July 4, 2012

Product: Skintimate Moisturizing Cream Shave

When I first started shaving my face, that desperate morning in a trailer in the mountains with my leg razor and the can of Skintimate fruit-scented foam, I thought all shave mediums were created equal.  Over time I learned that foams can seriously dry out the skin, particularly the sensitive skin of the face, and I vowed never to buy another foam again.

I was in my pharmacy picking up my prescriptions and I had run out of my usual shave gel which I order online.  I had been to a few other drugstores that week, looking for my second favorite, but it seemed that every store that used to carry it no longer did.  Once again, I was desperate.  I prowled the tiny hair removal section of the pharmacy (I never buy anything but my Spiro and Diane from there; the selection is less than ideal) and saw a uniquely shaped bottle next to the girly-colored shaving foams with “cream shave” in all capital letters. 

Could it be true?  Had Skintimate finally come out with something other than sweetly scented foam?

I selected “Extra Gentle,” because, y’know, you always want to be “Extra Gentle” on your face flesh.


Skintimate Moisturizing Cream Shave - 117 mL

Ingredients:
  • Aqua, Dimethicone, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Isopropyl Palmitate, Mineral Oil, Microcrystaline Wax, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Stearyl Alcohol, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Aluminum Starch Octenyl Succinate, PEG-150 Pentaerylthrityl Tetrastearate, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides,Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Camelia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Glycerin, PEG-14M, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Parfum, Titanium Dioxide.


Things I liked:
  • It actually feels like you’re putting a cream on your skin as you shave.  It’s quite a lovely feeling, and something that non-foaming gels have never been able to replicate completely.  I could swear I felt that olive oil at work.
  • It really does not lather.  (And it amuses me that in the directions it says “the cream WILL NOT lather.”)   You can see where you’re shaving and you know it’s not going to dry you out like suds will.
  • Not a bad price point, about $4 CAD for about the same amount as my usual shave gels, or a bit less.
  • The packaging is unique.  I always like things that are designed with the spout upside down so gravity is always working at bringing the product close to the opening, especially when you begin to run out.  The silly upside-down flower dispenser is not recyclable, but the bottle itself is. 


Things I didn't like:
  • The smell is rich and buttery, which is nice, but way too cloying for use on the face.  (I imagine the “Revitalizing” and “Cashmere Rain” scents to be even stronger.)
  • I could feel it stinging a bit during the facial shave--that’s something I don’t always get with other gels.  Makes me wonder how mild it really is.


Did it do what it promised?

“With deliciously rich ingredients like natural olive butter, vitamin E, and antioxidants, Skintimate Moisturizing Cream Shave gives your legs the luxurious feeling you want.  Smooth.  Sleek.  Positively sensational.”  And on the bottle: “Noticeably softer legs.”

Well, they do only promise things for legs, but my reviews are meant to help you gals see how well they would do on our faces.  Because I couldn’t stand having that smell around my face all day, I did end up relegating this bottle to the shower for legs only, and it always gave me a pleasant shave.  No softer than other gels, but the actual experience of smoothing the cream over your legs is a nice one.

For use on the face, I wouldn’t call it sensational, but it’s not the worst thing I’ve tried.  If you can stand the perfume up your nose all day, you might like this one.





See what other people thought of Skintimate Moisturizing Cream Shave:

Yahoo! Voices 
drugstore.com 
Epinions
Makeup Alley

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