Baroness X Wunderbust | My Review

Baroness X has long been one of my favorite indie brands for polish and general hand-care. But 2018 was a year of expansion and experimentation for the brand, and they launched a ton of new stuff! Wax, skincare, polish, and home goods...oh my. I was tasked with testing out one of the new face & decolletage products and I am finally ready to share my opinion. There is a Tl;dr at the bottom!

(promotional samples ahead)

This is a lovely, lightweight but rich cream that is full of skin-loving ingredients. It has a faint minty scent, and no added dyes. It's also vegan if you're into that. It is made for the sensitive folk, but it is absolutely great for all skin types. Like me, Demi has sensititve skin and was looking for something that would sooth, hydrate, and plump without causing breakouts and irritation. 

In the shop listing, there are a few ingredients highlighted and they are definitely worth noting...because they are some of my favorites.

Hylauronic Acid 

(Paula's Choice link. Beware their prices, but the info is sound)

I really like HA in my skincare. It works to draw water-based products down into your skin, so it is definitely good if you like to layer products. My very dry skin reacts really well to this ingredient.

Camellia Oil 

(info link)

This is a great, lightweight oil full of good things. It has oleic acid which is a fatty acid and great dry, mature skin...but still light enough for combo/oily/normal skin types. Camellia oil is also great for keeping lotions fresh and smooth, which means that it won't get ugly and need stirring like a lot of handmade skincare.

Squalane

This is my second favorite ingredient on earth. It is excellent for water-based skincare and I actually mix squalane into my normal all-over lotion. If you have skin in need of anything I would look for this ingredient. It is excellent for dry skin, as it is very hydrating. It is also good for sensitive skintypes because it is non-comedogenic. One note, when reading labels make sure you are getting plant-based squalane. You don't want the other kind: it comes from sharks. :(

Patch Testing

Are you cautious when trying out skincare? I sure am. I am paranoid to a ridiculous level about testing things that go on my face. I once got a burn from a facemask meant to calm sensitive skin. I have read that you can test on your inner arm, and that is good for general reactions...but if you are lucky like me you might not react to things on your arm that will irritate your face/neck. So I always recommend testing skincare for 48 hours right behind your ear. It will give you a better idea, in my opinion, of whether your facial skin will agree with it. I tested this skincare for 48hrs and all was well.

ALWAYS TEST SKINCARE BEFORE USE.

not my head. 

My Review

Finally, we get to my actually opinion. Before I start, it is worth noting that I have ridiculously sensitive skin. Not just sensitive, but as I get older my skin gets more and more reactive. Hooray. Age really does make fools of us all.

After my successful patch test, I started out by using it for a week just on my neck and chest. I loved it. My biggest thing about lotions on my neck/chest is the sticky. I can't abide sticky, tacky lotions. They grab at my hair and necklace...not to mention making me feel like I am melting. This stuff soaked right into my skin and left me feeling relatively dry and smooth. It has an immediate cooling effect, but it is so gentle and dissapates so quickly that one could almost miss it.

I started smoothing it over my face, and it was quite nice. I wouldn't use this during the day if you use silicone skincare or cosmetics, because water-based + silicone-based = pilling. But as a light night cream, this was delightful. My skin was smooth and even, with less flaky bits and itchy spots than normal.

However, this lotion is not for me. Not on my face, anyway. After a month of use, my skin because to break out. It started on my neck and chest, which has not had a spot problem in years. I had a few spots pop up on my cheeks, where I never got pimples even as a kid. So I halted the use (which is what you should do if you have any reaction to a new product) and took a closer look at the ingredients. I think the culprit is coconut oil, which is a problem for me about 30% of the time. I was majorly bummed, so I started testing it around the rest of my skin which is inexplicably not sensitive.

I love this stuff on my legs. Holy cow. The weather has started the tradtional coastal insanity, and my skin is miserable. 70F during the day, and 40F at night...pleaseno. My skin is dying...or was. I have been using this all over my legs and feet before bed, and not only am I not itchy or flaky but the weird eczema spots on my knees and hips are soothed and healing. So if you have dry, painful skin I would 10000% recommend this. I've been applying this to the other eczemaish places on my body and this lotion is doing pretty good so far. 

So if you are looking for an indie, vegan, and affordable alternative to your normal face cream then I think you should try this out. It is really nice, and even though my face/neck hates it...the rest of me loves this shit.

You can buy a 2oz jar in the Baroness X shop or grab a 1oz jar this weekend from the Indie Pickup! 

Tl;dr I liked it, even though I can't use it as intended. Still recommend.