Happy New Year! I hope you've enjoyed what we've had to offer this past year, and that we can bring you many more compelling reviews in 2004. This week Denise shares her opinions on the new skincare line from Dove.

Denise is a 28-year old paralegal from Phoenix, Arizona. Denise has long strawberry-blonde hair and blue-green eyes, and a super fair complexion with combination skin. Her skin does not tend to break out very often. Denise is still looking for the "perfect" cleansing regimen, and having fun looking!

Dove Essential Nutrients Face Care Line
In mid-2003, Dove unveiled its latest creation, the Essential Nutrients face care line. In the development of the Essential Nutrients line, the skin care experts at Dove paid special attention to the use of lipids (nutrients found naturally in healthy skin) to help replace some of the skin nutrients that are lost on a daily basis. Weather, sun exposure, and daily washing routines contribute to lipid depletion in the skin. Dove selected several "essential nutrients" to add to this face care line, including fatty acids (stearic, oleic, and linoleic), ceramides (the current "it" cosmetic ingredient), and cholesterol. Fatty acids are believed to help maintain the suppleness and elasticity of skin, while ceramides and cholesterol improve the outer layer barrier function and improve skin's moisture balance. Dove's Essential Nutrients line also contains vitamins, minerals, green tea extract, and fresh spring water. All these great ingredients in a reasonably-priced and readily available product line? Sound too good to be true? Read on and find out. For the past 30 days, I've been using the following products from Dove's Essential Nutrients line:

Cleansing Pillows ($6.99)
These little pillows are so convenient and effective - they've become a staple in my bathroom. An added benefit is that they travel so well. The oval-shaped "pillows" have one smooth side and one lightly textured side, so you can choose to exfoliate while cleaning, or not. When placed under running water, the pillow "puffs" up, as the cleanser inside is activated. Each time I cleanse with the Dove cleansing pillows, my skin is left smooth and clean, and never tight feeling. I usually alternate between the exfoliating side and the smooth side, to give my skin a little break between exfoliations. The cleansing pillows are a great addition to Dove's Essential Nutrients face care line, and should be a must have for any jet-setting diva's cosmetic case.

Self-Foaming Cleanser ($5.99 for 6.76oz)
I keep my bottle of Dove's Essential Nutrients self-foaming cleanser in the shower, and use it as part of my morning cleansing routine. I've always been a fan of cleansers that come out of the bottle as rich foam. This particular cleanser is no exception. It foams up nicely, and always leaves my face feeling clean and nourished, albeit a bit tight at times. I've found that the self-foaming cleanser is best followed by Dove's Essential Nutrients Clarifying Toner (see review below), which eases the tightness a bit. The one thing that I did not like about this cleanser is that the one or two times I used it outside of the shower, the foam dried on my skin really quickly - before I even had a chance to rinse it off!

Non Foaming Cleansing Lotion (Sensitive Skin) ($5.99 for 6.76oz)
This gentle, non-foaming cleanser is my favorite part of the Essential Nutrients face care line. And that is saying a lot, since I am not usually a fan of non-foaming cleansers - they simply never seem to get my skin clean enough. Dove's non-foaming cleansing lotion really seems to remove dirt and oil, and leaves my skin feeling soft and clean. The milky cleansing lotion can be either rinsed or tissued off, and effectively removes makeup, too! I think that Dove's Essential Nutrients non-foaming cleansing lotion can stand up to any of the more expensive cleansers on the market today. It's definitely a keeper for me!

Cream Cleanser ($5.99 for 5.07oz)
From my favorite product, we now address my least favorite product in the Essential Nutrients line - the cream cleanser. The problem that I experienced with this cleanser is that the formula is simply too rich. No matter how little of a dab I use, the cleanser foams like crazy, and it's very difficult (not to mention time consuming) to rinse off. The cream cleanser left my face feeling soft and smooth, but the amount of effort it took to reach that end just isn't worth it to me.

Clarifying Toner ($4.99 for 6.76oz)
Dove's Essential Nutrients clarifying toner is an essential element of the line. I use it after every face-washing, no matter which cleansing product that I use. The toner is alcohol-free and contains soothing witch hazel and chamomile extract. I think that this toner is worth every penny spent on it.

Day Lotion (SPF 15) ($6.99 for 4.05oz)
Another product that I use on a daily basis is the Essential Nutrients Day Lotion. It's not that I'm completely wowed by this lotion, but it is a much more practical alternative to the Day Cream, which is far too rich for my combination skin. The day lotion still tends to leave my skin a bit too shiny for my taste, but it has a nice, lightweight formula and the requisite SPF 15, so I'd rate this lotion in the "nice, but not a miracle product" category.

Day Cream (SPF 15) ($6.99 for 1.69oz)
As I explained above, the Essential Nutrients Day Cream is far too rich for my combination skin. It does have a nice, smooth consistency, and is packed with health-boosting vitamins and nutrients for the skin, however. This would be a good product for those with drier skin.

Night Cream ($6.99 for 1.69oz)
Another winner in the Dove Essential Nutrients line, the Night Cream is a vitamin-packed intensive moisturizing cream. I use it every night after cleansing, and I can definitely feel a difference in my skin in the morning. One might expect that such a rich (and potentially pore-clogging) cream might cause breakouts, but I never experienced any while using the Essential Nutrients Night Cream. This is one product that I definitely give my seal of approval.

My skin has been very happy and more nourished than I would have ever expected while using the Dove Essential Nutrients face care line. Two products from the line, the Non-Foaming Cleansing Lotion and the Night Cream, I will definitely purchase again. For the price, the Dove Essential Nutrients line is absolutely worth a try. You can pick up the products of your choice at any local drug store.

Thanks for that great review, Denise. I hope you enjoyed this week's Cosmetic Report!