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| (My favorite all-purpose cream!) |
Nivea Creme has had a century of experience making skin glowing, soft, and beautiful. Legendary beauties such as Marilyn Monroe and Lana Turner have trusted this creme. Victoria Beckham swears by Nivea lotion to keep her gams amazing looking. Most recently, Catherine Middleton was spotted buying a jar of Nivea Pure & Natural. Hmmmm... these women could afford anything... but choose a drugstore line? And first hand account was a beautiful woman I had met who was in her 60's. The most baby-smooth skin I had ever seen. She was the wife of a doctor who also could use anything - but she used Nivea Creme. It was time to take a tip.
I ordinarily would never have considered Nivea, at all. Regardless of the previous paragraph. I always felt it was too heavy. I fess up to my mistake. I could have saved hundreds of dollars if not thousands on the products I purchased at department stores and visiting the dermatologist! I guess the good news about living in Boston and Chicago is that the winters made me investigate heavy creams... and I stumbled on this one that wouldn't break the bank. At first I used this and I had mixed feelings. The application took more effort. It was like a thick paste. There was also a scent. Very ubiquitous to Nivea Creme. Not offensive and light. With time, I looked forward to applying the creme and the scent started to have a calming effect since it produced such amazing results.
I was actually scared to apply this to my face for the first time. But after reading reviews on makeupalley.com who swore that this was the ultimate wrinkle killer (and of course, the second paragraph above helped a lot!) Many women with combo/sensitive/dry skin swear by this product and do in fact slather this on their faces. Although petrolatum & mineral oil based (Mexico version but the German version is mineral oil based without the petrolatum), my skin has never had an allergic reaction to either ingredients. I use to use products in high school that were petrolatum and mineral oil based but since then I have strayed away because the beauty industry said those ingredients were harmful. I think I have had more breakouts and problems with my skin since then, probably because I was using products that where drying out my skin and thus, in turn, causing my skin to over produce oil leading to breakouts. All those fancy and expensive products which promised everything where doing absolutely nothing. It was time to return to the basics.
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| Keeps my skin plump and the ultimate wrinkle buster! |
I have tried both the German and Mexican versions. Many women claim that the German version is superior. It does not have preservatives or petrolatum. I do prefer the consistency of the German version for my face because it is less waxy and more creamy than the Mexican version. However, it is quite heavy, and I would only use this at night because it takes time to absorb. However, when I wake up in the morning, my skin is so soft and smooth. Great for the winter months! Check out www.smallflower.com for the authentic German version. They have sizes ranging from 30 ml to 400 ml ($2.95 to 15.95, respectively). They also sell the German version on www.amazon.com but I have read reviews that you need to be careful because some consumers were misled into believing it was the German version but in fact they received the Thailand version (yet another formulation!) which is most similar to the German version but not identical. The Made in Mexico version is easily found at your nearest ULTA, box department stores, and corner drugstores where you can get a 1 oz. tin for 99 cents to sample. Cheap as chips so you won't feel guilty if it doesn't perform how you had hoped. Although the German version applies more easily, the end results seem the same - just really soft skin!
Nivea may be worth a try for you too. What an amazing value and what I feel is the best all-purpose creme. I use this from head to toe, and even on my lips. Even if it is too heavy for your face, it will work amazing on any dry bits on the rest of your body. It's very gentle and I will have a jar of this in my house until they stop making it. After going from fancy product lines (Chanel, Clinique, Shiseido, etc.) and switching to the basics, I must say I haven't been this happy with my skin! It is still far from perfect but I don't break out anymore, no clogged pores, and my skin just feels soft, plump, and never dry. My makeup looks so much better because the canvas is so much smoother! It may not work for everyone, but it's worth a try if you are looking for heavy winter cream and you have dry or combo/sensitive skin. I learned my lesson that spendy products do not always work better than the drugstore brands. This leaves me more coin to purchase my bottles of Chanel parfum (gasp!)
XoX,
Marikym
P.S. Some have compared Nivea Creme to Creme de La Mer. I can't really comment because I have never used that product. You can read a ton of reviews online about the comparisons. Some say that Nivea Creme is better or as good. Others say that Creme de La Mer is in a class of it's own.
