Neutrogena Products Reviewed :

Visibly Firm Night Cream

Visibly Firm Lotion

Neutrogena is a venerable, well-known company. Their products are available in every drugstore in America. For years their specialty was Neutrogena soap, which helped many a teenager through the trials of acne (including me). It was, and is, great stuff. About eight years ago the company branched out into skin care, and now offers a broad array of products in that area. The Visibly Firm line is particularly interesting, because for this line Neutrogena licensed patented copper peptide technology from another company. Until the Visibly Firm line came out, the only other company that could offer this ingredient in skin care was Osmotics, whose signature product is called Blue Copper. But Osmotics is a high-end line that charges high-end prices. Could Neutrogena, with the same ingredient, be as effective at 1/5th the price? See below for the answer.

By the way, what is so great about having copper in a cream? Copper is an essential mineral for the skin, but one that it often lacks because your body prioritizes it last in line for use. Like magnesium, copper will brighten your complexion, encourage collagen production, and even out your skin tone. When the ingredient was first used in skin care products, there was some concern that the copper could somehow get into your bloodstream and give you an overdose of copper. Subsequent studies, however, have shown the copper in the creams does not get into your bloodstream. One less thing to worry about!

Guide To Ra(n)tings:

Visibly Firm Night Cream
author: Niall | date: 09/02

Size	1.7 oz	Price	$19.99	Where	Rite-Aid
Ingredients:
Purified Water, Glyceryl Stearate, Stearic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, Sodium Behenoyl Lactylate, PPG-2 Myristyl Ether Propionate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Copper Tripeptide-1, Allantoin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Avocado Oil Unsaponifiables (persea gratissima), Tridecyl Stearate, Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Squalane, Diazolidinyl Urea, Isobutylparaben, Isopropylparaben, Butylparaben, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose.

A few weekends ago, I was feeling listless and bored, and not even the baths could lift my mood, so I got in my car and just started driving. Some hours later I wound up in the town of Bishop, 300 miles north of LA at the foot of the Sierras. It was a lovely place, and I didn't feel like driving back home, so I checked into a local hotel. Since I hadn't planned to spend the night away from home, I hadn't brought my usual hand-truck full of skin care products. For a moment I panicked. What would my face look like in the morning, without having been cleansed, toned, and moisturized the night before? I didn't want to find out. So I toddled down to the local Rite-Aid and took a gamble on Neutrogena's Visibly Firm Night Cream. Am I glad I did. I put it on before going to bed, and it seemed a little dry on my skin after being absorbed. I worried a little, as I drifted off into dreams of retinol and raunchy sex, that I would awake the next morning with dry skin. Not so. My skin the next morning was perfectly soft and smoothe to the touch, and was clearly very well hydrated. I was delighted. Then I looked in the mirror. My skin had a perfectly even tone (blotchiness is one of my few skin problems), and was nicely firmed up. In fact, the result was identical to that of Creme de La Mer - a product costing almost 10 times as much! I have continued to use this cream since my return, and have continued to be amazed by the results. I love using it after I shave, because the copper keeps my skin from becoming blotchy. Osmotics markets a similar face cream with copper - for about $150 dollars. I don't know about you, but I know how to spend my money. Neutrogena has a real winner here. I give it Mantastic's! highest rating. Use with confidence and pleasure.

Ra(n)tings

Effectiveness	Pleasure of Use	Value	Overall
4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0

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Visibly Firm Lotion SPF 20
author: Niall | date: 09/02

Size	1.7 oz	Price	$15.99	Where	Rite-Aid
Ingredients:
Sorry, I lost the packaging. It contains copper and sunscreens, and that's all we need to know.

This is a medium-weight lotion that spreads evenly and dries a little on the dry side. But then, given the combination of sunscreen and copper, that's to be expected. On the plus side, it didn't really dry out my skin, so I'm not complaining. This lotion has results similar to the night cream discussed above, though without the moisturizing and softening benefits. However, my skin was firmed and cleared up in the same way, with the added benefit of SPF 20 protection. At this price, what's not to love?

Ra(n)tings

Effectiveness	Pleasure of Use	Value	Overall
4.0	3.0	4.0	4.0

take me home, bud!