There are quite a few products on my list to review, but I thought that I would talk only about the products I’ve tried that claim to help acne, and whether they have worked for me or not. Please note that all skin types are different, so what may have not worked for me may actually work for you and vice versa.
What Works:
Fortune Cookie Soap’s Clearly Complexion Bar Soap: This is a new product that I’ve been using for about a month now. I’m hesitant to say that a certain product has worked wonders for me since there are a ton of products I have used that I thought had worked, but then the problem just returns after a while and the product no longer works for me. But the fact is that since I’ve started using this soap twice daily, my acne has gone from a scary, angry breakout to only a few faint pimples. I’m almost waiting to get another breakout so I can claim that it wasn’t this soap thats keeping them away, but honestly I haven’t had one in weeks! That is not to say my skin has been 100% clear (thats an impossible task), but the only spots I have are barely visible. I can only attribute that to this soap (possibly in conjunction with the mask I will talk about below). I will continue to use it and will report if it stops working for me, but so far so good 🙂 The best part is, its only $7.50 and will last me a long, long, long time.
Fortune Cookie Soap’s Clearly Complexion Dry Clay Mask: I’ve been using this along with the above soap. It comes in 4 single packets (a one month supply) so I’ve been using one a week. I haven’t ever used face masks other than what I get from Lush, so it was definitely a new experience for me. Its basically a powder that you mix with your activator of choice (the activator you use depends on your skin type. They are listed on the packet). I chose to use milk with mine. When mixed, it creates this ridiculously black paste…like pitch black. On the website, it looks like a brown color, but its definitely wayy darker than that, which makes it a bit messy. But besides the mess factor (and the fact that you need to dirty up a bowl or cup), I love it! Like I said above, I’m not sure if its this or the soap or that fact that I’m using them both, but it has been working great on my skin! I can really feel it thoroughly cleaning out my skin when I use it. However, at $8 for only 4 weeks, it would be cheaper to use a Lush face mask (either a fresh mask for $5 or Mask of Magnaminty for $11 which lasts for 4 months). I’m glad I got this, though, because it was a nice change of pace from my Lush masks (and I will definitely repurchase sometime in the future), but after the last packet is used up its back to Magnaminty for me!
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[/amazon_link] [amazon_link id=”B0016O5RQQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]LUSH Ocean Salt Scrub[/amazon_link]: I already did a full review on this, so feel free to read that. Overall, its a good (and very delicious smelling!) scrub that I only use once a week because of how scrubby it is, twice a week at the most if my skin is being extra flakey. However, it hasn’t been flakey at all lately (which is awesome…maybe its in part to this scrub?), so I’ve only been using this once a week…usually in the morning.
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[/amazon_link] [amazon_link id=”B000052YJL” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Clean & Clear Persa-Gel 10[/amazon_link]: This is a very strong Benzoyl Peroxide treatment that I only use when I have spots already. I’ve found that Benzoyl Peroxide (unlike Salicylic Acid) really works for me and dries up my pimples overnight, makign them disappear much more quickly than they would have otherwise. I’ll never go without this again, thats for sure.
What Doesn’t:
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[/amazon_link] [amazon_link id=”B0000A606K” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Eliminating Spot Gel[/amazon_link]: Like I mentioned above, Salicylic Acid generally does nothing for me, which I realized more fully after trying this product. I had run out of my Persa-Gel, so I decided to give this a try because it got some good reviews. Well…it definitely did not rapidly eliminate any of my pimples, let alone have any effect on them at all. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the texture, which was a very thin gel.
LUSH’s Grease Lightning Spot Treatment: I was really excited to try this product out (being a huge lushie and all), but I just don’t feel like its done much for my skin. I’m still using it once daily (at night before putting on moisturizer) but I feel like if I stopped using it, my skin wouldn’t be that much different. However, I could be completely wrong, so I will have to see how my skin reacts when I use up the product and remove it from my routine. Overall, it isn’t making my skin any worse from what I can tell…its just not making any noticible difference that I can see.
LUSH’s Saving Face Serum Bar: I have also done a full review on this product. It pains me to put another LUSH product on this list, but this has also done nothing for me. It claims to “mop up excess oils”, but I’ve actually noticed that I get more acne once I use this. The most bothersome part of this product, though, is how hard it is to use. It does not melt in my hand like their massage bars and I found it so difficult to apply to my face!
Other Beauty News: Last night I discovered a really awesome company called Birchbox. Its kind of like a magazine subscription, except instead of a monthly magazine, you recieve a box with 4-5 very large sized samples of prestige beauty products. The price for subscription is $10/month (or you can pay $110 for a year). I’m supposed to receive my first Birchbox in May, and will definitely be posting what I get and my opinion of the products (perhaps it will even be a vlog). Just wanted to let you guys know beforehand if it is something you’re interested in trying. 🙂 You can type “Birchbox” into Youtube to see some examples of what is in a typical birchbox…the product samples really are huge and sometimes full-sized.