REVIEW: Neutrogena Norwegian Formula, deep moisture comfort balm

The Neutrogena website says that this is suitable for the body and face. I used this product for the first time several years ago and really loved how comfortable it felt on my skin, then I went off to try some other products but I have always come back to this one. Most moisturisers for me just feel like it sits on the top of my skin giving a greasy feeling and generally just uncomfortable. It goes to say, most moisturisers break me out but not this one =). Don't be fooled by the products name, even though it calls itself a balm; the consistency is really light, however it moisturises really well for me. I regularly get peels done to help with skin tone and this moisturises like no other and doesn't cause a reaction. In the past an esthetician gave me a heavy duty balm to moisturise and protect my skin from the environment after such a procedure, but that product felt like it was suffocating my skin, whenever I looked in the mirror I was so shiny everywhere, it was really like I had a thick mask of Vaseline all over my face and I broke out badly. Instead with this Neutrogena's Norwegian formula my skin felt soothed, and hydrated without feeling like I'm preventing my skin from breathing. However I did notice that after I got the procedure done, my skin would suck up this moisturiser and I would have to apply maybe every hour or so, but then again a peel I would say is an extreme condition where your skin is very very dry (their website targets this product at those with dry skin). Under normal circumstances, my skin is more combination, between my eyes and forehead region being more oily. I found that this helped control my oily areas while hydrating my more dry areas.

So far I haven't noticed this clogging my pores, the downside to this product is that it comes off easily with water, so if you happen to get caught in the rain with no umbrella. And I mean HEAVY rain not just those sprinkles of water from time to time but rather like water is dripping off your face - this product will probably just slide off your face ( this will happen to your body as well, it just happens I tend to apply this moisturiser to my face and neck).

This product doesn't have any SPF in it or any other functions to it other than it is just a moisturiser, so it doesn't do any particularly "special", if you have hyperpigmentation problems like me it won't speed up their recovery but then again I don't think any moisturiser makes that big of a difference for that problem, for that you need exfoliation. For me it is perfect for my sensitive skin, it is thick enough to moisturise me during the cold dry winters (and during my peels) but just light enough for everyday use without breaking me out.  If you have sensitive skin like me, you may be put off the fact that it has a scent, trust me  I know the feeling, whenever I notice a product having a scent or I see it in its ingredients I tend to run in the opposite direction. My skin tends to react instantly to products it doesn't like, and so far this has never given me a problem.  I bought it from my local pharmacy for around £5 so I think it is a really good price for what it offers.
Here's the link to the product if you want to take a look. http://www.neutrogenauk.co.uk/produits/body/norwegian-formula-deep-moisture-comfort-balm

Here are the products ingredients list from the Neutrogena website.
Aqua, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, PEG-100 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Isohexadecane, Stearyl Alcohol, Myristyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 80, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Parfum.


Note that it contains parabens. I use to be a complete avoid parabens freak in all my skincare and cosmetics. I am still like that a little, however almost everything has parabens including the food we eat and parabens are used as preservatives so personally I belive that just as long as the product is not old the parabens should not be too harmful to the body. Besides, just because scientists have carried out studies that suggests parabens are harmful or toxic to your body, it doesn not mean that it is true, however it is fair enough if you just want to avoid them as much as possible to stay on the safe side. As a science student I can definitely tell you that some papers published are complete nonsense and the person writing it is basically twisting their evidence to the point where its lies, my professors have shown me and my classmates MANY papers where this is to be true. So, don't always believe everything just because some study from a group of scientists said so =P