Origins haul: was it worth it?

I’m not going to lie to y’all – I’ve spent a lot of money during lockdown. I really didn’t mean to, but I’m lucky enough to still be gainfully employed, and sometimes I can’t resist a little retail therapy. Or a lot of retail therapy. One of my many hauls was from Origins, for reasons I haven’t quite figured out.

There are a couple of products from Origins that I’ve loved for years, namely their Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash. I’ve repurchased it multiple times, and I always have a travel-sized tube in my shower bag with my luggage so I never forget it on trips. Not that I’ve been doing much traveling…

Anyway, here are the other things I picked up and what I think of them.

Clear Improvements Pore Clearing Moisturizer with Bamboo Charcoal

Dear gods, why do Origins product names have to be so long?

This is a relatively new release from Origins, and since I really like the Clear Improvements mask I figured why not. I have literally nothing to lose. I’m about halfway through it and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I thought charcoal in a moisturizer was a gimmick, but I’ve seen a noticeable improvement in my skin. It’s more hydrating than a gel moisturizer but not as heavy as a cream, so my skin doesn’t feel tight and it’s not over-producing oil and also isn’t breaking out. It’s grey which was a little off-putting at first, but the color doesn’t translate to my skin or leave any kind of weird discoloration. I don’t love the way it smells, but it’s the same scent as the rest of the products in this line so I shouldn’t be surprised.

Overall I like this a lot. I’ve already bought a backup.

GinZing Collection

I’m not sure how I ended up with so many items from this collection. I think the orange packaging made me lose my mind a little.

Refreshing Eye Cream To Brighten & Depuff On-The-Go

This is… fine. I didn’t realize it was so tinted when I bought it. It’s actually more like a sheer coverage concealer than an eye cream. The sponge applicator is a bit odd and it’s hard to use that to blend the product. I don’t feel like it does a ton of good things for my under-eyes, and for the price I’d really prefer a traditional eye cream. If I wanted a concealer I’d buy a concealer.

SPF 40 Energy-Boosting Tinted Moisturizer

I don’t know why, but I’ve been really into tinted moisturizers for the last few months. Maybe because I’m not going anywhere and it doesn’t matter what I look like? Entirely possible.

I was expecting a traditional tinted moisturizer from this so I was again surprised when it came out of the tube an odd greige color (that’s grey beige for the uninitiated). My hopes were low, but I’m not one to give up just because something might make me look like a grey alien, so I forged ahead. Lo and behold, this is one of those magical shade-adjusting things and matched my skin perfectly. It’s what I was wearing in my last post and I think it looks pretty damn good. You can still see my freckles and some of my redness, but it evened out my skintone a lot and made everything look much smoother. It looks like my skin but better. I have to set it with powder or it doesn’t stay put, but I have to set basically everything. I think this is my new favorite summer product.

Oil-Free Energy Boosting Gel Moisturizer

This is another product that’s just… fine. It smells nice, but I don’t feel like it’s “energizing”, whatever that’s supposed to mean. It’s a little heaver than some of my other gel moisturizers. It moisturizes, but it also makes my already greasy face feel even more oily. It’s now in my travel bag since I won’t be traveling much while it’s still warm. Thanks Covid.

Refreshing Scrub Cleanser

The older I get the less my skin likes physical exfoliants, so I was expecting to hate this. I don’t. It’s scrubby without being too harsh and has enough cleanser that my skin actually feels clean instead of just raw. It smells good too. Overall it’s a nice cleanser, but I still wouldn’t use it every day.

Energy-Boosting Treatment Lotion Mist

Another product that’s just fine. Like all of the other GinZing things it smells good, but I don’t know that it’s actually doing anything for my skin. It feels nice and that’s about it.

Modern Friction Cleansing Stick With Exfoliating White & Purple Rice

Not gonna lie, this is a weird product.

I’m a big fan of products in stick form. Foundations, serums, cleansers, masks, I’m into it. My all-time favorite stick ever is the one from Tarte that’s a cleanser, mask and exfoliator in one compact package. None of the other cleanser sticks I’ve used have measured up, but I still keep trying new ones hoping for the best. This one is not it.

Not that it’s a bad product, it’s just not what I expected or wanted. Instead of being in a creamy mask-esque base, it’s more of a cleansing balm. It’s pretty stiff and rubbing it directly on my face requires some tugging that my nearly-middle-aged skin doesn’t love. Once it warms up a little it’s easier, but if I’m not careful it comes off the stick in big, unwieldy chunks that stick to my face weirdly or fall off into the sink. It’s a much bigger stick than the Tarte version and it’s more difficult to get around the sides of my nose where I really need the exfoliation. After the application process it’s nice; it rinses cleanly, makes my skin feel clean and isn’t overly (or worse, underly) scrubby.

I think it’s fine for a travel bag cleansing/exfoliating stick but not something I’d want to use while I’m home with access to better products. I likely will not repurchase this.

Skincare Tools Charcoal Infused Body Puff

Yes, I spent $15 on a body sponge. Stupid, I know. I had high hopes for this. I could get one of those mesh body puffs for like a fifth of the money, so this has to be good, right?

No. Wrong. Terrible.

Those mesh puffs are a bit stiff and help with exfoliation and hold their shape for awhile. This thing is like a bunch of dish rags tied together to make a bath accessory. Once it gets wet it goes all limp and is about as useful as a wad of wet washcloths. It didn’t lather with any of the body washes I tried, it never dried completely, and all around was just a fail. I used it twice and tossed it in the trash in favor of my old standby charcoal mesh sponge.

Blooming Shine Nourishing Lip Glaze in Honey Bloom

Holy crap this is lovely. This shade is like my lips but way better, but it’s not so pigmented that anyone can really tell. There’s also shimmer in it, but not big, gross, chunky glitter. It’s just a little extra shine. It’s really comfortable to wear and moisturizing without being sticky. It doesn’t do that vile thing where it gets stringy or clumps at the corners of my mouth if I’ve been talking. it doesn’t last very long, but I don’t expect it to since it’s a gloss. One bite of a sandwich and it disappears. Despite that one flaw I really enjoy it and may get one or two more shades.

So, the big question: was it worth it? For this I’m going with yes. I only really hated one thing, and while I didn’t need any of it, I’m not sorry that I spent my money on it.

I hope you’re all doing well and taking care of yourselves, whatever that means to you. Stay strong my friends.

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