Aldona will be taking over the blog with a couple of posts from a very affordable Polish skin care brand called Ziaja. So, please give her all your undivided attention and then some more! Take it away, Aldona!
I do realize the Polish brand Ziaja might not be a well known brand in the US, but it is available, and while more expensive than in Poland, it is still pretty well priced! And they have a huge range of products. So I thought I might give you a little introduction into the world of Ziaja now that I have tried some of their products. This is the first post in a series, so I hope you are ready for a dreamland of creams and formulas…
Disclaimer: I am not sponsored or bought by Ziaja in any shape or form. I also want to say that their products are no luxury products. Most of them are pretty basic but great for everyday. And for the price, I also clearly judge them less harshly than I would an expensive product. You know, this is like the Burger and not the 5-star Restaurant Sushi plate… But it’s still supposed to be yummy, right?
The Jasmine Line 50+
Jasmine Line 50+ - This is one of many different Ziaja lines. This post will concentrate on this anti-wrinkle line from Ziaja containing Jasmine butter. It is geared towards mature skin, however I think these products work for any combination to normal skin types (dry skin might need something richer). It is not state-of-the-art anti-wrinkle technology (but frankly I have no clue what that even is), yet they are good everyday creams without being too oily!
Jasmine Eye Cream ($12.99/0.5 fl oz.) - I have tried this because of a Polish YouTuber giving it a rave review claiming it is the best cream on the market (watch if you speak Polish). She claims that her colleague who has studied with Paula Begoun has analysed the ingredients and said this was awesome. I don’t know if that is true, but from what I see, it includes Almond oil and Jasmine Oil (hence the name). Sounds fine for me. I am using this cream every morning for a couple of months now and it is a great everyday eye-cream. It is a lightweight yellowy beige cream (it has no coverage though) without any particular smell. It also does not seem to contain fragrance. What I particularly like about it: it causes no issues with any sort of make-up or concealer that I use. I never had an issue of it balling up or flaking, ever. It also seems to hydrate pretty well, although I do not have dry skin, so maybe it is not rich enough for dry skins. However I have sensitive skin and this didn't do anything bad with my skin, no break-outs or allergic reactions whatsoever. From my point of view and for that price, I can definitely recommend it!
Jasmine Serum ($12.99/1 fl oz.) - This is a difficult one for me. It is called “Jasmin w esencji” in Polish (which means Essence and not Serum). I am still not sure whether I like it or not. First of all, it is not as liquid as I would imagine a serum or essence to be. It looks and feels like a cream. It is a lightweight cream, almost gel-like, but still a cream. What bothers me with this one is the scent. It contains fragrance and the scent is somewhat strong. The first couple of times I have applied it too close to my eyes and they began to water… That is not good. That being said, I like to use it on my neck and décolleté! It says you should use it every 2 or 3 days. So I do it like that and every other evening I smear it all over my neck and just take the tiniest amount for my face. Does it work? I don't know really! Does it make me break out? No! Allergic reactions? No!… so I give this a pass. But I might not repurchase because of the amount of fragrance.
Jasmine Day Cream (Not available on the US site) - It is a pity that this is not listed on the US website. Because this is a great basic day cream! I actually like it a lot. It is not very heavy for my combination skin (even in summer), but it feels moisturising and emollient. It has a faint jasmine smell (unlike the overbearing Serum) and I like to use this in the morning or after an afternoon shower to perk up my skin. It does not contain a strong sunscreen so sometimes I use something else in the morning. But it is a good basic in-between cream or under make-up primer (also didn't cause issues with any of my make-up). Thumbs up!
Jasmine Face Mask ($6.99/5 Packs 0.24 fl oz. each) - Hah, see I have NOT tried this one yet. So, while I am writing this review you basically force me to. I have bought quite a few of those packs and I already gave some away to friends. Nobody has shouted down my phone line, so I assume they were all happy with it. It is supposed to be a regenerative mask that can be put on the face for 10-15 minutes, and then you can either take the excess off, or leave the rest overnight. Let me put it on, see. I am ready for bed!
Okay, I admit, before I lay down (which was about 20 mins after applying the mask) I massaged the excess into my skin, but it was a lot of product. I believe you could easily use a pack for two applications (if you are not too concerned with contamination and germs etc. I am not). So my face stuck to my pillow… but apparently according to Mary Greenwell (famous make-up artist) this is a desired effect when it comes to evening skincare (as seen on an interview with beauty journalist Sally Hughes. (YouTube video around 00:14:00.)
The next morning I looked like this:
No, I am just kidding, I looked like this:
I believe the mask did the trick to be honest! My face was plump and glowing. So why spend hundreds of dollars on a mask from a brand that rhymes with Parsley?! I don’t see a big difference in the effect. Maybe it has less refined ingredients, but again: no break-outs nor allergic reactions. So: a winner!
And that is it I think for this post, except let me just mention one last product that I also use on a daily basis.
Multimodeling Bust Serum (Not available on the US site) - Again, whether it delivers on its promises to lift and “remodel” but it is a nice lightweight cream for the décolletage and neck area that I use on a daily basis in the evening and/or after a shower. It has a light fresh smell, reminds me a bit of citrus… Again an everyday staple, and so affordable. Probably not rich enough for dry skin, but for me it works! Recommended if you can get hold of it through whatever channels (ebay?)
To sum this up, those are great everyday products. The eye cream is an absolute winner for me, and the masks works well too. The day cream is OK, but I might not repurchase, even though it works well on my skin. I would probably skip the serum/essence.
Now those are affordable products, so you probably don’t lose too much if you try them. They might also be available on ebay for a cheaper price (when shipped from Poland). It is definitely a brand worth checking out, and they have plenty of different lines and products for all needs and skin types.
Stay tuned when I review the “Goat’s Milk” line, the “Sensitive” products and lots more… Yes, I’ll be back (with an Austrian Terminator accent). Let me know if I made you a little curious for that line of products?
Cheers,
Aldona
*bird picture By Dibyendu Ash via Wikimedia Commons*
