Falling in love with Aveeno products comes very naturally to me. I’ve been using them since I was 19 years old and there really hasn’t been much in the line that I haven’t loved. That a damn good track record for a brand I’ve been using for 14 years!

Aveeno‘s Fresh Essentials (Smart Essentials in the US!) line breathed some life into the brand that’s had fairly standard oatmeal and green packaging for several years now. The Fresh Essentials line has beautiful orange and yellow packaging on their usual oatmeal coloured bottles. But, the difference between this line and their staple line is that the Fresh Essentials boasts southernwood as a natural antioxidant which is used in products to help fortify your skin’s moisture barrier (in Googling it, I also found that southernwood is related to wormwood and has been used to ward off insects long ago!).

I’m always a little nervous about products labelled as a “daily exfoliator” because I really don’t want to be rubbing off the top layer of my skin every single day (or at least that’s how it feels to me!). However, the Daily Exfoliating Scrub is very, VERY gentle. The little scrubby parts are incredibly small. Not to the point where you can’t feel them doing their job, because you definitely can, but small enough so that it doesn’t feel like you’re using a harsh abrasive on your skin. It also contains natural luffa and coconut pulp to help remove dirt and makeup from your pores. I love using this in the morning because the scent perks me up in the shower!

The Daily Nourishing Moisturizer is your average oil-free daily moisturizer (shocking! lol). As with all of my other Aveeno moisturizers, I love the texture, feel and scent of the product. I also especially love the pump that this bottle comes with, although be aware that it does pump out an awful lot of product. I really only need about half a pump to cover my entire face and neck. My only gripe with this, and I don’t know how it’ll actually be since it’s not the summer yet, but I struggle a little bit with moisturizers that have sunscreen in them getting into my eyes on days when I’m playing soccer outside in the heat. I’ve had this issue with other Aveeno moisturizers in the past, so I’m curious to see how this will work for me throughout the summer. That’s a fairly small gripe though because I really do love how gentle and hydrating this feels on my skin!

The Hydrating Night Cream is, as expected, the thickest formula out of the two moisturizers. It’s an oil-free cream that’s intended to be used at night so that your skin can replenish the natural moisture barrier while you sleep. (I’ve had this kind of use pointed at me before at skincare seminars… that your skin’s resistance goes down at night while you’re sleeping, so it’s easier for the product to sink in and do its job.) Although I’m not a consistent night time moisturizer, on days when I’ve felt especially dry, I’ve applied this before bed and let it sink in while I watch Netflix. It doesn’t sink in immediately because it’s quite rich, but it’s also not going to be gumming up your face several hours either.

Final Thoughts

As a newbie to the Fresh Essentials line by Aveeno, I’m sold. I may actually start using this line instead of my usual product from their regular range because I prefer the scent on these a little bit more. (For those concerned about scent, I don’t find it intrusive just kind of… peacefully there.) I’m really happy that a brand I’ve loved for so long continues to make amazing products I inevitably end up loving. It’s comforting, you know? 🙂

The Aveeno Fresh/Smart Essentials line can be purchased on ulta.com ranging from $7.99 to 16.99 USD.

The products featured in this post were send to me for review.