[REVIEW] NEUTROGENA HYDRO BOOST WATER GEL – IS IT OKAY FOR OILY-COMBINATION SKIN?
9:00 AM
Hep! Before you
scold me for not being around this side of the interweb for a while (peace
sign), I have a product review for you. Ah-huh. Yep! A brand new product
review, so save that guilt-trippin for later and let’s talk about my experience
with NEUTROGENA HYDRO BOOST WATER GEL first. *wink-wink*
WHY DID I
PURCHASE?
I actually
uploaded a haul video last week explaining why I bought this product but
okay, let me talk about that here, too. I recently have just finished my
Himalaya Herbals Intensive Moisturizing Cream and thought of trying a different moisturizer instead of
repurchasing the same thing, although I have to say that I parted with my
Himalaya moisturizer on really good terms. So since it’s time to hit the
supermarket to buy groceries, I decided to also look for a new face cream there
since GIANT also has an aisle dedicated for face and body stuff. And that’s
where I saw this blue box that says NEUTROGENA HYDRO BOOST WATER GEL. And I was
like, “Water gel? As in water? And gel? Oooh! That sounds fancy.” And so
I took it and placed it in my basket.
THE BASICS:
ABOUT THE PRODUCT
Name: Neutrogena
Hydro Boost Water Gel
Price: $19.90 (as of this date
it’s on sale on GUARDIAN website for S$13.93 only)
Bought from: GIANT
supermarket Singapore
Product
description from Neutrogena Website:
Hydro Boost Water Gel instantly quenches dry skin and keeps it looking smooth, supple and hydrated day after day. The unique water gel formula absorbs quickly, like a gel, but has the long-lasting, intense moisturizing power of a cream. It boosts skin's hydration level and locks it in all day. Naturally found in the skin, hydrating hyaluronic acid acts as a sponge for dry skin cells, moisturizing with up to 1,000 times its weight in water, resulting in more supple and smooth skin.
-
Oil-free
-
Non-comedogenic
-
Purified Hyaluronic acid
-
Wearable under makeup
The product is
contained in a blue glass tub and it contains 50G of product. Inside of it is a
blue-ish translucent gel that is very watery and runny, consequently why it’s
called a “water gel”. It’s not sticky and I like it. It is scented though. It
smells like newly-washed/fabconed linens— in other words, it smells clean. Not
a strong scent in my opinion but to people with overly sensitive nose for
scents, this might come off as a tad strong.
THE BASICS:
ABOUT ME
For your
information, I have oily-combination skin that is also acne-prone and
sensitive. I am normally oily on my T-zone area and usually dry on the rest of
my face. My skin can easily react badly to some products even if they claim to
be gentle on the skin. Please take note of this before you continue reading.
THE REVIEW: MY
EXPERIENCE
I used it for the
first time on the night of 11th May and here were my initial thoughts
about it:
-
It's like cold cream that feels
so nice when I apply to my skin.
-
It has a nice scent (although very
slightly perfume-ish)
-
It is very quickly absorbed into
my skin but my skin didn't feel dry or stripped of moisture. Instead, my skin
instantly felt soft and smooth.
-
Without exaggeration, my skin
felt hydrated on my first use of it.
-
I noticed a slight tightening
around my forehead area but I don't see it as a concern at the moment.
The second time I
used it was the morning of the following day (12th May) and here
were the observations I jotted down on that day:
-
I used it under very minimal
makeup (Nichido Powder Plus Foundation) to see if it'll work as a good primer
and for me, it did.
-
Application of the powder was
even easier because of this gel.
-
My face felt smooth and
supple.
-
It helped preventing my face
from getting oily too soon
And so I kept
using this water gel moisturizer day and night since then. I know it hasn’t
been even half a month yet but why am I already sharing my thoughts with you?
Well, sometimes how I feel towards skincare products is the same how I know
that I’m in love with someone – I.
JUST. KNOW.
Convinced? Let’s continue!
WHAT I NOTICED…
On the first night
I used this moisturizer, it was immediately absorbed by my skin as if it has
been longing for such cream for ages (Hmmm... it probably has?). However, since
I've been observing how it's working on my skin, use after use, I noticed that
the more frequent I apply it, the slower its absorption into my skin becomes.
If on the first time I used it, my skin instantly drunk it all up, on the night
of 21st March, it took a few minutes before it became fully
absorbed. Meaning there was a slight tackiness for the first 2-3minutes, but
after it has been fully taken by my skin, the soft-as-a-baby's-butt face is
back and ready to face the world or in this case, my pillows?
For my first week
of using it, I really felt that my skin was being hydrated aside from being
moisturized, especially when I used it at night, I always woke up to a soft and
supple skin in the morning and I super love it…
that is if it stayed that way. What?! As mentioned earlier, I have
oily-combo type of skin that is acne-prone and sensitive. I don't know what
happened but on my second week of using it, I noticed dry patches starting to
form around my chin area and the sides of my mouth. I thought my face is being
fully hydrated? Where did these dry patches come from? I didn’t have this issue
with my previous moisturizer. And this happened despite me using the water gel morning
and night. I’m using it day and night to keep my face hydrated but what
happened? How can dry patches form when my skin is hydrated (or supposed to be
hydrated)? Does this mean I should only use it during the night? But why?!
Towards the end of
my second week trying the product, the dry patches started to vanish but no
extra ordinary hydration felt throughout the day. I reckon it’s not really good
for daytime use because whenever I use it at night, I can say that the soft
skin when I wake up the next morning was still there but when I use it in the
morning, no further hydration observed.
WHAT I LIKE…
-
It hydrates. It may not be as
hydrating as I thought it would be but it does hydrate my skin.
-
When used at night, I get a
beautiful surprise in the morning: soft and supple skin.
-
A little goes a long way plus
the tub has 50g of product. It may take me a while before I can finish it.
-
While others may not be too
happy with its scent, I actually thought it smells good.
-
It works as a good makeup
primer.
WHAT I DON’T LIKE…
-
THE PRICE. It’s too expensive
for a drugstore moisturizer.
-
The tub is actually a bit
unsanitary. A bottle with a pump could have been a nicer option.
-
I don’t like that it doesn’t
have SPF because it’s already expensive and yet I still need another product to
protect my skin from the harmful rays of the sun when I need to go out.
FINAL WORDS…
I like this
product enough to finish it all up until its last drop but I may not repurchase it.
Just upon seeing the texture of the product, my expectations were already instantly
elevated especially given its price. When it didn’t deliver the way I had hoped
it would, it kind of disappointed me a little. It probably could be because of
my skin type. I therefore conclude that this product is recommendable only to
those with NORMAL to OILY skin type. I don’t think it’s hydrating enough for
those with DRY skin as just with my oily-combo skin, I already had some issues,
what more those with dry to super DRY skintype.
***
Have you tried this
product? How was your experience? I’d love to know!
3 comments
Since Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel does not contain denatured liquor, and it DOES contain hyaluronic corrosive and in addition olive concentrate, I sensed that I was at that point off to a decent begin.
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