Review: Reviva Labs Lindenflower & Rosewater Facial Sprays | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

10 October, 2013

Review: Reviva Labs Lindenflower & Rosewater Facial Sprays

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What's up, good citizens of the internet? Today I thought I'd do a review on a type of product I'm perhaps a bit too obsessed with... facial mists. Some people are addicted to lip balm, I'm addicted facial mists. Well, and lip balm. Well, and maybe coffee too. There's definitely such a thing as coffee-flavored lip balm, but is there a coffee-scented facial mist? My mind is racing.

The mists (or "facial sprays") of the day come to you from Reviva Labs. There are two varieties: Rosewater and Lindenflower. Reviva is a "natural" brand, and perhaps you remember seeing these when I posted my iHerb natural skincare haul last month. If not, here's what they look like:


Reviva Labs Lindenflower Rosewater Facial Sprays mists ingredients


The packaging isn't especially pretty, but perhaps there's more to these humble-looking mists than meets the eye...


OK, so before I get into the specifics of these sprays, I'd like to briefly outline what I use mists for and what I expect them to do. That way we can measure the Reviva sprays against that criteria to see if they're up to snuff.

I use my facial mists for and expect them to:

  • Hydrate my skin, and/or
  • Refresh my face/body when I'm feeling tired, and/or
  • Work at "setting" makeup, and/or
  • Act as a quick toner when I'm being lazy (as in the skin-softening kind, not the astringent kind), and
  • Not make me break out

So with that settled, let's move onto the first variety:




The label suggests that this is for normal to dry skin. Product information:


Description:

  • With Aloe, Herbs, Minerals & Hyaluronic Acid
  • Refresh Skin & Set Makeup
  • Spray Away Perspiration
  • Moisturize Skin & Hair in Dry Weather
  • Use as a Sensitive-Skin Tonic

Natural extract of roses makes this Facial Spray very refreshing and stimulating. Helps moisturizers and night creams have better effects in making skin look better with makeup, or "setting" makeup; you'll find dozens of other uses. For male and female athletes, this mist is a great refresher and cleansing aid.

Ingredients:
Distilled rosewater, glycerin, aloe juice, polysorbate 20, hyaluronic acid, tocopheryl acetate, vegetable oil & vitamin a (retinyl palmitate) and vitamin b (ergocalciferol), fennel (and) hops (and) balm mint (and) mistletoe (and) maticaria (and) yarrow extracts, mallow (and) ivy (and) cucumber (and) sambucus and arnica extracts, trace mineral concentrate, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, citric acid.


While the label doesn't come right out and directly say that this can be used as a toner or softener, the line "Helps moisturizers and night creams have better effects in making skin look better with makeup" basically says it. Well, I think so. There are several good moisturizing ingredients on the list, namely glycerin, aloe and hyaluronic acid. So in the hydrating/toning department, this works nicely.

The mist does create a refreshing/cooling sensation immediately after being sprayed on the skin, but I don't know about spraying away perspiration (where are we spraying it away to?) This product has a lovely rose scent, so I suppose you could always use it to mask your stinkiness.

As for setting makeup, I'm afraid that this mist is a bit too heavy and wet for that (in my opinion). That's forgivable though, especially since I discovered another use for it - as a hair detangler! Spritzing my hair with this a couple of times right after I get out of the shower has made combing my hair about a billion times easier. I would repurchase it for that reason alone.


Next up, the Lindenflower spray:




The label suggests that this is for normal to oily skin. Product information:



Description:

  • With Aloe, Ginseng, Carrot Extract & Hyaluronic Acid
  • Refresh Skin & Set Makeup
  • Spray Away Perspiration
  • Moisturize Skin & Hair in Dry Weather
  • Use as a Sensitive-Skin Tonic
  • For Normal to Oily Skin

Natural extract of linden flowers makes this Facial Spray very refreshing and stimulating. Helps moisturizers and night creams have better effects in making skin look better with makeup, or "setting" makeup; you'll find dozens of other uses. For male and female athletes, this mist is a great refresher and cleansing aid.

Ingredients:
Distilled Water, Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, Hyaluronic Acid, Aloe, Ginseng Extract, Linden Extract, Carrot Oil, Carrot Extract, Carotene, Fragrance, Tocopherol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Zinc Sulfate.


I think this would also be suitable as a toner/softener, though this feels lighter on the skin to me than the rosewater variety. I'm not sure what lindenflower is supposed to smell like, but this spray seems less overtly floral than the rosewater one and more "earthy". At first I didn't really like the scent, but it has grown on me. I'm noticing that the label on this variety lists the ever-mysterious "fragrance" in the ingredients... I wonder what's in it? I feel like I detect a note of sandalwood, but my nose may be playing tricks on me.

As a skin refresher this also works great, and much like the rosewater spray, it's a bit too wet for setting makeup. It's not as moisturizing as the rosewater variety, but it still provides a bit of hydration. I like this one less as a hair detangler spray though.


General impressions:


First and foremost, I feel like it's important to point out that these sprays both have heavy floral scents. I know that isn't a problem for some, but if you're the type who sneezes when anything scented comes into contact with your face then you probably won't like this.

For me, both of these were a success because they met most of my criteria and didn't cause my skin to break out. The packaging isn't terribly attractive but it isn't leaky or flimsy either. My only real complaint is the spray nozzle:





It's not awful, but I wish it dispensed the product more finely.

One major selling point of these facial sprays is that you get a relatively large amount of product for a low price. Both of these mists cost US $6.30 for 8 oz (236 ml) of product.  Considering that a lot of facial mists come in a smaller size (usually around 100-150 ml) and cost more money, I would say that this is a great deal. This is cheap enough that I don't feel like I'm "wasting" it if I use it as a body spray.

Would I repurchase? I would definitely get the Rosewater spray again because I'm loving it as a hair detangler. I'm still on the fence about the Lindenflower one... it's very refreshing, but I still can't decide if the scent is too hippie-ish for me. Considering that I'm only like 1/8th of the way through the bottle though, I still have time to decide. :)


Bottom line: Reviva Facial Sprays in Lindenflower and Rosewater are hydrating and refreshing, and represent a great value for the price. They might also be suitable for use as toners/softeners and hair detanglers. I think there are better mists out there for setting makeup though.


Where to buy: I got both the Rosewater and Lindenflower sprays off iHerb, which is US-based but does ship globally. I think their international shipping rates vary a bit from country to country, but they start as low as US $4 so it might not be prohibitively expensive even if you're overseas.



Do you use facial mists? What are your favorite types?

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