Avon Planet Spa Oriental Radiance Cleansing Starter Kit

Here's a blast from the past for you! Generally I feel like Avon has really decent skincare to offer (mostly) on a budget. As many have used their products from the early high-school days, I'm no exception. I remember loving their Clearskin products during my blemish-prone skin while the praised Anew range is something “older” women used to love and now I'm hooked on myself! I also think Anew is their most comprehensive skincare as it features most effective ingredients out of all of their offer. Solutions range always had truly solid daily moisturizers and tonics while the Planet Spa range is overall my fave Avon range of all. Aesthetically, Planet Spa products all feature similar design which only varies in color and shape (bottle, tube, tub, jar etc.) and I personally really like it as it looks clean and zen (aka calming). Mediterranean olive scent is my fave and holds the medal for the most repurchased out of all but I also frequently used most things from the white tea range as well. I clearly remember using this same cleanser you see on photos and a white tea face mask (it could quite possibly be the peel-off one!) approx ten years ago. I must have gone through two or three bottles of the stuff at the time and I found myself getting rather sentimental during our reunion. It was also interesting to test and review the same product a decade after and to see how the impressions differ. 

Ako ovo ne izazove nostalgiju za srednjoskolskim danima, zaista nista drugo nece! Mislim da Avon u svojoj ponudi ima sasvim solidnu njegu koze koja je u vecini slucajeva njezna spram novcanika. Sjecam se da sam voljela Clearskin proizvode tokom perioda kada sam imala problema sa bubuljicama dok je hvaljena Anew linija najvise bila draga “starijim damama” a sada sam i ja veliki fan! Takodjer cu reci da smatram upravo Anew proizvode najkompletnijim i najefektnijim preparativnim proizvodima iz Avona ponajvise zbog toga sto ih krase sastojci koji zaista cine konkretne stvari kozi. Solutions linija je pak (koliko me sjecanje sluzi) imala jako lijepe dnevne kremice i tonike dok je Planet Spa uopsteno meni najdraza linija proizvoda iz Avona. Sa estetske strane, proizvode Planet Spa odlikuje specificno i prepoznatljivo pakovanje koje varira samo u boji i obliku (tube, bocice, teglice itd.). Meni se njihov dizajn dopada posto djeluje cisto i zen (tj.umirujuce). Miris sa mediteranskom maslinom je moj licni favorit i te proizvode sam najvise puta kupovala iznova i iznova dok je cesta bila i preparativa iz linije sa bijelim cajem. Jasno se sjecam da sam umivalicu sa fotografija koristila dosta cesto tokom srednjoskolskih dana (prije cca 10 godina) uz masku iz iste linije (mislim da je cak bila jedna od onih maski koje se nakon susenja odlijepe u vidu folije). U to vrijeme mislim da sam potrosila dvije ili tri bocice ove umivalice tako da sam prilicno sentimentalna glede ponovnog susreta sa tim favoritom iz proslosti. Zanimljivo mi je bilo i usporediti tadasnje dojmove sa sadasnjim, koji se utoliko razlikuju.

Avon Planet Spa Oriental Radiance Balancing Face Cleanser with white tea (150ml for approx $6 but can be found on offer) is an old friend which I have used many, many times before. Packaging is excellent as it comes with a pump and due to the fact you only need a half of pump to cleanse your entire face, 150ml will last a long time which makes this an economic purchase. The white tea range has a particular scent which I would describe as part herbal, part tea-like and (for some reason) it reminds me of rice?! Maybe that association pops into my mind due to the powdery color and soft, almost velvety texture of the packaging? This cleanser is transparent and as I've mentioned earlier – you really need a small amount per use. Whenever you see the word “balancing” on a skincare item you know it's probably geared towards combination skin. I think that's the case here. The clear gel foams up nicely (SLS does the job) and if you look at the ingredient list, you will note that it isn't pristine, e.g.methylparaben is there (some might find this a dealbreaker). The good thing is that, despite this, cleanser has never irritated my skin – not now or a decade earlier. It's a really good, basic face wash which doesn't aggravate the skin but I clearly remember it has dried me out a few times in the past during my dehydrated skin periods. I wouldn't say it's a make-up removing wonder but I use it as a second cleanse anyway (after micellar water takes the bulk of make-up and grime) and as such it does a great job. Avon Planet Spa Oriental Radiance Invirogating Face Polisher with white tea (75ml for approx $5) is what I prefer to the cleansing gel, although the face wash deserves ‘an oldie but a goodie’ medal. The packaging visual and scent scenario is copy/paste of the face wash – the only difference is that here we have a smaller tube instead of bottle. The real reason I love this face scrub is because it's amazingly creamy and pleasant on the skin, does its job well, it doesn't dry my skin (or any skin type, I reckon), I can recommend it to all skin types (not the case with the face wash) and it doubles as a face mask – score! I love that it contains PVC spheres instead of something abrasive (e.g.walnut shell) and it can be a very mild (if used on wet skin) or moderately effective (if used on dry skin) exfoliator. If you leave it on for 10-15 minutes it doubles as a lightly purifying mask and this is due to the presence of Magnesium Aluminum Silicate (aka white clay, hectorite or kaolin). It's also the reason why this face scrub/mask gives off a luxurious feeling, mimicking the effect and vibe of more expensive products (it also thickens the consistency as it is a white white chalk-like powder). Skin is left soft, cleansed and refreshed. I think that a skincare rookie cannot go wrong with purchasing these two as a cleansing starter kit but I'd also recommend either products to seasoned skincare junkies separately (especially the scrub!). 

Avon Planet Spa Oriental Radiance balansirajuci cistac lica sa bijelim cajem (150ml za cca 10KM no cesto bude na popustu) je moj stari prijatelj kojeg sam koristila dugo vremena. Pakovanje smatram odlicnim jer volim pumpice a zahvaljujuci koncentriranoj teksturi, ovog gela za umivanje nije potrebno mnogo kolicinski po koristenju (pola pumpice ce ocistiti cijelo lice i vrat). Bocica od 150ml traje mjesecima (nekada i do pola godine, ovisno od nacina koristenja)  – zbog toga cu reci i da je ova umivalica dosta ekonomicna. Cjelokupna linija sa bijelim cajem je dosta karakteristicnog mirisa kojeg bih opisala kao biljnog, uz asocijaciju na caj u vrecicama i (iz nekog neobicnog razloga) na rizu?! Moguce da asocijacija na rizu potice od puderaste boje pakovanja i gotvo pa mat/barsunastog materijala tube/naljepnice na bocici. Gel za umivanje je proziran i kao sto je vec spomenuto – izdasan. Kada god vidim rijec “balansirajuce” na pakovanju, odmah pomislim kako je rijec o proizvodu namijenjenom za mjesovitu kozu. Isti je slucaj i sa ovom umivalicom. Gel stvara lijepu pjenu (zbog prisustva SLS-a) a ako pogledate listu sastojaka, shvatiti cete da nije najidealnija (npr.zbog prisustva parabena) sto vjerujem da ce biti prepreka za odredjeni broj korisnika/korisnica. Ono sto je dobro jeste sto mogu prijaviti da (uprkos ne bas idealnom sastavu), ovaj gel nije iziritirao kozu lica – sada a niti prije deceniju. Radi se o sasvim solidnoj jednostavnoj umivalici koja nije agresivna ali se sjecam da me znala isusiti dok mi je koza bila dehidrirana. Ne mogu reci da briljira kao skidac sminke no ja ga svakako koristim kao drugo pranje/ciscenje lica (nakon sto je micelarna rastvorila vecinu sminke) – kao takav, ovaj proizvod je odlican. Avon Planet Spa Oriental Radiance okrepljujuci piling za lice sa bijelim cajem (75ml za trenutno 6,5KM u katalogu) me vise dojmio u odnosu na umivalicu iako ona zasluzuje pohvalu kako nije izgubila svoj sjaj nakon toliko vremena. Glede pakovanja i mirisa, imamo copy/paste situaciju kao sa umivalicom a jedina je razlika sto je piling upakovan u tubu a ne bocicu. Stvarni razlog zbog kojeg mi se ovaj piling toliko svidja jeste njegova nevjerovatno kremasta i ugodna tekstura. Potom, radi svoj posao kako spada, ne isusuje moju mjesovitu do dehidriranu kozu (a vjerujem da ne bi ni ostale tipove koze), mogu ga preporuciti doslovno svima (sto nije slucaj sa umivalicom) i ima dvostruku namjenu kao – maska za lice! Dopada mi se sto kozu pilinguje plasticnim sferama umjesto nekim abrazivnim materijalom (poput npr.ljuske oraha) a moze ovisno o nacinu primjene da pruza dva efekta eksfolijacije – blagi (na mokroj kozi) i umjeren (na suhoj kozi). Ukoliko ga ostavite na kozi 10-15 minuta ponasati ce se kao blago prociscujuca maska a sve zahvaljujuci tome sto sadrzi Magnesium Aluminum Silicate (tj.bijelu glinu, hektorit ili kaolin). Ovaj sastojak je takodjer razlog tome sto imate dojam da je rijec o dosta luksuznijem komadu preparative (cini teksturu gustom i izdasnom jer je Magnesium Aluminum Silicate bijeli puder, slican kredi). Koza je nakon koristenja ociscena, osvjezena i mekana. Mislim da jedan pocetnik u svijetu preparative ne moze pogrijesiti odabirom ova dva proizvoda da se brinu o cistoci koze iako bih ova dva proizvoda i zasebno preporucila cak i veteranima na polju preparative (pogotovo piling za lice!).

*Some of these products may have been sent to me for review. For more information, see my disclaimer.