I love AB blogging because it gives me an excuse to jump from product to product instead of settling down like a normal person. I definitely have that itch for the new. So when I like a product enough to repurchase it instead of putting my hunting goggles on and skipping happily back out into the wilderness of Untested New Things That Might Be Great as soon as I get close to the bottom of the bottle, I take special notice. Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil is one of those products. I’ve repurchased it once already and will repurchase again.

Quick note: the Waterest Lasting Water Oil product that I’m reviewing is an update to the original product with the same name. The Waterest Lasting Water Oil that I’m referencing comes in the green bottle you see below. If you’re looking for information on the original formula in the clear bottle, 

Purpose: Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil is a booster serum (sigh–more on that below) that claims to deeply hydrate and moisturize, improve moisture retention, and brighten skin tone.

Best suited for: All skin types, but especially dry and dehydrated complexions.

Do not use if: You are sensitive to botanical extracts or oils, niacinamide, or anything else in the ingredients list.

When and how to use: Apply after cleanser, actives if you use them, and hydrating toner. Pat in or let dry slightly before moving on to the rest ofyour skincare routine. Can be used both day and night.

Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil ingredients:  Water, butylene glycol, glycerin, niacinamide, bifida ferment lysate, raffinose, betaine, PEG/PPG-17/6 copolymer, piper methysticum leaf/root/stem extract, phellinus linteus extract, arctium lappa root extract, portulaca oleracea extract, pueraria thunbergiana root extract, glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) root extract, paeonia lactiflora root extract, cnidium officinale root extract, monascus extract, soluble collagen, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, hydrogenated lecithin, sodium hyaluronate, citrus limon (lemon) fruit oil, ocimum basilicum (basil) oil, geranium maculatum oil, eugenia caryophyllus (clove) leaf oil, rosa damascena flower oil, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, camellia sinensis seed oil, camellia japonica seed oil, macadamia integrifolia seed oil, argania spinosa kernel oil, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil, 1,2-hexanediol, Bis-PEG-18 methyl ether dimethyl silane, cellulose gum, ethylhexylglycerin, carbomer, tromethamine, glyceryl polymethacrylate, xanthan gum, adenosine, disodium EDTA, tocopheryl acetate, panthenol, dipotassium glycyrrhizate, caprylic/capric triglyceride, folic acid, ceramide 3, cholesterol, acetic acid, lactic acid,palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate

CosDNA analysis (Reminder: while the comedogenicity ratings in CosDNA are a good starting point for figuring out your individual sensitivities, skincare is YMMV and comedogenicity ratings themselves are seriously flawed–check out this post from Lab Muffin if you want to learn more)

Notable ingredients: That’s a hell of an ingredients list. You’ve got a metric buttload of extracts (which, these days, I generally lump together as “anti-inflammatory, lots of antioxidants, and possible but not proven other skin benefits such as brightening and anti-aging”) and Goodal’s signature blend of seven fermented moisturizing and antioxidant-rich botanical seed oils. The Waterest Lasting Water Oil also offers niacinamide and licorice root extract for brightening, plenty of humectants for hydration, the classic ceramide-cholesterol-free-fatty-acids trio to penetrate and strengthen the skin barrier, and even adenosine and palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 (Matrixyl) for potential anti-aging benefits. It kind of sounds like it could be a super-product. If, that is, all those ingredients can coexist happily in a pleasant and effective overall formulation.

It’s not all sunshine and fermented botanical rainbows, though. Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil contains lemon oil, which can be photosensitizing when not properly processed (and is the reason I only use the Goodal Repair Plus Essential Oil at night). It also contains basil, clove, and rosemary oils, which, despite sounding like a great way to give your skin a delicious Italian flair, are known irritants for some people. While I totally blanked on the lemon oil when I started using this product and have had no trouble using it in the daytime, keep these possible problems in mind if you have particularly sensitive or sun-sensitive skin. Or if you don’t use sunscreen. Which, if you don’t, please start now.

Performance

I was pretty confused by this product at first. As I’ve mentioned here and there, I impulse bought my first bottle from someone detashing hers after only one or two uses. Tracy’s review of the original formula had made an impression on me, and I was curious–but I hadn’t done any other research. So when the time came to actually use the stuff on my face, I had a big UHHHHH Moment. In this case, “UHHHHH what is a ‘booster serum’?”

(Aside: K-beauty companies are pretty unrestrained about creating entirely new product categories every time they come up with something of a consistency that’s at all different from everything else they make. It’s seriously a problem. Nobody has the time to map out all those different product categories and where they go in a skincare routine. BOOSTER SERUM. Really.)

Generally, with the exception of my Curology and acids, I order my skincare routine by product consistency, going from thinnest (toner) to thickest (creams and sleeping packs). I had a feeling this BOOSTER SERUM might be another exception, though, so I asked Tracy, who told me to put it on after my toner, so that’s what I did. It didn’t feel right at first. Then it felt so very right. If you’ve been wanting to get some of the benefits of facial oils but are hesitant to use oils that feel like oil on your face, this may be the product for you.

Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil has the consistency of a light serum, substantially thicker and more viscous than water, with a smooth slip that makes it easy to spread over skin. It doesn’t feel like oil at all.

Goodal claims that the oils in the Lasting Water Oil are “micronized,” making the particles smaller and therefore able to penetrate to deeper layers of skin. I don’t have Microscope Vision (or a microscope), so I can’t verify that. What I can verify is that the Lasting Water Oil does exactly what I would expect a product containing “micronized oils” to do. It vanishes completely into my skin without leaving any oiliness behind, and it seems to hydrate and moisturize my skin from more deeply within than other products I’ve tried.

And I’ve tried many, many other products with similar claims. Some of them sink in quickly, like the Lasting Water Oil, but all too often, the hydration or moisturization they provided vanishes quickly, too. Others stick around, but primarily on the surface of my skin, creating a layer of residue that doesn’t really seem to absorb. Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil sinks in quickly and completely while simultaneously delivering hydration and moisturization that really lasts.

To assess how well the Waterest Lasting Water Oil works, I put it through a few tests beyond just incorporating it into my skincare routine. One of those tests involved cleansing my face with the harshest foaming cleanser I had on hand at the time, using nothing but the Lasting Water Oil afterwards, and waiting several hours to see how my face felt. Doing this was a little dangerous to my commitment to a multi-step routine, because the Lasting Water Oil kept my skin feeling comfortable even hours after cleansing and even without any other moisturizing or occlusive products to hold it in. That was surprising, since I’ve inadvertently done single-step or very short routines before and have always regretted it not long after.

I also cut the Waterest Lasting Water Oil from my routine for a (very long) week. The difference in how my skin felt, especially during the daytime (when I don’t have sheet masks, oils, or layers of creams to keep my tretface happy), was striking. While I generally felt fine on more humid days, arid weather inevitably got to my skin by midday. Arid days outnumber humid ones by a lot where I live, and I strongly dislike feeling dried out for hours before I can start my evening routine, so I was very happy to come back to the Waterest Lasting Water Oil after that terrible week ended.

Speaking of tretface, I increased my Curology tretinoin dose from 0.02% to 0.05% soon after I started using the Waterest Lasting Water Oil, and I’m pretty sure the Water Oil was a major factor in minimizing the initial flaking and irritation I’d expected. In fact, I had so little flaking or irritation that I thought Curology had mixed my prescription up with someone else’s. I also went through the shortest eczema flare-up I’ve had all year while using the Lasting Water Oil. All the bumps and scaliness went away within a couple of days. Some of my earlier flare-ups had gone on for over a week. I’m guessing the anti-inflammatory and barrier-strengthening ingredients in the Lasting Water Oil helped immensely.

I haven’t noticed any particular brightening or anti-aging effects from the Waterest Lasting Water Oil, but to be fair, I’m already using prescription-strength products to address pigmentation and The Ravages of Time. I don’t really expect an OTC product to be able to top those. Someone who doesn’t already have weapons-grade skincare actives in their routine may see more benefit in those areas.

Conclusion: Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil was one of my favorite products of 2015 and continues to be as we get deeper into 2016. I do think the lemon oil and some of the other botanical oils in the ingredients list are problematic and unnecessary (and are the reason I’m taking a couple of decimal points off of the final rating), but I haven’t experienced any problems with the product myself. Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil has earned as permanent a place in my routine as any product could, and I see no reason to look for a replacement–it’s been that good for me.

Rating: 4.8/5

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