Tomato, Tomato.

(First off, yes, I know…it’s been awhile…don’t make things worse by making me feel guilty.)

As much as I love cosmetics, I have to say I’m pretty smitten with skincare.  I love researching new products, trying them out, discovering what works, and what I probably shouldn’t have wasted my money on.  Lately, I’ve been on a bit of a natural kick.  By no means do I buy all my skincare needs at Whole Foods, but I do try to use natural and less harsh ingredients when I can. 

One natural product that has been on my radar lately, is Argan Oil.  It first caught my attention after psudo-model, Josie Maran started her own natural cosmetic company, and used Argan oil as an ingredient in many of her  products.  The JM line even sells bottles of the stuff in pure form, which ranges from $14 for a 15 ml bottle all the way up to $96 for a 4 oz bottle.  But, it didn’t truly catch my attention until a few weeks ago when I went on a business trip with my husband to Long Beach.  Here we were, cozied up in our separate beds (wonderful room, very small double beds) watching Josie Maran on HSN selling her Argan oil and Argan Color Sticks to America.  While I feel I was more consumed watching Josie and her models  frequently rub the oil  all over their  lips, cheeks, elbows, hands, etc with the grace and movement of a Price Is Right model, my interest did peak about the product.  So, when I got home I started my investigation.

I started at her website, then quickly sashayed over to Sephora to find out what the people thought (Sephora has great reviews).  JM’s Aragan oil got almost all 5 stars with most people loving it.  I know a bunch of you might be reading this and thinking, “okay, okay, what the heck is so great about argan oil?”…well, you’re right, let me fill you in.  Argan oil is extracted from Argan trees which grow in Morocco and it’s basically supposed to be a beauty miracle worker, curing/helping/preventing such things as acne, wrinkles, stretch-marks, split ends, eczema, psoriasis, scars, etc.  People use it on their face, on dry skin, they put it on their hair for softness, and mix it into lotions, conditioners…I mean, the list really does go on.

Even with all the raving reviews, I was still very leery about the price tag, because a 1.7 oz bottle was going to set me back $48. ouch.  So, me being a bargainista, I started doing some research and it didn’t take me very long to find an equally wonderful product, with the same raving reviews, but for A LOT cheaper.  Josie Maran Argan Oil, meet Watts Moroccan Oil.  JM’s oil is: 100% argan oil, organic, cold-pressed, free of parabens, vegan, fair-trade, and is made by a women’s co-op in Morocco, which helps to build jobs for women.  Sounds, wonderful, right…the high price tag might be making more sense, but wait.  Watts oil is:  100% argan oil, organic, cold-pressed, free of parabens, vegan, fair-trade, and is made by a women’s co-op in Morocco, which helps to build jobs for women.  And, what’s more, the jumbo 4 oz bottle is only $36.45 compared to JM’s 4 oz bottle at $96.  Fancy model, higher price tag.  Not so fancy bottle, lower price tag.  I’ll take the not-so-fancy bottle, please.

I ended up paying $18 total for my 1 oz bottle of Watts Moroccan oil, tax/shipping included in that price.  I’ve been using the product for a week now and so far I really like the product.  At night, I’ve been putting about 3-4 drops on my face and letting it sink in for a few hours before I apply my night-time retinol (Roc) at bedtime.  For the first time this weekend, I’ve applied it to my morning moisturizer and it gives my skin a nice glow (my husband even said my skin looked glowing without having to probe him first).  I’ve even applied it to my ends hoping my split ends might magically disappear.

Now, I can’t say that I will never have acne again, or that I will now forever look like a 28 year old.  But, I can say that my skin is very soft, I like the natural ingredients, and I do hope to see some long-term results.  I’m also pretty thrilled that I didn’t let Ms. Maran pull a fast one over me…and you shouldn’t either.