little white truths

I just reviewed my final product from this set today, so best I do my round-up post now while I remember it.

It's a nice little set overall and I've enjoyed it. Worth noting is that I'd gone to buy the cleansing balm separately before realising that this set was better value, and I'm glad now that I bought the kit because the cleansing balm ended up being my least-favourite item of the three - so I would have been pretty unhappy if I'd spent my money on that and hadn't received the other two products.

This kit contains:

• Essential Cleansing Balm 30ml
• Essential Hydration Concentrate 25ml
• Essential Hydration Cream 30ml

The kit's description says that the products aim to help preserve skin's vitality and boost skin's natural capacity for self care and regeneration.

I've now done full reviews of everything in here (I'll include links to those below), and I'm back now to write mini reviews of each product and comment on the set as a whole - just in case anyone's interested in the set itself and not in any particular product.

Alpha-H Essential Cleansing Balm

Full review here. I've mentioned before that I don't think Alpha-H's cleansers are its best products, and the same holds true for this one - or at least, that's my opinion. It's not that it's bad, it's just that I've used better and I wouldn't buy it again.

It's a little thicker than most cleansing balms and it doesn't melt or spread across the skin as well as I would like. This means I used more per application than I should have, so it didn't last me as long as other cleansing balms have done. 

It smells nice and feels nicely hydrating when applied, but it doesn't remove makeup very well and it's also difficult to remove (even with a damp face cloth), and since I don't love cleansing balms that are hard to remove, I didn't love this.

Nice to use but not super effective.

Alpha-H Essential Hydration Cream

Full review here. This was my favourite item in the set and the one that I'm most likely to buy: it's perfect for those who need good moisture but don't want anything with bells and whistles.

It's a white cream with a fresh floral scent. It's lightweight and it sits beautifully under makeup, and it somehow manages to be very nourishing without being too heavy or clogging pores.

I love that it feels beautifully soothing, refreshing and cooling when applied, and although it hasn't done anything specific for me (eg, reduced the look of wrinkles), it has kept my dry skin feeling moisturised and comfortable - which is all I really need it to do.

Overall I think this is an excellent product that generally meets its claims and I recommend it. It's reasonably priced and it does exactly what it says it will do.

Alpha-H Essential Hydration Concentrate

Full review here. I think this is a great little facial oil, but I'm not sure you need to drop $60 on 25ml of oil to get something good that works.

It's a thin oil that's deep yellow in colour and it has a nice, herbal and natural scent. It spreads and absorbs well, and it's so lightweight that it doesn't weigh the skin down or leave an oily residue. 

I like that I don't need to use much per application and I also like that it's so thin and lightweight that I can apply it in the morning and it won't interfere with my makeup. I can't say this of many facial oils so that's a plus.

It's very nourishing and soothing, and while I think that it feels better-formulated than many other oils do when first applied, the results it gives are exactly the same so I don't think you need to spend this much to get a good facial oil that does the job.

If you want something luxe and beautiful, though, this might be worth a try.

In sum

This is a good little kit and I'm glad I bought it. While the cleansing balm was a disappointment, the other two products are fantastic so the set ended up being a worthwhile purchase for me.

And do note that the cleansing balm wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either - or at least it didn't suit my preferences.

If I had to pick one thing from this set, I reckon the cream is the best value. You can buy the 50ml full-size for around $40 AUD (so it's not as pricey as the oil, especially when you consider how much you get) and I'm sure you could wait for specials and buy it for an even smaller price.

Overall I think this is a good set and while I wouldn't buy it again, I would buy the moisturiser and I recommend both the oil and the moisturiser if you want good products that work.

Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x