Goodal Family Review: The Good, The Ugly And The Hyped

April 10, 2016

Hi There!

…can you believe it is already April? Berlin finally found its spring groove which means the sun is finally shining and we can run around in leather jackets! My favorite season! It also means I have to tweak my skincare routine (……IF I HAD ANY AT THE MOMENT) to help my skin adjust from harsh winter coldness to soft yet dangerous (to my anti-ageing) sun rays!
I am extremely late with this review and I apologize profoundly, especially to the amazing peeps over at Jolse, where I requested two out of three items that I’ll be reviewing today. I bought the Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil because I read some rave reviews online and was intrigued by the descriptions I’ve found – an oil that doesn’t feel like an oil but supposedly has all the benefits? Sounds too good to be true..? Well, we’ll see about that in a second. 
I got the Waterest First Essence because I was running out of essences and couldn’t think of a good replacement yet. As for the Double Bright Intense Serum, it was supposed to be the successor of my beloved Banila Co It Radiant Brightening Essence, but….. supposed. Let’s start with the best out of the bunch:
Goodal Waterest First Essence
I have to say, this essence didn’t blow me away at first, but it constantly earned a spot in my skincare loving heart the more I used it. I have no high standards for first essences other than that they need to absorb fast as I’m a very grumpy morning person that is always too late. 
The essence comes in a very sturdy plastic bottle and comes in a generous 150ml size that will last you a very long time – if you don’t break the bottle while moving apartments. Like I did. The product comes out by lightly shaking it into your hand – no pump or anything, just a simple screw cap with an opening for the essence.
The ingredients are quite nice – it claims 80% of twice-fermented whole lotus flower extract along with other extracts as well. Be aware that this formula also contains quite a bit of alcohol, if that is a problematic trigger for you.
I personally really loved the formula of this. At first it seemed very underwhelming, but I grew to quickly love the watery formula that quickly absorbs into the skin and leaves no stickiness at all. It smelled pleasant to me – a very faint fresh flowery smell, but nothing too overwhelming. I am beyond sad that the bottle shattered when I moved places, as I only used about half of the bottle before I had to toss it out ๐Ÿ™ I would definitely consider to repurchase this as it has everything I was looking for a first essence – it’s refreshing in the morning, absorbs almost instantly, leaves my skin soft and didn’t break me out. Although my first Goodal encounter was that pleasant, that didn’t go so well for product number two…

Goodal Double Bright Intense Serum
Oh dear, I wanted to love you so bad. You should help me get over the loss of my beloved Banila Co It Radiant Brightening Essence but you failed me badly at this job. Since I have problems with acne scars and hyperpigmentation, I am always on the hunt for the most promising brightening products out there! 
Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Glycerin, Triethylhexanoin, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Propylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Glycereth-26, Caprylic Triglyceride, Paeonia Lactiflora Bark Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Tricholoma Matsutake Extract, Angelica Keiskei Leaf Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Rice Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Arbutin, Primula Veris Extract, Peppermint Leaf Extract, Mallow Extract, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Alchemilla Vulgaris Extract, Veronica Officinalis Extract, Acetyl Tyrosine, Paeonia Suffructicosa Root Extract, Pueraria Lobata Root Extract, Camellia Japonica Flower Extract, Magnolia Liliflora Bud Extract, CI 77019, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Stearyl Alcohol, Silica, Titanium Dioxide, Cyclopentasiloxane, Tocopheryl Acetate, Acrylates, Dimethiconol, Tromethamine, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Polyacrylate, CI 77861, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylgexylglycerin, Parfum.
This is probably the longest ingredient’s list for a serum that I ever had to type out, wow! As you may already know, I’m a fan of short and concise ingredient’s lists, especially because I have acne and always a hard time figuring out potential culprits when my skin is acting up. Which is exactly what happened here.
The serum comes in a sturdy 60ml sized bottle with a small pump. Even though this has the same packaging as the first essence and the oil, this is the only product that did not shatter when I moved apartments. Sadly, it’s also the product that I liked the least.
For a serum, the texture is surprisingly thick and feels a lot more like a milk/lotion than a serum. I didn’t like the texture as much as those of the other two products – it didn’t absorb as well into my skin and felt as if it was „on“ my skin. Worst of all: It broke me out. Upon first usage, I noticed a slight itchy/tingling feeling so I wasn’t surprised to find out that my skin wasn’t liking it at all. Sadly, I can’t make any comments about its brightening properties or show you any before and after pictures – however, judging from the ingredients, I would be surprised to see noticeable improvement with fading acne scars or hyperpigmentation. 
Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil
This product wasn’t sent to me but I bought it off Ebay after reading a few bloggers rave about this lightweight oil. Most claimed that it was an oil that didn’t feel like one but still had all the benefits of using a „real“ oil as skincare. Sad to say, I beg to differ on this matter.

Ingredients:
Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Raffinose, Betaine, PEG, Piper Methysticum Leaf Extract, Phellinus Linteus Extract, Arcticum Lappa Root Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Pueraria Thunbergiana Root Extract, Licorice Root Extract, Paeonia Lactifloria Bark Extract, Cnidium Officinale Root Extract, Monascus Extract, Soluble Collagen, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Lemon Fruit Oil, Basil Oil, Geranium Maculatum Oil, Clove Leaf Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Rosemary Leaf Oil, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Olive Fruit Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, 1,2-Hexanediol, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, Cellulose Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Carbomer, Tromethamine, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, Xanthan Gum, Adenosine, Disodium EDTA, Tocopheryl Acetate, Panthenol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Caprylic Triglyceride, Folic Acid, Ceramide 3, Cholesterol, Acetic Acid, Lactic Acid, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Phenoxyethanol. Potassium Sorbate

The packaging is a hybrid between the first essence and the double bright intense serum; a sturdy green plastic bottle that comes with a convenient pump dispenser on top. One to two pumps are more than enough to cover your whole face.

This is what one pump looks like – the oil is indeed very lightweight and super yielding! You don’t need much and this oil lasted me a good long while (a few months while using it sporadically every second or third day.) While the claim of being light was indeed true, the oil itself didn’t provide a lot for my skin. It didn’t feel as nourishing or moisturizing as the other oils that I love to use and even though it was light, I still felt a slightly „oily“ residue on my face when I used this.

For the price, I kind of expected more from this, especially since it has been hyped by many bloggers in the past. But as always, nothing works the same for everybody! It was nice to use but I won’t repurchase this one and rather use The Saem Urban Eco Harakeke Seed Oil that gives me great moisture ๐Ÿ™‚ Do you have any favorite facial oils? Feel free to share in the comments as I haven’t experienced around with many to this day.

So my first experience with Goodal was a very mixed experience; while I really enjoyed their first essence, the brightening serum didn’t live up to my standards unfortunately. The lasting water oil wasn’t a bad product per se, but kind of left me unimpressed. What are your experiences with Goodal? Any favorite products?

Have a good start into the week everybody!
Lots of love,

Sam

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