Review: Nivea SOS Relief Body Lotion

Nivea SOS Relief Body Lotion

From http://www.amazon.co.uk:
COMFORT SENSATION.
24h Moisture.

NIVEA® SOS Relief Body Lotion provides instant relief and intense moisturisation for very dry skin.
This fast absorbing lotion enriched with skin-soothing panthenol and skin-softening calendula oil works to:
Instantly relieve very dry and rough skin.
Help to restore the skin’s own moisture balance.
Protect against further moisture loss.
Result:
24 hour moisturisation.
Skin is left feeling intensively nourished and comforted all day long.
Skin compatibility dermatologically approved.

My General Review:
I got a mini bottle of this one as a gift from Korea (as a complement from my many BRTC purchase ). It’s not available in Indonesia, I believe? The premise of the product sounds perfect for my very dry/dry body…so I immediately try it on.

The texture is very, very nice. It seems like highly siliconized? A little goes a real long way with this lotion. That’s why I’m surprised when I found the UK version of the ingredient list. Mine doesn’t seem like it contains a lot of mineral oil. Could it be that they have different ingredient list for different region? It’s a common practice for these drugstore brands For example, we have different Nivea Creme. My local Dove Body Wash is not as moisturizing as the ones in US (yes I’m sure of it, as my elder brother sometimes bring a bottle back for me when he spends his holiday here in our Jakarta home. I’ve even seen the difference between 2 ingredient lists ).

Anyway my Korean Nivea SOS Lotion is not that….SOS. It’s light, not moisturizing enough for my dry skin. Not enough to prevent my arms and legs and feet from horribly flaking again. It absorbs real quickly, leaving very smooth skin but I guess it’s not because of the moisture. It’s perfumed with that typical Nivea scent.

It does contain some yummy ingredients such as Vitamin E and Soybean (both are antioxidants). It may be an option for normal skin looking for a light body moisturizer. However for a dry skin lotion, I very much prefer Jergens’  Ultra Healing. But yes, Jergens’ is stickier compared to Nivea.

Or even, if you’re into heavy butter, I’d recommend Nivea Creme instead.

Price:
Around GBP5 for 200ml.

Ingredients (UK Version):
Aqua, Paraffinum Liquidum, Glycerin, Glyceryl Glucoside, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, C13-16 Isoparaffin, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Cyclomethicone, Polyglyceryl-3 Distearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Panthenol, Calendula Officinalis, Tocopheryl Acetate, Butyrospermum Parkii, Glycine Soja, Sorbitan Stearate, Cera Microcristallina, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Dimethicone, Myristyl Alcohol, Sodium Carbomer, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Parfum.

Overall Rating:
3 out of 5. If you have normal skin and want a basic, nicely fragranced, very smooth and totally non-sticky lotion, I’ll recommend this to you. Because contrary to its claim, I found that it’s not suitable for dry to very dry skin.

*This review will be cross posted in http://www.makeupalley.com under username Crescent_Shadow.

Review: Nivea Creme

Nivea Creme

From http://www.nivea.com:

The unmatched moisturizer for every skin type, for children as well as for adults and during all seasons. NIVEA Creme provides the skin with all it needs to stay pure, fresh and smooth. NIVEA Creme contains skin-related Eucerit a unique moisturizing ingredient.

Skin compatibility dermatologically approved.

My Skin Type:
Face: Actually very oily, but surpressed with BHA exfoliator. Results in generally ranging from very dry to normal/combo skin. Generally dehydrated, very sensitive, and acne prone.

Body: When it comes to body…I’m absolutely dry all over

Packaging:
Round tub stuff. Either in blue tin (like the Original German) or plastic (American or Indonesian version).

Texture:
Thick! Spreading the cream into skin requires extra patience, unlike usual lotions or even body butters.

My General Review:
Uh Oh. This is one ‘difficult’ product to review, because there exist quite some version of this product! I’ve used this product for long time, way~ back when I was still in Jr High At that time my skin was not as dry as it is now (younger skin, less air-conditioned room etc), so I didn’t think much of it, other than a cult product with nice fragrance

Fast forward to my dry days lately. I once again was reminded of this cream. I checked the review at MUA and it was satisfactory, so I asked my bf to bought a tin of this in Watsons Singapore, and I never regretted it! It’s thick butter was able to moisturizes my dry, sometimes flaky skin. A perfect, cheaper alternative to other more expensive body butters I also put this around the cuticle of my nails and it makes the cuticle smooth No need to have separate hands/nails lotion potion!

I’ve also tried this on my face. Yes, face. As crazy as it may sound, some people do use Nivea Creme as moisturizer I’m not interested to use this as moisturizer though, as it’s too plain for my liking (no antioxidants and other good stuffs), but I sometimes use it as wipe-off moisturizing mask. Even though it works okay, I do it just for fun, as there are others (again) more advanced moisturizing mask out there I also remember Nivea once advertised this as a DIY scrub cream when I was young. You mix the cream with ground hazelnut or something. Never tried that though.

Now, about the various versions. I checked the Singapore one and am happy to report that it’s basically identical to the German version, except for the fact that the Singapore version looses the fragrance oil. Even crazier, the Singaporean one only cost me for around US$3.5 for the 250ml, while an online store offers the German version at US$11.50! So, my advice is, if you have friends and relative going to Asia, you may want to ask them to stock it up for you

If you’re in US however, from what I’ve read there’s even 2 version of Mexican-made Nivea Creme. The biggest difference with one of the Mexican version is the addition of Petroleum Jelly. Some reviewers have reported that it results in heavier, waxier texture and broken out face though, so you may want to experiment a bit to know what’s best for your skin

What Else You Need To Know:
Nivea boasts their unique ingredient ‘Eucerit’, but I don’t think it’s unique. It’s apparently Lanolin Alcohol, a common and effective moisturizing agents similar to our own oil (hence it may be problematic for oily skin).

BTW, Lanolin is derived from sheep’s oil glands (extracted from their wool?), so to my knowledge it’s a no-no if you’re a Vegan.

Application:
I usually dab this slowly into my skin. After bath is nice. The cream will slowly melts in contact with skin, that way you’ll get even application.

Availability:
Should be easily available at drugstores, but finding one with original Germany formulation seems to be troublesome for many. Some MUA users has pointed out that it’s available online, like from http://www.smallflower.com

Price:
SGD5.4 for 250ml tin. It lasts for months, so the price is quite reasonable for me.

Ingredients:

Original German Version:
Aqua, Paraffinum Liquidum, Cera Microcristalline, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Panthenol, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearate, Citric Acid, Magnesium Sulfate, Magnesium Stearate, Parfum, Limonene, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellol, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol.

Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong Version:
Water, Mineral Oil, Microcrystalline Wax, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol (Eucerit), Paraffin, Panthenol, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminium Stearates, Citric Acid, Magnesium Sulfate, Magnesium Stearate, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Fragrance.

Indonesian Version:
Water, Paraffin Oil, Ceresin, Glycerin, Eucerit, Paraffin, Magnesium Sulfate, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminium Stearate, Perfume, Panthenol, Preservative, Citric Acid, Magnesium Stearate.

American/Mexican Version:
Water, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Glycerine, Microcrystalline Wax, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Panthenol, Magnesium Sulfate, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearates, Fragrance, Citric Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Methylchloroisothiazoline, Methylisothiazolinone.

Water, Mineral Oil, Microcrystalline Wax, Glycerin, Ceresin, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Octyldodecanol, Magnesium Sulfate, Aluminum and Magnesium Stearates, Perfume, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Citric Acid.

Overall Rating:
4 out of 5. This is the cheapest body butter I know. It’s thick and effectively moisturizing. Nice texture for me. Too bad Nivea doesn’t make one with more beneficial ingredients such as antioxidants and what not.

*This review will be cross posted in http://www.makeupalley.com under username Crescent_Shadow.