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31 July 2011

[review] bee mine luscious balanced cream moisturizer


ingredients: Distilled water, Hydrogenated Persea gratissima (Avocado) Seed Oil, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil (and) Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Persea gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Emulsifying wax, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Paraben & Formaldehyde Free Preservative & Fragrance (Island Mango).
I ordered a sample size of this moisturizer months ago and have finally gotten around to "properly" using it this past week, if only because i ran out of my yin hair dew. :P so let me go ahead and get this review out of the way while i'm sitting under my steamer.
pricing
an 8 oz jar of this moisturizer is $18.97 and a 16 oz is about twice that, almost forty dollars. now, i've been watching bee mine products for a while, and honestly don't remember if this was always the price.  to be fair, you can purchase a 2 ounce sample size for almost $5.75, which is 50 cents more than what i paid for it in November of last year.

i'll save more of my comments about the pricing for the end of the review.

packaging
the jar on this product is a standard white jar with black top. the label is fairly engaging, the afro-bee is so cute! one of the first things i noticed, however, was the use of about 4 different fonts on such a tiny space, which is completely too much. it's important for a brand image to be cohesive and there's just way too much going on at once - almost every line is a different font and it doesn't offer any sense of unity or "theme."

i do like how the labels are colored and very professionally made and affixed to the jar. :)

scent
you can chose between a coconut cream and island mango scent when you order, which i like - two simple options to chose between (and i'm sure she offers unscented as well). i got island mango and it is a very light, neutral scent that fits well with the line. i can't say i'm a huge fan of mango; not that i dislike it, but it's rarely my first choice for a scent so i thought i would try something new. that being said, i am no mango expert so i can't attest to the realism of the fragrance, but i can confidently report that it was pleasant without being too sweet with a hint of island flavor.

it's not a fragrance that makes me drool but it is one that i enjoy whiffing every now and again and i wouldn't mind having it in my hair. it's very fresh and clean, which i find isn't the case for a lot of handmade products - the scent tends to smell fairly saturated. this bee mine moisturizer has struck a perfect balance of bright yet unoffensive.

consistency
the texture of this product was something i really enjoyed! it's a very balmly, lightweight cream that feels yummy between my fingers. i've a ton of more heavyweight moisturizers which my hair doesn't need during the summer, so the texture of this was a dream. but it's got just enough density to it that i would feel confident using it during the cooler months as well.

i don't think i have anything in my product stash quite like this, so i really enjoyed the novelty. it's super smooth and i get great product control with it. i can get just as much or as little as i need without having to constantly try to skim a little off the sides.

performance
after using this for myself, i can definitely appreciate all the rave reviews on it. i can see this being something that ladies with finer hair or looser textures just loving. my hair is a pretty uniform 4A, and my strands are of a normal thickness, with my crown being my driest area. this moisturizer made my hair very soft and the moisture lasts for about 3-4 days.

customer service
my encounter with this company was standard. i ordered, and they delivered. the owner (i believe) is a member of the hair board i belong to and i've been in the thread several times. she's always answering others' questions and seems like a sweet woman. :) i had a brief issue with my payment processing. the issue was on my end and i realized what i did wrong, but she was very prompt with her support and i felt very welcomed, which is always great! the company itself seems very engaging and customer oriented, which is how it should be.

all in all, i can say that this a good moisturizer. great? no. while i love the ingredients, consistency, and scent there's nothing about this that makes izzy have a hairgasm. i definitely like it and it would make a great travel moisturizer, but i won't be repurchasing this.

while i would love to rave about this product, the heart's just not there. and it wouldn't be unfair to say that the price is definitely one of the deterring factors.  i'm not sure if this product has always cost almost $20, but with hundreds of product lines out there with more agreeable prices, i have no problem in passing this up. i know there are tons out there who love this moisturizer and they have good reason too, but i just can't see myself paying this much for this when i have other moisturizers to try and a staple moisturizer where i can get double the size for the same price.

the product is definitely worth a try if you're interested! the only reason i wouldn't repurchase is the pricing and if you can swing it, go for it!



ftc disclaimer: i am in no way affiliated with this company. i was not paid for this review and the product was purchased with my own monies. :)

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