I have tested this light day lotion for a week now and unfortunately the smell is so strong that I refuse to use it for another day.
The smell is of jasmine and mogra, and the first time I smelt this particular Forest Essentials’ iteration was when I first started to work. Forest Essentials’ had this as a diffuser oil and literally had like one store in Dellhi.
Apart from the smell being too strong, other issues are these:
- It stings my eyes
- Hydration and moisturising levels are fine if you are in your 20s. Honestly its not moisturising enough if you are in your mid-30s onwards and/or live in a climate that is excessively cold or hot.
- Finally, because its an SPF 25 I have to use another sunscreen. At the moment I am using dry touch sunscreen by VICHY, which is not a complete moisturiser in itself. But applying it on top of this product is not really working. It feels as if there is some “peeling” and so literally there is just too much product for my face to cope with
- BUT here is the catch 22 situation, by the end of the day, my skin feels dry and I do feel the need to reapply moisturiser. I almost feel sorry for the moisturiser.
The other issues is the strong smell means that I am not rushing to reapply this product on my face: therefore I can never just use it as a standalone sunscreen (see below on this issue).
What’s inside?
Forest Essentials’ take advantage of their Ayush licence in India and do not disclose their entire ingredient list. But here is what is published on my bottle, which is Batch No 01531JG:
- Sweet Almond oil 1%
- Mulberry fruit infusion 2% (assume this is water-based)
- Rice bran oil 2% – very moisturising
- Ashwagandha Root extract 1% – is an adaptogen, which reduces inflammation. Not sure how it works at a topical level though
- Kokum seed butter 1%
- Jasmine flower oil, Fresh mogra flower infusion (1% and 0.5%) – both contribute to smell
- Triticum vulgare (wheat germ) 0.5% – anti-inflammatory
- Aqua (water)
- Olive oil derivatives – likely to be an emulsifier
- Jojoba seed oil – similar composition to the skin sebum
- Glycerin – great for the skin
- Beeswax
- Shea and Avocado butter
- Vitamin E – preservative
- Sodium Lavulinate and Sodium Anisate – preservative
Its a really bog standard natural formulation that uses some interesting ingredients such as rice bran oil ( very moisturising) and jojoba seed oil (again very similar in composition to the skin).
Its Rs 2475 for 40ml.
Would I buy it again?
If you are a young South Asian person until the age of about 35, I would say this functions as a good light day moisturiser. You may need something more substantial for cold winters but otherwise its fine.
However anyone north of 35 is going to be severely disappointed with this product AND not to mention the fact that it smells like a room diffuser.
Finally, please remember that this is not a standalone sunscreen – you have to apply sunscreen separately. Period
See also
From a previous blog I have written….
An SPF 50+ product blocks about 98% of UVR and SPF 15 blocks 93.3%. Let’s be honest its really not that different. The problem is BEHAVIOURIAL and the non-linear relationship with SPF
- Behaviourial: An SPF 15 protection ONLY holds true if you are able to consistently apply 2mg/cm2. Studies show that individuals (unsurprisingly) apply between 0.5 to 1.5 mg/cm2 of sunscreen in real life
- Non-linear relation with protection: when the dose (i.e., 2 mg/cm2) is halved, the SPF is divided by a variable factor according to the product, from 1.5 to 3.8 (Bimczok R et al)
In English, SPF 15 very quickly becomes SPF 4 to SPF 10. I am sure that is not what anyone wants…