I took a poll on my Instagram Story to see which content method you would want to see my skincare review, and just a little more than half of you wanted the YouTube video version (SEE video below).  Since it was a close call, I decided to go ahead and also draft up a blog version of the review.  If you want the quick rundown of the 11 items that I reviewed, then the video is probably your best option.  However, if you want links and the nitty gritty of each item, please read on.

INSTYTUTUM FLAWLESS PADS

My obsession with daily peel pads started over a year ago with Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Daily Peels.  I use the extra strength version, and it was love at first use.  I told anyone and everyone I could about these peels, and I still do.  However, about a month ago I was introduced to the Instytutum Flawless Pads.  It comes in a 60-pack, cost less than $70, (which is less than the Alpha Beta peels), and does just about what I need from a daily peel pad.  It’s also a single pad vs. Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Daily Peels, which is a 2-step process.  Don’t get me wrong, I still use my Alpha Beta peels, but there are times when I just want to swipe my face with the peel and move on with life, and I don’t necessarily want to wait 2 minutes in between each application, know what I mean?  In my opinion, this is a great substitute for daily peels.  Not sure I would spend the money on the Alpha Beta peels now that I have discovered the Flawless Pads, (which is the reason why the Alpha Beta peels were not put in my recent blog post of Beauty Must-Haves).  For me it’s not always about known brands, and I’m always one to look for great unknown products and share them with everyone once they’ve been discovered.

INSTYTUTUM BRIGHTENING C-ERUM

This was an easy product to incorporate into my normal skincare routine.  I have my go-to serums, but the Anti-Wrinkle Brightening C-erum gave me a great glow the first time I used it during the day, so I decided to use it in conjunction with my other daily serums.  I only need one Vitamin-C serum per day, so I would alternate between this and the Joanna Vargas Rescue Serum, (which I will discuss next).  I love the texture of this milky serum.  It goes on clear, and feel thick enough to glide across and cover your whole face with just a few drops.  This cost less than $90, and I find it very effective for that day glow look.  I normally like to wear this when I’m not wearing makeup for the day.  It gives my skin a very healthy and dewy look.

JOANNA VARGAS RESCUE SERUM

This is a skincare brand that I quickly fell in love with after using their nightly Supernova Serum (SEE BEAUTY ANATOMY).  I figured since their night serum is so f*cking amazing that their vitamin-c Rescue Serum must be just as phenomenal.  It’s not.  WAIT!  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really great serum.  I just mean that it’s not as great of a product as the Supernova.  The texture and consistency is more like an oil.  I use a full pump in order for it to spread across my face evenly, and it absorbs into your skin very quickly.  So what’s my overall feel of the serum:

Do I use it every other day?  Yes.  Does it give me a glow?  Yes.  Do I think it’s worth spending $150 on?  No.  Will I use it until the very last drop?  Yes.

PATYKA ANTIOXIDANT SMOOTHING CREAM

Here is another product that I was able to add into my daily skincare routine without a pause.  I mentioned it briefly in an InstaStory that I posted, but I don’t think I gave the Antioxidant Smoothing Cream enough credit or exposure.  Not sure if this means much to you, but this is the only day moisturizer that I’ve used for the last 1.5 months.  I love the smell, the texture, the way it goes on my face and doesn’t make my skin oily.  This is a GREAT day moisturizer.  I do want to say that it is very light, and may not be rich enough for those living in colder weather, especially since we are approaching fall season.  However, I live in sunny LA, and this moisturizer is perfect for my normal/oily/combo skin.  This isn’t a brand that’s carried at most stores, but it is available online at Bloomingdale’s and Revolve.  If you do have a Bloomingdale’s in your area, stop by and check out their products.  I’m pretty sure you’ll be amazed by their other skincare products as well.

INSTYTUTUM  MELTING CLEANSER

Every once in a while I’ll be excited to try out something from a brand I love, and be thoroughly disappointed in the product.  The Instytutum Melting Cleanser just happens so to be one of these products.  I’ve tried using this product with my face not wet, already wet, with makeup on, and without makeup on, with just a little bit of product, and with a big dollop of the product.  In every which way I have never felt like my face was clean.  It always felt like I still had a thin layer of residue on my face.  Maybe that’s part of the milky texture?  I don’t know. Either way, it’s not my cup of tea.  I don’t feel like this cleanser washes away my debris or makeup.  This is a product that I don’t recommend.  Whomp whomp!

URSA MAJOR FANTASTIC FACE WASH

I got this Fantastic Face Wash only last week, and have pretty much used it every morning since.  This is a gel-based face wash that smells heavenly, but it is VERY light.  I don’t recommend using this as a face wash for the evening or when you’re washing off makeup.  I don’t mind it for the morning when I want something light to rinse off the products I’ve used the night before.  It’s a fair priced face wash ($12 for 2oz. and $28 for 8oz.), and I love the natural and vegan ingredients in it.  This was given to me at a Heyday event, which encourages healthy and natural based skincare products.  Since I trust Heyday, I’ve used the associative property and have put my trust in Ursa Major as well.  I have a facial with Heyday tomorrow, so I’ll let you know if they use any of their other products on my face.

HELLO ACTIVATED CHARCOAL TOOTHPASTE

Charcoal has been THE talked about ingredient in a lot of beauty care products.  From face masks, to exfoliators, to now toothpaste, charcoal has been known to detoxify all parts of the body.  I saw an influencer do an InstaStory about how she’s about to lose all of her male followers once she brushed her teeth with charcoal toothpaste, and have been interested to try it out myself.  So when I received Hello Activated Charcoal Toothpaste to try, I did not hesitate one bit.

First, the toothbrush that goes with the toothpaste does wonders on my ever-so-sensitive teeth.  The head of the brush is small enough to get into the back corners of my mouth, and the grey-colored bristles are soft enough to not injure my gums.  The toothpaste taste exactly like a normal toothpaste.  The only major difference I found in this toothpaste vs any other toothpaste that I’ve tried is the color.  The consistency is a bit lighter than regular toothpaste, but it’s not runny by any means.  I’m not sure if my teeth are whiter than before, but they have maintained it’s color regardless of how much coffee or tea I drink, (which is good thing, right?).  Hello has sent me a couple other toothpastes to try, so I’ll let you know the comparison once I’ve tried them all.

SISLEY PARIS EXPRESS FLOWER GEL MASK

It’s funny how you think you know a product and tell everyone how to use it until you read the product details on a department store page to realize you ‘may’ have used it incorrectly.  And thus is the case with Sisley Paris Express Flower Gel Mask, which I applied and wore to sleep under my other skincare products when it was suppose to be used to rejuvenate the skin in preparation for makeup.  Whoops.  My bad.  Lol!  If anything, I did wake up to really great taut and soft skin, so I would say that the gel mask still did it’s job.

This mask is however too expensive for my taste.  It’s $140, but I do believe it’s worth it’s cost.  This is out of my tax bracket, but if you have the income to support a very luxurious skincare obsession, then I would add this to your list.

FARMACY HONEYMOON GLOW

This is the other night serum that I use on the days that I don’t use my Supernova Serum.  The Farmacy Honeymoon Glow feels a bit creamier than the Supernova.  It does have a very slight consistency and stickiness similar to honey, but the overall feel is great.  It gives a great glow to your skin, but I personally feel like the glow I receive the following day from using the Supernova trumps that of the Honeymoon Glow.  Obviously it’s unfair to compare the two when there is an huge price difference.  At less than $60, I think the Honeymoon Glow is a great product to use.

I can’t really say whether or not my skin has gotten better because of this one specific product, but I do believe that this night serum has played a role in the improvement to my skin.  I feel like I can look in the mirror each night and feel extra happy about how healthy, bright and glowing my skin is.

FARMACY HONEY POTION

I was taken aback the first time I used the Honey Potion mask on my face.  I did read the directions and knew that there would be a warming sensation, but when I actually felt the warmth I was pleasantly surprised.  This mask does exactly what it says it does, which is to make your skin glow, but compared to other masks that are out there, I found it just slightly cumbersome to apply.  I’ll admit, I’ve been spoiled with great facial masks, but with that comes experience and I can now nitpick at the slightest things that I don’t like.

Price wise, it’s $56, and you seem to get a decent use out of the jar.  I’d say you’re looking at 8-10 applications, which comes out to be around $6 per use.  That’s the average price of a decent sheet mask.  This isn’t a mask that I would go dashing to Sephora for, but it’s definitely interesting and worth the try.

M-61 POWERGLOW PEEL

I have saved the best for last.  The M-61 PowerGlow Peel definitely took me by surprise.  More so than the warming sensation of the Honey Potion Mask.  By this I mean that I am completely won over by this peel and the two other serum pads (Hydraboost HA Serum Pad and Vitablast C Serum Pad) that I used alongside of it.  This was an unknown brand to me.  I don’t normally use unknown products from unknown brands so readily, but for some reason I just felt the need to try their 3-day Glow Challenge. And sure enough, after 3 days I felt a complete renewal to my skin, and this is with me already feeling like I have pretty great skin from my current skincare routine.  Without a doubt I will continue to use this peel and serum pads, and I will reach out to Blue Mercury for more of these products.  I challenge you to try it out yourself since the proof is in the pudding.  I was only given 5 treatments per pack, and I’m already feeling a slight withdrawal.  I’m telling you, it’s THAT good, and more so, I recommend using all three pads together and you’ll really see and feel a difference.

Congratulations, you have once again read through an entire novel of 11 different product reviews.  This is quite the achievement for both of us, cause I’m now braindead from typing all of this down for you.  Whew.  I’m going to take a shower, throw on a sheet mask, and watch Terrace House on Netflix.  Night!

xo, Linda

Cover photo photographed by Stefanie Meier