If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed a slight increase in my skincare efforts. Ok, not just slight, major. I've always really loved make up, but I'll admit to being lazy and using the cheapest face washes possible until quite recently. In fact, I didn't use moisturizer at all until about 6 months ago, unless I had a free sample.
I'm on the skincare train now and here's why: after I had my son, I developed pretty bad melasma spots. Melasma spots are hormone-related dark spots on your face (or elsewhere on your body really). Genetically, I'm pre-disposed to them; my mom had them, it was always going to happen. I have a spot on my cheekbone underneath my left eye, as well as a darkened line over my lip. The lip is the most common spot and is often referred to as "pregnancy mask," because so many women develop it during pregnancy. I also developed mild rosacea in the past 6 months.
For that reason, I ordered the Ole Henriksen 3 Little Wonders set from Sephora. It includes the Truth Serum, the Invigorating Night Transformation Gel, and the Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer. Here's a review of each product.
Truth Serum
This vitamin C serum is a tried-and-true for many in the skincare world. Vitamin C is said to help melasma spots, which is primarily why I wanted it. After a few days of use, I rapidly realized this would probably be the only thing from the set I would repurchase (more on that later), because my rosacea was vastly diminished within days. My melasma right on my cheekbone is looking lighter; not super significantly, but enough that I'm impressed. In general, I love putting this serum on in the morning. I'm not exactly sure it does a ton, but it's also not doing me a disservice and I love that it includes collagen. It's very light and it smells good; I really like how it feels under my day moisturizer (sunscreen, girl).
Invigorating Night Transformation Gel
This is a product I really go back and forth on. It's probably my least favorite of the set, mainly because I'm just not sure it does anything. Unlike the Truth Serum, it's a gel consistency, so it's not as pleasant to put on personally. It feels really heavy and sticky on my skin. This gel contains AHAs. I wasn't sure what AHAs were supposed to do, so I researched it and these are the basics:
Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA's) might be the anti-aging miracle workers of the new millennium. These New Age, wrinkle-smoothers from plants or milk products also help clear blemishes, hydrate the skin and lighten pigment spots by loosening one to several layers of dead cells clinging to the skin's surface.
That sounds great, except that I didn't notice any of those things happening. I got the same acne I always do. It may contribute slightly to the lightening of my hyper-pigmentation (melasma), but I really do think the Truth Serum does a better job at everything listed there.
Ultimately, just the way this product felt on my skin was enough to make me not want to use it, but I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.
Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer
This is a great night moisturizer because it is so thick. After a few days, I opted to not use it in the morning; I felt it made me too oily. At night though, it's great to have that extra dose of moisture. According to Ole Henriksen, it has "multifruit" acids and antioxidants, which can help in skin turnover and anti-aging. I do think it's a lovely night cream for those with issues with rosacea; it felt very soothing. Again, it is also very heavy, so combined with the Transformation gel it felt like a lot of stuff on my face at night, which isn't a huge issue, but can feel unpleasant to some people. I don't think I would repurchase this moisturizer; I think there is potentially another out there that can better help me and my issues. But for coming in the set, it's a quite good one.
