DIY Beauty from the Kitchen: Costco's Kirkland Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) as a moisturizer for Lips, Hands and Feet

My lips were quite chapped recently because I have forgotten to apply lip balm with SPF. I was feeling quite uncomfortable but my favourite Josie Maran's Argan oil ran out and I was hoping to wait till the next Sephora VIB Sale to replenish my supply. I was in the kitchen when I saw the almost full 1.5L bottle of organic extra virgin olive oil that I bought from Costco some time ago. I wonder if this would work on my chapped lips. I didn't have much to lose so I gave it a try.

My experience

I poured a teaspoon of the extra virgin oil and applied the oil with clean finger on my lips. Since I had plenty of oil remaining, I applied some on my hands (still too much left) and I thought what the heck, might as well apply on my feet as well as knees and elbows. After a quick massage for my hands and feet, I wore a pair of white gloves from Body Shop and a pair of sports socks.


My verdict

Amazing. Seriously. My lips feel very moisturized. As a matter of fact, I think it worked just as well as Joise Maran's Argan Oil! It really didn't smell bad at all. Since it's extra virgin oil, it is even healthy if I lick it off my lips. After an hour, my hands feel moisturized, soft and hydrated. No sticky feeling at all. My nails feel quite hard. Hmm... Elbows and knees are nice and smooth. My feet feels light and smooth! Wow! I only used l teaspoon of extra virgin oil to get this. This is seriously true value for money. 100% pure with no addictives. The 1.5 L of Extra Virgin Oil was less than C$10 at Costco. Compare that with C$58 + tax for a small 50ml bottle of Joise Maran's Argan Oil . Less than $0.01/ml for extra virgin oil vs $$1.16/ml for Joise Maran's Argan Oil.

I wonder why it took me so long to try the extra virgin oil Time to get some small nice bottles to put the extra virgin oil in my bathroom.

Product Review: Scentuals Pure Moroccan Argan Oil (Certified Organic and 100% Natural) - Is the cheaper Argan oil sold by drug store the same as Josie Maran's Argan Oil?

I love Joise Maran's Argan Oil but the price is quite steep compared to other argan oils available in the market.  I bought a 50 ml (1.7 oz)  Josie Maran Argan Oil costs C$58+ Tax @ Sephora while I bought a 30 ml bottle of Scentuals Pure Moroccan Argan Oil costs C$12.99 + Tax @ Price Smart.

Considering that both are 100% pure argan oil, the Scentuals Pure Moroccan Argan Oil sounds like a true winner. It is half the price! I was pretty pleased with myself. 

I was quite keen to try it out. Below are the differences between Josie Maran's (JM) Argan Oil and Scentuals (S) Pure Argan Oil:

1. Bottle design 

JM's bottle is definitely better. It has a dropper which makes it easier to extract a few drops of argan oil compared to S's bottle which I have to pour out. It is harder to control the amount that I need. I definitely end up wasting more argan oil with this bottle design. It can be pretty frustrating to get the first few drops out initially. I usually end up getting more argan oil than I need. 

A simple solution is to just buy a bottle with a dropper (which will be less than C$5) and pour the S's oil into the new bottle. Still a considerable savings!

2. Smell

Since both are 100% argan oil, I expect both to have similar smell but NO! JM has no smell but S Argan Oil has a pretty strong synthetic oil smell. It really makes me wonder if they are the same thing. As you can imagine, I cannot bring myself to put the S Argan oil on my face at all! It is that bad for me. I am not sure if the bottle I bought was a lemon but I have no intention of buying another one to try. 

3. Texture

The smell may affect my subsequent judgement but I felt that texture of the two oil are slightly different too. JM argan oil seems to have more body and S argan oil seems little more flat. It may be due to the bottle design. S argan oil certainly feels more watery than JM's.

4. Effectiveness

I did not use S's argan oil on my face since I didn't like smell. I used both argan oil on my hand. Both provided instant hydration. JM argan oil feels hydrated and light. It does not leave any sticky feeling after a minute. However, S argan oil still feels hydrated but heavy. my hand still feels sticky after 5 mins. 

Verdict

Despite the cheaper price, I will definitely buy the JM Argan oil. Even though both are essentially the same argan oil, they do not feel, smell the same. Although both are hydrating, the user experience is so much more pleasant with JM Argan oil. Let me know if you find any other cheaper argan oil than JM Argan oil and gives the same luxurious user experience. 

Product Review - Josie Maran Argan Oil, Is it better than the other Argan Oil?

I have used the Josie Maran Argan Oil from Sephora for nearly a year now. I was so excited about it during the first 2 months that I was practically telling all my friends about it. It is THAT amazing.

For those who are new Argan Oil, here is a pretty good description on what it is on the Sephora's site:


What it is:
A lightweight oil that can be used as a daily moisturizer or treatment for skin, hair, and nails.

What it does:
This 100% Pure Argan Oil is a legendary oil that's rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, and grown organically in Morocco. With its multitasking benefits, Argan Oil can be used for many areas including hydrating and nourishing skin, as a daily moisturizer, skin treatment, treating spilt ends, and softening cuticles. It's gentle enough to use on all skin types and is believed to help with skin conditions including acne. Argan Oil easily absorbs into skin to give you a youthful, dewy glow, and has astonishing healing, conditioning, and antiaging properties to keep your skin and hair nourished and revitalized and to keep you looking beautiful from head to toe.

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Synthetic Dyes
- Petrochemicals
- Phthalates
- GMOs
- Triclosan

What else you need to know:
100% Pure Argan Oil is first cold pressed to ensure the best quality, highest-grade oil. It is housed in a recyclable glass bottle and purchased from women's cooperatives in Morocco to support their social and economic welfare. These cooperatives work within a UNESCO biosphere reserve that ensures the protection and reforestation of Argan trees.

If you want a 100% natural product with no addictives and other chemicals, THIS is IT!

It is essentially a bottle of miracle that you can use practically from head to toe. I love it especially as a lip & hair moisturizer during the winter months.

Just like many others, I have a concern if the oil will cause breakouts. During my first few weeks of using it, it did not cause any breakouts, but subsequently, I had some breakouts. I am not sure if they are because of argan oil but I would recommend to use it sparingly on the face and apply it to wet face. Now, I use it on my face, once a week instead of twice a day like I used to.

The other question I had is if Josie Maran Argan Oil is better than the other Argan oil since it is a lot more expensive than those available in drug store. I have tried 2 other brands of cheaper Argan Oil from drug stores. I could not even bring myself to continue using them after trying it a few times. Somehow, they just lack the elegance and have a somewhat oily smell. I am not sure if the bottles I bought are bad or that they are generally not of the same grade as those at Josie Maran.

I highly recommend Josie Maran Argan Oil at Sephora even if the price is higher. The quality is definitely worth it. :)

Product Review: Marc Anthony Macadamia Oil Shampoo, Conditioner and Treatment

Hello! This is my first product review on my blog.

My existing shampoo and conditioner was running out and I was at Costco and came across the Marc Anthony Macadamia Oil Shampoo, Conditioner and Treatment Set selling @ C$17.99 + tax. The reason I bought was that it is "Sulfate Free".

Why Sulfate Free? This requires an entire blog by itself. Do checkout sulfate-freeshampoo.net  and it has a very good article written on it. Basically sulates in shampoos give you the alluring bubbles in shampoo ads and they are strong grease removers. Unfortunately, it comes with some downsides, especially for those with sensitive scalp, dyed hair, oily hair and skin and those with eczema. Sulfates in shampoo also cost premature hair loss by causing damage to hair follicle. Isn't it a good enough reason to go sulfate free?

So how was the shampoo? First thing first. The smell. Not your sweet heavenly kinda of smell but I was expecting worse since it is Macadamia Oil. To set your expectation right, it was not sweet smelling but neither was it awful. It smells kinda tropical. It does not put me off but it does not motivate me to use it either. It lathers decently. Not as bad as I thought. I was expecting no bubbles. Then again, I have used baking soda to wash my hair before, so it was quite pleasant to have some bubbles. It cleans pretty well, no less than my previous shampoo containing sulfate. I would still use baking soda once a week as it really cleans all the hair products off the hair. Hair was clean, light and definitely soft after use.

What about the conditioner? It was actually really good. Same smell as the shampoo. My hair felt really good after the conditioner, very moisturized indeed. My hair used to feel very dry but after 2 days of the shampoo and conditioner, it looks shinier and definitely feels more silky.

I only tried the treatment oil once as I generally shampoo my hair before bed. I did not want to risk getting the oil on my pillow and hence my face since I may get breakouts. I have tried 3 different types of hair oils before - Joise Maran Pure Agan Oil, Josie Maran Argan Oil Serum and Marc Anthony's Macadamia Oil treatment. it ranks highest in terms of moisturing. However, I prefer Josie Maran Argan Oil Serum because it has a more pleasant smell.

Overall conclusion, I like the Marc Anthony Macadamia Oil shampoo, conditioner and treatment set and would definitely recommend my friends and family to use them.

Update on 16 June 2013:

After 2 months of using the shampoo combination and especially after I bought the Nexxus Shampoo and Conditioner set  a few days ago, both my husband and I concluded that the Marc Anthony Macadamia Oil Shampoo was causing our higher than average hair loss during shampooing. As such, I am changing my recommendation for the Marc Anthony Macadamia Oil Shampoo. Buy the Nexxus Shampoo and Conditioner Set instead! Much better, especially in terms of keeping hair loss during shampooing to a minimum.