This week I am excited to bring you new H2O Plus review from our Panelist Clara.

Clara is a 49 year old marketing professional from Chicago. Clara is African-American with a golden brown skintone (the color of candy caramel) which is oily and prone to acne. Her hair is dark brown with great "natural golden" highlights which is sort of a shaggy bob. Clara loves to dramatically change her hair look and instead of locking into extensions and waiting for cuts to grow out, wigs and falls are frequently incorporated into her hairstyles. She is always on the prowl for haircare items which address the unique needs of African hair textures. She has been fond of cosmetics since she developed her skill making up dolls as a little girl using her mother's makeup. In her free time Clara enjoys spectator sports (especially baseball) both in person and on TV.

Now on to Clara's reviews!

H2O Plus is a skincare company founded and headquartered in Chicago in 1989. They have shops the United States, Canada, and overseas. The number of places to purchase retail is very limited considering the company's international presence, but thanks to the internet everyone can have access to the products through H2Oplus.com. This summer they launched a national advertising campaign to increase brand awareness. Their marketing hook is that all of their products are comprised of a blend which always includes a sea water which they claim is remarkably like the water in the human body.

This recent experience is not my first with H2O Plus and I've always found their products to be of a high quality and excellent performance. For this review I am going to focus on their facial skincare. Skincare is the primary business and at H2O there are three areas of focus -- Dry/Dehydrated, Combination, and Oil-Prone. H2O has put together what they call Skincare Sets. Each set contains four components targeted to the skintype and sells for $55. The four pieces can be purchased individually, however the price to purchase this way escalates significantly (individual prices are noted in the review). Each set includes a cleanser, exfoliating scrub, toner, and moisturizer. Because my skin is oily this review will address the Oil-Prone products. The products are wonderful and even though designed for oily skin nothing is harsh and drying therefore an aging oily skin like mine need not be afraid to use this set everyday.

Oil-Controlling Cleansing Mousse ($17.50)
Mousse is a good name for this cleanser as it looks exactly like mousse. The dispenser is a pump and the cleanser comes out in a soft white foam. One pump is enough to clean the entire face. When you rub the foam on your face it almost feels like you're rubbing nothing on the skin. I ignore the oil-control claims where a cleanser is concerned because the cleanser gets rinsed away so any claim is nothing but marketing speak. That said this is the most consistently satisfied I've been with a cleanser in a while. I have to think back to my days of soap cleansers to recall a cleanser which gives me such a deep cleaning without extra lathering and rinsing. I prefer using a face sponge and washcloth as part of my washing, but using just bare hands is enough with this mousse. The mousse also removes makeup (not eye makeup) without using any additional creams or removers before washing. I am especially pleased with the results during the hottest and most humid days of summer and at times when my oil level is naturally high. An acne-prone complexion can go awry during such extremes. I have gotten a pimple here and there, but nothing that I would classify as a major breakout.

Oil-Controlling Exfoliator ($17.50)
I have used a scrub regularly since I was 19 and everyday for more years than I can remember now and this one is first rate. This scrub looks and feels like a green gel with granules in it. Don't confuse the granules with rough texture because, yes, you can feel them, but they are not scratchy or rough to the touch. The scrub foams up into a lather so it mixes well with cleanser. Unlike some scrubs which feel rough and stiff and are difficult to remove this one rinses off easier than many cleansers. My skin feels very balanced after just using the cleanser and scrub. By that I mean it feels clean and very soft without a trace of cleanser or scrub residue left behind. If you have shied away from scrubs because of the rough texture and fear that they are too harsh, this one is worth a try. The texture has enough scrub particle to actually scrub, yet the product feels enough like a gel that you feel confident it's not tearing your face. The company claims the product has natural AHAs and oil-control benefits, but as with the cleanser this is a rinse off product so whatever ingredients are in it are rinsed down the drain. If you want to buy into claims and promises for a rinse off product then someone has a bridge somewhere to sell you too. The scrub is good enough to be marketed as a terrific scrub to deep clean the face and aide in the exfoliating process to renew skin texture without all the other jargon, but cosmetic companies feel compelled to offer us claims because too many consumers like to hear skincare buzzwords or else they think the product is useless.

Toner Plus Oil-Controlling Mattifier ($16.50)
My skin feels prepared to accept a moisturizer without this final cleansing step, but it's part of the system so I use it anyway. I'm not big on toners, but this one is ok as toners go. There's nothing drying about this toner even though it comes with a claim of controlling oil. Honesty compels me to agree that the oil-control benefits of this toner are very good. I have not used an additional mattifying gel during this test and I am not having serious oil-breakthroughs even when I am not wearing foundation or powder. It's a rather odd product as it has to be shaken before use to activate the mattifying solution. The company claims there are AHA benefits in the ingredients and here it makes sense because the product is going into the skin. There may be something to this claim as I have not been using another AHA or fade product either while testing the H2O system and my skin has not dulled or hyperpigmented which can happen fast with me.

Oil-Controlling Hydrator ($25.00)
WOW! This is one of the best moisturizers for oily skin I have ever used. It is a clear gel and unlike some gel moisturizers which can sometimes feel sticky this one feels like water on the face. It's so lightweight that I feel those who are only slightly oily may want to use an another moisturizer at night to avoid any risk of not getting enough moisture on the face. Those of us who are extremely oily can get by with this one alone, but even for an oil slick like me I am using H2O's Face Oasis a couple nights per week because of my age. Oil-Controlling Hydrator comes along with similar claims of their Sea Mineral Complex and vitamins same as the other products, but it also contains salicylic acid which can be helpful for keeping pores clear and breakouts at bay. I believe the salicylic acid may be the knockout punch of this system as to why my breakouts have minimized.

Face Oasis ($32.00)
Since I mentioned this product I'd better tell you about it. As with all H2O products it is water-based and comprised of their Sea Mineral Complex and vitamins. It is a gel moisturizer which looks like beautiful blue ocean water. It is more weighty than the Oil-Controlling Hydrator and H2O Plus recommends it for all skin types, but I think only normal skins could use it as their everyday moisturizer. The rest of us are probably better off using Face Oasis as one we incorporate into our routines from time to time. Such as I use it as an extra drink for my oily skin and drier skintypes may like it when they feel less dry than normal and their regular moisturizer is too much.

Acne Rescue Mask ($18.50)
My favorite H2OPlus product for a long time had been their Sea Mineral Mud Mask. Acne Rescue Mask made its debut earlier this year and it's even better for my skin issues. It looks like green mud and it's used like most mask where you apply and let it dry then rinse off. The claims are this mask "mop ups" surface oils without stripping the skin of its moisture balance. Skin-protecting sea silt (moisturizer) and anti-bacterial agents help eliminate blemishes without causing irritation while controlling sebum output. Salicylic acid provides powerful astringent benefits while refining skin texture. The product lives up to the claims on me. The finished feel is much like that after a deep cleansing mask treatment at a spa. As good as the product works I love the way it rinses off so clean. A lot of masks dry so hard on the face that you have to wash your face a few times afterward just to remove all traces. I just love the way these H2O products that are to be rinsed off do so without a lot of extra effort. I use the Rescue Mask once every week to ten days.

Acne Rescue Mask and Face Oasis are not part of the 4-piece value Skincare Sets, but I highly recommend each as peripheral products you will use on a regular basis.

Thanks, Clara! I hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report!