update: This seems to be the new packaging/label of the Merlot moisturizer. Hopefully that’ll now help with identifying the newer, hopefully consistent, batches.

Creme de Vin is made of natural red grape seeds polyphenols. It offers sensational antioxidant properties thereby helping to inhibit the aging process.
* Natures most powerful antioxidant
* Anti-Aging
* SPF 15

* Fragrance Free
* Non-Oily

Size: 4 oz.
Price: ~ $15
Where to buy: Walgreens or Merlotskincare.com

I’ve been using this moisturizer for a little over a month now and I love it! This is a very lightweight moisturizer that’s great for combination to oily skin types. I apply this on my face and it takes only about 30 seconds or less for my skin to absorb the moisturizer. It feels like I have nothing on. I love that it has an SPF of 15 while being absolutely non-greasy, thick, or sticky. The SPF of 15 means that you are protected from approximately 93.3% of the sun’s UVB rays (Herschenfeld). I’ll be completely honest. I don’t always wear sunscreen unless it’s obviously bright and hot outside due to the fact that I don’t like the way sunscreens feel. Now a moisturizer that has SPF in it is great because it’s better than nothing. It comes in a tub, which I wish it didn’t. This product would have been much better if it were packaged in a pump bottle or tube. However, it does come sealed which is very important and gives you assurance that the product has not been tampered with.

The product claims that it’s fragrance free. Perhaps what they meant was that no artificial fragrances were added because there is definitely a fragrance to this product. I personally am not particularly keen on the fragrance but it’s not unbearable.

Now there is one important thing that I dislike about this product. I find the production of this product to be rather inconsistent. The first tub I purchased did not have any sun protection. It was in the exact same packaging, minus the fact that the front did not say “SPF 15″. I purchased it anyway because it was the last tub there. I later found out that Walgreens started carrying the moisturizer with SPF, so I exchanged it. The “old SPF-less” version of the moisturizer and the “new SPF” version have the exact same ingredients in the exact same quantity except for one ingredient, zinc oxide, which is responsible for providing physical sun protection. So please be aware that if you have a tub that does not contain zinc oxide, you are not getting any sun protection from the product.

However, the second tub I got had an odd consistency. It was very runny and opaque in colour. The moisturizer is actually gel like in consistency and slightly translucent. I believe it was a bad run or something. I noticed that the one that was off had a small trial size tub included that had sharp corners. The label on the trial tub was improperly labeled 1 oz. but it’s actually only about .5 oz. in product. The Walgreens receipt marked the product as 4.5 oz, which is what lead me to question so. The tub is tiny and was only filled half way. Another thing to note was that the seal on the tub was difficult to open on both the travel sized tub and the full sized tub. It would not come off in one piece. So, I exchanged for another tub yet again. This time, the trial size tub was larger (truly 1 oz.), had rounded corners, and filled to the top. The consistency of the product was also different, gel like, not runny, and translucent which I think is how it’s supposed to be or at least prefer. If you search for photos of this product online, you might notice the differences in consistency from review to review.

Overall, I do really like this product minus a few minor kinks here and there. I think the biggest downside is Walgreens carrying old stock. I probably will repurchase this product unless I find another moisturizer that has the same benefits of this product but with better packaging or a higher SPF.

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