The lotion that saved my face (seriously)

I realize that the title of this post is a bit dramatic, but allow me to explain...

I received this bottle of Curel Skin Nourishing Deep-Conditioning Lotion ($7.99, 13 oz) for review a few months ago. As with most lotions I test for review, I like to use them for a good, long while to see if they can improve the texture of my skin over the long haul. After using this product for a few weeks, I was pretty astounded by the results. Specifically, this lotion seemed to really work on the areas of my body where I'm prone to dry patches (my elbows, knees, etc.). So I was perfectly content with writing a review letting you all know that this is a great lotion if you have stubborn dry patches on your body, especially if you've tried other lotions that don't seem to really do the trick. I own a zillion lotions and sometimes even my tried and true favorites don't really work that well when I've got REALLY dry skin.

But then, the unspeakable happened.

One day I decided to wash my face with a product that contains salicylic acid, and then follow that with a product that contains glycolic acid. Well, my usually sturdy skin just couldn't take the double-dose of acids, and within 24 hours practically all of the skin on my face became red and started to sting. It was painful. In the days that followed, my skin started to look like the skin of a 90-yr-old woman. I'm not kidding when I say that. I had the driest, scaliest skin and the fine lines around my eyes were accentuated 100x because my skin was just so dry. I actually didn't even want to leave my house or let Mr. G see my face for two days.

In those two days, I used every moisturizer I own to try and soothe my face and take away the dryness. I tried rich, heavy creams, I tried all-natural shea butter, I tried everything. And nothing seemed to give me anything other than very minor relief, with the dry patches showing up just an hour or two after application.

Right when I thought there was literally no hope, I remembered something that I had read on the back of this bottle of Curel lotion:

See that last bullet point in the photo above? "Gentle enough to use on face." Well geeze, if this product worked beautifully to combat the rough, dry patches on my body, why WOULDN'T I try it on my face? At that point, I literally had nothing to lose.

So I started with a light application on my face, taking special care to really work this product into the extremely dry patches on the top of my forehead and on the tops of my cheeks and under my eyes. That's where things were really bad, and so rough to the touch that my skin almost felt like low-grade sandpaper.

Within minutes, I could literally feel the difference. And within hours, I could SEE the difference. I'm telling you, I have never used a lotion that so completely transformed my dry skin. I'm not sure how it works (I never was good in science) but the combination of ingredients in this product literally work magic for me.

To wrap up my littler skincare nightmare story, I proceeded to apply this product to my face once in the morning and once at night, and within TWO DAYS, my skin was literally back to normal. Granted, it's a bit heavier than a traditional moisturizer and I wouldn't suggest using it as a daily moisturizer if you have oily skin (it's kind of sticky), but if you have rough, dry skin that you want to soothe and heal QUICKLY, I just can't think of another lotion that worked this quickly and effectively on my skin, and that's why I'm telling you this little story.

Here's a small dab of Curel on the back of my (dry) hand:

And here's what the same hand looked like about 30 seconds after working this lotion into my skin:

The texture of this lotion feels almost watery at first. When you start to work it in, it glides over the skin very easily and it's pretty effortless to rub onto your body. But after the watery feel dissipates, this lotion becomes a little bit more challenging to work into the skin. It gets a little waxy and sticky in texture, but it's not greasy. I don't really know how to describe it, but once the texture turns heavier, that's when I know it's time to stop working it in and just let it do its magic.

When applied to my body, I can literally go 24 hours or more without feeling the need to reapply it, even on the driest areas of my skin. Over time, this lotion has pretty much cleared up the dry patches on my knees and elbows (with continued use). I do notice that when I stop using this product, the dryness has a tendency to come back but, to be fair, that happens with any lotion I own.

The fragrance of Curel Skin Nourishing Lotion is sweet like shea butter and honey. I don't find it extremely strong, but I do smell it every time I use it, so those sensitive to fragrance should be aware of this.

FINAL VERDICT: If you suffer from extremely dry patches of skin and none of the lotions in your arsenal seem to give you the relief that you crave, I think you might be pleasantly surprised by Curel Skin Nourishing Lotion. This product is what I like to call "the big guns". If all else fails, this is my go-to product to combat dry skin and it literally saved my face. Would I use it every day, even on the areas of my body that don't contain dry patches? No, I wouldn't. That's because the texture can be a bit heavy, waxy and sticky. But for me, that's a perfectly fine trade-off if I need fast relief and healing. This one's now a staple in my household when nothing but "the big guns" will do.

You can find Curel Skin Nourishing Lotion at most drugstores, grocery stores and mass retailers across the nation. For more information on this and other Curel products, visit their website here.

Have you tried any products from Curel? Do you have a favorite? I'd love to hear from you.

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.