Cure Natural Aqua Gel Review

I haven’t had much luck with exfoliators over the years, but there’s always one product I seem to go back to: Cure’s Natural Aqua Gel. This is a water based exfoliator that is gentle enough for even the most sensitive skin. This product is insanely popular in Japan; apparently one bottle is sold every 12 seconds over there! Crazy! Once you've tried it, you’ll understand why.

Ingredients: water, glycerin, acrylates crosspolymer, dicocodimonium chloride, steartimonium bromide, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, ginkgo biloba leaf powder, rosemary leaf extract, butylene glycol, c10-30 alkyl acrylate. 

As you can see from the ingredients list this product contains no artificial colouring, fragrances, alcohol or preservatives, and contains natural plant extracts from rosemary, ginko and aloe vera. Also, it doesn’t contain any irritants that may trigger or irritate sensitive and acne prone skin. The formula itself is just a clear, thick gel. No harsh beads, no fragrance, or colour. When it comes in contact with your skin it starts to turn to water, and once you start rubbing the product in these squishy grains start forming between your fingers. Hello, dead skin cells! 

This gel is really easy to use, no harsh rubbing or scrubbing is needed and it rinses off without a trace. As far as the appearance of pores and acne are concerned, don’t expect instant improvement. While my skin felt rough beforehand, it feels very smooth after I use this, and a lot brighter too. What I love about these exfoliating gels is that they don’t irritate my acne. Harsh scrubs tend to open up and irritate spots, making it harder for them to heal quickly. Gels allow the skin time to heal, as well as sloughing off the existing dead skin. When I substitute my harsher exfoliators for this twice a week, acne scars and spots seem to heal a lot faster and it doesn’t leave your skin feeling dry and taut.

There is one thing I find mildly annoying: the packaging. After a while the gel seems to harden and block the pump dispenser, so I end up having to unscrew the lid to get the product out, and I end up using up more of the product because of it.

Price of Cure Aqua Gel has skyrocketed since I first begun purchasing it from Yesstyle.com. Once upon a time I could buy it for $30 (sigh, those were the days…), now it retails at around $50 AUD. Luckily the internet is a vast and magical place and I've definitely seen it cheaper. 

| 20 Days of Liz Earle | Collective Skincare Review

A few months ago my Liz Earle skincare package finally arrived, and I immediately began to use the products and document my experience with them each day for 20 days. I had heard and read so many great reviews about their products so I did have high expectations, but for now, here’s a breakdown of my thoughts on each product:

Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

A very gentle and moisturising cream cleanser with rosemary, chamomile, cocoa butter and essential eucalyptus oil, that you’re supposed to wipe away with some warm water and a muslin cloth that's provided. It’s a gentle cleanser up to the point until you use the cloths, which are great, but for someone with oily, acne prone skin sometimes too much rubbing or exfoliating will just irritate spots even more.

Instant Boost Skin Tonic

This toner claims to revitalise, soothe and tone the skin for instant radiance. It definitely removes any excess makeup or dirt that is left behind, but as far as the rest goes, I couldn't tell. But in a way I don’t really care because it smells amazing (and also looks good on the bathroom counter). It’s definitely a nice toner, it’s soothing, and it doesn't strip or dry out the skin. The packaging is really nifty as well, you twist the top and it elevates a little pump hole so it’s easy to dispense onto a cotton pad or your hands.

Skin Repair Light Moisturiser

Ah, yes the moisturiser, which is supposed to be 'light, gentle and balancing' enough for combination to oily skin. For me it wasn't light or balancing at all. My face quickly became very oily and I soon started to break out; but as soon as I omitted this product and replaced it with my old moisturiser my skin went back to its former state, which was a lot better than what it had become unfortunately. Luckily I bought a sample size!

Gentle Face Exfoliator

This is probably my favourite out of the four. I don’t like exfoliators with beads that are too harsh on the skin, but I also don’t like cream or gel exfoliators because it feels like they’re not doing enough. This one is the perfect balance between the two for me. It’s a creamy mixture of eucalyptus and cocoa butter but it also contains some very fine jojoba beads that aren't too harsh and buff away dead skin cells leaving behind smooth and bright skin.

Ordering From Liz Earle.com

Although buying off ebay was very tempting, I ended up ordering from LizEarle.com in the end. It was probably the most expensive shipping I had ever paid.Seriously, $25 for standard shipping to Australia? I know its Australia but for $25 you expect express next day delivery. Not only was it more expensive it was also slower, and took four weeks to arrive.

The Verdict

I’m not going to lie; it was a very frustrating 20 days for me. By day 5 my skin felt and looked absolutely crap. I told myself it was just my skin getting used to the new products, but two weeks later my skin was still dull, tired and congested. Soooo much congestion. There were headless lumps all over my cheeks and forehead, something I wanted to get rid of not produce more of! Gah!

By the end of it all I ended up dropping the moisturiser completely, and only started using the cleanser once a day in the evening. I still use the muslin cloths, but only for removing face masks. I probably won’t ever go back for the moisturiser or cleanser, but the toner and the exfoliator on the other hand, I would repurchase until the end of time if I could. I just wish shipping wasn't so expensive...(hello, ebay!).

Anyone else tried Liz Earle products? What do you like about them?