Must Try St. Ives Products

One of my new year's resolution for 2011 was to use only cruelty-free beauty products by the end of the year. So I've been gradually replacing my favorite beauty products with one that is cruelty-free. Let me tell you something, it's not easy finding something that's cruelty-free, affordable and actually works. I'm thankful a friend mentioned St. Ives to me because I never would've considered it. So here are my three favorite St. Ives products that I use on a daily basis.

I rarely ever use scrubs but then since moving out to the country, the change in weather and being older changed that. I found my skin was dry and looking dull and a friend recommended that I try St. Ives Apricot Scrub, said she loved it. At just $5, I figured why not, and it's cruelty-free to boot. After my first use I was surprised by the difference in texture and look. I can't believe I waited so long to try this product.

Now, I've used scrubs before but those were pretty abrasive and I could only use them maybe twice a week. With St. Ives Apricot Scrub I can use it up to four times a week and it doesn't at all leave my skin dry. My skin looks younger and healthier. It's become a staple in my beauty routine now.

Another favorite of mine is St. Ives Green Tea Cleanser. It sells for about $6 and smells really nice. I like that it doesn't sting or burn, nor does it leave my skin oil or dry. It works great at removing makeup too, even waterproof ones. I absolutely love the way my skin feels after using this cleanser. It always leaves my skin feeling soft, clean and fresh. With a lot of cleansers I've tried in the past I find that they work amazingly well for about a few weeks but then stops working after that, or my skin builds up some sort of immunity. I've being using St. Ives Green Tea Cleanser for months now and it works just as great as the first time.

My last favorite St. Ives product is their Timeless Skin moisturizer, which sells for $6 in a big jar. I was looking for something to help moisturizer and reduce fine lines, and I was very skeptical this would work at all but for the price and my experience with their products I figured it was worth trying. I was very surprised by the result. It wasn't at all oily. The scent was mild and pleasant. It felt very light on my skin and made it really soft. I was even more surprised that it really did reduce the looks of fine lines, can't say for sure about wrinkles because I don't have them yet. The only downside was that it doesn't have an SPF, otherwise this product would just be perfect.

So those are my three favorite St. Ives products. I hope the review and suggestions help. It's very affordable but packs quite a punch.