I want to love every beauty product.  I fully expect every time I get something new that it will be the ultimate, greatest product I have ever used.  I savor the package and read every word on the outside.  I oh-so-slowly, break the cellophane/cell and peel it back.  I hold my breath as I open the box.  The moment when I open the lid is full of hushed anticipation.  Then I actually get to smell and feel it.  Too often lately, I've had a moment of, "What? You're kidding. Right?"  What a let down.  When I've made a purchase, and I have that reaction, that's the moment when I know it's going back.  I'm very picky about scents and textures.  If it doesn't smell or feel right, I'm never going to be a convert.

I was recently sent some sunblock and a lip balm courtesy of Ocean Potion and Allure Magazine.  I don't generally like stand alone sunblock but prefer it mixed into my moisturizer or foundation.  I've gotten so used to wearing Bare Minerals foundation, I really never think about applying standalone sunblock anymore, so I was already skeptical of the Natural Faces SPF50 sunblock.  I do consider myself fair about product testing, however, and I always give the product a fair number of trial days even if I don't like the smell or texture.  The morning I was going to begin the trial on the products was the first I opened either product trying not to have prejudged them.  As soon as I removed the vial of sunblock from the packaging, I felt like something was wrong.  This was either going to be the smallest amount of product inside the container ever, or it had disintegrated.  As I started to unscrew the top, I realized that the package had not been properly sealed, and the vial only required a minor twist for the top to come off.  Inside the product was like rubber.  Writing the sunblock off, I moved on to the lip balm.  Unlike the sunblock, the tube had a seal which was thankfully unbroken (or so I thought).  I opened the tube and applied the lip balm which felt dry and chalky as though I was rubbing very dry wax over my lips.  My lips instantly felt dry as though all of their moisture had been removed.  I applied it several times throughout the day always with the same dry, tight feeling.  My lips were so dry at the end of the day, they were painful at bed time.  I woke up the next day with them dry and cracked.  Four days later, I'm still trying to get them back into condition.