I recently received Influenster’s #Vaseline VoxBox, which contained a full-sized bottle of Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair Fragrance Free Lotion, a dry skin diagnostic tool, and a challenge: use this lotion for five days and watch your dry skin become normal, healthy skin.

Now, my skin naturally tends to be a bit on the dry side, and the recent wintery weather in my area has not done me any favors. My regular skincare routine keeps my skin from turning into a desert of flakes, but I was already starting to notice some rough patches and that kind of tight, itchy feeling that accompanies cold, dry weather. I was beginning to develop a case of what I call dinosaur elbow, where the skin on that particular body part becomes so parched that it actually starts to resemble scales. Not a good look. So when I learned about this five day challenge, I was eager to give it a shot, even though I was admittedly a little skeptical.

First things first: the dry skin diagnostic tool. This cool little gadget comes with two extra-sticky slips that you use before and after the five-day challenge in order to measure the dryness – and progress – of your skin. It also comes with a “Skin Dryness Level” scale to determine how dry your skin truly is. I decided to test an area on the back of my forearm each time for consistency. My initial result? Little lines and flakes indicated that my skin was “dry” – better than “very dry” but not the desired “normal.”

For the next five days, I slathered on the smooth, completely scentless lotion before bed each night. Advanced Repair Lotion contains micro-droplets of Vaseline jelly – the bottle explains that the droplets absorb deep into skin to moisturize and heal from within. I was surprised and delighted to find that these little droplets truly did absorb, and quite quickly – the lotion wasn’t greasy in the slightest and left my skin super smooth. In fact, the very first night I used it my husband asked if I was using a new lotion – he couldn’t believe how soft my skin felt. A major win. And so far there’s no sign of clogged pores or irritation as a result of the Vaseline droplets – even better!

At the end of five days, my skin didn’t feel at all tight or itchy. My dinosaur elbows were a distant memory. And when I used the second sticky strip to test my skin dryness level, it was virtually flake-free – my skin had gone from dry to normal in five days!

I’m very pleased with the results from the five-day test, and I really like everything about the Advanced Repair lotion. It is officially going to be my daily body lotion this winter. Have you tried it yet?