A Standout Spot Treatment, Finally!

I feel like spot treatments are a category of skincare that I'm just consistently underwhelmed by. Most products maybe shorten the healing time of a blemish from 7 days to 5 days or something like that, but is it really worth the effort? We're all busy people in a busy world and I am always looking for that spot treatment that will give me instant results, and this week, I think I've finally found it.

To be honest, I really didn't expect the DermaMed Acne Prone Skin Gel to work as well as it does. I live near an organic grocery store, so I picked this little pot up on a whim. DermaMed is a natural skincare brand, and the ingredients list for this product is a very short and simple list. I'll list them down below:

Ingredients: Water, aloe vera gel, viola tricolor extract, tea tree essential oil, rose hip oil, vitamins A and E, grapefruit seed extract (natural preservative)

Well isn't that just about the shortest ingredients list for a skincare product ever. I wanted to give this product a try because it's a blend of anti-inflammatory(tea tree), soothing/redness reducing (aloe vera gel), and healing (rose hip oil and vitamin E) ingredients, so it's helping skin heal and also reducing any scarring that might occur.

The product comes in an opaque jar and has a light cream texture that smells, unsurprisingly, of tea tree oil. I was going through a pretty bad bout of breakouts all over my cheeks when I first tried it. Immediately, I noticed a significant decrease in redness on all the areas I applied it to, which I've never really seen happen before. The product does absorb and dry, which I like because it won't rub onto my pillows at night, so I kept reapplying throughout the night just for good measure. The next morning when I washed my face, I noticed that all of my blemishes had significantly decreased in size and redness. The small ones basically vanished overnight. I also had a huge red lump that had come to a head the previous night (TMI?), so I popped it and applied this cream on top, and it was almost completely gone as well.

 Honestly, this is probably the first time a spot treatment has given me immediate results, and I'm so impressed. And believe me, I've tried my fair share of spot treatments throughout the years. Hopefully it will continue to give me good results. If you also struggle with finding an effective spot treatment, definitely give this little gem a try!

An Unlikely Love Affair: Marchesa Parfum d'Extase

Although I've always been fascinated with the art of creating perfume, I am somehow extraordinarily picky when it comes to scents. There's always something wrong. Too sweet. Too rich. Too fruity. Too creamy. Too powdery. Etc etc etc. In fact, I never really wore perfume simply because I couldn't find a single one I liked.

Until now that is.

The Marchesa Parfum d'Extase whisked my little heart away at first glance with its beautiful glass and crystal packaging, and when I smelled it, I knew it was the one. The perfume is said to be inspired by the brand Marchesa's collection of dresses, which are all so dreamy. The perfume is definitely a floral scent, the strongest notes being iris and jasmine. Jasmine and rose are very romantic scents, but I think the iris and lotus give the perfume a very clean edge as well. However, the thing that sets this perfume over all the other floral perfumes out on the market is that this perfume has the perfect balance of floral notes and green notes - possibly from the young violet leaves? - which takes away the sweetness and powdery quality that floral scents can often have and makes it smell oh so fresh.

I wouldn't describe this perfume as being a sexy fragrance, but there's something so effortlessly elegant and chic about it. Sephora describes this scent as being feminine and empowered, and I think it really is just that. For me, this fragrance evokes the image of the modern business woman: confident, intelligent; modern yet classic, modest yet powerful; someone who is perhaps not the strongest voice in the room, but who is always in control of the situation; and someone who is always dressed to perfection.

Now that I've perhaps thoroughly confused you with all my description, I have to say that you really have to smell Marchesa yourself to understand. The only downside to this fragrance is that it really isn't very long lasting, maybe a few hours at best, which is really such a disappointment because the middle notes and base notes of the fragrance get lost as it fades. I imagine it would fade to a more sensual, musky scent, which to be honest I wouldn't know if I'd like, so maybe it's a good thing. Who knows. Just keep a rollerball in your handbag and reapply throughout the day.

Have you tried Marchesa Parfum d'Extase?

In a League of its Own: Biotherm Aquasource

If you are on the hunt for a new summer moisturizer, look no further than the Biotherm Aquasource Deep Hydration Replenishing Gel. It's really been a while since I've liked a moisturizer enough to finish the whole tub, but I've already completely used up one tub of Biotherm Aquasource, bought a new one, and bought a back up, just in case. In case you can't tell, I've got a serious love affair going on with this moisturizer.

I was first introduced to this product by one of my favourite beauty bloggers, Igisele, who has absolutely gorgeous skin. She said that back in her acne-prone days, this moisturizer really saved her face by providing lots of hydration yet not making the skin oily at all. That sounded like just about the perfect thing for my combination, acne-prone skin, and I wonder why it took me so long to finally purchase this product.

As you can see in the picture above, this moisturizer comes as a light green gel. Biotherm is known for using marine algae and plankton ingredients in their skincare, and I personally really love algae ingredients in skincare. We're beginning to see more and more algae ingredients in high-tech brands such as Algenist, and I think that this field definitely has a lot of potential. Somehow, and I don't know how this product does it, I find this moisturizer to be lightweight enough to use in the morning under makeup, yet hydrating enough to use at night, depending on the amount you apply. Once the moisturizer sets and sinks in, my skin always looks visibly more plumped, yet it feels kind of matte to the touch. Over the course of the day, I find that my t-zone gets less oily as well.

This moisturizer is paraben free and mineral oil free. It really calms and soothes my very sensitive skin, and does not break me out at all. The scent of it is pleasantly green (like when perfume has green notes?), and really gives a bit of luxury to the whole experience. While it is perfectly lightweight for the summer, I imagine that this moisturizer will be hydrating enough to use during the cold winter months as well. At $47 for a 50mL tub, this moisturizer lasted me about a month when used both morning and night. It's definitely not a cheap product, but I really like to just go to town with slathering my skin in this, so if you use it a bit more sparingly, I imagine it could last you much longer.