Review: Go-To Very Useful Face Cream

Go-To is a brand founded by Zoe Foster Blake. Zoe is quite famous here in Oz and to be honest, if I could swap my life with her, I probably would… lol! Zoe used to be a beauty editor for various magazines and then founded an online beauty resource called Primped which was quite interactive back in the day. Think Youtube videos, forums, reviews etc., as well as a blog (Zo They Say which was called something else to begin with…. Tutti Fruity? I’m not sure if that was it, let me know if you know what her original blog was called!). Zoe is insanely funny (which also shows how intelligent she is) and after leaving Primped, she went on to release some novels and beauty guides, the latest one being Amazing Face (her first one was released when she was only 21, holy moly!). After marrying an Australian comedian/radio personality, she founded her own skincare brand, Go-To. Zoe started to sky rocket in the media and consciousness of the beauty community way before marrying someone with a ‘high profile’, probably because of how the beauty community and females feel that they can relate and identify with her. Comedy can really bring people together and because she has all of this knowledge that she wants to share with others so they feel great, she can do so in a unique manner through her humour.

As you can see, I am a big fan of hers, so I’m not sure why it took me so long to try a product from her skin care line (the brand has been around for a couple of years now). Maybe I wanted to see how the line and products developed with time? Or I didn’t want to buy into the hype or the products? Who knows, but the line has and is expanding slowly but surely. I decided to first try the moisturiser as I had run out of a day time moisturiser a few weeks back. Go-To products are designed to be fuss free and easy to navigate, so the moisturiser has a ‘simple’ yet important job description – moisturise and provide your skin with antioxidants (for protection!). So how do I rate this moisturiser and will I continue to try products from the skin care brand? Read on, because you might be surprised with the answers…! 😉

The Very Useful Face Cream comes in two sizes, 50ml (packaged in a travel friendly squeezy tube) and 100ml (a light plastic tub). I have the 100ml version, which is supposed to be limited edition, but it’s often available on the website as it’s so popular. Before ordering the Useful Face Cream, I actually emailed Go-To because it was when my skin was going through a really big rough patch when it came to acne. I asked them if the cream was non-comodegenic as the website didn’t state one way or the other. They got back to me very quickly with a lot of information. The customer service assistant said that none of the ingredients in the cream are comodegenic per se, but that everyone’s skin is different, so if a reaction of some sort is experienced, you can return the product within 30 days for a refund. I think that’s a brilliant returns policy and very helpful. I also liked that they said a product can’t guarantee to ‘fix‘ a skin issue like acne (taking care of your skin with the appropriate products will make it look better because it’ll be healthier for sure). I would assume that a lot of young girls experiencing some sort of skin issue, may buy into marketing promises that imply they will do anything and everything. However, there was a part in the email that troubled me. Read on below.

“… Whilst we can’t guarantee our products will fix your skin, as everyones skin is so very different, what we can say is that our products are chemical free with no nasties such as petrochemicals, PEGs, mineral oils, paraben or synthetic fragrances which are known to irritate sensitive skin. This is a great place to start as your skin won’t then become addicted to any chemical based ingredients.…”

Addicted to chemical based ingredients? *Ugh…. I was a bit disappointed with that statement because even ‘natural’ or organic ingredients are made up of chemical compounds. Are they just not using synthetic ingredients? And what study finds that skin becomes addicted to chemical based ingredients???? I highly doubt there is one. I am all for naturally derived ingredients that work just as well as synthetic ingredients (as long as they are sustainably produced and quality controlled), however it’s statements like that, that annoy me. Zoe was so cluey about ingredients and actives back in the day, I don’t know what happened for her to allow that. I know marketing surrounding ‘green beauty’ must work, otherwise companies wouldn’t use such claims as ‘toxic free’ and ‘all natural’ but I did expect more from Go-To. I firmly believe that you can choose naturally derived ingredients and do the whole ‘green beauty’ thing, without making bogus claims. There were actually some other comments in that email that also bothered me, but I’ll leave that for another day, because we have a face cream to review! So with that… back to the review of the Very Useful Face Cream!

WHAT IS IT?Housed in a gloriously fun tub, our Limited Edition Very Useful Face Cream is double the product and double the fun.Very Useful Face Cream is an ultra-hydrating, daily moisturiser that defends skin against premature ageing and keeps it thoroughly hydrated, supple, smooth and soft. Crammed with replenishing plant-derived oils, butters, and the power antioxidants CoQ10 and Amla Berry, Very Useful Face Cream soothes, brightens, and protects the skin from free radical bastards. It also smells nice and looks extremely cute in your bathroom/dresser/private jet but we’re totally not superficial so, like, whatever.WHAT’S IN IT?

Water, shea butter, sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil, glyceryl oleate citrate, amla berry extract, arachidyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, avocado oil, sunflower oil, mango butter, milk thistle ethyl ester, benzyl alcohol, coenzyme Q10, arachidyl glucoside, tocopherol, sodium citrate, lysolecithin, sclerotium gum, xanthan gum, pullulan, dehydroacetic acid, natural fragrance (fig and oriental rose). No: Parabens, PEGs, sulfates (SLS/SLES), GMOs, mineral oils, petrolatum, synthetic colours, animal testing, diamonds.

First of all, the moisturiser did not break me out, so hallelujah! 🙂 The cream has a traditional thick, creamy texture. I actually had to get used to the texture as I’ve become so accustomed to using gel-creams. If you use too much, the cream looks white as you rub it into the skin and it looks like it isn’t sinking in at all (just sitting on top of the skin instead) – it will if you leave it for 30 seconds to a minute, but this is a sign you are using too much product. A pea sized amount is all you need. When using the right amount, the cream sinks into the skin beautifully and quickly. It leaves a slightly sticky-tacky feeling on the skin but again, this feeling disappears very quickly. Despite being a thick cream, it doesn’t leave the skin shiny at all, which did really surprise me (oily skins rejoice!). I love that Go-To use natural fragrances instead of suffocating and potentially irritating synthetic ‘perfume’. I can’t really make out the Fig and Oriental Rose scent (so I can’t tell you what the scent reminds me of LOL sorry, not helpful I know…) but the scent is subtle and pleasant. Very creamy and not overly floral or sweet.

What you will notice quickly, is that the cream doesn’t leave the silky ‘slip’ feeling most of us are used to. This is because the cream doesn’t contain silicone (the most common silicone is dimethicone). I don’t have an issue with silicone, especially dimethicone, because it fills wrinkles (temporarily of course, but still!) and thanks to it’s unique structure (being bonded with a polymer) it allows other ingredients to still penetrate into the skin. But it does contain lots of emollients. Emollients help to hold onto moisture as well, but they go one step further, increasing skin’s permeability (and therefore the amount of water skin can hold). The hydrators are mostly oil based, so it is funny that the cream leaves the skin feeling and looking ‘matte’. It does leave the skin nicely hydrated and comfortable feeling.

It does also contain Coenzyme Q10, which is a fantastic antioxidant. Coenzyme Q-10 — also known as ubiquinone — is found naturally in the human body as something essential for the production of cells (Mayo Clinic). Coenzyme Q-10 levels are at their highest for the first 20 years of life and then subsequently decrease as we age. Coenzyme Q-10 is considered a regenerative antioxidant (Journal of the American College of Nutrition). When applied to the skin, Coenzyme Q-10 has been shown to penetrate the skin layers and reduce the oxidation, reduce wrinkles, and prevent UVA-irradiation damage (Biofactors). It’s antioxidant and coenzyme effects also help prevent cell death. What makes coenzyme Q10 great for use with vitamin C (as L-ascorbic acid) and vitamin E, is that it operates in the same pathway as these antioxidants. This means that, when any of the three antioxidants encounter a free radical and neutralize it, losing an electron in the process, they can be regenerated by having one of the other two antioxidants donate an electron (for an even more in-depth look at Coenzyme Q10 check out this FutureDerm article, which is where I got most of my info from!). This all means that wearing a high dose vitamin C and E serum underneath the Very Useful Face Cream is a very good idea! I know the Very Useful Face Cream contains vitamin C derived from the alma berry and vitamin E, but I’m not sure what concentration of vitamin C and E the cream contains, so wearing a serum underneath is always a good idea 🙂

I can’t say it’s my favourite texture ever – I prefer face creams that leave the skin feeling more ‘moist’ and bounce-y, but it does the job, that I cannot deny. It works really nicely as a day cream or a night cream. The ingredient list is short and sweet, which some Beauties might prefer. Go-To have actually just released another moisturiser containing a physical sunscreen called Zincredible SPF 15, but Im not sure I’ll be trying it, as it does only contain an SPF of 15+. To be fair, it would be very difficult to create a fabulous daily moisturiser thats comfortable and not too thick, containing only a physical sunscreen. But still, I’d rather use the Very Useful Face Cream and then a much higher SPF on top.

The 100ml Very Useful Face Cream costs $72, while the 50ml tube costs $41. By buying the larger tube, you save $10. Bonus! You can only buy Go-To products in Australia via their webshop. I have heard that the products will be available in Sephora in the US soon, which is great news for the Go-To team! Will I be trying other products from the brand? Most probably, yes 🙂 Will I be trying the whole range and is the Very Useful Face Cream my favourite daily moisturiser? No. It’s a good product, but not my favourite texture. I will be watching the line closely as it grows and I will still be cheering Zoe on, whatever she does!

Have you tried the line Beauties? What product would you like to try?

Catch ya next time Beauties!

Beauty Bee~

P.S. If you followed the Primped website back in the day, you might be surprised and delighted to know that Primped videos are still on YouTube! 😀 Who remembers Jaz??? I wonder what she is up to these days….

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