Showing posts with label serum. Show all posts

CeraVe Resurfacing Retinol Serum

 

 Retinol has been one of those skincare ingredients that many recommend having in your skincare routine due to its anti aging benefits. I have been lazy about it since its something I've seen recommended for older people, but it can benefit younger ones as well! I'm in my mid 30s now and getting to me late 30s so I figured I should really start on retinol! 

 Since retinol can be irritating  I wanted something gentle to start off with. I'm new to retinol so when looking at reviews on retionol products I've noticed some mention the percentage. It seems percentage of retinol is important and not every product tells you this. I would assume its because its really low that companies choose to not say it. 

 I saw this CeraVe Retinol Serum (ad link, your support is appreciated! ty) has good reviews so I figured I try it! Its a 1 fl oz bottle so it lasted me about 5 months of use. I did not use it everyday. It hasn't irritated me at all so its a good sign for me that I can go for a higher percentage product next time! This doesn't disclose any retinol percentage so I assume its really low. I don't really see much skin improvements but I do regularly use exfoliating products. I think this product is a good stepping stone to retinol and its does feel a bit calming and hydrating on my skin. I did get a higher retinol product which does sting slightly so I find using this CeraVe on days my skin is more sensitive is better. Overall I do recommend this product! Its relatively scentless and affordable!

The Plant Base Quesera Ceramide



 The Plant Base Quesera Ceramide is an ampoule with rice extract as its key ingredient. It advertises it strengthens skin barrier and retains moisture. I bought this on Soko Glam for $25 for 0.67 fl oz of product. I can't say I saw any change to my skin with this product, but it does feel hydrating. Not sure if I'd buy this again but I hadn't seen it cause breakouts or irritate me.

 The product is thick as a serum and has a mild scent. The bottle in photos looks kinda of fancy but its all plastic. There is a dropper but the design of it is interesting. The top of the lid is a button-ish pump which pops up when you twist it open. It did take me a minute to figure out how to open it cause it was screwed on quite tightly. The product is small so this didn't last me long. This product was listed under Soko Glam's oily skin routine probably for its brightening ingredients like niacinamide that's in this as well.

The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%



 So I've been hearing people liking The Ordinary protects and thought I should try something from them. This Vitamin C Suspension 23% serum was the cheapest one I saw so I bought it. I didn't read much about it when I bought, but now I did. This product is quite different from any other skincare I've used before because of the texture. I didn't see a drastic difference, but it does do what its says. I bought this on Amazon for like $12, but now I see on The Ordinary website and Sephora this costs $5.80! Don't overpay like I did! So if you want to add Vitamin C to your skincare routine, try this one out!

 As I mentioned before, the texture to this serum is different. Its not the best, but its for a reason. The L-Ascorbic Acid powder offers high potency and concentration of Vitamin C so this serum has a gritty texture. This product is formulate water free to prevent oxidation and silicone free to prevent the effectiveness. The serum is somewhat gritty and feels oily on the skin. Also it kind of builds up a bit on the finger I use to apply so I would have to wipe off the dried up film of this product from my finger. It does warn you that this product will sting, but should be non irritating. This stuff does sting, but its only slightly for me. I do try to be careful as I do have other exfoliating products in my skincare so I don't want to use this serum too often to avoid irritating my skin.

 I mainly use this to target dark spots and other dark skin areas I have. I would say this seems to help get rid of acne scars faster than before for sure. But for age spots and areas I tried like my elbows and underarms its hard to tell if it helped. But despite that I do believe this product is legit. The tube is only 1 fl oz so its not very big. There is a smell to it, but I don't find it strong enough for me to really notice it. The serum is a bit runny and with the tube packaging sometimes it did kind of run down the cap when opening so be careful when opening it.

Glossier Super Bounce



 I got this due to a deal Glossier had when you buy this with their Solution. Super Bounce is a hydrating serum with hyaluronic acid and vitamin B5. It comes in a pretty 0.5 fl oz bottle with a dropper. This serum feels nice to put on, but since I have oily skin I don't find it has done much to my skin. Since it is winter time I do use it at night whenever my skin feels dry. Since its a small bottle this didn't last me very long. It didn't irritate me or cause me any problems. While this isn't something I'd repurchase by itelf, but if they do this duo deal again then I'd probably buy it again. Overall, this is just an ok serum but if you have dry skin then this may benefit you.

Michael Todd Ultra Bright with Hexylresorcinal Anti-Aging Spot and Tone Corrector


Michael Todd's Ultra Bright. I wanted to try this and had ordered it last year but it was sold out. Its been sold out till a few months ago they restocked it with a new formula. This is a skin brightening serum to help even out hyper-pigmentation. I have many age spots and acne scars on my face that has been a real concern for me. A lot of products have done nothing to my improve my age spots so I tend not want to buy products that claim to improve spots. But since I have been enjoying most of Michael Todd's products I decided to give this one a try.

This product probably has the shortest ingredients list I've ever seen. Its just Aloe juice, Biowhite, Hexylresorcinol, Kojic acid, Alpha-Arbutin, Licorice root, Mushroom enzyme and Bearberry extract. Now Biowhite is a trademark skin lightening ingredient by a chemical company. From what I read its made from plant extracts from scutellaria, white mulberry, saxifrage, and grapes. Ultra Bright is labeled that its 70% organic as well. So far this product seems to be pretty safe but not knowing what's exactly in Ultra Bright is disconcerting. The bottle does say it contains no mercury, steroids, or other harmful bleaching substances.

Directions say to apply twice a day and recommends waiting 10 minutes before applying another product on. Not sure why the long wait or a wait at all though 10 minutes can go by quick. It also has a warning to limit your sun exposure so I tend to mostly apply this serum at night. The product comes in a tall thin purple pump bottle. The product is a bright orange cream. This stuff can dry up in the pump so it may need to be wiped clean every now and then.

I've had this serum for a couple of months now and have mostly used it regularly. I have a cluster of distinct age spots that I use to check if it works. So far I think they lightened up very very slightly. I have been taking monthly photos just to compare. But they are phone photos so its blurry since it couldn't focus clear enough when its close to the skin. Then there's lighting that I had trouble getting it consistent, but here's the photos to show progress.
As you can see the age spots around my mole seem to have gotten slightly lighter. Some more than others. So I think this serum actually does work. So I definitely recommend giving this a try!

Oz Naturals 20% Vitamin C Serum



I've heard Vitamin C is one of the best ingredients against age spots and hyperpigmentation so I bought the best selling Vitamin C serum on Amazon which happens to be Oz Naturals 20% Vitamin C serum. Its an affordable $20-something 1fl oz bottle. It comes with a dropper too!

The serum is 72% organic. Its a clear watery gel like serum. It has no scent and it absorbs quickly onto the skin. The ingredients isn't too bad either. First ingredient is organic herbal infusion follow by organic aloe and vitamin C. There's also witch hazel, vitamin E, organic jojoba oil, hyaluronic acid, ferulic acid, and a amino acid blend.

Overall, I think this is an OK serum. I didn't see much of a difference to my dark spots, but I feel that my skin does look a bit healthier. It is mostly of ingredients that said to be good for you without too many other ingredients that are fillers, questionable, or harmful. Its also affordable so I think I will continue to use this, and I will look into their other serums and products.

[Sample Impression] Philosophy No Reason to Hide Multi-imperfection Transforming Serum

Got a 0.07 fl oz sample of this very long named serum from Philosophy. The sample is a tiny pump bottle that's a bit on the cheap side since pumping it is a bit hard to control. Its forumulated with marine and botanical extracts, concentrated niacinamide, active vitamin C, bisabolol, and salicylic acid. Its advertised to prevent and correct the appearance of multiple skin imperfections such as blotchiness, dark spots, pores, redness, acne marks, and rough texture.

It says the first use woman saw instant luminous complexion and smoother texture. Compare to the Lancome Genefique serum I do not see any luminous in my skin nor smoother texture. After 4 weeks woman saw reduction of red spots and blotchiness, and in 8 weeks woman saw dramatic correction of dark spots. Since this is a sample I cannot confirm if these statistics happened with me.

As for the product itself, it is said to be suitable for sensitive skin and it hasn't irritated me nor broke me out so I say its safe for my sensitive skin. The serum is a milky and slightly runny product. It has a bit of a alcohol scent and muckiness. Its hard for me to describe, but it is mildly unpleasant smell. It doesn't linger long thankfully. It goes on the skin quickly and very lightly.

After a few days of using it day and night, I really don't see any significant difference to my skin. The full bottle of this serum is nearly $70, and the sample really didn't sell the product to me. I do not plan to purchase the full size.

[Sample Impression] Dr. Brandt Laser Fx Perfect Serum

This Laser Fx Perfect serum retexturizes to correct wrinkles, lines, and uneven skin texture. Its a white serum with a clean and slightly sweet smell. It goes on the skin smoothly, and absorbs quickly. I hardly feel it. After a few days of using the sample I feel it did kind of manage to keep my skin smooth, but nothing amazing to make me want to buy the full product. A few days is too short to really see if I did anything to my uneven skin tone. At least it didn't irritate me.

Overall, the sample is good to test if the product will irritate you, but it may not be enough to show any improvements on skin texture and wrinkles.

[Sample Impression] Lancome Advanced Genefique Youth Activating Concentrate Serum

This serum has been on my wishlist for years, but have yet to try a sample of it till now. The full size of this serum is $80-100+ which is not something I want to splurge on if it didn't perform well. I got the sample from Sephora and its a .003 oz little packet. Probably can get 3 or 5 uses out of it.

So I used the Glamglow mask and it helped get rid of my winter dead skin which will help make this serum do its job. First time I used the serum was at night and in the morning I can see it help maintain the healthier skin I had after using Glamglow. After a couple of days of using it morning and night I can see that it gave my skin more glow so I definitely saw some results. The serum is milky in color and barely has any scent. Did not irritate me at all.

I would like to get this serum if I had the money. Would definitely recommend giving it a try to see if it does anything to your skin.

Jurlique Soothing Herbal Recovery Gel

Been wanting to try the Australian skincare brand Jurlique so I bought this which is the older version of this serum so I can compare it with the newer one when I get the chance.

Its designed to reduce redness and help calm sensitive skin. Its suppose to help protect and restore the skin as well. It comes in a opague glass pump jar with 1.0 fl oz of product. The feature ingredient is sichuan peppercorn that comforts delicate skin.

I find that this is quite gentle and a bit soothing to normal everyday redness. It does nothing when I get an irritation, and sometimes it even burns on irritations which is not really what I had hoped. Been using this for over a month and haven't seen much difference in my skin. The product itself is translucent and has a gel consistency. It has a light floral scent which is pleasant. It goes on the skin nicely and a little can go on quite a bit. It doesn't have parabens, sulfates, synthetic dyes, synthetic fragrances, petro chemicals, or phthalates.

Overall, I'm not seeing much benefit from this product to really find it worth the $50 I paid for it. Since I do get irritations and have moderate acne this product doesn't help me. Here's the list of ingredients taken from Sephora: Water, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon (Groomwell) Root Extract, Zanthoxylum Alatum (Sichuan Peppercorn) Extract, Xanthan Gum, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Protein, Fragrance (Parfum)*, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Lactic Acid, Oleyl Alcohol, Geraniol*, Linalool*, Limonene.* *From Natural Essential Oil (Chamomile - Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria), Lavender - Lavandula Angustifolia).

L'Oreal Youth Code Serum Intense Daily Treatment

Since the Lancome Genifique is out of my price range at the moment I decided to go for the L'Oreal Youth serum since I hear its the same concept but much more affordable.

The box is nice and it even shows the product picture as actual size. The bottle itself is cheap plastic like a toy, but is designed like a high end product. There's 1.0 fl oz of product in the bottle and its a pump bottle.

The serum is alcohol based like Genifique, and since my skin is sensitive to alcohol plus I haven't used any products with alcohol in them this serum plus my new toner that's alcohol based irritated my skin. So for a week or so I had to lay off the alcohol products so my skin can heal before slowly reintroducing them back. The box says that I should see some dramatic results one being that my skin would look silky and hydrated after immediate use. That I really don't see. But I continue to use it in the morning and at night, and after a week or so my skin does seem to improve. The box says after one week my skin would look rested and radiating. That I do see. Well it just looks healthier in general. After over a month it has been consistent in keeping my skin look healthy. It hasn't gone anything beyond that. And even after over 2 month its doing ok and it doesn't seem as effective as before.

When I finished the bottle I still don't see that much difference. Sure, it does help subtly to make my skin look less dull but I think exfoliating or have a microdermabrasion would be a better way to achieve that healthy skin.

Overall, it deserves a try since it is affordable. Hope I can try the genefique so I can compare them.

EGW Skin Deep Report


M2 High Potency Skin Refinish

I came across an article on the best acne skincare product and the M2 was listed as #1 so I decided to try it out. The product is about $50 for a 1.7 fl. oz of product. There's one at 20% acidity and another one at a lower percentage which I think is 12%. The product claims to improve skintone, wrinkles, scars, pore size, hyperpigmentation, and reduce breakouts. The M2 is the two featured ingredient in this serum which is mandelic acid and malic acids. Mandelic acid is antibacterial and malic protects the skin from free radicals.

a.c. care Water Essence

When I first heard of this product it sounded great and it was popular in Korean or so they say. The special ingredient in this line is bee venom and says it attacks scar tissue and dissolves it. Bee venom has always been a folk remedy and this water essence is their best seller. Its alittle above the affordable price range but the bottle is 120ml so its not too bad. This product is for acne and troubled skin. It didn't occur until later when thinking how they extract the venom from the bees. I didn't find any details but I will from now on avoid products with animal ingredients as I fear its animal cruelty. If you are allergic to bees I would avoid it.

The bottle is rather light and its a spray bottle. I don't like spray bottle as I suck at aim it straight so I had to spray the product into my palm first. The spray is fine and misty. The product doesn't have much smell to it either. Its very watery and it absorbs quickly. After using it for over a month I feel kind of disappointed in this product. It really didn't do much for my acne at all so I had to go back to using Naruko's Oil Out serum to do some damage control. I really can't see much benefit to my skin from using this product. It really didn't do anything. At least it did not clog my pores or gave me any allergic reactions.

Overall, I don't recommend it. Here's the ingredients list: Water, ButyleneGlycol, Alcohol Denat., Propanediol, Glycereth-26, Sodium Hyaluronate, PEG-60, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Methylparaben, Sodium Citrate, Glycerin, Citru Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Disodium EDTA, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Allantoin, Citric Acid, Pridoxine HCI, Ammonium Glycyrrihizate, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, HamamelisVirginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water, Bee Venom, Triclosan, PEG-400, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Royal Jelly Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Fragrance

Shiseido White Lucent Intensive Spot Targeting Serum

This was part of the White Lucent bag but I have been using it separately. Its a very light serum and goes on like water and absorbs into the skin quickly. It has a light scent that isn't perfumey or chemical-like. I can't say I see any difference in my sun and acne spots, but its a nice serum to nourish your skin with. This doesn't seem to be the kind of serum to expect any huge differences on your skin. If you have spots they will take at least two months to fully get rid of. A visit to a dermatologist will give you faster results. As I've said in previous reviews that using more than one spot correcting serum will have more noticeable and faster difference. I believe serums are a good investment for the health of your skin. They are mostly to fix problems rather than preventing, but using good products will prevent your skin from getting worse or developing new problems.

Overall, I think this product is nice to have around as a secondary back-burner serum, but not necessary for the money it costs.

Naruko Niaouli and Tea Tree Balancing Serum

I’ve been hearing about Naruko products from youtubers who raved about them so I decided to try their acne line since its the one problem I have the most trouble with. Plus, the products are affordable. The acne line are green, but it seems almost every Naruko product are in purple bottles that are semi translucent with white caps. It makes sense for the acne line to be green since its key ingredient is Tea Tree Oil. The packaging box is nice because its thicker than most skincare products and you can change them into colorful boxes to hold anything. They all include instructions on how to make them. I never successfully made one, but not to say its overly difficult. This is a Taiwanese product but the instructions are like Ikea where its just pictures. There is a paragraph buts its not in English. The product descriptions are in both Chinese and English. It describes every product in the acne line and its instructions on how to use them. Naruko does have a USA website you can order products from but I ordered mine from an Hong Kong online store. The US website does show images and descriptions of their products so I advice going there to learn more and see.

I bought the older version of this acne serum because the newer one was out of stock, but I hear both are pretty good. People say the older one has a more alcohol smell to it. I smelled it and its not bad at all. Their products are fairly light in scent and nothing overly gross at least to me it isn’t. It just smells typical skincare smell which is a bit chemically, but that should mean it has no fragrance which can cause health problems. The bottle is not too small for a serum, and it has a dropper which you pump. The instructions say to use two pumps, but some days I just use one. Its really light. The texture is clear-ish white and its like saliva by the way it sticks to the bottle. This stuff works right away! After using for a couple weeks I have noticed that my acne hasn’t significantly reduced in numbers but it has made them so much smaller. I usually get pencil eraser sized pimples but using this serum there are much smaller at least half! I have never used an acne product that worked this well. It guess it helps that I am also helps that I use an acne cleaner too. But just using an acne cleanser hasn’t shown any noticeable changes to my acne as this serum does. And after a month it has continue to work well for me. Some say it helps for hormonal acne, but during the time of the month for me it really didn’t help, haha. Sure it did make them smaller but its still awful that I breakout so much during this time than any other time or causes of my acne. I have been keeping track of how often I’ve been getting acne, and ever since starting using this serum its slowly becoming less often. The downside is that I’m easily running out of this since I use it twice a day and its only 30ml.

Since this product has impressed me, I have gone out to buy more of this line, and of the newer version called Oil Out. The bottle is lighter in color and instead of a dropper its now a pump with is good because it might mean more product since the dropper did take up quite a bit of space. The size is still exactly the same. The new version works just as well. After using the serum for months now, I can definitely say it lowered the number of breakouts I had. Before I would get a pimple about 13 times a month, but now I get about 5-7 breakouts a month. They are very small, do not stick around too long and the scarring isn't as bad. It didn't help much with my oiliness or my pore size though. After using it so long, I have been using it a couple times a month so my skin doesn't get immune to it. 

I will try an experiment with pairing this serum with another acne product and see if it helps me completely get rid of my acne.

Overall, this product is great and recommend this brand for anyone. Not everything they have will work so wonderfully, but at least one will! Thanks for reading!

Naruko apple seed and tranexamic acid serum

Bought this serum because I heard about it through a girl's YouTube video. I like apples so it appealed to me already. The smell is really pleasant and natural. Nothing chemicaly or medicine like or artificial which is uncommon. The serum is light and milky. I was generous with it the first time I used it, but it was too heavy and I got oily later one. I've worked to use the right amount, but it did nothing for my big pores though. On the bright side it did not make me break out or irritated. This didn't last very long despite big packaging. Took me probably three months to use it all up. The bottle design is odd but has a nice pump. I just wish it wasn't opaque as its impossible to tell when I'm running out. Not really recommended, and was disappointed that it didn't work for me. At least it was affordable and not overly expensive.

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence

I've been hearing about this brand for awhile and have always wanted to try because I hear its amazing however its also expensive. But I have noticed Imomoko sells a slightly cheaper (as in under $100) of the product and decided to buy it. The bottle seems to be part of a set but imomoko is selling it separately which I appreciate. The bottle is 75ml which is good amount of product. Its a glass bottle with a plastic screw cap. The bottle has a opening at the top but doesn't easily drip the product out so you have to shake it to get the product out. I can tell you it come spill out alot cause you have to shake it a bit to get much out. You hardly need more than a couple drops.

What SK-II is known for is their ingredient they called Pitera. Years ago, SK-II scientist noticed the youthful and flawless skin on the hands of workers in a sake brewery, and have spent years researching it. Its very natural and nutrient rich. The product looks and feels like water, but has a mild smell. It absorbs quickly onto the skin. I haven't heard anything bad about this product from anyone yet. Out of all the products I've used, I've never had one that worked so well so quickly. After using it for a day my skin has totally looked better. Its looks healthier and youthful. My pores are not as noticeable and it seems to help my skin heal those nasty acne scars better too. Not to say this will replace all my skincare, its not that amazing, but I definitely helps alot and I will be using it day and night!

I've always been skeptical on purchasing skincare products that are over $50 because I don't know if it be worth, but this one is definitely a winner! I highly recommend!