Add Yet Another Miracle Elixir To The List

I've watched my fair share of beauty guru videos on YouTube, and sometimes I feel utterly slapped in the face by the realization that most of these young women are significantly younger than me. Even when I know their ages and think, "That's not that much younger than me! Both of our ages start with 2, after all!" Then they'd say something and SLAP! Anyway, this happened when Josie Maran's line of Argan Oil beauty products came out a few years ago (Her line debuted in 2007, to be precise), and the "gurus" reviewing her products clearly didn't have a clue who Josie Maran is. You'd think they'd never read a Teen People! Oh... wait. Well, I'm an ancient old crone who's not yet 30, so I immediately recognized Josie Maran's name when I saw it on a display at Sephora years ago. I'm always intrigued by skincare, and I'm forever wishing I looked like a model from an early aughts Maybelline ad, so I booked it over to the Josie Maran display. But it was just bottles of argan oil, and I wasn't too thrilled. In the following years, I tried to get into face oils, to little fanfare from my complexion. No matter how many articles I read that insisted, "Oils are actually great for oily skin!" My skin would respond, "Don't tell me what to do!" And then I'd break out.

But in the 8+ years since Josie Maran's Argan Oil skincare first hit the scene and today she's greatly expanded her range, and my skin has become much more tolerant (thanks to my amazing dermatologist and a course of Accutane). My skin has been in need of some intense-yet-light hydration and I wanted to give oil another shot, and I had a sample of Josie Maran Argan Oil from a Sephora purchase, so win-win! But it came in a pouch, which any idiot can tell you is the worst way to transmit an oil, so even being super careful, I ended up with the entire package all over my hands. I did like what I managed to get on my face, though - enough to want to buy a small bottle of Josie Maran's Argan Oil and give it a shot.

Now, there's some criticism of Josie Maran's brand of argan oil. Mainly that you can buy it for significantly less elsewhere. You can get it at Costco, or Whole Foods, or Amazon. But the way I see it, Sephora has the greatest return policy of just about any store, and I can get VIB reward points from purchasing argan oil there. Plus, I liked that I could purchase a small, 0.5oz bottle of oil to give the product a try,and if it turns out it completely changed my life and I wanted to spend more on a larger size, I could always upgrade. When I got to Sephora to purchase my lil' baby argan oil, I did some comparison shopping, and I could buy the small bottle of argan oil for $16, or for $24 I could buy a set that included the same 0.5oz bottle, plus a small bottle of Josie Maran's Argan Cleasing Oil and Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 47. I went for the set, and I'm so glad I did. I love a cleansing oil, and while Boscia's is still my favorite, this one isn't too bad - I'll definitely use the whole thing. I haven't had a chance to really give the moisturizer a good go yet, but I'm hopelessly devoted to sunscreen, so I'm already a fan in that regard.

Since I've been using Josie Maran's Argan Oil I've found that I look forward to my nightly skincare routine even more than I normally did - and this is coming from a person who frequently showers and hops in her jammies in the late afternoon/early evening, so you know I lurve my nighttime routine (I just can't wait!). I knew from my addiction to cleansing oil how good it feels to give yourself a facial massage with a bit of oil, but I didn't know how good it would feel to be able to keep the oil on afterward and let it soak in and moisturize the hell out of your dry old lady mug that's not even 30 years old. Let me tell you - it is fabulous. It is so fabulous that you will consider moving your "nighttime" routine up from 5pm to 3pm. And that teensy lil' bottle that I bought? It's going to last me quite awhile. I use about 4 drops each night - that's it. So a half ounce isn't going anywhere fast. When you think about it that way, this "expensive" argan oil is actually quite a bargain.