Product Review: Boots No. 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Balm and Night Cream

Boots No. 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Balm for Dry/Very Dry skin ($8.49 for 5oz) and Night Cream for Normal/Dry skin ($13.99 for 1.6oz) are relatively new additions to the Boots line, having just launched in August. I'm always looking for solutions to combat winter dryness, so when I got the chance to try them as part of Influenster's Beauty Blogger VoxBox, I was psyched.

The first thing I do when considering skin care is- you guessed it- look at the ingredient list. Proof is in the pudding, folks! Unfortunately, there was no ingredient listing included on the sample packaging or on the Influenster insert, so of course, I had to look them up!

Boots No. 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Balm:
Aqua (Water), Caprylic/capric triglyceride, Glycerin, Cetearyl alcohol, Myristyl myristate, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) seed butter, Tribehenin, Butylene glycol, Cetearyl olivate, Sorbitan olivate, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl acetate, Methylparaben, Parfum (Fragrance), Ethylparaben, Sodium PCA, Sodium lauroyl lactylate, Acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, Tetrasodium EDTA, Ascorbyl glucoside, Potassium hydroxide, Dipropylene glycol, Magnesium PCA, Zinc PCA, Biosaccharide gum-1, Ceramide 3, Cholesterol, Ceramide 6 II, Phytosphingosine, Carbomer, Manganese PCA, Xanthan gum, Propylparaben, Potassium sorbate, Ceramide 1 

Boots No. 7 Beautiful Skin Night Cream Normal/Dry Skin:
Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Butyrospermum parkii (Shea butter), Isostearyl isostearate, Sorbitan stearate, Cetearyl alcohol, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) seed butter, Dimethicone, Ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl acetate, Rosa moschata seed oil, Methylparaben, Sucrose cocoate, Parfum (Fragrance), Dimethiconol, Sodium PCA, Xanthan gum, Potassium cetyl phosphate, Ethylparaben, Ascorbyl glucoside, Tetrasodium EDTA, Magnesium PCA, T-butyl alcohol, Citric acid, Dipropylene glycol, Zinc PCA, Biosaccharide gum-1, Potassium hydroxide, Manganese PCA, Potassium sorbate, Ascorbyl palmitate 

So, now that we've got that out of the way, here's my analysis. Ingredient wise, these are pretty good, albeit basic, choices. The cleanser has a good amount of fragrance in it, which isn't great, but since it's not on skin for a long time, it doesn't concern me too much. On the other hand, the moisturizer also lists fragrance. While it seems much more lightly scented to me than the cleansing balm, I prefer to forgo fragrance completely in a leave-on product (fragrance is one of the most common irritants found in cosmetics).

After trying the products, I can say that both products seemed well-suited to my dry skin. The cleansing balm felt more like a lotion than a balm (the word makes me expect a greasier, more petroleum-like texture). It did a decent job removing makeup, though I do feel like it left my eyes a little "spotty" (a term, which to me, means I had to blink the residue out of my eyes a bit after rinsing). One surprise is how comfortable the cleansing balm left my skin. 99.9% of cleansers leave my skin feeling tight once I've dried, so it is truly saying something that I felt almost as if I could have skipped my moisturizer after rinsing the balm away.

The Night Cream was nice as well- rich, but not at all greasy. Though it did a good job of moistuzing, it's probably only something I'd turn to when my skin is irritated and only "basic" will do; otherwise I prefer moisturizers that boast more impressive antioxidant and wrinkle-fighting ingredients.

While Boots No. 7 Beautiful Skin isn't the most technologically advanced line out there (it's not going to help to reduce fine lines, or even out skin tone) I will say I find it refreshing that Boots doesn't claim that it is. There are plenty of decent skin care lines out there that get a big fat FAIL in my book because the over-promise. Beautful Skin doesn't- it claims to treat dry skin by soothing and hydrating, and that it does.

The product featured in this review was submitted for promotional consideration by a representative of the company. What does this mean? I didn't pay for it. My commitment is to you- my readers- and to myself (it's called integrity, I like to have it). The opinions expressed on Outinapout.com are my own, based on my own research and experience; I am not paid in any way nor is the final outcome of the post influenced by any outside party.