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Monday, February 25, 2013

I Believed in Boscia



I had really high hopes when I first noticed the Boscia display tucked away in the farthest corner of my local Sephora's skincare section. The green leaf logo with simple black text and all-white packaging boded well for low-key, natural products. I was in the store in early July, when it finally starts to feel slightly hotter than the pleasant year-round temperature of 72 degrees in sunny Santa Barbara, and on the hunt for a lightweight summer moisturizer. 

A sales rep directed me to the Boscia Oil Free Moisturizer with SPF 15, and it did seem to fit all my criteria: lightweight, non-greasy, natural, with SPF. I decided to try it out, and, since I have no self-control when it comes to food and beauty products, also picked up Boscia's Willow Bark Breakout Treatment, Recharging Night Moisturizer, Clear Complexion Cleanser, and Luminizing Black Mask.

The Oil Free Moisturizer is pretty basic and true to its label, but at $36 for 1.4 oz, there are cheaper alternatives for the same quality.  I'm still using the Recharging Night Moisturizer almost every night (after my Argan Oil application of course) and the blemish treatment, even though its effectiveness has dwindled. When I first squeezed out some of the clear gel and applied it to a medium-sized pimple, I was shocked at how it had shrunk to small-sized by the morning. Unfortunately, my experience with most acne products has been high effectiveness for a few days to as long as a few weeks, followed by absolutely nothing as my skin develops an immunity. I'm cruelly tricked into thinking I've found the perfect product to cure me of the acne I've been plagued with since I was 15 until BAM! That medium-sized pimple might have just turned plus-size overnight.

Boscia claims to be "natural," and while they are preservative free, most of their products have long ingredient lists, which is something I'm really trying to move away from. I had an allergic reaction to their Clear Complexion Treatment, not an extreme one, but some pretty persistent itchiness about 15 minutes after application, and that one bad egg kind of turned me off the line. 

The truth is, I don't dislike Boscia. It's a huge plus for me that it's carried at Sephora, which has an awesome return policy so I can easily return products I've tried and am allergic to. It's also probably the most natural brand carried by the store, and I like their no-frills packaging. But, like I mentioned, I was really hoping for much more than a "meh" reaction. It had potential. Oh well, on to the next!


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