I was asked to try a beauty product and write about it – a.k.a. suggest it to you my ethnic beauty readership. Well, I received the product, O'tentika of Switzerland. It is pronounced OH-ten-teeka and is geared toward the ethnic woman. I found out that the company has been in business for twenty years. Nice. I read the labels and after a while began to use the products. I have to tell you. Although the woman who asked me to review the product has lovely skin, and repeatedly said she has long used the product, I felt ambivalent...perhaps because as a beauty products maven I had never heard of these. When researching them however, I saw that they are made with natural ingredients; very nice. No bleaches or chemicals like hydroquinone are used either.

I checked out the exfoliating soap which claims to slough away dry skin and illuminate it. You all know I detest such overt claims because what if the product doesn't live up to it? Yet I found the soap to have a nice smell and after using it I found it doesn't leave the skin feeling tight. However, I could not use the bar on my face because it has some type of bark bits in it. The product label calls it apricot seed powder, for exfoliating dry patches. I don't have those on my face, so I found it a bit harsh. I managed though, by making a lather in my hands and then applying that to my face. There was no tightness or dry feeling afterward so that was a plus. My skin did have a dewy appeal too.

I then tried the complexion milk, a lotion for the body. On the product website the claim is that this milk will provide the complexion with brightness and radiance while also moisturizing and conditioning any skin type. Surprisingly, the brightening bit is true, but it will take continued use, for a good while. I was at it for weeks before I noticed any difference. I also found the 'milk' to be kind of on the skim side, when I like a lotion to be more lush and emollient-rich.

The things that bothered me are: I wanted to see evidence of clinical trials to support the claims made on the website. There are no samples offered. The product is not easily accessible to those in the U.S. Although these are touted as elite products of this kind, yet there are no satisfaction / money back guarantees.

I am sure this particular review is not what the woman had in mind when she asked me to try these products. Yet I have been with you my ethnic family for nearly four years; I have not knowingly misled you in the past, and will not start doing so now. As I say each time I review products, sometimes we hit and sometimes we miss. Today I am on the fence because when we buy products, we do so with the belief that we can trust the manufacturer. Yet there are a few things more that we need from this manufacturer. These products are cute. I give them three out of five cocktail rings.