Review: Eminence Age Defying Starter Set: Lemon Cleanser, Rosehip and Maize Exfoliating Masque, Eight Greens Phyto Masque, Eight Greens Whip Moisturizer, Eight Greens Youth Serum

Eminence Organics is a brand that I had often seen on sites such as Dermstore.com and SkincareRX.com. I would 'oooooohh' and 'aaaaahhh' over the delicious sounding names, and marvel at the carefully cultivated ingredients. I had never actually seen Eminence in person or known anyone that used it, so I never paid much more than a passing admiration. 

A couple of months ago I suffered from a bad reaction from a product, and my skin felt terrible. Even my normally slightly oily areas were crazy dry, and my face actually hurt because it was so dry! Nothing I had in my regular arsenal, nor in my tester arsenal soothed my skin so I turned to general moisturizer searches. 

I went to all the online sites and clicked on moisturizer...and then I searched...and read...and searched some more! One brand that kept coming up with amazing reviews was Eminence, in particular the Eight Greens products. I looked for reviews on YouTube and ran across this video that tells the Eminence story. I especially honed in on the biodynamic ingredients, as well as the lack of processing and heating used to create each product. 

Yep!! After seeing this video I was sold!! I ordered the Age Defying Starter set...

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It came in this wooden box that slides open...

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And voila!! Slide the top open and all my goodies were nestled inside! This is the Eminence Age Defying Starter Set, $72 @ skincarerx.com, dermstore.com

Set includes:

.5 oz Lemon Cleanser

.5 oz Rosehip & Maize Masque

.5 oz Eight Greens Phyto Masque

.5 oz Eight Greens Whip Moisturizer

1oz Eight Greens Youth Serum

Eminence also has a ton of other starter sets that let you try out a multitude of products before committing to a full sized purchase! And if you are anything like me, you will definitely want to try more than one!!

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Ingredient lists are the end of this post...

The Lemon Cleanser is the only product out of the 5 that I was unable to test. The container looked like it had not been sealed all the way and was a bit yuck when I pulled the seal all the way off. It smelled good though! Ha ha!

The Rosehip and Maize Exfoliating Masque is very gentle. The scrubbies (yes, highly technical term) are corn granules. They are a little hard but there aren't many of them so it doesn't feel scratchy against the skin at all. This product works better if you put a little bit in your hand, and then add a few drops of water until the desired consistency is achieved. If you try to put it on your face straight out of the tub (especially if your face is dry), it will be difficult to spread and rub on your skin. 

I was surprised at how creamy and soothing this felt, and was afraid it might not rinse off cleanly because of it. I was so wrong!!! This rinses very clean, but manages to leave my skin feeling incredibly soft and hydrated. For my particular skin, I have more effective exfoliators in my stash. But this is a fantastic option for those with sensitive skin that cannot tolerate anything too strong or harsh, yet still want something to get rid of flakes and other pore-cloggers.

The Eight Greens Phyto Masque "stimulates repair in mature, fatigued and blemished skin" (from dermstore.com). I can tell you this is also very hydrating. My skin felt fresh and moisturized, and as though it had a little spring in its step!!! My face felt rejuvenated and ready to take on the world, corny as that sounds! LOL :-)  I don't think this sample was enough to see if it made any difference with blemishes or healing of them, but I would definitely purchase the full size of this mask for the other benefits alone. It's one of the best masks I've tried in awhile. As a note...this smells very 'green'...

The Eight Greens Whip Moisturizer pulled me out of a dark time with my skin (as mentioned above). I had tested a product that left my face so completely dehydrated and sore that I was desperate to try almost anything to heal it. Enter Eight Greens!! Within a few days my skin was drastically improved, with the suppleness and moisture levels almost back to where they normally are. 

This product is similar to the Rosehip and Maize Exfoliating Masque, where you put a very small amount into your hand and add water to your desired consistency. Since you can control the consistency, I think this moisturizer could work for a variety of skin types except perhaps oily. This moisturizer also has a very 'green' smell like the Eight Greens Phyto Masque. I didn't mind the smell in the mask because I knew it would be washed off, but had a harder time with the moisturizer. Because of this I would only use it a few days at a time, and rotated it with other product. For me, this was the only downside!!

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The Eight Greens Youth Serum, shown above, comes in a very generous 1oz size!!! I found this serum worked better if I made sure my skin was damp before application. I'd say this was my least favorite of the bunch. It provided a wee bit of moisture and made my skin soft, but beyond that I didn't a difference. I got through about 1/2 the bottle before I resigned to using it on my hands at night. Again, this has a 'green' smell. 

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If you do purchase any of these sets that come with the .5 oz containers, please take caution because they don't have the best seal and can dry out a touch if you don't take measures. This is my fancy double-saran-wrap-sealer trick!!! Try it if you dare, but it really helps keep the product fresher, longer. I actually use this quite often! So...just double over a small piece of saran or plastic wrap...place over container opening...screw the lid back on...taaa daaa!!

Overall, this set was very much a win for me, and I'm happy to have discovered some great products!!! There are a ton of other Eminence products I want to try, so I'll be looking for other sets. I really want to try the Lemon Cleanser so a kit with that product will be first on my list!! I'm also going to keep these sets in mind to give as gifts!!

Have you tried any Eminence products? Which ones are your favorites?? I need ideas...!! Oh, and keep reading for the ingredient lists. 

Lemon Cleanser ingredients:

Lemon, Lemon Grass Tea, Corn Germ (Zea Mays) Oil, Bioflavonoids, Natural Cream Base, Calendula Oil, Glycerine, Natural Moisturizing Factor, Biocomplex (Vitamin A, Ester C, Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10, Alpha Lipoic Acid), Lemon Oil, Balm Mint Oil, Glycine Derivative, Xanthan Gum

Rosehip and Maize Exfoliating Masque ingredients:

Rosehip, Rosehip Juice, Corn Extract, Zinc Oxide, Corn Germ Oil, Bioflavonoids, Honey, Corn Granules, Natural Moisturizing Factor, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Natural Cream Base, Biocomplex (Vitamin A, Vitamin C Ester, Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10, Alpha Lipoic Acid), Salicylic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Lemon Oil, Mint Oil, Glycerin, Glycine Derivative

Eight Greens Phyto Masque ingredients:

Yucca, Hops, Horsetail, Bioflavonoids, Paprika, Chlorophyl, Yucca Juice, Linseed, Stone Crop Extract, Honey, Natural Moisturizing Factor, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Red Clover, Biocomplex (Vitamin A, Ester C,Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10, Alpha Lipoic Acid), Xanthan Gum, Lavender Oil, Glycerine, Glycine Derivative

Eight Greens Whip Moisturizer ingredients:

Yucca, Horsetail, Hops, Red Clover, Paprika, Linseed, Stonecrop, Lavender, Bioflavonoids, Yucca Juice, Corn Germ Oil, Natural Cream Base, Biocomplex (Vitamin A, Vitamin C Ester, Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10, Alpha Lipoic Acid), Salicylic Acid, Glycine Derivative, Glycerine

Eight Greens Youth Serum ingredients:

Yucca Juice, Lavender Extract, Glycerine, Linseed Extract, Yucca Extract, Chasteberry Extract, Hops Extract, Horsetail Extract, Paprika Extract, Biocomplex (Vitamin A, Ester C, Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10, Alpha Lipoic Acid), Spring Water, Glycine Derivative, Lavender Oil, Red Clover Extract