It's been ages since my last product reviews, geez, I know, I know, I'm such a lazy lady (hey it rhymes!! err.. somehow...nothing to be excited about.. carry on..)
California Baby Super Sensitive Coller Tote, IDR 540.000,-
Without further ado, I'd like to present to you my own personal review of the much talk about baby product:
CALIFORNIA BABY!! Seriously, I have been using California Baby since my toddler, Big Sis G, 7 months old. Then, I obtain their products through a specialty imported baby boutique, which the boutique itself is a rarity in my area, or I tested my own patience by pre-ordering California Baby from (unauthorized) online baby shops. Yes, the prizes are often marked up as high as the moon. No, I'm just kidding, just as high as our stratosphere.
Good news, fellow Indonesians, since there are too much hassle in shopping directly online through international California Baby's website (Indonesians must know what I'm referring to), California Baby finally has its own authorized representative in Indonesia! *insert cheering and clapping sounds*
Here they are,
California Baby Indonesia, all polished and ready to serve you. If you'd want to type the address yourself to your browser, it's http://www.ca-baby.com/ instead of www.californiababy.com. Don't worry, they're highly professional, easily contacted, and willingly ship to all regions in Indonesia. They ship real fast, I got mine in less than two days. They are currently looking for re-sellers across Indonesia too, so if you're interested *aggravated winking at my local baby boutique and grocery stores*, do contact them!
California Baby Indonesia is so kind to send me not one but two products to be tested, reviewed, and then shared the news with all of you. They are Everyday Lotion in Summer Blend and Super Sensitive SPF18 Sunscreen, both suitable for daily wear. All California Baby products are claimed to be :
Contains organic and sustainably grown ingredients
Non-toxic
Non-comedogenic (yes, mothers of the world, now you can pat the products on your face in peace)
Non-staining
PABA, BPA, PVC, and phthalate
free, not only on the stuff inside but on their packaging as well
Only vegetable and plant based ingredients
Non-irritating, non-chemical formula
Hypoallergenic
First up, is The Everyday Lotion : Summer Blend (IDR 156.000,- 6.5 oz.) It's from the same range of the much raved about Calendula Lotion, it's highly hydrating I heard it's used more by mothers (and grandmothers) to fight wrinkles rather than by babies and kids. Did I get your attention now? OK, read on. On site, it's said to work well on summer, (duh, thus the name!), non greasy, quickly absorbed, soothing after a long day in the sun.
This is my first time trying the Summer Blend variant, I bribed allowed Big Sis G to model and test for me. LOL, seriously, no, I didn't bribe her. She's more enthusiastic than me on this one. Maybe she'll start her own beauty blog as soon as she can type.
These are the picture of the bottle, yes it is conveniently come with its own pump! You can see all the major ingredients here (Aloe vera, lemongrass, cedarwood) and the rest of harder to pronounce ingredients on the back.
The texture is a but runny, more liquid than usual face cream or average drugstore's body lotion. It's unsurprisingly not chalk-y white, phew, it's good news, since whiter than white product could mean *eep* bleach is in it. It's ivory, more beige white. To my Indonesian nose, a lingering scent I picked up the most is the citronella (it IS listed as one of the ingredients, but it's not the main ones). It's quite strong, so maybe it's the reason it's not suggested to be used on babies under 6 months old (well you may, but be sure you're doing it under professional's supervision). On the other hand, it's another good news. Us, Indonesians must be really familiar with citronella, because yep, we have lots of mosquito here and we have tried everything to prevent them from sucking our blood. And citronella here is proven to be quite good doing so. A hydrating lotion that doubles up as mosquito repellent? Now that's genius. It is also rather nice to soothe already-bitten-ohmygod-it's so-burning-and-itchy skin surface. The down side of this whole citronella thing is, of course, you may not want it to use it on your face. As I said, it's a rather strong menthol-ly scent. I, myself, can not stand to use it near my nose, eyes, and mouth.
Mosquito repellent aside, let's test the hydrating power. Here is a really blatant picture of Big Sis G's right knee. A beauty mark to prove it's the same knee. :) First day of use, you can see there are little white patches of un-holy dryness on her skin. Big Sis G is an active toddler, she often use her knees as substitutes for her actual legs. So, go figure. The "after" picture on the right is taken approximately 7 days after our first try. Not bad, eh? I can actually feel it softer and more supple..the uneven darker area is slightly brightened too! I know what you're thinking, you'd want to get it for yourself, would you? Relax, it's also for "sensitive" adults, if you're not, well, you still can use it.
Next up is a Super Sensitive SPF 18 Sunscreen (IDR 270.000,- 4.5 oz. ) It's not loaded with bad-ass SPF number, so maybe you would not want to take this baby (pun intended) to the beach, or any place with high sun exposure if you're not re-applying. Although it's said to retain its effectiveness after 80 minutes of water activities or simply sweating, please use higher SPF for extreme sun exposure (you won't remember to re-apply when you have fun, that is). It's also light weighted enough to use under your makeup. *winking vigorously to mothers reading this.
As expected, the sunscreen has a more creamier, thick texture. A bit more yellow-ish as well, it looks like a pale foundation. It does smell funny, but milder than the Summer Blend lotion. I'm not sure what is dominant in the sunscreen's scent, but I put my bet on the coconut. It does smells a little like cocoa butter. To my surprise, it took just seconds to absorb to the skin, evenly, smoothly, and weightless!! You know how sun screen always leaves a streak of whites, takes forever to absorb, and felt really heavy on your skin? California Baby's the opposite of all that! But it does leave a glittery white cast upon application, but hey, it's better than average. With a busy, jiggly toddler or a crawling baby, you might want to take sunscreen time as little and as practical as possible.
Soooo.. what's the verdict? I'll give my 4.5 out of 5 stars for these California Babies. The only downside of these two bottles with built in pumps is they are huuugggeee! Though it makes them sturdy and strong (big sis G has already dropped the lotion twice, and not a single leak in sight) it might add some ounces to your belongings, when you're travelling. If you travel low-fare airlines like me, you'll understand the importance of this. Well, there are travel sized products available on the
site, so if you're so keen on travelling light, there are options. Got any itching questions? Try hooking up on California Baby Indonesia's
Facebook and/or
twitter page.
Don't stay away from the blog now, you might even want to bookmark this page, because I will be having a California Baby giveaway soon!! Which products, you say? That's my lovely secret!! If you want, you can tell me which product you'd most love to win in your comment. Let me read that!
*** I'm not financially compensated for this post, although I did received samples of the products. All photographs, opinions, and words are my own. The sources of any other photographs and information listed that are not mine are stated. ***
