Review: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

I was searching for a new moisturizer to help with dry, flaky, parched skin. This cream was constantly mentioned. It had good reviews too. I thought I would give it a try even after scanning the ingredients. It contains some comedogenic ingredients that I’ve had issues with before. But, I ignored it all and picked up a few bottles. They were on sale, hehe. The purpose of this product is to provide instant and long-term hydration for dry, distressed skin and eczema. It contains colloidal oatmeal, which is a skin protectant that helps to relieve itching caused by eczema, rashes, and other skin conditions. Shea butter to moisturize and protect the skin barrier with vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. Allantoin to calm and soothe the skin. It’s vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free. Since the weather is colder and cooler, and I’ve been dealing with dry skin, this seemed like the type of product that could help with dry, itchy skin. Also, as I mentioned earlier, it had a ton of good reviews. Some even labeled it as their HG. Let’s see if this cream works or not. Here’s my experience with this product.

My Experience with First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream:

Texture & Application

The product is a cream. It feels soft, smooth, and creamy. When applied to the face, I didn’t apply it like my other moisturizers. It was a little difficult to spread across the face. What I did was place dots of the cream all over my face then gently pat it into the skin. The cream blends into the skin well. But only if it’s not used with other moisturizers. I tried using it with another moisturizer (underneath). The First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream started pilling. When I used it alone without any other moisturizer, it blended into the skin easily, no pilling. Even though the product blends into the skin well, it doesn’t fully absorb. It sits on top of the skin. I feel like there was a layer of product that’s sitting on top of my skin the whole night. It reminded me of CeraVe Moisturizing Cream. They feel very similar on the skin. They both sit on top of the skin.

Helps with dryness and flaky skin.

This cream helps with dry, cracked, flaky skin. Even wounded skin. I noticed that some parts of my face was over-exfoliated. After a day of using this cream, my skin felt a little better. The over-exfoliated parts of my face looked like it healed and peeled off. It wasn’t as dry anymore or reddish in color. It soothed my skin and helped to repair it.

A lightweight rich cream.

This is actually a rich cream even though it feels lightweight when applied and after it (somewhat) absorbs into the skin. My skin doesn’t feel like it has moisturizer on even though it’s sitting on top of my skin. It’s a different feeling. The cream feels and looks matte on my face. It doesn’t leave my skin looking glowy, shiny, or oily. The product feels very thin on the skin and a little goes a long way. I only used a little bit of product for my whole face and neck, chest. That amount of product was able to keep my skin from drying out and soothed it.

Did it clog my pores?

I only used this cream for 1 day and 6 hours on my face (nightly use). It should’ve been only one day. The first day, I noticed some clogged pores all over my oily t-zone. I didn’t think it was the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream clogging my pores. I kept using it the next night. But, I eventually washed it off that same night because I noticed tons of blackheads out of nowhere. I developed pimples on my forehead, upper lip, chin, and a bunch of blackheads on my oily t-zone (especially my nose). The amount of blackheads I saw were disturbing. I washed the product off immediately and opted for my original moisturizer. The next morning, my skin looked much better. No new blackheads. I was going to leave First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream for the second night but something didn’t feel right. I was clearly breaking out from the cream. I’m glad I pulled the plug right before it got even worse than what I went through. Whew! If you have oily, acne-prone skin, do a patch test first. This product felt very occlusive on my skin (sits on top of the skin type of feeling). It was just bad for my skin.

It contains Eucalyptus globulus leaf oil.

The last ingredient in this product is eucalyptus. *pause* Why??!! On the bottle, it says that this product is safe for sensitive skin. If you have sensitive skin, do a patch test. I don’t have sensitive skin, but my skin has been sensitized by my acne products. When I applied this cream to my face, I can feel my face tingling and slightly burning. It’s the eucalyptus. The tingling/burning sensation fades away after a while, but why bother with this ingredient. I can’t imagine someone with sensitive skin using this. But everyone is different. I know my skin didn’t like it.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream didn’t work for me. I really wanted to like it, since I was searching for a new moisturizer. I picked my bottles up when they were on sale. The retail price is $46 each. Thank goodness I didn’t pay that much for it. Because it was not worth it at all. I mean, it helped with dry, parched skin that’s irritated, but it ended up clogging my pores and giving me tons of blackheads. My nose looked like a strawberry after I used it for a day and 6 hours (lol). It made my acne 10x worse than the actual dryness itself. What’s the point of moisturizing when it causes blemishes? Ugh! And eucalyptus? I should’ve listened to the very few negative reviews I saw. But, in my mind, I just wanted to try it out for myself, haha. Now I’m left with full bottles of this cream that I can’t use on my face. I’ll use the rest of it on my body or as a hand cream instead. My hands are pretty crusty and dry right now due to the dry, cool weather. Anything helps. I won’t repurchase First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream again even if it was on sale. I feel that the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream works the same way without the eucalyptus. I’ve been using my last jar of CeraVe as my body cream.

Let’s talk about the comedogenic ingredients. This is something I ignored (shouldn’t have) thinking that it could work for me. Here are the ingredients that popped out when I was looking at the ingredients list. They are Glyceryl Stearate SE, Shea Butter, and Squalane. I’ve always avoided products with Glyceryl Stearate SE. This particular ingredient has always clogged my pores. Don’t mistake this ingredient with Glyceryl Stearate. Glyceryl Stearate SE can cause acne issues if you’re acne-prone. At least it did on my skin. Shea Butter is another culprit. I know Shea Butter and my skin don’t go well together, especially for the face. I had this issue with another product not so long ago. Squalane is a hit or miss on my skin. I’m currently using a moisturizer (Vanicream Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin) with squalane, and it seems like it’s working better on my skin than the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. I don’t think it’s entirely squalane’s fault in clogging my pores. I think it’s the Glyceryl Stearate SE and Shea Butter in combination with squalane that made my skin break out in acne. On top of that, Eucalyptus just adds into the mix and causes irritation.

I was hoping that the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream was one of those products that could work since it costs more, could possibly have higher quality ingredients. This cream is 46 bucks. It should be good, right? It’s also a highly raved product! Nope, nope, nope, I was wrong. I developed terrible acne from this cream. I wouldn’t recommend this product to anyone that is prone to clogged pores. Save your 46 dollars and spend it on something else. There are better moisturizers out there that are less expensive than this cream. I’m not a huge fan of the texture of the product either. It’s odd that I don’t see that many negative reviews on this product. Here is one, lol.

Back of the packaging.

Products came sealed. Left, opened. Right, sealed.

This is what the cream looks like.

Review: Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30

I picked up a new sunscreen for the face. It’s the Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30! This sunscreen is supposed to be a lightweight mineral sunscreen formulated with ceramides and non-nano zinc oxide to provide broad spectrum SPF 30 protection from UVA/UVB rays. It says it’s non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores) and non-greasy. It’s free of dyes, fragrance, lanolin, parabens, formaldehyde, gluten, and botanical extracts. I was very excited about this sunscreen since I’m searching for a more moisturizing sunscreen for the winter. Here are my thoughts and experience on this product!

Texture & Application

This product is a moisturizer with sunscreen. It was way heavier and thicker than I expected. It claims to be a lightweight mineral sunscreen. It’s a mineral sunscreen (19.5% Zinc Oxide) alright, but it’s nowhere near being lightweight. I used the recommended amount of sunscreen, and it was so difficult to blend into the skin due to the thickness of the product. The product is a cream that melts into the skin. It feels super soft, and I was super ecstatic about using it, but the finish was awful. It left my skin looking super oily, shiny, and greasy. My face looked like it was smeared with oil. There was a subtle white cast. I didn’t think was too bad. I could tolerate the white cast, but I couldn’t tolerate the greasiness of the sunscreen. It just wasn’t a good look. My skin is already oily. Using this sunscreen made my skin look even more oily. It took so long for the product to absorb into the skin. It just sat on my skin. I really don’t have the time for a sunscreen to take hours to set in the morning. 5 minutes? 10 minutes is OK. 30 minutes to 1 hour? No. I don’t have the time for that. I have other responsibilities and obligations to take care of. It feels like the sunscreen shifts around on the face too, so I’m not sure if I’m getting an even coverage or protection. Applying this sunscreen was a pain in the butt.

It’s very moisturizing.

Since it’s a moisturizer with SPF, it moisturizes the skin very well. It helped with dry patches and flaky skin. Reapplying the recommended amount is not ideal with this product, lol. I can’t walk around with a glistening, greasy face + letting the sunscreen absorb into the skin takes too much time. Don’t even bother reapplying with this product with makeup on. It’s not going to work. It’ll smear your makeup. But this product is really good for touch-ups on dry areas. For example, the skin around my eyes get really dry sometimes. This sunscreen works to keep them moisturized. It kept my skin moisturized throughout the day and didn’t irritate my skin. It soothed my dry skin. It makes an amazing moisturizer that contains SPF. Yeah, it only contains SPF 30, but it’s better than using a plain moisturizer. It’s a moisturizer and sunscreen in one, which makes it a better choice for mornings when the sun’s out. The ingredients in this product aren’t too bad either. It contains ceramides and squalane. I’m not a huge fan of squalane, but I like my ceramides. I can’t get over how moisturizing this sunscreen is. 🥰

Breakouts??

Sadly, after 3 days of using this sunscreen, my skin started to get clogged. I noticed hard sebum within my pores. There were lots of them. I noticed some other breakouts too on my nose, forehead, and chin. I’m glad I stopped using it on time before it made my skin worse. Once I stopped using it, my skin started to look better, clearer. So, it looks like this sunscreen wasn’t made for acne-prone skin. It claims to be non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores), but it’s too heavy and greasy. Even though it’s a moisturizer with SPF, it’s very easy to tell that it’s a sunscreen. The texture of the product is thicker. It sits on the skin like other sunscreens I’ve used. It’s just more moisturizing. It’s a no-go if your pores get clogged easily. Maybe it’s just me, lol. My pores get clogged veryyyyy easily, and I have skin that’s very acnegenic. It didn’t work for me.

Final Thoughts

I was hoping that Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 would work. I was looking for a moisturizing sunscreen. It’s very disappointing that I can’t use this on my face due to it being greasy, oily plus breakouts. But, I can use it as a moisturizing SPF for the eye area and neck. I really enjoyed using it around my eyes since it’s super moisturizing and doesn’t irritate or burn my eyes. My skin is getting a little more dry and this product could help lessen the dryness on that part of my face. The skin around my eyes is one of the first areas that dry out too. It would be nice if it was at least SPF 50, so I’m not sure if I’m going to purchase it again for this purpose. I’ll have to keep using the product to see if I like it enough to keep it. Another sunscreen I have — Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 makes a good moisturizing sunscreen for the eye area too. It just doesn’t contain ingredients like ceramides. Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 smells kinda revolting, while Vanicream has no fragrance or smell to it. So it’s not going to hurt to use Vanicream just for the moisture, ceramides, and SPF. 😀 I didn’t mention this yet, but Vanicream is not sweat or water-resistant. All in all, I don’t think it’s a terrible product. I just can’t use it on my face.

What Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 looks like:

This is what Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 looks like. It’s not as lightweight as advertised. It feels thicker, and it’s very moisturizing on the skin (love!!). The product came sealed. I’m really loving Vanicream products, since the ones I have were all sealed. 👌🏻👍🏻

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!