1 Week Experience: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel with Hyaluronic Acid Fragrance Free

I have a new face wash! I’m running low on Olay Regenerist Hyaluronic + Peptide 24 Revitalizing Facial Cleanser and needed a new face wash. I finally came to the conclusion and chose Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel with Hyaluronic Acid Fragrance Free. Neutrogena facial cleansers aren’t too bad. I’ve had some success with some of their facial cleansers in the past. Ugh! My favorite face wash was the Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Face Wash. It was discontinued, and I still can’t get over it! It was an amazing cleanser that did a darn good job at cleaning my skin without stripping my skin, not causing breakouts, and who knows if it brightened my skin. All I know is that I stuck with it for so many years until it was gone. It didn’t clog my pores or irritate my skin. Just an amazing face wash that worked well with my skin type. It was also a cream cleanser. It’s so hard to find a good cream cleanser that works on my skin nowadays. I’ve been using gel cleansers ever since after moving on from it. 😢

So what is Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel with Hyaluronic Acid Fragrance Free? This is a gentle face wash that thoroughly cleanses the skin while boosting hydration in the skin. It’s fragrance free. It contains hyaluronic acid to lock in moisture. It effectively washes away dirt, oil, and makeup without leaving the skin feeling dry or tight. It’s dermatologist-tested, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, gentle even on sensitive skin including eczema-prone, atopic dermatitis-prone, and acne-prone skin. Cleanser was formulated without soap, parabens, dyes, phthalates, and alcohol. So I’ve been using this face wash for 1 week. Here’s my experience and thoughts on it!

My 1 Week Experience with Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel with Hyaluronic Acid Fragrance Free:

Texture & Application

This cleanser is a gel. It comes in a pump bottle. I chose the big bottle (16 fl. oz.). They have smaller sizes of this product, but I just took a chance and went with the 16 fl. oz. bottle, haha! Who knows what might happen!! This product doesn’t have fragrance, but it has a scent to it. It smells like chemicals to me. I think I just have a very good nose. The smell isn’t bothersome, and I was able to use the face wash without any issues. With this cleanser, 1-2 pumps is only needed. I try my best to stick with a single pump to save a little bit of money. Sometimes I use 2 to get a more thorough cleanse. But I usually stick to one pump. It’s more than enough for the whole face including the neck and chest area. I cleanse all of these areas of my body when I’m washing my face, especially at night. The product lathers and foams up nicely. I haven’t had this foamy experience with a cleanser in a while. The foam from the Neutrogena face wash is pretty exciting, lol. I love how it lathers up as I’m washing my face. It feels like it’s doing something and removing dirt, oil, debris, and other gunk from my oily skin. I love it. When rinsed off, my skin is left feeling moisturized and clean. It didn’t strip my skin. I would say that this face wash is a gentle, moisturizing cleanser that worked very well on my oily, dry-prone skin.

Cleanses the skin without leaving it feeling dry.

This facial cleanser cleans the skin without leaving it feeling dry. Even when my moisture barrier was impaired, it didn’t burn my face. It washes my face so much better than what I was previously using (Olay). I can feel the difference in my skin. It just feels cleaner and more fresh afterwards. I love the way it makes my skin feel…clean and moisturized. That’s what a cleanser is supposed to do, right??? Yeaaapppp!

Breakouts?

I didn’t get any breakouts from this face wash. It actually helped to remove excess sebum without irritating my skin. I noticed less blackheads on my nose. It hasn’t gotten rid of my blemishes, but it hasn’t done anything to make it worse. It cleans my skin well without over drying it. I’ve said this many times now. This face wash is the perfect combination of cleansing and hydrating the skin. I think that’s the best aspect of this face wash. It doesn’t dry it out, so it doesn’t irritate it and cause more issues to the skin. For acne, my skin tolerated this face wash pretty well. It’s a simple, basic, moisturizing face wash without any actives (if that’s what you’re looking for).

Final Thoughts

I’m glad I gave Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel a try. It worked so much better on my skin than I expected. Much, much better than the cleanser I was using before (Olay Regenerist Hyaluronic + Peptide 24 Revitalizing Facial Cleanser). I didn’t feel like Olay was cleaning my skin well enough. It did, but it could’ve been better. That’s when I noticed a huge difference in the cleanliness of my skin when using Neutrogena vs. Olay. Maybe I just have super oily skin that Neutrogena products just work better for me. Using Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel twice a day has been awesome. I always look forward to using it too, since it lathers, foams up, and cleanses the skin very well without making the skin look and feel stripped of its natural moisture. I feel that the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel is a good cleanser for oily, acne-prone skin people that want a product that cleanses (has that foaming texture) and doesn’t irritate the skin. After using it for a week, I’ve made the switch to Neutrogena (from Olay). It’s working better on my skin. It helps to remove leftover makeup too. Even though I use oil to remove my makeup. This cleanser helps to remove that same oil + other excess dirt, debris, and makeup from my facial skin. I don’t have any negative thing to say about it as of yet. I’m only 1 week in. I’m loving the results so far. It’s a good cleanser. Look forward to a new update within a few weeks or months in!

If you missed out on my acne journey, don’t forget to check it out!

My Acne Journey: 1 Week In…

My Acne Journey: 2 WEEKS!! 

My Acne Journey: 3 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 4 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 5 WEEKS IN!

My Acne Journey: 6 Weeks Results…

My Acne Journey: 7 Weeks Results

My Acne Journey: 2 MONTHS!! 

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 1 Week Results!

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 2 Weeks!

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 3 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 3 MONTHS!! 😀

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 1 Week Results

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 2 Weeks Results

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 3 Week Results

My Acne Journey: 4 MONTHS!!

My Acne Journey: 4 Months + 1 Week Results.

My Acne Journey: 4.5 Months + Clear Skin!!

My Acne Journey: 4 Months + 3 Weeks! What I’m Doing to Maintain My Clear Skin. 🙂

My Acne Journey: 5 MONTHS!!

My Acne Journey: 5 Months + 1 Week Results

My Acne Journey: 5.5 Months Results!

My Acne Journey: 5 Months + 3 Weeks

My Acne Journey: 6 MONTHS!!! 🎉

My Acne Journey: 6 Months + 1 Week!

My Acne Journey: 6.5 Months

Review: Australian Gold Botanical SPF 50 Tinted Face Sunscreen Lotion (Fair-Light)

I picked up Australian Gold Botanical SPF 50 Tinted Face Sunscreen Lotion in Fair-Light. I’ve been hearing about this sunscreen for so many years. I thought, maybe I should just try it out. What put me off from trying this sunscreen out in the first place is that it contains red algae (Porphyra Umbilicalis Extract). And my experience with algae in general in skin care products have not been good. It clogs my pores. But, anything can clog anyone’s pores. It really depends on how the person’s skin reacts to the ingredients/overall formulation of the product. So, I’ve read so many reviews raving about this product! Am I missing out on something?? Hmmm! Now, here I am, with a tube of this stuff. Here are my thoughts on it!

My Experience with Australian Gold Botanical SPF 50 Tinted Face Sunscreen Lotion!

Texture & Application

The texture of this sunscreen is a mousse-cream. It’s a very different type of texture and consistency that I didn’t expect from a bb cream/tinted lotion. It’s soft, lightweight, and souffle-like. It glides over the skin very easily and smoothly. It was very easy to use this product. Very easy to blend into the skin without tugging at the skin. I didn’t have any problems with application. It was a simple process that didn’t take a lot of time. I loved using it around my eyes. It didn’t burn my eyes. But, the sunscreen looks a little greasy and shiny upon application at first. I used the required amount for sunscreen too, which is a lot of product. After about 30 minutes, the product looked matte on the skin. The next 15 more minutes, my skin looked even more matte. It is truly a matte sunscreen as it states on the bottle (matte finish).

Fragrance-Free?

The product is fragrance-free, but it does have smell to it. When I first opened it and sniffed it, I thought it smelled like tanning lotion. After smelling it again just now, it smells like plant extracts. Maybe a combo of both? I’m not too fond of the scent, but it didn’t bother me too much.

Shade (Fair-Light Skin Tones)

I wasn’t impressed with the shade of this product. It says it’s for fair to light skin tones. The color of this product is literally orange when dispensed from the tube. On my skin, it was orange if I used too much. 🍊😂 I didn’t like that at all. 👎🏻 If I use it as a makeup product rather than my main sunscreen, it works out pretty well. It doesn’t turn my skin extremely orange, but there is an orange tint to the skin. That tint eventually fades away a little bit, so it wasn’t too bad. There is no coverage. It seems to work very well as a makeup primer. It seems to coat my eyelashes too. Eyelash primer as well? lol. So this product works out if you’re searching for a mineral sunscreen that is tinted (no white cast). I actually used it on top of my mineral sunscreen (that gives a white cast) to eliminate the white cast. Worked very well. Cast begone! 👋🏻

Great for oily skin!

Since the sunscreen is matte, it works amazingly on oily skin. I have very oily skin, and this sunscreen was perfect on my skin when it comes to taming excess oil. It makes my face appear very clean compared to the dewy, oily look, haha. If you have dry skin, you might want to apply a good moisturizer underneath. This sunscreen is definitely aimed towards people with oily skin. I’m not saying it won’t work for dry skin. It’s truly a matte lotion sunscreen. I didn’t think it was drying at all on my skin.

It stays in place.

Most sunscreens swish around my face when I reapply. That might be the reason why I was developing more freckles! When I went in for a reapplication, I can feel that this sunscreen did not shift at all on my face. It stayed in place. Reapplying was not a pleasant experience since it felt like I was applying on top of more product. The sunscreen feels lightweight when applying, but it leaves a layer, film of product on the skin. I can feel that there’s product sitting on my skin. It’s quite annoying.

Breakouts? Clogged pores?

I was dreading using this sunscreen on my face because of the red algae. The other ingredient, shea butter, is a hit or miss on my skin. I thought this sunscreen was a tad too rich on my skin, which is odd because I thought it would be drying (from the reviews I’ve read). It leaves a sticky residue on my skin and just feels too moisturizing. I noticed closed comedones, some blackheads, and milia in my breakout-prone areas. That’s when I stopped using it. Could it be the red algae? Shea butter? Who knows. My skin didn’t like it. It feels very occlusive on the skin, especially when reapplied. By the way, I started noticing breakouts by day 2, but I didn’t stop by day 3. By day 3, it became more obvious that my pores were getting clogged.

How to remove.

This is one of the most difficult sunscreen products to remove from the skin. It does not come off by simply cleansing with a face wash. To remove this product, oil cleanse (leave on for a few minutes) and wash with a facial cleanser. I do have a facial brush too to help remove the sunscreen off of the skin. If the product does not budge, oil cleanse, oil cleanse, oil cleanse some more. Just make sure the sunscreen is all off. If you do not remove the sunscreen off properly, you’ll in up with residue on your face, which can lead to clogged pores. I removed the sunscreen off properly and made sure my skin was squeaky clean, so my breakouts were from the ingredients in the product. It’s not compatible with my skin type.

Final Thoughts

I was so excited to try this sunscreen out. It’s affordable, comes in a 3 fl. oz. tube, has SPF 50, and it’s a mineral sunscreen (4% Zinc Oxide, 4% Titanium Dioxide). The smell of the product isn’t too bad. I got used to it after a few uses. The shade of the product could be better. I wish it wasn’t orange. 😂 Fair to light isn’t fair to light. I could see the drastic difference in my skin color when using this sunscreen. Too bad that it clogged my pores too. I wished my skin didn’t react the way it did, but it did. *sigh* I wanted it to work. It would’ve work well for outdoor workouts, hikes, pool days, and going to the beach. It sticks to the skin like crazy. If you want a sunscreen that stays on your skin, this will do it. For everyday use? It’s not for my skin type. Like I said before, it feels too heavy, sticky on the skin. It’s weird because the sunscreen feels lightweight when applied to the skin. After a few hours, it takes on this sticky texture, film that I dislike. I don’t like it and my skin doesn’t like it. It gets in my hair. It’s difficult to remove. The breakouts killed it for me. All in all, I won’t repurchase. This sunscreen has been hyped up so much that I thought it would be amazing. It’s a nope for me.

What Australian Gold Botanical SPF 50 Tinted Face Sunscreen Lotion in Fair-Light looks like:

It looks more orange in person. It has a whipped-mousse texture to it.

This sunscreen was sealed when I purchased it. 👌🏻

Update: 1 Week of Using Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 as My Sunscreen!

I’m back with an update on Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50! I stopped using this sunscreen last year. I thought I would try it again after eliminating so many products from my routine. Also, I was looking for a sunscreen that’s purely zinc to add to my morning SPF routine. This one popped in my mind. It contains 21.6% Zinc Oxide. Awesome!

So this is the Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50. For more information on this product, go here. My experience with this sunscreen before wasn’t good. I had issues, such as the product being too thick, difficult to spread across the face and blend, breakouts, pilling, dry skin, and the sunscreen leaving a white cast behind. Since my skin is doing so much better now, I’ll take the risk and try it again. Here are my updated thoughts on the Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50!

My 1 Week Experience with Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50!

The sunscreen comes in a 2 fl. oz. (59 mL) bottle. On the box it says that it’s a broad spectrum sunscreen with SPF 50. I will only purchase sunscreens that are SPF 50 and above from now on unless it’s a product I really like. I’m on the pale side and much prefer high protection sunscreens to prevent burning and freckling. I’ve started to notice a huge difference in my skin after using SPF 50 and reapplying often throughout the day. I haven’t developed any new freckles. This sunscreen contains 100% mineral active (21.6% Zinc Oxide). It’s hypoallergenic, oil-free, and water-resistant (80 minutes).

How I applied the sunscreen.

This sunscreen has a strong chemical smell to it. At first, it was too much for me. I sneezed a few times after opening the bottle. I have a very sensitive nose. Fortunately, mid-week, it didn’t bother me as much anymore. I got used to it. Odd, I know, lol. When dispensed from the bottle, it’s a white creamy gel texture that feels soft and smooth yet sticky to touch. Honestly, this sunscreen was pretty difficult to apply to the skin for the first couple of days. To successfully apply this sunscreen, the key is to smooth the product out then pat it into the skin. I was using too much product at one point. It’s best to apply the sunscreen layer by layer to get even coverage that doesn’t look blotchy and messy on the skin. Also, while using this sunscreen, from my experience, it’s best to use it on clean skin without skin care products or very minimal, lightweight skin care products underneath. Nothing too moisturizing. It sticks better to the skin when there’s less, non-moisturizing skin care products underneath. I’ve gotten really nice results (easier application) eliminating products from my morning routine when using this sunscreen.

White cast? 👻

The sunscreen does have a white cast, but it’s not too bad like I thought it would be. All mineral sunscreens have somewhat of a white cast. This white cast has helped me get away with not wearing makeup because it sort of helps to even out the complexion, lol. So after about 10 minutes (around there), the white cast blends and sinks into the skin. But I wouldn’t recommend this sunscreen to individuals with richer, darker skin tones. The product is already difficult to blend into the skin as a pale person. On top of that, even if it blends into the skin, there’s still a slight white cast that’s noticeable. Remember, this sunscreen contains 21.6% Zinc Oxide. I have yet found a mineral sunscreen that doesn’t have a white cast.

It’s moisturizing. 🙂

Since the sunscreen has a silicone feel to it, it works decently well as a makeup primer. I tried applying makeup, and my makeup looked really smooth. It’s definitely not the best makeup primer out there due to the stickiness of the product, but it’s something. The stickiness of the sunscreen would make my hair stick to my face. But maybe it’s because it’s summer?? 🤔 It’s already super hot and humid out! This sunscreen feels very moisturizing on the skin too. I can just use this sunscreen without using a proper moisturizer underneath without drying my skin out. Even though it doesn’t dry the skin out, since it’s a mineral sunscreen, it can still accentuate dry patches on the skin. I’ve had my good days and my bad days with this sunscreen and dry patches.

Did it break me out?

As for breakouts, after a week of using this sunscreen, I didn’t break out in cysts or even small little pimples. But, I did notice some other acne-related issues like my pores filling up. I noticed more sebaceous filaments on my nose and other oily areas of my face like my forehead and mouth area. The sunscreen is on the thicker and heavier side. It leaves my skin looking very shiny and glossy rather than matte. Not ideal for my skin type, but that didn’t bother me too much if it didn’t cause acne. Unfortunately, it does cause some acne issues since my skin is very oily. Surprisingly, at the same time, I noticed that it helped to reduce the size of some blemishes. And it’s possibly due to the zinc oxide in this product. Zinc oxide is known to have anti-inflammatory properties and helps to promote healing in the skin. ✨ I think it’s the inactive ingredients that my skin has problems with.

How to remove the sunscreen.

It’s a water-resistant sunscreen. That’s a good thing, but this is one of the most difficult sunscreens I’ve had to remove from my skin. It truly does stick to the skin. I used an oil cleanser and micellar water to break down the sunscreen first. After that, I used The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser (still have it, gonna use it) to break down the sunscreen and oils even further. Next, I finish off with my main facial cleanser with a facial brush. That seems like a lot of steps, but it’s a must to remove all of the sunscreen, sebum, oils, dirt, and debris from the skin. That could be the reason why I haven’t had any breakouts like cysts from this sunscreen like I did before in the past. I made sure I removed every trace of the sunscreen product from my skin. For the sebaceous filaments, there’s not much I can do about it. I think it’s because this sunscreen is pretty occlusive on the skin. My skin just pumps out oil like no other, and it gets trapped underneath the sunscreen. It just builds up in my pores from there.

Final thoughts

It’s only been a week, but my experience so far with Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 has been OK. I thought I would get a massive breakout (mainly cysts) and itchy skin, but it’s been quite the opposite. It has actually helped heal some of my acne, so it’s not just a sunscreen. It’s also very beneficial for acne-prone skin! That only applies to big bumps on the skin like cysts. Sadly, I feel like this sunscreen is just too occlusive for me for everyday use. It definitely fills up my pores with gunk. I continued to use it to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, lol. My pores kept filling up over time. It was pretty much out of control. Other than that, this sunscreen left my skin feeling very moisturized. Since it’s occlusive, it seals moisture into the skin very well and leaving the skin feeling hydrated. I really wanted to like this sunscreen due to the high percentage of zinc, which does amazing things for my acne-prone skin, but I’m not sure what to think about it anymore after noticing more sebaceous filaments. I think I’m going to take a break from it for a while and see what happens.

Check out my current sunscreen — La Roche-Posay Anthelios Body & Face Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50. I took a break from it when I started using Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50. I guess I’m back to it now after this experience, lol.

My thoughts on CeraVe Moisturizing Cream after 1 Month!

I’ve been using CeraVe Moisturizing Cream for about a month. I was very ecstatic about this product. Everyone talks about it. It gets a ton of praise. It contains ceramides and hyaluronic acid. It’s made for very dry skin, dry skin for the face and body. Wonderful! But, I didn’t use it on my face. I heard a ton of horror stories that this cream causes closed comedones and breakouts. From my personal experience with CeraVe, I believe them. CeraVe doesn’t go on my face. Not the products I’ve had experience with so far. They all clogged my pores. Giving me cystic acne, closed comedones, blackheads, whiteheads. All of the acne that you can imagine. It was just terrible. My skin just looked very bad using CeraVe creams/moisturizers on my face. So, I only used the moisturizing cream on my body. Now here’s my experience with CeraVe Moisturizing Cream after a month of use! 😊

The texture of the cream is very nice. It’s soft and smooth to touch. It’s very creamy and soothing on the skin. I couldn’t wait to use it because of this. I started off using this cream twice a day then eventually only used it at night due to how thick the cream felt on my skin. It’s odd. The cream feels heavy on the skin, but it doesn’t go on heavy. It absorbs and sinks into the skin pretty well. But it leaves a thin layer of film behind on the skin that I didn’t like. It sits on top of the skin. I think that’s where the heaviness of the cream comes into play. Sometimes my skin would get itchy when using this cream too. I didn’t think much about it, so I continued to use it at night to moisturize my skin.

As I continued to use the cream at night, I noticed that my arms would get itchy the next morning. I noticed that this would happen too often than it should. Maybe it’s too moisturizing? Maybe it’s too heavy on my skin? That annoying thin layer of residue that it leaves behind? I mean, it does contain petrolatum and heavier ingredients compared to what I usually use, which is a lightweight moisturizer. So I stopped it on itchy areas (which was mainly my upper body), but I kept using it on my legs and hands. Perhaps it’s best to keep this moisturizing cream for my legs and use it as a hand cream. Or use it on dry spots on my skin when necessary. It’s great that it contains ceramides and hyaluronic acid. It’s also fragrance-free and leaves my skin feeling ultra-soft and smooth, but I’m not sure if I’m going to purchase it again. I’ll use the rest of the moisturizing cream and see what happens next.

For more reviews on CeraVe skin care products go here!

1 Month Using Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser & What I’m Doing Now for My Acne…

I’ve been using Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser for a month. I started off using it in the morning and night. It worked great! It helped clear out a bunch of stubborn closed comedones that wouldn’t budge. Left my skin feeling soft and smooth after each use. I wasn’t using it as a facial cleanser but an acne treatment. It contains salicylic acid, but it’s not known as an acne treatment or a salicylic acid treatment. I tried using it as a face wash when I first purchased it, but that didn’t work out. It clogged my pores terribly. I noticed pimples on my face very quick. This cleanser leaves an oily, fatty film behind on the skin. It just doesn’t leave the skin feeling clean after rinsing it off. If you have clog-prone skin, it’s a good idea to use another facial cleanser afterwards to make sure all of that grease is taken off of the skin. As an acne treatment, it’s wonderful! It worked to unclog pores. Finally, something that works to unclog these annoying, clogged pores that I’ve had for months! Possibly years!

So I continued using the cream cleanser for the next couple of weeks. My skin looked even better. A lot softer and smoother. It helped with the texture of my skin too. With this cream cleanser, even though the texture of product is heavy and moisturizing on the skin, it’s best to use it with a heavy duty moisturizer. Don’t be fooled just because it’s cream-based. It can dry out the skin. My skin became so dry when I was only using a lightweight moisturizer or no moisturizer with this product. Sorry, I couldn’t find a moisturizer that worked on my skin during that time. But it truly works better when used with a heavier moisturizer or layers of moisturizers (what I do, read more about what moisturizers I like by clicking the link!), since my skin is so finicky, lol. My skin didn’t feel dry at all, and I was able to use it twice a day with no irritation or redness. 👍🏻

I loved the results of this product, but I decided to get back on tret. Read about my break from tret here! 👈🏻 And get ready for an update on my experience with tret soon! It turns out Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser and tret don’t go well together. They’re both exfoliants, and my skin burns when I use Olay too often with tret. So I’m only using the cream cleanser a few times a week at night. Yes, I know this stuff helped my acne, but my skin has settled and is ready to take on tret again. It’s been a whole month off of tret. I think it’s time to reintroduce it back in. From my past experience, retinoids do wonders for my acne and skin texture. Other than that, this is a good product for the price and effectiveness. I’m still shocked ’til this day. I tried so many acne treatments over the years, and I saw noticeable results within 1 week of using this cream cleanser! I just didn’t expect it to work on my acne. I’m very impressed! I’ll keep it around, since it helps to improve my skin.

⭐ If you missed out on my earlier tret posts…

My experience with tret the first week…

After 1 Month on Tret + Skin Care Routine. Here are My Results.

2 Months on Tret. My results. 🙂