Boscia Detoxifying Black Cleanser, $28/5oz @ Sephora, bosciaskincare.com
Boscia Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel, $38/1oz @ Sephora, bosciaskincare.com
I'll say right off the bat I do like the sleek black packaging!!! Ha ha!!
This line from Boscia is supposed to be for combination and/or aging skin, each product being in a gel formulation. Both are meant to improve elasticity, detoxify, absorb excess oil and impurities, calm and soothe irritated skin, fight free radicals...oh and brighten and smooth out skin tone! Whew, that's a mouthful!
I cannot say much about the elasticity claim. I'm only 37 and feel I have pretty bouncy skin - fortunately! As for the brightening and smoothing out skin tone claim...I went through a container of each product and did not notice any remarkable change. Maybe after several months of use you might notice a difference, provided you were not using a bunch of other products at the same time that were supposed to do the same thing (such as glycolic acid or a Vitamin C serum).
The Detoxifying Black Cleanser claims to be a warming gel cleanser, but I found it stayed warm only a mere few seconds. This said it absorbs excess oils, though I did not find it to be drying. However, it did not seem to cleanse away the oil on my nose and chin at the end of the day. As for calming and soothing effects, I don't feel this claim to be true as it slightly stung any active acne I had.
This removed makeup just fine, and I could even use this around my eyes without irritation. When I would follow-up with my toner afterward, the cotton would be a grey color. I finally deduced this wasn't leftover makeup and instead is the charcoal that doesn't get completely washed away - much like the residue left by the Fresh Umbrian Clay Face Treatment (reviewed here).
I would say this is an ok basic cleanser. Did not do anything fancy above and beyond removing my makeup and gently washing away the day.
For the Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel moisturizer, I did like the product dispenser. It's highly sanitary and helps ensure the product remains fresh, which is a common theme among all of their preservative free products.
From the Boscia site:
Our manufacturing process guarantees purity. Every boscia product is created using a state of the art Clean Room manufacturing facility where no human contact occurs. Our Clean Room manufacturing matches the quality levels required in pharmaceutical companies. An exclusive filtration system monitors the air constantly, keeping the air density at 1/10,000 of normal air. Pressure is used to keep the space bacteria-free, moving the air in only one direction to avoid recycled air. The raw materials are mixed, injected into containers, and sterilized again at high heat. This process is completely automated and controlled remotely. Through continuous random checking, the botanically-based bosciaproducts stay completely bacteria-free, without the use of preservatives.
Airless packaging completes this highly innovative manufacturing process. boscia products are uniquely packaged using airless containers that reduce the potential for contamination of the product by interaction with hands, fingers and airborne particles. All boscia products have a minimum of a 24-month shelf-life.
Only drawback to this type of packaging it's difficult to determine how much product you have left. But in this particular situation, I feel the benefits (fresh product, airless packaging) outweigh the small annoyance.
As is common with many gel textures, you need minimal product to cover your entire face and neck. This did feel cooling on contact, and I found the sensation to last several minutes after application. This also helped the moisturizer to be mildly soothing, and unlike the cleanser did not sting any active acne I had.
I found myself staying pretty matte throughout a good chunk of the day, and would need to blot maybe once in the afternoon. So this did do a very good job of absorbing those excess oils!!
This was not terribly moisturizing for my dry areas, but feel this would be a great lightweight moisturizer for the summertime and for normal to oily skin types :-)
Detoxifying Black Cleanser ingredients:
Glycereth-26, Glycerin, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Leaf Extract, Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Cynara Scolymus (Artichoke) Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Alpha Glucosyl Hesperidin, Glycolic Acid, PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Ceteth-25, Oleth-10, Butylene Glycol, Citrus Paradisi Seed Extract, Xanthan Gum, Water, Charcoal Powder, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil
Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel ingredients:
Water/Aqua/Eau, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Glycereth-26,Isononyl Isononanoate, Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Glycolic Acid, Menthyl Lactate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Sodium Hyaluronate, Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Cynara Scolymus (Artichoke) Leaf Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Leaf Extract, Citrus Paradisi Seed Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Carbomer, Sodium Polyacrylate, Xanthan Gum, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Silica, Ceteth-25, Oleth-10, Charcoal Powder, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, 1,2-Hexanediol, Tropolone, Potassium Hydroxide