The research continues!

As I mentioned before, I tried a LOT of different skin care lines after I got home from Sweden. The previous blog post was about my first week back and now I will now tell you about my second week. Also, if I can squeeze it in I will include a little excursion my girlfriends and I took to the mall to check out a few department store brands too. Although, I have a feeling I will need to make a separate blog post about that trip.

My week started off with evaluating a company called Pink Papaya. It is not a new line to me as I have heard about it online and at least one rep of mine joined their company only to call me back a few months later to join Sensaria. I am pretty sure she liked the products but there wasn't enough training and support for her with Pink Papaya. Also, a good friend of mine was invited to a party a few months ago and gave me her opinion plus shared her samples with me. Neither one of us liked the lotion samples she had. Both in the smell and how they felt. She really liked the Cranberry Orange hand scrub but she was really hoping for more products available in that scent. She also didn't like the skin care line but she is also a die-hard Sensaria customer of mine. Anyway, I got an invitation from a former Sensaria rep to attend a Pink Papaya team meeting which was held in Bothell. It was just literally a few minutes away and while I was really burned out from trying new skin care products, I figured I had to go and make sure for myself. There were probably about 10 people there and most of the evening was spent sampling the new products that just got announced at their convention. It was a LOT of new products and they seemed to be mostly body products and a new skin care line for men. I still didn't care for most of their scents but there were 1or 2 that I did like. However, I really wanted to try the skin care so the leader sent me home with some samples. I got a cleanser, toner, am moisturizer and a pm moisturizer. The products did smell pretty good to me but I thought they left my skin feeling a bit tight. I also looked through their catalog and saw very few skin care items and the ingredients that I saw weren't all that impressive to me in regards to anti-aging. Most of the catalog was on body products and lots of scents. They also had a large selection of makeup which didn't interest me that much either. Price wise they seem fairly similar to Sensaria with some items slightly more expensive. When I priced a few items it worked out to be more per ounce but their body wash was double Sensaria's! Otherwise, if you like the scents of this product line then this would be a reasonable alternative to Sensaria in regards to the body care line. Maybe if you were using the Signature line with Sensaria then maybe Pink Papaya's skin care would appeal to you too. It just didn't appeal to me so I moved on.

Next up was Jordan Essentials. Another Sensaria rep had joined this company and invited me to her launch party. It wasn't too far away so I decided to go. Sometimes it is easier to try it in person than asking for a bunch of samples from all these companies. She had a great turnout at her home and she even had a few items to sample from other lines she had tried. One was Lemongrass Spa which I was getting samples from them soon and the other was L'Bri which I had samples for but hadn't had a chance to try it yet. So, I went around and sampled Jordan Essentials. It looked like they had about 15 or so different scents that were available in all their products. I didn't like most of these scents again but there were a few that appealed to me. The scents reminded me a lot of Bath & Body Works. I tried the body wash, body scrub and a lotion at the sink. The scent was really nice which was Oatmeal, Milk & Honey. However, the wash seemed very thick and sticky and the lotion was a bit tacky after using it too. There were a few other Sensaria reps there too and they wanted to try the products on their face. I smelled the face products and didn't like it enough to put on my face so I watched them try the products and see what they thought. They liked the way the products smelled but after putting them on it also seemed to have that tacky feeling that I got at the sink. Perhaps they just used too much of the product? The gal hosting the party said the skin care products were coming out unscented at the end of August but then I wondered how they would smell. I don't really like unscented items either and I wonder how bad they smell if they had to make them with a scent added to it? The product prices were very reasonable and they definitely cater to those people who are looking for natural, made in the USA products. They just didn't appeal to me.

Next up was L'Bri which I actually had in my house for about a week before I realized that box was for me! I had asked for samples to be sent and I was expecting a small box to come in the mail. I thought that this huge 20lb box belonged to my husband until I looked at the label and it was addressed to me! I couldn't believe the amount of stuff they sent me! It looked like a consultant's kit with many full size items, catalogs, books, samples and more. I was really overwhelmed by the amount of products sent! I took out some skin care samples and some body care items like the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and body butter. I couldn't stand the smell of the body butter so that item stayed in the kit. I wasn't crazy about the shampoo and conditioner either but a friend raved about them so I thought I would give it a try. I have to say that the shampoo and conditioner were very nice but I still couldn't stand the smell. It felt like it lingered after my hair was dry and that meant that it was a no go for me. As for the skin care, it also had a scent that didn't appeal to me either. In fact, most of their products had a similar smell which frankly reminded me of an old lady scent. I tried the skin care anyway but thought it left me feeling tight. There was a product that I did like the scent of which was the Facial Peel but I admit that I haven't tried it yet. I really didn't like most of what I saw with this line including the smell, packaging, and products offered that it was off my list right away.

Ok, what was next? I see three more lines sitting on my table but it is time to get dinner ready so I will save those for another blog post!