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I’m always kind of weary of trying new beauty products because I have oily and sensitive skin, which makes it hard to find skin care that works well for me. So when Marie Louise cosmetics asked me to try their skin care line, samples of which I received in the Hello, Pretty! blog launch party gift bag, I wasn’t sure at first. But after taking a look at the Marie Louise Web site and the detailed skin care instructions, I figured sample-size products wouldn’t ruin my skin. So I agreed to try them out.

The sample package included five products (listed below). I was skeptical about a moisturizing cream that was included due to my oily skin. So I asked the Marie Louise folks about the best usage of their products for people with such skin, and here’s what they said:

“For your skin type, I would suggest for you to use all of the products except for Crème A-VC, which is a thicker moisturizer. If you have areas where you are more dry (i.e. typically those with combo-oily skin are drier on areas outside of the T-zone), I would recommend the Crème for those areas only. The other products would be fantastic for you. Cleansing Clear Gel is a makeup remover with very different technology (the gel liquefies to remove makeup upon contact with heat from your hands and face); we had oily skin users come back with pleasant surprise at how much they love this product. Restoration Clear Gel, by far is our best seller, a gel exfoliator with its famous ability to see immediate results without a scrub and Vital with clinical testing of seeing effects on wrinkles and discoloration in a short amount of time.  I know the name of ‘Moistraiser A-VC’ is misleading due to its French name, but it is actually a fantastic toner.”

So thorough!

Needless to say, I felt a little better after getting the company’s advice. But I wouldn’t be totally convinced until I tried it. Over the last couple of weeks (the samples were small), I’ve been using the products as best to their intended uses as possible, though I skipped the Creme ($109) per the company’s advice. Here’s what I found:

• Cleansing Clear Gel ($57): This gel has an interesting texture — it’s kind of fluffy, like it’s pumped full of air. Once you start rubbing it between your hands, that fluffiness goes away and becomes more liquid-like. I’m not sure I like this cleanser, though, at least not for me. My skin felt sticky after washing the cleanser off. I can’t say whether this would be typical or if it’s because of my oily skin, but that was my experience.

• Restoration Clear Gel ($51): This gel works as an exfoliator. It’s actually really cool because it somehow exfoliates without having any beads or rough bits in it. It’s perfectly smooth, but when you start rubbing it on your face, it forms pieces that seem like it’s your skin coming off, but it’s just the gel coming together and then breaking up. And it left my skin feeling clean and moisturized, not raw or dry.

• Moistraiser a-VC ($81): This is my favorite out of all the products I tried. It’s a toner, but it’s unlike any toner I’ve used before; you rub it in and leave it on instead of just wiping it over your face with a cotton round. At first I thought there was no way putting something on my face that would stay there wouldn’t mean oilier skin, but it actually wasn’t too bad. While it did make my skin sticky at first, the stickiness wasn’t anything my regular oil-absorbing product couldn’t handle. The best part is the toner made my skin smoother and clearer.

• Vital Nanoemulsion a-VC ($109): This has texture like lotion and is meant to clear up discoloration and smooth lines. I wasn’t able to see a difference using this product, but then again, I don’t have many lines to smooth, either.

There’s also a foaming face wash ($51) that’s part of the Marie Louise skin care line, but that wasn’t part of the sample package, so I used my regular face wash once the Cleansing Clear Gel ran out. My face wash used with the exfoliator and the toner make a pretty good combo, I must say. Too bad Marie Louise products are cost-prohibitive for me to use regularly. But if you have the cash (or credit, whatever) and want to try out the products, there’s an event on Sunday, Oct. 18, at the Torrance Marriott from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with discounts and gifts with purchase. More info here.