Sweet Prana skin care

It’s too embarrassing to take a picture of my ensuite vanity. Because it’s covered in products.

Everything from makeup to brushes and other hair tools. And skin-care products… YEEZUS – the skin-care products.

As a product review blogger, I have had the opportunity to test pharmacy-level as well as the most luxe skin-care brands – and everything in between.

And that’s where Sweet Prana falls. It’s not a line you can get at your local grocery store, but it also isn’t going to require a second mortgage to procure. The line is committed to products that are good for your skin but they don’t claim that all of the ingredients are organic or will pull a “0” in EWG’s Skin Deep database.

It took me six months to properly test everything that Sweet Prana sent me from its line, because I had some very mixed results and really wanted to get to the bottom of it before I felt comfortable telling you about the products. Happily, I can report that not only did I figure it all out BUT also that Sweet Prana as a company was concerned about my issues and helped try to troubleshoot along the way.

THE GOOD

The Sweet Prana products are so highly concentrated that you need – literally – a dab to do your whole face. After using the line for six months, I still have enough leftover for at least another month or two. That makes them excellent value for money, because they’re really not all that expensive to begin with.

Most of the ingredients are easily recognizable; always a bonus.

The cleanser smells so pretty, and does a very good job of removing makeup. Even the kind of makeup I wear when I go out in the city, which (frankly) verges on street-walker. You will have to wash twice if you, too, enjoy the occasional street-walker look.

My all-star fave in the Sweet Prana line is the Citrus Serum, which you use after cleansing each morning. It may be placebo effect, but I instantly feel brighter and my skin seems firmer as soon as I apply it. It goes on without any fuss – no greasy residue – and just sinks right into your skin.

The serums (one for day and one for night) are great and actually provided enough moisture for me that I could forego a typical moisturizing step. That is, when it was cold out. Because…

THE GAFFE

The moisturizer is just WAY too hydrating for my combination skin. I was able to use it as an eye cream but anytime I tried to apply it to the rest of my face – even in the coldest winter months when I was skiing every week – I broke out. The upside is that obviously my 41-year-old skin is still nice and oily (and the upside of that is wrinkling later in life).

The rest of the line, too, turned out to be just too much for my skin to handle once the warmer weather arrived. I broke out so consistently (instead of hormonally) using the rest of the products, without the moisturizer, that it became obvious that Sweet Prana works best for me when it’s cold and my skin is drier. I imagine that as I get older, my skin will also appreciate how moisturizing the entire line is. But, for now, I need to use it only from December to March! YOUR skin, however, may need and love all this hydration year-round.

The bottles are glass, which I love because plastics and plastic by-products aren’t leaching into your product, but they can prove challenging around young children who are prone to wild arm-wagging. And though they’re sized well for travel, the glass makes them not so suitable after all. Bummer.

There are ingredients in there that I just don’t like – even in minute doses. Even with explanations from toxicologists, pharmacologists, cosmeceutical experts noting that they’re safe…whatever. The fact is that when you have water in your product, you have to add preservatives and preservatives can be problematic for the human system. There are skin-care products made without water to avoid this, so it is possible.

THE GEARS

In winter (for ME) = 4/5

In summer (for ME) = 1.5/5