Pacifica: First Impressions Fridays
Whew! It's Friday again. I don't know about the rest of you, but it's been a long week for me. Anyway, it's finally the weekend, which means that it's time for another First Impressions Friday! This week, it's the Pacifica edition. Pacifica is a brand that I've meaning to try out for a long time. I once got a random Pacifica lipstick from ipsy, and I've been wanting to experiment with the brand ever since. In case you're unfamiliar with the brand, Pacifica is a 100% vegan and cruelty free brand that produces makeup, nail polish, skin care products, and hair products.
In terms of price, Pacifica is fairly middle of the road. They're not super expensive, but their not a budget brand either. However, Ulta seems to have sales on Pacifica products fairly regularly. I bought most of my Pacifica products for buy one get one 50% off; so, if you're interested in trying out this brand, you should watch for Ulta sales.
Anyway, I really appreciate their commitment to being cruelty free (and generally eco and recycling friendly), so I decided to buy a few Pacifica products and give them a whirl. Here are my first impressions:
Tuscan Blood Orange Dry Roll-On Body Oil ($15) - I picked up this product on a whim at Ulta because it was on clearance for like $5 (the deals! my heart!). Anyway, this is basically just a really thick, luxurious body oil in a roll-on applicator. It's supposed to soften and moisturize skin; however, I haven't really noticed a difference in my skin. But, to be fair, I haven't been using it very long. Also, I don't really have a lot of dry skin to begin with, so I don't really know how much it can improve my skin. However, it does smell absolutely amazing (yum, orange!) and it feels really nice on my skin. Plus, I really like that it comes in a roll-on applicator; it's super convenient and easy to apply. Final rating: 7/10
Kale Detox Deep Cleaning Face Wash ($10) - I bought this product because I was out of face wash and I wanted to try a new one. I've been using the same face wash for a quite some time, and I was getting a little bored with it. According to Pacifica, this product is "Fortified with super green phytonutrients including kale, seaweed and blue seakale along with tropical beneficials of mangosteen and coconut water, this formula is designed to deeply cleanse and remove makeup, toxins and impurities from the skin both day & night." I don't know if it does all of that; however, it does get my face clean, which -- obviously -- is the most important thing for a face wash. The one thing I don't like about this product is the smell. It smells like kale, which is horrifying to me because I despise kale. It may sound silly, but I didn't think "kale detox" meant that it was actually going to smell like kale; I thought it just meant that it had kale in it or something like that. However, I can put up with the smell because the formula is quite functional. I don't think I'll be repurchasing in the future though. Final rating: 6/10
Cactus Water Makeup Removing Wipes ($6) - Okay, I'm just going to get right to it: I do not like these makeup remover wipes. They are not good. They are not effective. And, they smell weird. First of all, these wipes are too dry. I feel like there's not enough moisture in the wipes to actually take off your makeup; you really have to scrub your face to get your makeup off, which I dislike. Secondly, these wipes are weirdly small. Like, I haven't measured or anything, but I feel like they're about half the size of standard makeup wipes. I'm going to use them up because I spent money on these wipes; however, I won't be happy about it. Blah! Final rating: 2/10
Dragon Tamer Invisible Anti-Frizz Serum ($14) - I had really, really high hopes for this product. As you may or may not know, I have major struggles with my hair. Like, I am the queen of frizz. So, when I read that this product "helps smooth frizz, soften, repel pollution and deliver a radiant shine to all hair types," I was like "yes! that's for me." Sigh. I should have known that it was too good to be true. This product smells great; however, it has no discernible effect on my hair. It doesn't smooth it. It doesn't soften it. It doesn't prevent frizz. It just kind of sits on top of my hair. Plus, the packaging is terrible! It's in a squeeze bottle, which doesn't work at all for this product because it's so thin. I mean, it's almost as thin as water. So, when you open up the bottle it just spills everywhere. It should definitely be in a pump bottle or something like that. I feel like the packaging wastes so much product. I'm not impressed. Final rating: 4/10
Native Flower Nourishing Hair Oil ($14) - As I said above, I have major struggles with my hair. Consequently, I'm a big fan of hair oils. Seriously, I go through them like water (or like oil). I haven't been using this oil very long, but so far I like it a lot. It's not too thick and not to thin, and it doesn't leave a greasy film or build up in my hair. Plus, this oil doesn't really have a scent, which I appreciate; sometimes hair oils have really strong scents and they're not always pleasant. My overall impression is that this is a good standard hair product for everyday use. Final rating: 8/10
So, overall, I'm not super impressed with Pacifica as a brand, which is unfortunate because I really wanted to love all of these products. As a whole, the brand is a mixed bag for me. However, if you exclusively buy cruelty free and vegan products, you'll probably really like this brand. Anyway, I hope you have a good Friday!
In terms of price, Pacifica is fairly middle of the road. They're not super expensive, but their not a budget brand either. However, Ulta seems to have sales on Pacifica products fairly regularly. I bought most of my Pacifica products for buy one get one 50% off; so, if you're interested in trying out this brand, you should watch for Ulta sales.
Anyway, I really appreciate their commitment to being cruelty free (and generally eco and recycling friendly), so I decided to buy a few Pacifica products and give them a whirl. Here are my first impressions:
Tuscan Blood Orange Dry Roll-On Body Oil ($15) - I picked up this product on a whim at Ulta because it was on clearance for like $5 (the deals! my heart!). Anyway, this is basically just a really thick, luxurious body oil in a roll-on applicator. It's supposed to soften and moisturize skin; however, I haven't really noticed a difference in my skin. But, to be fair, I haven't been using it very long. Also, I don't really have a lot of dry skin to begin with, so I don't really know how much it can improve my skin. However, it does smell absolutely amazing (yum, orange!) and it feels really nice on my skin. Plus, I really like that it comes in a roll-on applicator; it's super convenient and easy to apply. Final rating: 7/10
Kale Detox Deep Cleaning Face Wash ($10) - I bought this product because I was out of face wash and I wanted to try a new one. I've been using the same face wash for a quite some time, and I was getting a little bored with it. According to Pacifica, this product is "Fortified with super green phytonutrients including kale, seaweed and blue seakale along with tropical beneficials of mangosteen and coconut water, this formula is designed to deeply cleanse and remove makeup, toxins and impurities from the skin both day & night." I don't know if it does all of that; however, it does get my face clean, which -- obviously -- is the most important thing for a face wash. The one thing I don't like about this product is the smell. It smells like kale, which is horrifying to me because I despise kale. It may sound silly, but I didn't think "kale detox" meant that it was actually going to smell like kale; I thought it just meant that it had kale in it or something like that. However, I can put up with the smell because the formula is quite functional. I don't think I'll be repurchasing in the future though. Final rating: 6/10
Cactus Water Makeup Removing Wipes ($6) - Okay, I'm just going to get right to it: I do not like these makeup remover wipes. They are not good. They are not effective. And, they smell weird. First of all, these wipes are too dry. I feel like there's not enough moisture in the wipes to actually take off your makeup; you really have to scrub your face to get your makeup off, which I dislike. Secondly, these wipes are weirdly small. Like, I haven't measured or anything, but I feel like they're about half the size of standard makeup wipes. I'm going to use them up because I spent money on these wipes; however, I won't be happy about it. Blah! Final rating: 2/10
Dragon Tamer Invisible Anti-Frizz Serum ($14) - I had really, really high hopes for this product. As you may or may not know, I have major struggles with my hair. Like, I am the queen of frizz. So, when I read that this product "helps smooth frizz, soften, repel pollution and deliver a radiant shine to all hair types," I was like "yes! that's for me." Sigh. I should have known that it was too good to be true. This product smells great; however, it has no discernible effect on my hair. It doesn't smooth it. It doesn't soften it. It doesn't prevent frizz. It just kind of sits on top of my hair. Plus, the packaging is terrible! It's in a squeeze bottle, which doesn't work at all for this product because it's so thin. I mean, it's almost as thin as water. So, when you open up the bottle it just spills everywhere. It should definitely be in a pump bottle or something like that. I feel like the packaging wastes so much product. I'm not impressed. Final rating: 4/10
Native Flower Nourishing Hair Oil ($14) - As I said above, I have major struggles with my hair. Consequently, I'm a big fan of hair oils. Seriously, I go through them like water (or like oil). I haven't been using this oil very long, but so far I like it a lot. It's not too thick and not to thin, and it doesn't leave a greasy film or build up in my hair. Plus, this oil doesn't really have a scent, which I appreciate; sometimes hair oils have really strong scents and they're not always pleasant. My overall impression is that this is a good standard hair product for everyday use. Final rating: 8/10
So, overall, I'm not super impressed with Pacifica as a brand, which is unfortunate because I really wanted to love all of these products. As a whole, the brand is a mixed bag for me. However, if you exclusively buy cruelty free and vegan products, you'll probably really like this brand. Anyway, I hope you have a good Friday!
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