them, Body Merry offers a 100% money-back guarantee. You get your money back without having to return the bottles. That's as nice as the fact that the products are made in the U.S.A. in an FDA registered facility and are not tested on animals. 

Finally, a note about the way I use any new product: Even those I had no reaction or sensitivity to any of these, I always am careful to only use a little bit on one part of my face to test for problems. Also, with any of these retinol-based products, I am super careful to wear sunscreen. Heck - I wear sunscreen all the time, no matter what (or at least a moisturizer with sunscreen), but this is definitely not the time to skimp on sun-protection. Also, I know that I can't use this type of product too often. I will use it every other day, or even every other day.)

Peace

--Free

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

**REVIEW** Body Merry Cellulite Defense Cream (part 1 review)

I love my Tomoson.com! My latest product received is one that I hate to admit I need. It's a cellulite-fighting cream from Body Merry. Actually, it's their Cellulite Defense Gel-Cream. And, yes, I am in a little bit of a battle with cellulite. Not a huge battle, mind you, but... When I gained all that weight while on prednisone, I was careful to moisturize, moisturize and moisturize some more. More than I usually do. Still, now that I have lost a lot of the weight (10 pounds in three weeks, thanks to some stress), whenever I sit down, I notice a slight dimpling on my legs where that elusive "thigh gap" is supposed to be.

Because I have only been using this for couple of weeks, I can tell you that, while I haven't seen dramatic results yet,  my problem areas do look better (probably due to the extra moisturizing). I am going to need to use this product for a while longer before I can review any more definitive results, I will use this post to give you my initial impressions. In a few weeks, I will update with a "part 2" that will let you know what kind of effects I will have noticed. For now, let's take a look.

First off, you know how I am about smells, right? Well, I thought I was going to dislike the odor of this because of all the mention of "herbal" and "organic" in the product description. (I love most things herbal and organic, but the smell of such things can be tricky!)

Happily, I discovered that, while there is a slight odor, there is no stink. It reminds me of something slightly eucalyptus-y except not anywhere near as strong. Anyway, the odor dissipates by the time cream dries.

Oh, yes - it really is a "gel cream", as described on the label. It's a little bit gel-ly like. I found this out when I was careless while removing the safety seal. I almost dumped out some of it when I opened and tilted the jar! This product is extremely moist. What I like about such "runny" creams is that I can usually get away with making a little bit of it go a long way. (If I don't dump it all over the floor in a klutz move...)

Because I recently lost my glasses (long story), I was not able to read the complete list of ingredients on the jar, but I found this on Amazon:

Some of our KEY ingredients are: Caffeine + Retinol + Algae Extract + Kelp + Dulse + Organic Cayenne + Japanese Green Tea Leaf Extract + Organic Coconut Oil + MSM + Vitamin E + Organic Sweet Almond Oil + Organic Aloe + Apricot Kernel Oil

Have to say that I like all those.

If you have or or don't need glasses, this is for you:

I have heard and read lots of information on how good coffee is for treating cellulite. I've also heard that coffee/caffeine has no effect as a cellulite treatment. If coffee is not the solution, then regularly massaging the skin with a good cream is (and this cream is excellent for that). Then there is what I'm hearing about retinol for improving problem areas. I've actually tried homemade coffee scrubs (messy, sooo messy!) and, like I've mentioned, I'm diligent about moisturizing regularly. I'd rather drink my coffee for kicks and use a body product that makes less of a mess in the shower, so this cream could be just the thing.

I have used the cream almost every day so far, massaging it into my thigh area twice a day. At first, I was worried about whether or not there would be any tingling or stinging sensation because of the "horsetail" ingredient I'd be using for the first time. There was no unpleasant sensation and the texture of the cream really made for a nice massage.

Body Merry has a 100% money-back, "no questions asked" guarantee in case you aren't satisfied. You can find the Cellulite Defense on Amazon but, so far, the only product on the Body Merry site itself is their Age Defense Eye Cream. I like that they ensure the testing and quality of their products. It's my opinion that most people don't use a product long enough to see promised results. In this case, there's no excuse because Body Merry will let you keep the remains of your product.

By the way, when I checked, I saw a lot of very positive reviews for the product. As for myself, I will be letting you know what my results are in a few weeks. Hang tight!

Peace
--Free

 I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.