little white truths

I received this Ren retinoid cream in a recent Mecca Beauty Loop Box, and I must say I didn't have high hopes for it because I haven't had much luck with retinols or retinoids in the past: they tend to be too harsh for my skin and generally leave my face looking sick and ashy, and feeling super uncomfortable and thin to boot.

But looks like I've finally found one that works for me - woot woot! Would you believe, even though I've only been using this for just over three weeks, it's already wiped out an age spot I had sitting in the middle of my forehead?! 

Is that even possible?!

Yay!

Honestly, I still can't believe how much difference this has made to my skin in such a short space of time. That age spot I mentioned above started fading from about day three of using this product, and after three weeks, you can barely see it at all. Even my husband has noticed.

The product is a thick, white cream that takes some work to rub in. I apply a generous amount as directed and work it into my skin, and it does take a while for the white cast it leaves to fully absorb, but once it's gone, I'm not aware of the product on my skin.

The first few times I used this, I noticed that my skin did have that slightly sick and grey look the next morning that I've experienced from other retinol and retinoid products (eg Sunday Riley's Luna, which I find too much for my skin), but within a week it stopped doing that and instead all I saw was results.

Do note that I only apply this at night, because I felt that the suggested twice-daily applications would be too much for my dry, sensitive skin - so do play around with the applications and don't feel you need to use it as much as directed to see results. 

To start with I was applying it over my serum, but once I saw that it was actually working, I applied this first and went back in with my serum maybe an hour later, just to make sure that I was giving this the best chance to work (by using it on clean skin).

I would normally use a skincare product like this for more than three weeks before reviewing it, but I haven't needed to in this case because I'm seeing results already, and I can only imagine that they'll get better over time. Aside from having a noticeable effect on pigmentation, my skin does look clearer and more even, and it feels smoother to boot. So yes, I do think this generally meets its claims and I'm thrilled with what it's done for my skin in such a short space of time.

The only thing I don't love about the product is that it doesn't feel particularly moisturising for my dry skin - it might be thick but it doesn't feel rich and nourishing on me - but that's a small price to pay for a product that's all but removed pigmentation where other product have failed. Also, I've seen that Ren has released another retinoid product that looks like more of an oil, so I might have to give that a crack to see if I like it as much as I do this.

In sum, this cream has worked wonders on my skin and I recommend it. I've given it an HG tag, and while I'm not thrilled about the $95 price for the full-sized bottle, I'm willing to spend that amount on a product that works this well.

Love.