**REVIEW** Organic & Vegan Ultra Hydrating Facial Moisturizer

Of all the beauty moisturizers I have tried - and there have been a lot - this is the first time I tried something vegan. This is what the product touts:

Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Non-Toxic, All-Natural Face Moisturizer for Dry, Sensitive, Eczema, Combination, Mature Skin

How could I resist?

This is Nouveau/Organica Ultra Hydrating Facial Moisturizer.

Though my review of this got off to a bumpy start, I'm glad that I gave the product a try.

I'll address the one issue I had with this before I get to the rest of the review.

When the package arrived, we were having one of our famously warm days here in Anchorage. And I mean it was warm. For a week, we had temps that ranged from 80 to close to 90 degrees. Yeah. Warm.

melted

1 hour in fridge

The jar is slightly smaller than I expected (because I am bad a visualizing sizes by volume amounts) and I tilted it to get a better grip when I opened it. Lucky that I turned it right side up before the lid came off. Because of the warmth, the contents were completely liquefied. (There is a mention on the label that "softening" can occur.) I ended up spilling only a tiny bit o the product, but I am warning other users ahead of time.

Now.

This is more of an oil than a cream. I don't mind that at all because I love using oils on my skin. For people that tend to avoid oil products, I will tell you that the results are not what you might think.

The moisturizer is very non-clogging. My skin is not only a combo that runs from dry-to-oily, those zones fluctuate, but my nose is the spot that suffers when I use anything that irritates my skin or clogs the pores. The Organica passed that immediate test. When I used the moisturizer as an overnight treatment, I was even more pleased.

There is a faint smell to this that reminds me of used cooking oil. It's not unpleasant and I don't notice it when the moisturizer is in a solid state. When it's all liquefied, the scent is more pronounced. The important thing is that it doesn't linger on the skin.

I am surprised that I like this so much. I don't know what I expected. For some odd reason, I've never had the same positive view of 'vegan' products that I do of those labeled as 'natural'. It's a mindset of mine.

This product has me anxious to try others like it. Of the benefits I noticed in a few days' use, the main one is that this absorbs well. I didn't have to use a lot. I just scraped my fingernail over the surface to get slivers to apply. The oil melts on contact with my skin. I ended up being able to control how much I was applying to the different areas of my face. I like that.

Organica (which is just what I call it!) softens and nourishes. I noticed that it seems to work with my skin. It moisturizes deeply where my skin is driest, yet it didn't "grease" up my skin where it was already hydrated. Very weird but, again, I love the results.

I read reviews by other users and saw that people with various skin issues and they seem to have had positive results. I don't suffer from serious facial skin issues, but I do have 'mature' skin (hah!) and this has turned out to be a nice treatment.

When I went on a water challenge recently, my skin felt better, but I noticed that it tended to dry out a lot whenever I drank less water. It's as if, having gotten so much natural  hydration, my skin rebelled whenever I dropped back to my usual water intake. Since then, my regular moisturizer hasn't been working as well. This brought some balance back to my skin.

I've been using this on my elbows as well as the area at the back of my ankles to soften the skin. The most surprising way I've found this to be helpful is to oil my scalp. Because of the melting factor, the oil really soaks in without getting all over my hair. I just make little parts in my hair, apply the oil, then massage my whole scalp with my fingertips.

I like this a lot. I do wish that I didn't have to keep returning it to the fridge. Actually, I don't have to. I could just use it in the liquid state, but I like being able to better measure out applications by slivers.

For users who prefer truly vegan properties, this product hits high marks:

• Raw food grade
• 100% USDA Certified organic
• vegan
• gluten-free
• soy-free
• dairy-free
• cruelty-free
• No animal testing
• made with ingredients sourced from USDA certified organic farms

The ingredients:

Organic Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Organic Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Organic Argania Spinosa Kernel (Argan) Oil, Organic Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Organic Rosa Mosqueta (Rosehip) Fruit Oil, Organic Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Organic Salvia Sclarea (Clary Sage) Oil, Organic Cananga odorata (Ylang Ylang) Oil, Organic Boswellia carteri (Frankincense) Oil, Organic Pelargonium roseum asperum (Geranium) Oil

Kind of nice that I didn't have to provide links to explain any of the ingredients, right?

There is a "no questions asked" guarantee in place. Can't beat that on top of all the other benefits.

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE: 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.