The Purplenista: Kiehl's Blue Herbal Moisturizer

You’ll Have to Pry These Products Out of My Cold, Dead Hands

By Raima

The elders say, “Pride comes before a fall” and like most of their sensible advice, this one also holds true, especially for me. You see, when I was a teenager, I never had a problem with acne EVER. Yes, there were the usual blemishes, a little rosecea maybe once or twice a month, and then also it was one or two at a time, never the face covering ones that basically is the bane of adolescence. You can imagine what happened next, I became proud of my skin, and secretly I preened at my blemish-free face and gloated.

Karma is a b!tch and it got to me. I got married, shifted to Bombay and my skin decided to rebel due to a mix of climatic conditions and a mild case of PCOS. My lovely skin was now dotted with bumps and pimples and redness. Touching my face in the morning felt like touching an oily kadhai that has not been cleaned properly. Moisturizers felt sticky and greasy and I could never find the right one, that would just melt into my skin and not lie on top of it and add to the greasiness. The toner I was using (rose water) was not helping either. My pores were visible from space. There are no before pics because I refused to have my pictures taken during this period. I was literally at my wits end, when two things happened a) I finally decided to walk into the Kiehl’s store in Palladium, and b) I discovered Korean skincare thanks to Buzzfeed and other bloggers.

Yup, it has gone to the stage where I’m trying to squeeze every last bit out Pic Courtesy: Raima

Part One aka apprehensive shopper enters Kiehl’s walks out with love of life:

When I first walked into Kiehl’s I was apprehensive, frankly speaking, I did not spend much on skincare and Kiehl’s was way to pricey for me, but then SR showed me the Blue Herbal Moisturizer and right from the swatch I fell in love with it. I've been using it for about 6 months now and I thank all gods, future, present and past that I found this product.

Product Details:

Price: INR 1550 for 100 gms
Shelf life: Not available, though I hope it is long since I only ever need just a tiny little bit
Ingredients: Sodium Hydroxide,, Sodium PCA, Butylparaben, Dipropylene glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Laminaria saccharina, Poterium officinale, Zingiber officinale, Cinnamomum cassia, Blue 1, Hamamelis virginiana, Menthol, Aloe Barbadensis, Boswellia Serrata Extract, Camphor, Hexylene Glycol, Water, Glycerin, Montmorillonite, Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-3 methylglucose distearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Pentylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol, Methylparaben, Chlorphenesin, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer.
What the product claims: Inspired by Kiehl’s venerable and most enduring preparation, Blue Astringent Herbal Lotion, this oil-free moisturizer is absorbed quickly and penetrates pores to eliminate most acne blemishes and allow skin to heal. An additional balancing effect allows the formula to mattify skin, reducing the appearance of pores and leaving skin with a matte, hydrated appearance and texture. This non-comedogenic formulation helps prevent new acne blemishes from forming.

The product comes in a tube and is a very, very light green in colour. The consistency is halfway between a cream and a gel. The smell is a lot like Disprin though since one of the main ingredients is salicylic acid (also seen in Dispirin), I am not surprised.

Product before, during application Pic Courtesy: Raima

The suggested use as on the tube and online is:

Cleanse the skin thoroughly before applying medication
Cover the entire affected area with a thin layer one to three times daily
Because excessive drying of the skin may occur, start with one application daily, and then gradually increase to two or three times daily. Here I’ll add that I have been using this twice daily ever since I bought this and am yet to see any dryness let alone excessive dryness,(Just goes to show the oiliness of my skin).

Product After Application Pic Courtesy: Raima

The Good:

It sinks into the skin without a trace, no residue, and no leftover oiliness. In fact, except for softened and matte skin there is no trace that a moisturizer has been applied.
The redness on my cheeks has reduced, the pimples have disappeared and in the mornings I no longer live in fear that the US will invade my face.
The effects last long; it is usually 6 hours before the oiliness reappears.
You really require just a small bit, a little less than pea size is more than enough for me.

The Bad:

None really for me, it is exactly what I wanted in a moisturizer, though online reviewers have complained of skin tingling, excessive dryness and say that it balls up under their foundation. I have experienced none of this though.

The Ugly:

The price. At INR 1550 for 100 ml, it was at that time the most I've ever spent on a single skincare product.
It contains parabens so if you are a paraben avoider, this one is not for you.

My rating: thumbs up