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!

retinol serum skincare
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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.
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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.
serum skincare
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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.
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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!
serum skincare whitening
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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.
organic skincare serum skincare
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[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.
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[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.
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[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.
sample review serum
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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).

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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
serum skincare
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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.

acne serum skincare
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