Review: Cellnique Intensive Hydrating Lotion & Intensive Hydrating Gel Wash

Continued from my last Cellnique review, here are two more products that I’ve been using over the past few months.

Just a little background on my situation now. I am trying to meet targets at work, so I have been incredibly stressed; for a couple of weeks I worked nearly 10-14 hours a day for the entire week. Then, probably due to overwork, over-stress and lack of sleep (and proper food, nutrition, etc.), I caught something and was very sick in bed for nearly a week. It’s been almost three weeks since I got sick and I am still coughing and trying to recover. These two incidents have really taken a toil on my skin, which is trying to recover from both sickness and stress. However, I have been using these Cellnique products over the past few months and I have found that it has really helped my skin recover quickly and get back to its former glory.

My skin profile: I have very dehydrated cheeks with a t-zone that gets oily. I occasionally get break-outs, usually 1-2 around that time of the month. My main skin concerns are hyper-pigmentation and dehydration in the cheek area and fine lines in the eye area. My cheeks are also sensitive and prone to redness. My ideal skincare products are ones that provide good moisture to my skin, absorb quickly and leave no left-over product sitting on top of my skin.

Cellnique Intensive Hydrating Lotion

What it claims (from Cellnique.com): Intensive Hydrating Lotion is a unique hydrophilic lotion containing Hyaluronic Acid, Silanetriol and 17 types of Amino Acids to provide instant hydration and preserve optimum moisture balance to the skin. It soothes sensitive-prone skin and furnishes skin with free-radical protection, leaving it supple and silky smooth. This is a hypo-allergenic formulation excellent for all skin types, excellent on dry, sensitive and mature skin.

Price: $32USD for 200mL

Texture/Scent: Viscous fluid, scent-free

The good: I tend to take very hot showers so the moisture is usually drained out of my skin, but when I smooth this on my skin with a cotton pad, I can feel my skin being relieved and refilled with water. It feels very light on, absorbs quickly but is still very hydrating. It also leaves no residue behind at all. I feel my skin is plumper after every application. It is also non sticky, leaving behind no grease or residue.

The bad: I’m not a fan of the bottle as it is a tall pour bottle that I found hard to control the amount of lotion dispensed out of it. I ended up pouring everything into a bottle with a pump as I find that easier to use.

Overall: I really like this toner as it is so simple but works so well. I appreciate that I can feel my skin being refilled with moisture after each application. While its main purpose is to hydrate the skin, I also feel that it does a good job at removing any left-over dirt or grime on the skin as well. The only thing I would improve is the bottle design as I find it a little hard to manoevre. I would recommend this to everyone, to be honest. It’s light enough for people with oily skin to use (and would help to balance out the skin), and people with dry skin will just suck this up. Of course, it is also perfect for anyone with sensitive skin, which is what it was designed for originally.

Product: 19/20
Packaging: 2/5
Value: 4/5
Overall: 25/30 | A
Repurchase? Very likely

Ingredients list: Purified Water (Aqua), Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Methyl Gluceth 20, PVMMA Copolymer, Phenoxyethenol, Vitamin B5 (Panthenol), Hydroxyethylcellulose, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Citrate, Silanetriol, Hyaluronic Acid, Methylisothiazolinone, Lysine, Histidine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Threonine, Serine, Glutamic Acid, Proline, Glycine, Alanine, Valine, Methionine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, Cysteine.

Cellnique Intensive Hydrating Gel Wash

What it claims (from Cellnique.com): A gentle facial wash designed for dry, sensitive and mature skin. Cleanse, condition, revitalize all at once with this cleanser’s unique blend of skin-smart ingredients; Purslane Extract, Green Tea Extract and Chamomile Extract. It sweeps away impurities without drying out and irritating the skin. Extremely gentle and non-comedogenic.

Price: $38USD for 200mL

Texture/Scent: Light clear green gel

The good: This is a mild gel cleanser that doesn’t foam up as much as other cleansers I’ve used in the past, so it is good for people with sensitive skin, unfortunately…

The bad: My personal preference is to use a cleanser that foams up really well as I feel that it does help to clean the skin better (I think it’s a psychological thing).

Overall: I feel this would be a good cleanser to use when my skin is acting up during allergy season (which is not now). It is extremely mild, but still cleans relatively well without leaving any residue behind. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to test this out properly because I just don’t like to use a cleanser like this (which is why there is no rating), but it would be the perfect cleanser for people with sensitive skin or if you have extra dry skin and can’t use the traditional cleansers that might strip the skin.

Ingredients list: Purified Water (Aqua), Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Methyl Gluceth-20, PEG-150 Distearate, PEG-8, Phenoxyethanol, Cocamide DEA, Citric Acid, Polysorbate 20, Tetrasodium EDTA, Fragrance, Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) Extract, Green Tea (Camellia sinensis) Leaf Extract, Olive ( Olea Europaea) Leaf Extract, Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis ) Flower Extract, Methylisothiazolinone, Cl 60725, Cl 19140, Cl 42090.

Review: Cellnique D’Sensi Calming & Hydrating Cream

It’s no secret that Cellnique is one of my favourite skincare brands. Hailing from South-East Asia, I’ve found most of their products to be suitable and effective on my skin. I’m very excited to share with you a couple more favourites I’ve discovered in this hidden gem that is Cellnique. This is the first of three more Cellnique products I will be reviewing in the next few days.

Just a little background on my situation now. I am trying to meet targets at work, so I have been incredibly stressed; for a couple of weeks I worked nearly 10-14 hours a day for the entire week. Then, probably due to overwork, over-stress and lack of sleep (and proper food, nutrition, etc.), I caught something and was very sick in bed for nearly a week. It’s been almost three weeks since I got sick and I am still coughing and trying to recover. These two incidents have really taken a toil on my skin, which is trying to recover from both sickness and stress. However, I have been using these Cellnique products over the past few months and I have found that it has really helped my skin recover quickly and get back to its former glory.

My skin profile: I have very dehydrated cheeks with a t-zone that gets oily. I occasionally get break-outs, usually 1-2 around that time of the month. My main skin concerns are hyper-pigmentation and dehydration in the cheek area and fine lines in the eye area. My cheeks are also sensitive and prone to redness. My ideal skincare products are ones that provide good moisture to my skin, absorb quickly and leave no left-over product sitting on top of my skin.

Cellnique D’Sensi Calming & Hydrating Cream

What it claims (from Cellnique.com): A sophisticated dual-action moisturizer with extraordinary soothing and hydrating properties. Multi-active Desensitizing Complex and Yeast Extract are infused to neutralize outbreaks of redness; provides lasting relief to enraged skin by raising skin tolerance threshold. Its exceptionally high concentration of Hyaluronic Acid and Trehalose magnifies skin hydration and reinforces skin protection barrier.

Price: $57USD for 50mL

Texture/Scent: Light gel creme light blue in colour, nearly scent-free

The good: This gel creme is so light and weightless but is still very hydrating without any residue. It does a very good job at calming the redness in my skin and I feel that it has helped to smooth out the texture as well. The packaging is weighty and feels luxe.

The bad: It takes about 2-3 minutes to absorb, which can be a hassle especially in the morning when I need to apply my base makeup right away. I was disappointed to see dimethicone on the list of ingredients, but so far I haven’t reacted to it so I will continue to use it.

Overall: I love this moisturizer! It has really helped to calm my skin. I feel that my skin is smoother, more supple and healthier now because of the D’Sensi Calming & Hydrating Cream. While I don’t think this is enough for winter climate on its own, but with a hydrating serum underneath, I was able to get perfectly balanced skin without overdoing it. By itself, it would be a very good spring/summer/autumn moisturizer. I would recommend this to everyone with dry-to-normal, normal, normal-to-combination, or sensitive skin.

Product: 18/20
Packaging: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Overall: 26/30 | A
Repurchase? Very likely

Ingredients list: Aqua (Purified Water), Glycerin, Trehalose, Methyl Gluceth-20, Celearyl Isononanoate, Dimethicone, Propylene Glycol, Glyceryl Acrylate / Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Cyclomethicone, Polyisobutene, Phenoxyethanol, Vitamin B5 (Panthenol), Isohexadecane, Cetearyl Methicone, Dimethicone, PEG-40 Stearate, Polysorbate 20, PVM/MA Copolymer, Wheat Germ (Triticum vulgare) Extract, Steareth 2, Steareth 21, Bisabolol, Olive (Olea europaea) Leaf Extract, Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisae) Extract, Silanediol Salicylate, Fragrance, Sodium Hyaluronate, Methylisothiazolinone, Cl 42090

Favourite Skincare Brands Feature: Cellnique Paramedical

I’ve reviewed so many skincare products in the past few years that I’ve been blogging and I know that it all gets kind of confusing for you. I’ve decided to sum it up for you by doing a short feature on some of my favourite skincare brands. These brands produce some of my favourite products that have worked amazingly well on my skin. I feel that my skin is looking its best right now compared to the past and I thank these products for it.

The first brand I am going to feature is Cellnique. Cellnique is a Malaysian skincare brand that I first heard about from Eki who sent me some samples of their Skin Action Sebum Gel (which I reviewed here). I absolutely loved the Skin Action Sebum Gel because at the time, my skin was breaking out due to stress from school and exams and it helped calm down my skin while ridding it of breakouts.

I purchased a few of their products the next spring and despite the problems with ordering (they’ve recently updated their website, so I don’t think this will be an issue anymore, plus they were very quick to respond to the problems), I’ve loved almost every item I’ve tried from their brand.

Apart from the Skin Action Sebum Gel, I’ve tried the Gentle Foaming Cleanser, Advanced Bio Renewal Mask, Derma Brightening Complex, Soothing & Hydrating Lotion and Intensive Hydrating Oasis Gel. Almost all of these have done wonders to my skin. You can click on the links for their individual reviews. I’ve also just recently purchased two more bottles of the Soothing & Hydrating Lotion because I love it so much; I’m already almost done with my first bottle!

Some of the reasons why I love Cellnique include their use of herbal plants and other natural ingredients in their products. As a business school graduate, I can understand why companies are using more and more synthetic chemicals in their products, but these products can be damaging to us in the long term. Using more natural products is something not often seen anymore, so I applaud Cellnique for this. Cellnique is also very involved in social media and very connected with their customers. I love that I can get a good assessment of my skin condition through just communicating via e-mail. They respond to my inquiries quickly and I feel like I am getting very good customer service, even through the internet.

Cellnique recently came out with a new series of skincare products directed towards dehydrated and sensitive skin, which is perfect for me. I will be receiving a couple products from this line soon, so I will be able to review them for you.

“Favourite Brands Feature” is a series focused on Sheila’s favourite skincare brands; these posts were not sponsored by the brands mentioned, but some of the products may have been provided for review purposes. As always, reviews and thoughts are done critically and I will never give a positive review just because the product was provided to me without charge.

Follow Maddy Loves on Twitter and Facebook!

Don’t forget to enter my GIVEAWAY for Dollywink, Hello Kitty x Maybelline, MAC, AmorePacific, masks, falsies, and MORE!

Review: Cellnique Derma Brightening Complex

This is the third and last Cellnique product I received from them earlier this year. This is overall a very effective product that helped to even out my skintone. If I had to choose a favourite out of the three, I would have to say the Soothing & Hydrating Lotion, just because it helped to calm down my skin, but this one is also really great. Honestly I loved (and still love) all of the Cellnique products I’ve tried. I highly recommend this brand to you! You can read my reviews of other Cellnique products here.

What it claims (from Cellnique.com): Formulated with liposamal Willow Bark Extract and Vitamin C, this strongly-effective yet gentle formulation works excellent on skin discoloration, dull and uneven skin tone, restores skin’s luminous glow without provoking any skin irritation or peeling. Unprecedented clarity radiates from within.

Price: $45USD for 30mL from Cellnique.com

Usage: I used this gel as the second last step of my nightly skincare routine, after Cellnique’s Soothing & Hydrating Lotion and before the Intensive Hydrating Oasis Gel. I use three drops of this on my face and neck.

The good: This is a very good brightening serum that will not dry out your skin! Most brightening serums I’ve tried tends to dry out my already-sensitive skin, making it flaky and uncomfortable, but this does not. It also does a good job at gently brightening my skin without being overly harsh. It contains various acids to gently exfoliate your skin and get rid of dark spots. The result is brighter, more even-looking skin. It also absorbs easily and my skin is smoother as well.

• Brightens
• Lightens dark spots
• Does not dry out the skin (unlike most brightening products)
• Absorbs easily
• Skin is smoother and looks more even

The bad: There is a strong, herbal smell to it, but I don’t mind it very much. I would also have preferred if it is in a glass bottle instead of plastic, as I feel the glass will help to better preserve the active ingredients in this serum. The price may also be a little high for some people.

• Strong smell
• Plastic bottle
• Little availability, can only be purchased on their official website
• Slightly on the expensive side.

Overall: This is a highly effective product to help gently exfoliate and rid your skin of dark spots without drying out the skin. The dropper dispenser format is hygienic and easy to use without wasting product. I would recommend this to anyone who has acne scars that they want to get rid of, or just want to brighten the skin.

• Product: 18/20
• Packaging: 3.5/5
• Value: 4/5
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Overall: 29.5/35 | 84% | A
• Repurchase? Very likely

Read on for ingredients:

Review: Cellnique Intensive Hydrating Oasis Gel

I received this product from Cellnique a few months ago to review. I’m glad I’m just using this now because the Intensive Hydrating Oasis Gel is great for summer. It is light but provides just enough moisture for my skin to stay balanced all night.

What it claims (from Cellnique.com): A highly concentrated Aloe Vera gel-based skin soothing and calming formulation designed for all skin types. This soothing gel is further enhanced with the infusion of Witch Hazel, Horse Chestnut, and Marine Collagen to deliver an ultra effective moisturizing function.

Price: $41USD for 50mL from Cellnique.com

Usage: I used this gel as the last step of my nightly skincare routine, after toner, Cellnique’s Soothing & Hydrating Lotion and Derma Brightening Complex.

The good: Very soothing, great for weather exposed skin (too much sun or wind) that needs a repairing. This is a very light, translucent gel that absorbs very quickly. While it is super light, it is also very hydrating without being oily at all. My skin is dehydrated leaning to normal (just recently – it used to be super dry) and this is just perfect for night-time, keeping oil at bay while sealing in all the moisture. It just keeps my skin… calm and fresh feeling all night.

• Soothing
• Hydrating
• Absorbs well
• Keeps my skin feeling fresh all night

The bad: The pump mechanism is a little tedious to use. I would have preferred it to just be in a regular squeeze tube without the pump because near the end it starts to get a little hard to pump out product. It is a little hard to come by as you can only purchase it from the Cellnique website. It is also a little bit on the expensive side for those who are on a budget. Lastly, this gel will probably not be enough for my skin in the dry Canadian winter months as it is light. As right now it is summer, I love it, but I’m not sure about winter.

• Pump mechanism a little cumbersome to use
• Little availability, can only be purchased on their official website
• Slightly on the expensive side
• May be too light for winter dry months

Overall: While at first glance this is just a regular clear gel, I really like this product because it provides enough moisture to my skin while staying light and without burden. I highly recommend this as a summer moisturizer as it is light enough but can help nurture skin back to health from sun damage. It is a little expensive, but a little goes a long way.

• Product: 17/20
• Packaging: 3.5/5
• Value: 4/5
• Ease of Use: 4/5
• Overall: 28.5/35 | 81% | A-
• Repurchase? Maybe

Read on to see ingredients: