If you remember, I posted a sneak peek of seven Mario Badescu samples. This entire skincare line came by mail after filling out a questionnaire at the brand's website. Included were the Enzyme Cleansing Gel, Special Cucumber Lotion, Hydro Moisturizer, Hyaluronic Eye Cream, Strawberry Face Scrub, Drying Mask, and Drying Cream. That's a number of products so click through for quick reviews!
CLEANSE: The enzyme cleansing gel I really like. It's fragranced and has a pretty shine to it, purely aesthetic I'm pretty sure. It feels quite gentle and doesn't lather a lot. My skin doesn't feel stripped of moisture the way it does when I use foaming cleansers. I would buy the full size.
TONE: The special cucumber lotion is also great. This is an astringent-type toner, one of the few toners I feel has actually made a difference in my skin. And that's saying a lot, since toners are simply accessories in skin care.
MOISTURIZE: The hydro moisturizer with vitamin C is surprising hydrating given its gel texture. My skin didn't flake at all when I was using this merely twice day, in a dry chilly atmosphere. It's an excellent basic moisturizer.
The hyaluronic eye cream is a lightweight but similarly hydrating eye cream with anti-aging properties. The packet I received indicated twice daily use, but I don't put this on in the morning because the hyaluronic acid sensitizes skin to UV light.
EXTRAS: These treatments are to be used 2-3 times a week. The strawberry face scrub is a very gentle exfoliating scrub with real seeds. It smells artificial, like strawberry candy, instead of the fruit itself. This one foams a bit but still isn't drying. It feels nice but I don't feel that it does anything for me.
The drying mask is similar to Snoe's Detox Clay Mask in texture, smell, function, and effect. I'm glad to have found it. A little goes a very long way.
The drying cream is similar to the Drying Lotion without the anti-inflammatory effect. It's used sparingly, to be blended out onto the skin, so it's ok to use under makeup.
Some before and afters after two weeks of this regimen, sans makeup as usual. I apologize for the difference in color temperature; autumn was transitioning into winter so lighting was particularly unpredictable. While you could make the argument that my pimples were simply running their natural course and fading, I feel that the regimen contributed to the softening and smoothening of my skin, even more than Shiseido's Ibuki line which I am currently testing. I particularly like the enzyme cleansing gel, cucumber lotion/toner, and hydro moisturizer. These are basic, very affordable products that I found effective on my skin, so I'll be picking up full sizes in the future.
Mario Badescu is available at major department stores in the US and in Rustan's in the Philippines.