Product Review- Mario Badescu Buttermilk Moisturizer and a note on Mineral Oils

I'm on a bit of  roll with these reviews, so figured I may as well keep going, with my first thumbs down, Mario Badescu Buttermilk Moisturizer.

 I was disappointed because I'd read such great reviews of this product, and it was such a reasonable price. Although I will admit, when I got to Mecca to purchase it, I was a little surprised that it was so small. As you can see here inside my (normal, human sized) palm it's a petite little bottle. 

Nevertheless, it was a good price for a product that had been raved about so I bought it. I really liked the smell (it's a bit earthy but quite light) didn't mind the blue colour so much (although it did make me look a little washed out if I used too much) and felt that it absorbed quite nicely. Also, the handy top meant a little went a long way. 

Unfortunately, after a few weeks of using, and by powers of deduction I realised it was this moisturiser that was causing clogged pores, and a whole lot of little raised bumps.

This was extremely annoying, and I really did try to blame other products, but at the end of the day, Mario was the culprit. While I was trying to work out why, I realised that this was a product that contained Mineral Oil (yes, seriously I should have checked the label beforehand, but previously I'd only checked for alcohol and fragrance)

I think it's quite likely that the Mineral Oil (which seemed harmless written as Carnation (Mineral) Oil but I now know it's a brand called Carnation, not Carnation the flower) was blocking my pores and causing the red lumps. I'll elaborate more on Mineral Oils and why this happened at the bottom of this post, but to summarise this product

Pros: Nice smell, good price, feels nice on the skin, good packaging

Cons: Mineral Oil- a no-go-zone if you're prone to spots.

Price:  $24 for 59 mL

Purpose: Basic moisturiser for combination and sensitive skin types 

Packaging: I think quite useful

Re- Purchase? No, Mineral Oil is not a good match for my skin. I'll continue to use the bottle I have as a handcream.

Mineral Oil

Switching pace a bit, a note on Mineral Oil

What is it? Mineral Oil in it's most unglamorous description, is a by-product of petroleum which has been highly filtered and purified for use in cosmetics

Why use it? Unlike plant and animal oils, mineral oil is extremely stable and can be preserved in-tact for a very long time. Also, unlike plant oils it is not particularly reactive or abraisive, so is likely to sit well on sensitive skin

Why not use it? As Mineral Oil is not a natural product, it is not easily absorbed by the skin, generally it will just sit on top forming a barrier between the skin and the outside world. While this may be good to protect dry skin in winter, if you have acne-prone skin, or skin that doesn't like a lot of product, a Mineral Oil may cause breakouts as it will simply sit on the outer layer of skin

What's the controversy? There's a lot of talk about the use of petroleum in cosmetics.  To be honest, my research has shown that cosmetic grade Mineral Oil is extremely highly purified, so not very close at all to putting a petrol product on your face. That said, you may object to any use of Mineral Oil for environmental reasons.

My 2c? From a purely functional perspective, I will avoid products with Mineral Oil from now on, as it is too dense for my skin and causes breakouts. That said, I wouldn't necessarily tell my friends not to buy products containing Mineral Oil, unless they too were prone to breakouts.

 I'll continue to use my product as a hand cream, because I think that kind of barrier protection is quite useful in hands, and also I have too much left to throw out completely!