A multi-function moisturizer? What I'm formulating and web site updates!
Mar 30, 2025 6:54 pm
Be yourself. Love yourself. Take care of each other.
Hello, world! Shelly here! Time for another edition of Take Care, a weekly-ish bit of tips and updates to help you be yourself, love yourself, and take care of each other (and yourself!) I’m Shelly of Geek Out of Water.
I've got a bunch of updates since last we spoke! (How has it been a month already?!) In today's email:
- A "multi-function moisturizer" that I am playing with
- Limited edition spring serums almost gone!
- New body butters, lip sugar scrub, and nail care
- Web site updates
- Upcoming local events in Virginia
- YouTube updates
A "multi-function moisturizer"??
I've been wanting to try some products from Embryolisse for a while, as a lot of people have told me I'd probably like them. This Lait-Crème Concentré "multi-function moisturizer" is touted as a moisturizing cream, makeup base, moisturizing mask, makeup remover milk, after-shave, AND after-sun care. Whaaaaat???? The brand claims one is sold every 8 seconds, and it's got a 4.5/5 star rating on Amazon with over 24,000 reviews and 10k sold every month, so... what's this all about? You know I had to dig into its ingredients!
In this product (source: Embryolisse web site):
MAIN ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:
Shea butter: nourishing and softening
Beeswax: protective
Aloe vera: moisturizing and soothing
Soy proteins: moisturizing
INGREDIENTS : AQUA (WATER). PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM. STEARIC ACID. PALMITIC ACID. GLYCERYL STEARATE SE. TRIETHANOLAMINE. CERA ALBA (BEESWAX). CETYL PALMITATE. BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER. 1,2 HEXANEDIOL. CAPRYLYL GLYCOL. STEARETH-10. POLYACRYLAMIDE. C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN. PARFUM (FRAGRANCE). LAURETH-7. PROPYLENE GLYCOL. TROPOLONE. HYDROLYZED SOY PROTEIN. ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF EXTRACT
First things of note:
- It's a conventional (non-natural) formulation.
- It's not vegan.
- It contains added fragrance.
- Based on my guess at this formulation, fragrance is probably up near the 1% line, which is a high amount of fragrance in my opinion for a facial-use product. I doubt fragrance is less than 0.50% based on where it falls in the ingredient list, though most countries do not require mathematically descending order of quantity below the 1% line. (It is, however, good practice to maintain that order; I do in all of my products).
I'm really intrigued at this serving as both a cleanser and a moisturizer, as the two have always seemed mutually exclusive to me. It seems like a bit of a genius concept, especially for travel scenarios, small-space living, and anyone looking to minimize the number of products in their routines.
The texture of the product is a lightweight cream, though not as lightweight as I expected for the cleansing use case; I expected it to be a little more milky/liquidy.
The fragrance is... strong... and probably polarizing. It reminds me of the scent of my grandmother's vanity in her bathroom. While there's some nostalgia to that, it's a bit of an old-timey scent that doesn't really resonate with me (though I suspect it's probably their "signature scent" as a prestige French brand. Do you know if their other products have the same scent?).
It feels very nice on the skin and sinks in quickly with no greasy residue. It also removes a full face of makeup including mascara easily, though it does make my eyes sting when I use it to remove eye makeup.
As I'm sure you've guessed by now, I am working on a multi-function moisturizer for my GOOW product line - though it won't be an ingredient dupe, as I aim for 95%+ natural ingredients, do not include fragrance in facial-use products, and will opt for cleansing ingredients that are more gentle (and non-eye-stinging, since you know I need to be able to remove my eye makeup while wearing contacts!). I'll also formulate mine to be vegan.
Tangent on my use of vegan or non-vegan ingredients: I do formulate a couple of non-vegan products (such as my toner with snail mucin), but I am very intentional when I include an animal-derived ingredient, limiting such choices to active ingredients that don't have an equivalent plant-based alternative, and ones that I can verify can be sourced cruelty-free. The only 3 ingredients I'm currently using that are not vegan are snail mucin (made by snails when the scoot around), silk aminos (made from the silk cocoons that silkworms build), and marine collagen (which is sourced from otherwise unused by-products of the wild-caught fishing industry). My product pages will always show at the bottom of the description if the product is vegan, and if not, what ingredient makes it not vegan.
Limited edition spring serums are almost sold out!
Speaking of products that I make... my spring limited edition collection is almost sold out! I've got 2 left of the Cherry Pressed Serum and the Cherry Bi-Phase serum is sold out (though if you're on of my Goldfish-tier patrons on Patreon, there's a chance you'll be getting one in your March gift shipment) 🤫
New products on the shop!
In the meantime, I've got several new spring scents of my body butters and they're going fast! Here's the full lineup:
- *new! Ginger Patchouli
- *new! Coastal Waters (lemon zest, sea ozone, lily, jasmine, coastal musk, dark amber)
- *new! Apple Sage
- *new! Georgia Peach
- Secret Garden (grapefruit, melon, cyclamen, jasmine, heliotrope, and raspberry with notes of cherry blossom, musk, and white amber)
- Orange Dream (sweet orange, white jasmine, vanilla musk)
- Melon & Cucumber (summer honeydew, watermelon, cool cucumber)
- Moonlight Walk (French lavender, lily of the valley, oakmoss, musk)
- Strawberry Pound Cake (strawberry, lemon zest, vanilla cake, whipped cream)
- Lavender (natural essential oil)
I've also added a NEW FLAVOR of Lip Sugar Scrub: 🍇 GRAPE! It tastes to me exactly like the purple Crush from my childhood.
I'm also starting to add nail care products to my line, with the first being a brush-tip Cuticle Oil Pen using my favorite nail-friendly oils: jojoba oil, avocado oil, and sweet almond oil, plus vitamin E. I love the pen format because it's easy to throw in my purse or my desk or my vanity or my bedside table or next to my recliner in the living room... yes, I keep one in every spot! I've also nailed (heh punny) my version of an oil-based nail polish remover. I'm just waiting for the packaging that I ordered to arrive! Hopefully it will suit my expectations and I can launch that soon.
Shop web site updates
This weekend, I updated a few things on my shop web site. First, I added a tabbed interface to make various parts of the description easier to read rather than a wall-of-text. Now, you can view the description, ingredients, reviews, and other details in a much more organized way!
I also added 4 quick-start categories to shopgoow.com:
- Everyday Essentials - the core basics of a daily skin care routine (cleanser, toner, serum, face & body moisturizer basics, shampoo, and nail care)
- Max Hydration - products that are specifically useful to those of us with dry skin
- Pro-Longevity - what most brands refer to as anti-aging, products that include ingredients specifically intended to support our skin's continued health and strength as we age, such as encouraging collagen and elastin production for improved firmness and elasticity, strengthening the skin barrier for improved moisture retention and smoothness, fighting environmental aggressors for reduced inflammation, and soothing the skin for reduced irritation.
- Lotions & Body Care - basically, everything that isn't a facial skin care product like lotion, body butter, foot repair balm, tattoo balm, nail care, and so on.
I also added stock indicators to each product so you can see how many are left when you're shopping. I try not to let anything in my permanent lines go out of stock, but as we get back into vendor market season, things can unexpectedly fly off the proverbial shelves, and until mid-May when I'm off work, my availability to formulate restocks is limited to weekends. So hopefully this addition will give you more information in making shopping decisions!
Speaking of vendor event season...
Here are the upcoming events I'll be at in and around Virginia! You can always find my upcoming events on the Local Events page on my web site.
- Augusta Expo Flea Market - Saturday, April 5, 2025, 8am-2pm:
- Augusta Expo (Indoors), $1 Admission Fee
- Main Hall - booth D6
- 277 Expo Road, Fishersville, VA [map]
- Dayton Redbud Arts & Crafts Festival - Saturday, April 26, 2025, 10am-4pm:
- College Street, Downtown Dayton (Outdoors) [map]
- Green Valley Book Fair Open Air Market - Saturday, May 24, 2025, 9am-2pm:
- 2192 Green Valley Lane, Mount Crawford, VA [map]
YouTube Updates
Here's what went up on YouTube this past week!
Next week, I'll have my review of the new Anastasia Beverly Hills foundations and... we'll see what else! I need to film some more things!
If you've made it to the end of this email, you are a rock star! I will try not to go so long until my next update, but as we head into the last 5 weeks of the semester before summer break comes along, I'm anticipating that I will be running around mach-2 with my hair on fire until May.
Find me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goow
Shop my designs & handmade skin care: https://shopgoow.com
As always, thanks so much for your support and remember: be yourself. Love yourself. Take care of each other,
💜 Shelly
