Hello skin-care lovers! Have you tried
Mario Badescu? If not, run, not walk over to the
Mario Badescu website! You can fill out an questionnaire for an online skin care consultation. The folks over at Mario Badescu will analyze your answers and customize a skincare system just for your specific skin type and skin concerns. And...drum roll please...the best part...Mario Badescu will send you out a
*totally free* sample package full of deluxe sized samples and detailed instructions for use!!! Totally free ya'll! You just have to get on the website, do the skin analysis...and that's it! All the product samples will be personalized for your specific skin type and skincare needs. I got mine in the mail just about 2 weeks after filling out the online form. (Please see my Mario Badescu link in the side bar)
I got my samples a few weeks ago. The samples are in the cutest little bottles!!! I have been diligently testing out the products over the past couple weeks so that I could report back to you readers on what worked and didn't work for me!
FYI: I have normal to dry skin with occasional dry/flaky patches. I use Differin Cream as prescribed by my Dermatologist. I have been using that for about 5 years and it keeps my skin very clear without dryness nor irritation. During "that time of the month" my skin gets a bit oily in the t-zone and is more prone to a very mild breakout (although, honestly, I breakout rarely...maybe one or two small bumps every few months). My skin is super sensitive and fair and I seem to be allergic to many skincare ingredients (primarily sunscreens). I don't have any wrinkles (yet), but I sure don't want any cropping up anytime soon! :) So, my skincare routine and recommendations are for people with my skin type.
If you have oily/combo skin, then you might like to checkout my friend and fellow blogger Shaylee Anne's blog at
"Cosmetically Curious". We got our samples at the same time and thought it would be fun to link each other in our reviews so that people could see what was recommended for different skin types!
So, here is what was recommended for me following my
online skincare consultation (They sent me items for "combo/dry/sensitive" skin:
Eye Cream: Dermonectin Eye Cream
Scrub: Almond and Honey Non-Abrasive Face Scrub
Night Cream: Seaweed Night Cream
Toner: Seaweed Cleansing Lotion
Cleanser: Orange Cleansing Soap
Mask: Healing and Soothing Mask
SPF: Collagen Moisturizer SPF15
Acne drying gel? (they stated they could not send this as it needed to be in a glass bottle). This is something that I definitely want to try!
I did not test them all at the same time. I added one new product at a time. I did this because my skin is so *extremely* sensitive...that if one product was causing a reaction, I wanted to be able to determine which product caused the reaction. So, I staggered adding in new products. After I determined which products worked for my skin, I started using most of the products together. Does that make sense? Also, I must note that with the weather having just turned cold...my skin is much drier than usual. So, I was testing these products out during a very "temperamental phase" with my skin.
Here is the low-down:
- This is a very mild pearly/creamy liquid soap.
- Creamy/non-foaming feel
- Mild fresh "creamsicle" fragrance
- Leaves a residue after rinsing (doesn't "rinse clean"): downside for me as I prefer a "clean rinsing" product
- Did not sting or irritate my skin at all upon application (big plus for my sensitive skin!)
- About 10 minutes after washing my skin started showing some signs of dryness (dry patches)
- After washing with this cleanser in the evenings, I noticed that I would wake up with very dry skin in the mornings (major dry patches)
- This cleanser might be better suited for more "normal" skin types. My skin in the cold weather gets very dry and this cleaner just wasn't mild enough for my winter-dry skin.
- Tested for about a week. Discontinued use at that time as my skin was getting too dry.
Seaweed Cleansing Lotion (Toner):
- Very light scent
- Feels nice when applying (no burning, slight cooling sensation)
- Way too drying for my skin.
- Generally, I am not a fan of toner unless it "adds" moisture to my skin.
- Tested for 3 nights, after that I discontinued use as it was drying my skin out too much.
- WOW! This is the most moisturizing eye cream that I have ever used! *Love it*!!!
- Unscented pale blue cream (but, why blue? with my dark under eye circles I just don't want any more blue pigment applied on my skin! Note: You can not see the blue when you apply it. I just wonder "why blue?")
- This product is intended for use at Night only as it is a very "greasy" cream and leaves your eye skin looking very wet and greasy. Great for night as you have all night while you sleep for it to sink in and work its "magic"! I tested it during the day, just for kicks, and it is *way* too greasy to wear under concealer (my concealer slid right off and didn't blend it). But, this eye cream was not intended for daytime use.
- Very hydrating
- After using this in the evenings, I would awake in the morning with very moisturized eyes. LOVE this!
- I like this eye cream so much! Not only will I purchase for myself, but also I would like to get some for my Mom too! :)
Almond and Honey Non-Abrasive Scrub:
- I swear, every time I open this and smell this I want to eat it!!! It smells so yummy...like honey/almond and oatmeal. I mean, really, smells divine!
- Creamy texture with very soft "scrub" pieces...like oatmeal or , I guess, almond (as the name implies).
- Left skin feeling nice and smooth after use.
- Did not dry out skin.
- No irritation. That is pretty amazing for me as I have to be super-careful with scrubs on my sensitive skin.
- I would totally purchase this one!
Collagen Moisturizer SPF 15:
- Non-scented
- Feels creamy and moisturizing
- Leaves a dewy finish
- Tingling/stinging upon application (this was my allergic reaction coming on, I am sure it would not tingle otherwise)
- Apparently I am allergic to this product! After initial stinging upon application, my face started to get itchy. The itchiness continued to be bothersome so I had to rinse it off after about 15 minutes.
- Note: I am allergic to most sunscreens it seems. So, this is not the first time that I have reacted like this to an SPF product. Typically, I go for physical sunscreens and steer clear from chemical sunscreens. I am a big label reader when shopping for sunscreens as I know that ingredients like Parsol 1789 bother me. This sample did not come with ingredients listed. After my reaction, I looked up the ingredients on the Mario Badescu website, but was not familiar with the sunscreen ingredient. So, I guess I can add Octyl Methooxycinnamate to my list of products that cause skin allergies.
- So, I really feel that I can not fairy judge this product as I had an allergic reaction to it and only tested it a few moments.
- Lightly scented pearly light green cream
- Very moisturizing
- I applied this to dry patches on my face (did not apply all over as I use Differin Cream at night all over my face, so I apply Differin...let that "sink" in and follow up with this over any dry areas)
- I really like how creamy and moisturizing this product is!
- I will continue to use this sample and possibly purchase a full size of this.
- While I typically do not like my skincare products to be scented, the scent of this one I really like.
Sorry for the blurry picture folks!
Healing and Soothing Mask:
- This product is designed to soothe any irritation from acne.
- I did not have any breakouts while testing these products, so I really have no idea how this works in relation to soothing/healing acne.
- However, I did test this anyway. I applied all over my face and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- The mask felt good on my skin. No irritation.
- Skin felt smooth after rinsing the mask.
- The next morning I noticed an increase in dryness from the mask.
- I will update this post if I breakout in the near future (and use this mask).
- As far as masks go: this is a good one for my sensitive skin. Many masks are too strong for me and contain irritating ingredients. This is certainly a mask that I will use again in the future when I feel like doing some beauty "pampering".
In summary, some products I really, really liked and some not as much. Overall, I really enjoyed testing and using this brand. Also, I must comment that I like the no-frills packaging. Yes, I was allergic to the sunscreen, but that is really a common occurrence for me. I definitely want to explore more products from this line. They have a great selection of high quality products. Also, I must rave about a product by Mario Badescu that I have used for a long time: the
Herbal Hydrating Serum: love this light weight oil-free gel for "spot" moisturizing. I keep a small bottle in my purse.
Remember, what didn't work for me, might work great for you. The *good news* here is that you can test these products out for FREE and see for yourself! I can't think of a deal any better than that!
Hope you enjoyed reading! You guys must check out Mario Badescu's website (please see link in sidebar). Also, don't forget to checkout Shaylee's blog at
Cosmetically Curious if you would like to hear about Mario Badescu products for oily skin.
XOXO!
Pammy
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