This is the first “natural” product that I’ve used outside Forest Essential’s range. You’ll be pleased to hear that I paid the full retail price of GBP 21 for 30ml for this product. I purchased it from Space NK (and not cultbeauty).
Never heard of this brand…
It is a heart warming story – the brand was started by two Russian immigrants in the USA almost 30 years ago. They started with one store and now thanks to etailers (and I assume products that work), you can buy them practically everywhere. The focus is very much on keeping ingredients “clean.”
What am I testing?
This is a “vibrancy boosting” face mask (whatever that is).
The instructions are to “gently massage the formula onto cleaned skin using circular motions and let it work for 10 minutes. Remove with warm water…Can be used twice a week.”
The ingredients tell us what the mask does
Sometimes the description of the product is underwhelming as well as unhelpful…the ingredient label generally isn’t. I want to highlight 3 ingredients/mix that the product contains
- ACB fruit mix: this product contains an ACB fruit mix, which means it contains AHA (and therefore is exfoliating). Other benefits include skin brightening and moisturising.
- Ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate: this is a Vitamin C derivative, that is registered as a skin lightener with the South Korean Food & Drug Administration (see reference below)
- Citric Acid: this is an Alpha Hydroxy Acid and a mild exfoliant
The mask should therefore be exfoliating, moisturising and brightening.
Results?
There is undoubtedly some skin brightening. My skin does feel softer but not amazingly soft (like it did with Wishful) and there is no lightening of any of the pigmentation. Here are the obligatory pros and cons list…
Would I buy this again?
The product is priced at US$ 62- US$ 66 for 100ml and you are going to get about 30+ uses, pricing it at $2 per use. It is more expensive than Wishful for sure ($43 for 100ml). But I don’t have the same concerns about this product as I do about Wishful. This is an inoffensive, mild exfoliating product that has some brightening effect. If I leave it on for 14 minutes instead of 10 minutes, my skin will not peel off.
Importantly, unlike Wishful I can use this product several times a week without damaging my skin barrier. I cannot even think of using Wishful more than once every 10 days.
This will be part of my weekly routine because its a great maintenance product. If I were looking for something that removed pigmentation then clearly I would not select this product.
See also
- Whitening effect of topical Vitamin C
- More details on Vitamin C derivatives
- The importance of your skin barrier
- Review of Yo Wishful Enzyme Scrub
References
What is an ACB fruit mix?
Its sold by this COMPANY, and contains:
- Water
- Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit/Leaf Extract (or Billberry)
- Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract
- Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract
- Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract
- Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple) Extract
Its essentially mix of fruit that have AHA. These are identified as: Sugar Cane (Glycolic Acid), Billberry ( Lactic Acid), Sugar Maple (Tartaric and Malic Acids), Orange and Lemon (Citric Acid)