Hi there!  I’m Caroline, a staffer here at FBC.  I’ve been in Japan for quite some time, so I know about trying to find new items that work just as well back home.  I’ve had my share of hits and misses; and just like most, I tend to buy things that other people recommended or tried.  That’s why I’m here - to tell you about different items we have in our General Store (usually) that you may have thought about trying, but weren’t quite sure if it’s good or not.  Boldly going onward!

For those of you not familiar with the term “guinea pig”, it means that one tries out new things, or experiments, usually on themselves.  A guinea pig is often used in testing but not to worry, no animals are being harmed AT ALL for this page.  We’re people testing here (namely, unsuspecting FBC staffers…)

This month’s Test: HAND & BODY LOTION

The Product:

This month’s test is hand and body lotion, Curel Continuous Comfort-Original Scent (#825-266).  I’ve tried tons of lotions in my time.  I come from Chicago-dry, chapped skin is a way of life.  You quickly learn which lotions last a long time and which ones KO in the first round of the winter weather prize fight. 

When I first came to Japan, I noticed that my skin didn’t get as dry as it used to back home in winter.  That didn’t mean, however, that my skin didn’t feel like an alligator with dry scales.  I was on the hunt for a good lotion that had the perfect combination of quick absorbing, didn’t feel too greasy, but still made my skin nice and smooth. 

 

The Test:

For a while, I used the Japanese lotions; and while they did keep my skin soft, the first application was like putting on lard.  I’d have to wait until the lotion finally absorbed into my skin before doing anything else; or else everything I touched would be greasy.  Annoying?  Very.  But in the end I used them because the next day, my skin would be fine.  Again, it’s something I chalked up to as one of those necessary annoyances.  Another beef I have with a lot of these lotions is that the scent is so heavy it’s almost choking.  I like smelling like fresh cut flowers, just not a whole greenhouse full.  So when the time came again, the guinea pig in me told me to try one of the body lotions.  The guinea pig spoke; I had to obey. 

I knew about Curel before; it’s a fairly popular brand.  However, I’m a firm user of Johnson & Johnson’s lotions.  I personally like their baby lotion back in the States because it worked fairly well, and the light scent was perfect.  This time, I knew I had to step outside my little box and take the plunge. 

I personally have pale, fairly sensitive skin.  It’s not totally necessary for me to use lotion every day, but I like knowing my skin is hydrated and it does get bad in winter.  I have to be careful sometimes of lotions and soaps because they can cause a slight reaction.  It’s nothing lethal, just irritating.  My doubts were quickly gone about reaction fears, since Curel is known to be safe for sensitive skin.  It also says on the bottle that it’s Dermatologist Recommended.  Who am I to argue?  For this product, I had 2 big issues here:  one was if it was going to be super greasy yet moisturize well, and the other was would it carry a faint breeze of scent or be a whole truckload of perfume.

Enough dilly-dallying, I told myself.  I took one bottle home with me; the other I kept at the office.  Upon first application, I noticed quite a difference.  I thought the lotion quickly absorbed into my skin, and it didn’t have a greasy after feel.  It was almost powdery, but there was no residue.  I also noticed a huge difference on how my skin felt.  It was smooth and hydrated, but no grease!  HALLELUJAH!!  I was almost dancing up and down, but that would’ve disturbed the neighbors.  Remember kids, be conscientious of your neighbors, especially in Japanese apartments!

Moving along, I decided to give it some more rigorous tests.  Sadly, it’s not winter yet, so I can’t give it the dry winter skin test.  But there were other things I could do, like the dry computer hands test.  Typing on a computer all the time tends to dry my hands and fingers out; and it can hurt the fingernails and the skin surrounding it.  I hate that.  That’s where the bottle next to the compy comes into play.  Ok, Curel, take on the damaged cuticles!  Let’s see how you handle the dry, scaly fingertips of doom!  I realize I’m getting a bit dramatic over this, but I do take my hand lotion seriously.  I take pride in my properly hydrated hands.  Well, Curel took on the hands and passed with flying colors.  Even after washing with soap, the moisture still stayed in, and with no greasy feel. 

Ok, so far, the lotion’s winning.  Now, I have to move on to another test.  What would happen if I kept applying?  What would be the saturation point, and what would happen?  With my old lotions, my skin would quickly become greasy, even if the application was light.  It would take a long time for my skin to absorb it; and sometimes I had to reapply, then wait again for the greasy feel to decrease.  With this type of Curel, it’s a time release base moisturizer.  I’m usually weary of those that say “time release”; usually it releases the moisture all at one time.  Ugh.  But this one does what it says, but for the sake of experimentation (which is what I’m here for), I reapplied a couple times a day.  It does turn greasy if you keep reapplying, even if it was a couple hours since the last application.  It’s ok to reapply after washing your hands, but it’s not totally necessary; maybe during the winter months it’s a good idea.  Also, as a body lotion, I found that applying every day can also have a bit of a greasy feel.  I found that applying every other day or even every two days worked the best.  Less days needed to moisturize was more time to do other stuff, like sleeping.  Most of all, people complimented on how my skin looked and felt!  My hands were smooth and looking good!  However, it does take a bit for the lotion to be absorbed into the skin; but when it does, there’s not much of a residue.

And since I wanted to be thorough, I also cornered some of my Japanese coworkers to get their reaction.  I wanted to test out how it worked on different skin types.  They said that they liked the clean scent, but the application was greasy for them.  But these coworkers already had great skin to begin with. 

 

The Verdict:

 

Pros:	Cons:
- good light scent upon application	- some complained it was too greasy
- absorbs fairly quickly (for my skin, anyways)	- can be too heavy for late spring/summer
- no need for constant re-application	- the scent fades rather quickly
- good as a hand lotion, too	- unable to test for winter conditions

 

Overall, this Curel gets a very positive review from this guinea pig.  The smell is rather nice, but it can be considered feminine.  I’m not fainting every time I hydrate my skin.  I like the floral scents, but sometimes it’s just too much.  However, because of this, the scent fades rather quickly.  On the plus side, this works because then I have no worries of this lotion clashing with either my deodorant or perfume.  This is a great alternative to those heavily scented ones.  As a body lotion, it works well.  It actually seems to balance out where you need moisture the most.  It worked really well on my knees and elbows to get rid of scaly skin there, but was light enough for the rest of my arms and legs.  As a hand lotion, it works wonderfully.  It even takes care of the cuticles and skin surrounding the fingernails.  I don’t have super bad skin, but I have to take care of it all the same.  This is great for daily/every other day maintenance.  However, if you want super hydration, then maybe you need to find something with more moisture.  On a scale of light to heavy, I’d put this on nearing medium-to-medium-heavy.  This would probably work best in the transition months, like spring or fall. 

If you’re very sensitive to scents, this also comes in a fragrance-free version.  If you’re a purist and want to stick to your old favorites, we have a lot of different lotions for all types of skin.  Below are just some examples we have in the General Store...

And if you don’t find what you’re looking for here, just email us or give us a call.  We’ll try to help!  But some of these may have some customs limitations, so please keep that in mind.

Guinea Pig Archive

October: Hair Dye