Product Review: Living Nature Balancing Night Gel

Hey lovelies, apparently the first H&M in Singapore is opening today, at Orchard Building (1 Grange Road). I don't really shop for clothes in stores much these days, preferring to shop online in the languor of my home, but I've heard that people have queued overnight since Friday, 7.30pm! (The store opens today, 11am.)

Such dedication!

It seems queuing is something of a culture here in Singapore. (refer to: the McDonald's Hello Kitty craze)

But I digress. I'm here to review another Living Nature product! I bought this along with their popular Living Nature Rescue Gel in July, which Chiharu has already reviewed here.

It's the ubiquitous semi-cylindrical packaging again! My opinion on the Rescue Gel is much the same as Chiharu's so I won't be reviewing it again (lest I bore you). But I do want to nitpick on the packaging! Since the Rescue Gel's main active ingredient is Manuka Honey, it tends to coagulate and clogs the dispenser.

And, the packaging is exactly the same as the rest of their bottled products, except for the different words and flower motif. Inevitably I get them mixed up, since I chuck most of my skincare and cosmetics into a box.

I do have to admit I like the simplicity of the design though. I'm a sucker for elegant packaging (and the occasional kitschy cute ones).

The dispenser is the same as usual - a squeeze-type dispenser at the bottom of the bottle (is it considered a bottle at all?). Unlike the Rescue Gel, the Balancing Night Gel is a smooth, milky cream that doesn't coagulate, so no problems with clogging there.

I don't have the outer packaging anymore because it's been months since I bought this product, but fortunately Living Nature has the ingredients list on its website:

Ingredients INCI:

Aqua (water), Mel (manuka honey), Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil**, Sclerotium gum, Glucose (plant sugar), Squalane (vegetable squalane), Triticum vulgare (wheat) germ oil, Butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter**, Phormium tenax leaf juice (NZ flax gel), Parfum (natural fragrance)*, Bisabolol (from chamomile), Zingiber officinale (ginger) root extract, Olea europaea (olive) leaf extract, Glucose oxidase (from milk), Lactoperoxidase (from milk), Oenothera biennis (evening primrose) oil, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Leptospermum scoparium (manuka) oil, Limonene*, Linalool*

* From natural essential oils ** Certified organic

And quite evidently, all the ingredients are natural! They even include the common names for those ingredients with confounding scientific names. *double-likes*

It's quite pricey though. The website lists it as S$99.00 for 50ml, but I don't remember how much I paid for mine. I vaguely recall that it was cheaper because Living Nature (at East Point Mall) had a 20% discount for quite a lot of their products at that time.

But is it worth the price?

Overall, my conclusion is YES.

If you have problem skin like mine (acne-prone, oily and sensitive), then this is a good night gel that calms and rejuvenates your skin. I've tried a few night creams here and there, and most of them tend to be too heavy or too oily for me. Living Nature Balancing Night Gel is more soothing on my skin. The dry patch on my right cheek is a lot better nowadays - not as itchy or cracked. (I had some sort of allergic (?) reaction to Benzoyl Peroxide lotion a few years back.)

One bottle, despite its relatively small size, can last for quite long. I've used mine for two months at least and there's still more than half a bottle left, and I use it religiously.

I still think it is rather expensive though, especially if you're a student or not currently employed. So if you have no particular reason to purchase this, perhaps a similar product would serve you better.

Application is simple. Simply massage it into your face with the pads of your fingers slowly. It gets absorbed quite quickly and doesn't leave your face oily/ shiny at all. Fragrance-wise, it smells of milk and flowers and honey. Much more pleasant than the Rescue Gel, definitely.

Living Nature doesn't test their products on animals, and is certified 100% natural (look out for the logos to ensure if a product is certified). A lot of products may claim that they are natural, but may only be perhaps 70% natural, or not certified at all, so Living Nature has an edge over them.

The texture is kind of milky-creamy, and it makes me hungry for no particular reason.

And of course, to end this off, a pointless shot of my fingernails. It's a somewhat messy attempt on a french manicure, following the tutorial of thebeautydepartment.com. Enjoy~!

Ratings

Scent : ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (Pleasant. A floral-milky scent with a hint of honey. Floral ain't really my thing though, but it's non-offensive.)

Texture : ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (Creamy, milky, absorbs fast. A bit runny though.)

Effectiveness : ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (Definitely effective! But results tend to bottom out after a while, though at least it is maintained~)

Overall : ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (Try it if you have the money! I think it's definitely worth the price, and if in doubt, they have testers as well.)

Thanks for reading~

Love,
Ringo