I must’ve been an angel all last year because Santa was too nice to me. Two of my most-used gifts so far have been Karen’s Botanicals Gentle Cleansing Lotion and Perfect Lotion. Dawn has been a pretty devoted follower of Karen for a while; I’ve heard nothing but good things about almost every Karen’s Botanicals product she has tried. And surely I’ve told you guys about my total lack of a skincare routine? Until now, I’d been unable to find anything with barely decent ingredients that was close to affordable and worked well with my crazy (combination, hyper-sensitive, prone to clogged pores) skin. I’d been washing my face with Dr. Bronner’s, the same stuff I use in the shower (and in the kitchen), but my skin had become pretty irritated. After finally accepting that Dr. Bronner’s is simply much too harsh for washing my face every day, I put some of Karen’s gentler skincare products on my wishlist.
This duo has been the best thing to happen to my skin in a long time.
And I got them! We didn’t open gifts until late on Sunday, January 2nd, so I’ve been using these products for less than a week. However, I’ve been using them much more regularly because they’re so enjoyable. The cleanser reminds me of a slightly thinner cold cream–something I’ve always thought of as very fancy but could never bring myself to use because of its universally horrible ingredients (no matter the brand). The lotion is on the lighter side and is thankfully unscented (sometimes smells make me queasy), but does a great job at making my face and neck feel smooth all day. I’ve even noticed that my makeup goes on smoother, though I’ll admit I haven’t felt the need to wear it as often. I did briefly consider posting a picture of my naked face (which I took at the same time as the picture above, directly after washing and moisturizing), but thought better of it. The only real downside is that my face is so soft that I can’t stop touching it (and, worse, asking other people to), which I know puts tons of bacteria on my sensitive face. Oh well!
