Cult Favorite: Skinceuticals Advanced Pigment Corrector

It took me a bit of time to test the Advanced Pigment Corrector from Skinceuticals because, fortunately for me, I haven’t had a blemish in months. This came after my flu where I spent days lying in bed for days. It was inflamed for days before it settled into a bumpy blemish and that’s when I started using this.

The Advanced Pigment Corrector promises to exfoliate, improve skin radiance, and reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation using hydroxyphenoxy propionic acid, ellagic acid, and salicylic acid. It’s also made without parabens, fragrance, and dyes.

It has a heavy consistency and a really creamy texture, creamier than I’m used to and creamier than I would prefer. Due to the consistency and texture of this product, the product would last you a long time. A little pump can more than cover the cheek area.

As a spot treatment, I noticed lightening after about a week of use and saw significant results after about a month of twice a day use daily use.

I got faster results on redness, I noticed that this has lessened the redness on my cheeks after about a couple of weeks of once a day use. Even without makeup, my face looked more even hence, it looked clearer and brighter. I just wish that it really provided quicker results for brown pigmentation spots.

Unfortunately, my photo didn’t do that any justice. Apologies but I tried looking for the same lighting. It’s a sad fact but I am not a talented photographer.

The Skinceuticals Advanced Pigment Corrector was provided by @skinceuticalsuki. Available for £95 at skinceuticals.co.uk

Skincare Review: SVR Sebiaclear Serum, Sebiaclear Mat+Pores, and Hydraliane Riche Intense Moisturizing Cream

Founded by 1962 by pharmacists, French brand SVR Laboratoire aims to create beautiful skin through dermo-cosmetic products with the highest dosage possible of active ingredients. They sent over a few products suitable for my #oilyskin.

The Sebiaclear Serum Anti-Marks Anti-Blemish Global Corrector (€19.90) promises to control blemishes, reduce acne marks, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and protect the skin from free radicals using 14% gluconolactone, 4% niacinamide, aroleat samphira, hyaluronic acid, redsnow extract, and pollustop. It has a medicinal light fragrance that feels gentle on the skin. It sinks in quickly and can be used day or night as it doesn’t affect makeup. It has helped lighten discoloration but I didn’t see improvements on my pores. However, what I really liked about this is that left my skin looking clear and feeling smooth and hydrated.

The Sebiaclear Mat+Pores (€10) aims to eliminate blemishes, regulate the production of sebum while mattifying and moisturizing the skin for 8 hours with 4% gluconolactone, 4% niacinamide, and 2% Mat SR. This has helped on preventing blemishes as it has helped take out up and coming bumps but, unfortunately, this is not strong enough to mattify and hydrate my skin. If used without the serum, it will make my face oily after half a day.

The Hydraliane Riche Intense Moisturizing Cream (€12.90) contains 60% physioadapted water and hydrophilic sugars to hydrate and 2% glycerin and 5% propanediol to moisturize. I was a bit put off by the riche part but it is amazingly doesn’t feel that occlusive. Though I only use this at night because of the creamy texture, this hydrates and moisturizes my skin. I don’t wake up with overly oily skin when I use this.

Overall, I have enjoyed trying these products, especially the serum. I like that going in, you know how much of the active ingredients are used in the product and with their variety of ranges, there is an inexpensive product for all skin types and concerns.

The SVR Sebiaclear Serum Anti-Marks Anti-Blemish Global Corrector, Sebiaclear Mat+Pores, and Hydraliane Riche Intense Moisturizing Cream were provided by @svr and @wizardpublicity. Available at lavo-svr.com

Skincare Review: Drunk Elephant Slaai™ Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser

I have repeatedly written this but cleansing really is one of my favorite routines. I have more first and double cleansers than I’d like to have but I just like testing cleansers. So, when a favorite brand of mine sent over their newest product, a #cleansingbalm, I was excited for both me and my skin.

The Slaai™ Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser from Drunk Elephant promises to be a buttery cleansing balm that removes excess oil, grime, and makeup. It contains mongongo oil to protect the vital lipids in skin as it melts dirt and other impurities from skin, fruit extracts (blueberry, kiwi, and strawberry) and replenishing fruit oils (cranberry seed oil, açai fruit oil, and watermelon seed oil) that help comfort and moisturize, and moisturizing and lightweight oils (marula seed, baobab seed, kalahari melon seed, mongongo, and ximenia) to protect and nourish. The vegan cleansing balm is free of gluten, essential oils, silicones, fragrance, and PEGs.

Before talking about the product, I would like to first rave about the packaging. It’s cute, colorful, and sturdy like the other DE products but the magnetized scoop is pure genius. No more losing scoops! I always trust DE to produce the best packaging for skincare products.

As for the actual balm, it feels thick and buttery but it dissolves into a thick oil as you massage it on your skin. The thickness feels, for me, nourishing. Due to the consistency of this product, a little goes a long way when cleansing with this one. I have read reviews about this leaving a thick film and not being able to remove waterproof makeup but I had a different experience. Emulsifying the balm with a bit of water bit by bit as shown in my video is how I usually remove a cleansing balm. It also helps me thoroughly remove makeup and sunscreen without leaving a film as I rinse it off. It leaves my skin soft and smooth. I would recommend this to those who love cleansing oils but want a sturdier packaging for travel.

The Drunk Elephant Slaai™ Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser was provided by @drunkelephant. Available for $34 at drunkelephant.com

Cult Favorite: Alpha-H Liquid Gold

Even if I have gotten my skin into a pretty good state with my skincare products, I still like using acids. I said I have gotten my skin into a pretty good state, not perfect. I still have some texture problems and I still get blemishes from time to time as I have easily clogged pores. These blemishes leave pigmentation, which is oh so fun. Also, I’m in my 30s so, there are a ton of things to prevent which, again is all very exciting.

I’ve had my fair share of acids but it’s my first time using Liquid Gold from Alpha-H. Recently available in sephora, this Australian-made skincare product promises to clarify and brighten the complexion, reduce the appearance of pigmentation, sun damage, fine lines, and wrinkles, and increase moisture in the skin. It claims to work as a toner, exfoliator, serum, and moisturizer using 5% cosmetic grade glycolic acid sourced from sugar cane, licorice extract, and silk proteins. It’s also #crueltyfree and is made without paraben, silicon, and SLS.

There are as many products focused on glycolic acid as reviews on them and almost as many reviews on Liquid Gold. What I can share, though, is the experience I had with this one. As someone with resistant and non-sensitive oily skin, this clear liquid still tingles a bit when applied to my skin. Compared to other exfoliating toners, which is how I use this, the Liquid Gold feels exfoliating and hydrating at the same time. It’s not as drying as the others while still being declogging to my pores. It is still an intensive treatment product that helps with preventing blemishes and pigmentation so I only use this every other day. This works great for me when my skin is on the dehydrated side and when I have blemishes, which is what happened when I first used this. It was flattened down in a week and pigmentation lightened in about three weeks.

The Alpha-H Liquid Gold was provided by @alphah. Available for $60 at sephora.com

Skincare Review: bareMinerals SkinLongevity Vital Power Range

Choosing to focus on longevity and healthy-looking skin instead of anti-aging, bareMinerals found their hero ingredient, Long Life Herb, to develop the SkinLongevity range of their skincare line. Also known as Chomeiso in Japanese, Long Life Herb, claims to provide a higher vitamin and mineral content than spinach and kale. In addition to being loaded with antioxidants, it has high amounts of calcium, magnesium, and potassium and is high in polyphenols.

The Infusion Serum ($58) is an anti-aging serum aims to reduce visible signs of aging and damage, improve resiliency and suppleness, and protect against age-accelerating factors. It also contains california poppy to protect and lempuyang ginger to brighten and even skin tone. This is a light gel-like texture that feels smooth on the skin. It leaves the skin bouncy and dewy. This is not a morning serum for me as this can be a bit tacky but I like using it a night. It feels nourishing and goes great with my actives. It also feels soothing after exfoliation.

The Eye Gel Cream ($32) promises to protect against visible signs of aging including fine lines, lack of resilience, dullness, and dehydration using california poppy, lempuyang ginger, peptide complex, and hyaluronic acid. This has a bouncy whipped emulsion-like finish. A little goes a long way with this one and it can easily be massaged on the eye area as it doesn’t sink in as quick as the other eye creams. This would be a good partner when I’m using a jade or rose quartz roller on my face. It feels moisturizing, even for my dry under eyes.

The Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 ($36) claims to replenish moisture, help prevent premature signs of aging, and brighten tired or dull-looking skin using green coffee bean and peony extract. This is thick and has a bit of a white cast. The texture and consistency are very similar to most sunscreens. It’s creamy but doesn’t feel greasy. However, this is personally too thick for my oily skin and makes my makeup move around, especially when worn on a warm day.

The Sleeping Gel Cream ($38) has the brand’s mineral moisture technology and hyaluronic acid to moisturize and hydrate the skin. Like the other products, it contains california poppy to defend the skin against environmental stressors and lempuyang ginger extract to brighten the skin. Looking at its thick gel-like consistency, this applies lighter than expected. It also feels gel-like but creamy on the skin. It’s heavily scented though so those who are allergic should take note. It also feels nourishing but is thin enough to be followed by a thick sleeping mask.

With the exception of the SPF, which didn’t really work for my skin, they all feel the same. They would be great for those whose skin concerns are dullness and nourishment. My favorites are the serum and the gel cream, which are great companions on my skincare routines that focus on acids and exfoliating products as they feel soothing and revitalizing.

The bareMinerals SkinLongevity Vital Power products were provided by @bareminerals. Available at bareminerals.com