Monthly Skincare Snippets: Kiehl's Ultra Facial Sachets for August!

This series always gets pushed to the wayside! Anyway, for the newer readers, Monthly Skincare Snippets is my neverending project of using one skincare set each month. The rules are simple: use them at night and don't skip more than 5 days. It gets me new reviews and helps me take care of my skin, whee!

For August 2014 (I cringe at my tardy posting schedule!), I took up a bunch of Kiehl's sachets. Right around that time, Kiehl's was promoting free consultations with sachet samples for liking one of their Facebook posters.

My Kiehl's Consultation Session + Recommended Skincare Routine

There wasn't any particular mood for choosing Kiehl's. I simply wanted to do away with the sachets and hoped that I would consume some of them before the month was due and possibly get on to other sachets I wanted to try but had no schedule for. I was able to finish the set in 2 weeks and picked up random sachets in my pile. Runaway winners: Too Cool for School McGirly EVERYTHING and Sitzoka makeup remover!

Product Description:

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizing Line prominently features squalene for essential hydration, glacial proteins for protection even in the coldest climates and desert plants for efficient moisture storage and retention.

This is kind of confusing since they also have an Ultra Facial line meant for oily skin :< Anyway, I looked forward to this review as I keep hearing good things about Kiehl's. Sure, the price range is kind of dizzying, but if they can back it up then I guess there's no problem. Maybe that's why they're so confident giving out samples as I've heard it's their thing!

How to Use:

My Kiehl's Sacet Routine

1. Ultra Facial Cleanser
2. Calendula Herbal Extract Toner (Alcohol-free)
3. Ultra Facial Micro Serum
4. Clearly Corrective White Deep Moisture Clarifying Cream
5. Ultra Light Daily UV Defense SPF 50 PA+++ - in the AM
6. Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream - not really skincare, but part of the free sample pack I got during consultation

Performance:

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser

The Ultra Facial Cleanser is such a standout! Unlike other hydrating or for-sensitive cleansers, it has a nice lather while not being stripping. My skin isn't very sensitive even when dry so I'm not really sure if this is ~perfect for dry-skinned people. Nonetheless, I really like the foam-moisture ratio!

The Calendula Herbal Extract Toner feels just like water, there's no sting nor irritation at all! I'm not sure how well it does in removing residual cleanser because I'm able to wash the UFC off almost completely and it feels so-so in prepping my skin for the subsequent serum. I would've preferred to try the milky toner from the Ultra line (in fact, still hoping to!) but there were no samples available when I visited the boutique.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Micro Serum

The Ultra Facial Micro Serum is extremely creamy; richer than all serums I've tried to date. It sinks in pretty quickly and has opened up my mind that watery serums aren't the end all and be all with serums. It feels nice to have something this rich yet absorbable sink so deeply into my parched skin!

Kiehl's Clearly Corrective White Deep Moisture Cream

The Clearly Corrective White Deep Moisture Clarifying Cream was highly unremarkable for me. There's nothing wrong with it; it has a good rubbery texture and feels nourishing. Somehow it's just highly forgettable for me, because I didn't have any spots during the testing period and I really wanted to see if it fared as well as Kiehl's other corrective products. Also, I wanted to try the Ultra Facial Cream in place of this, which might explain why I'm a bit underwhelmed. Nonetheless, I was told it's the next best thing read: 'deep moisture' cream so I'm not throwing a tantrum over it.

Edge:

Kiehl's, as a brand, is very reliable. It does exactly what it promises to, especially if you use the items recommended for your skin type or concern.


Rebuy:

There's so much more to explore with Kiehl's and the brand is worth a second, third, fourth look. Right now, I'm putting the Ultra Facial Cleanser right at the top. It's in pretty tight competition with my current hall-of-famer cleanser, the Shiseido Aqua Label Milky Mousse Foam, which is foamier but trades off that texture bit with a bit of skin tightness.

Beauty by Tellie score: 4 / 5 - out of stock samples can't let me rate a 5

The Kiehl's Ultra Facial line is highly impressive; it delivered uncompromised hydration with no excuses. Each step was rich and milky which helped soothe my chapped skin - so I'm really frustrated I wasn't able to try the UF milky toner and cream! I have such a huge hunch this line has the potential for Trusted by Tellie levels.

Normally, when I visit skincare or makeup kiosks, my nose turns up at all the BS being flung at me by SAs who wing it however, I deeply enjoyed the consultation experience with Kiehl's! The consultant was extremely knowledgable about all their products and she was absolutely thorough in educating me about the appropriate Kiehl's line for me. Everybody wins because I take out a lot of guesswork choosing from dozens of product variants while Kiehl's is able to easily convince me that their products are effective because right off the bat I'm using products meant for me.

So they have this tool that's like litmus paper, basically it's able to tell your oil levels based on a matrix provided with the skin papers. It is touched to different points of your skin so the consultant can get an overview of your skin type, which may differ by area.

Expert recommendations and replacements using only 2 skin papers!

My skin type was on the very dry side of the spectrum, and instead of giving me the basic Ultra Facial 3-step for dry skin (cleanser, toner and cream), she explained how she had to expand the recommendation to 5 steps to further nourish my skin (add the UF serum and overnight mask).

In lieu of the out of stock UF toner samples, she went with something alcohol-free to avoid irritating me. And for something extra, she suggested that I be more diligent with SPF because even though I don't burn, sun exposure contributes to dryness, still! FURTHERMORE, when she learned of how much I was into makeup, she suggested I try the BB cream to get me started on Kiehl's cosmetics!

I might not have gotten the complete UF line, but the consultant went with the next best things to replace the OOS samples and if what I experienced was merely next-best, then I'm excited at the prospect of the best that Kiehl's has to offer.



Try to schedule a consultation with the branch closest to you! Call:

Greenbelt 5 (02) 728-9561
SM Mall Of Asia (02) 659-7698
Alabang Town Center (02) 823-2425
TriNoma Mall (02) 576-4893
Power Plant Mall Rockwell (02) 621-6295
Shangri-la Plaza East Wing (02) 477-3916
SM Aura (02) 955-2274
NEW! Ayala Center Cebu (32) 401-1542
NEW! SM North EDSA (02) 351-3620
NEW! SM Megamall
NEW! SM Makati (02) 893-7968

You may visit their site, kiehls.com
Or follow them on their SNS;
Kiehl's on Facebook,
@kiehlsph on Twitter, and
@kiehlsphilippines on Instagram.

Brief blog update: I skipped a few posts last week because I was too tired from attending events in the Fort and Makati (all the way from QC!) As punishment to myself, I had a 3 hour photoshoot last Sunday and am writing whatever's next in line regardless of my mood. I'm also trying to post additional entries on top of my scheduled entries. Wish me luck!