little white truths

Every now and then you some across a product that really doesn't work for you, and this is one of those for me.

I don't know what I was expecting when I bought this, but I certainly wasn't expecting it to be a gel - and I think that's one of the reasons why I've struggled with it so much. 

It's a gel and it leaves a coating on my face, and it's not hydrating in the slightest so I learned pretty quickly that I needed to add an oil to it: otherwise my face would be dry all day long and that's something I can't tolerate because my dry skin often feels so uncomfortable anyway, and it's even worse when a product is drying me out further.

Before I bought this, I read plenty of reviews and most of them were very good so I was expecting to see something amazing happen with my skin. Unfortunately I haven't seen the kinds of results I was expecting (see product claims below), so it obviously works for some but it just doesn't gel with my skin.

And I've been using it for two months now so I should have seen results if I were going to. Foo.

Skinstitut claims/product details:

• A highly active, oil free complex that fades the appearance of dark spots
• Use in conjunction with a broad spectrum SPF product to prevent further sun damage
• Reduces pigmentation and helps minimise future damage
• Exfoliates and smooths
• Lightens and brightens complexion, improving luminosity
• Evens skintone
• Clears pores and treats congestion
• Restores skin renewal process
• Aids barrier repair
• Prepares skin for dermal therapy modalities
• Daily use over a month is required to achieve dramatic results
• RRP $45 AUD for 30ml, but do shop around (eg Adore Beauty stocks it for around $30 AUD)

Verdict

This product hasn't done anything for me and I can't even rely on it for hydration (quite the opposite: it dries my skin out) so I don't like it and I can't recommend it. Mind you, enough people have raved about it that I wouldn't write the product off based on my review alone - it may just be that it doesn't agree with my skin.

It's an orange gel with a faint, fresh and gel-like scent that isn't overpowering. It's one of those products that spreads well but takes a while to absorb - it's almost as though my skin is repelling it - so that's something to be aware of.

The first thing I noticed about this product was just how drying it is. On me, it coats my skin rather than sinking in and doing what it's meant to do, so after the first couple of uses, I started mixing it with an oil because it dried my skin out so badly and the coating interfered with my moisturiser's ability to absorb, so it couldn't relieve the dryness I was experiencing.

The product also has a slightly tacky finish that may bother some people, but I can live with it because I'm applying my moisturiser over the top anyway so no big loss there.

To start with I was using this twice daily (morning and evening), but when I wasn't seeing results, I decided to use it only in the morning because I need something nourishing for night.

Adding a few drops of oil has certainly helped keep my skin feeling comfortable, but it never feels good when I use this. Indeed, it always feels drier than it should and my fine lines and wrinkles look more pronounced, which obviously isn't ideal but I did want to keep using this long enough to review it.

Worth noting too is that I've tried this serum mixed with Skinstitut's Vitamin C (reviewed here), which is meant to increase potency. Unfortunately the combination of those two products doesn't work any better for me than either product has on its own.

On the claims: no this hasn't faded my dark spots; not it hasn't reduced pigmentation; no it hasn't exfoliated or smoothed my skin; not it hasn't lightened or brightened my complexion; no it hasn't evened skintone; and no it hasn't cleared pores or treated any congestion. 

Indeed, it's safe to say that this serum hasn't met any of its claims for me personally and for this reason I can't recommend it. The claims say you need to use it daily for at least a month to see 'dramatic results', and I've used it for two now and haven't seen any change in my skin - other than that it's drier than it should be.

Not for me.