Update on Benton Fermentation Essence & The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA & Melano CC Vitamin C Essence

It took me a while to stop using these products. I’ve been using them for a while and didn’t want to give them up out of familiarity. But, I think it’s time to pull the plug. Even though I love skin care products, I wondered if any of them are even working on my skin. I feel like I’m just flushing money down the drain sometimes. I decided to stop using these products. Read on to find out why. I stopped using these products the other day too. 👈🏻

Benton Fermentation Essence:

I’ve been using this product for over a year now. I really liked this essence. It’s lightweight, easily absorbed into the skin, and feels silky smooth on the skin. The only thing I really liked about this essence is how it feels on my skin. Other than that, it hasn’t done much for my skin. It contains Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Ceramide NP, Aloe Extract, Betaine, Panthenol, Sodium Hyaluronate, and other skin care ingredients that are good for the skin. The ingredients look very nice, but I didn’t see much of a difference in my skin using it. It didn’t help boost skin’s elasticity and moisture levels (as it claims to do). It gives the the skin lightweight hydration, but that hydration doesn’t last long. Only when applied to the skin. This essence just vanishes into the skin and didn’t improve my skin over time. It just felt like putting expensive water on my face. It actually feels like I’m applying just water to my face. This essence when dispensed, shoots out straight liquid. Make sure to dispense it into the palm or it’ll get everywhere. This was one of my favorite essences for some time, but I didn’t see any good results with continued use. As I mentioned earlier, I just like the way it feels on my skin. But, I don’t think it’s worth it to keep it around for that reason.

The Ordinary Matrixyl 10%:

Here goes another The Ordinary product that I’m removing from my skin care routine! Here are some others that I removed recently:

The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10%  

The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% Alpha Arbutin 2%

The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3%

Now it’s The Ordinary Matrixyl 10%. So this is a thicker serum. The texture of the serum is gel-like. When applied to the skin, I don’t like how it feels on my skin, but the serum absorbs into the skin pretty well. It doesn’t leave any sticky residue behind once it sinks into the skin. I was able to use it twice a day without any issues like pilling or stickiness. The serum is supposed to help with signs of aging, such as fine lines. It contains Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, and Sodium Hyaluronate. This is another skin care product with beneficial skin care ingredients, but from my experience using this product, I didn’t notice any changes in fine lines including other wrinkles (as it claims). I don’t think it did anything for my skin. I’ve gone through several bottles of this serum. I kept using it because I was just hoping for the best. I really liked the ingredients in this serum too. It seems so promising. But, I think it’s time to remove it from my routine and see what happens. I don’t want to keep using a product that does absolutely nothing just because. I just haven’t seen any results using it.

Melano CC Vitamin C Essence:

I was going to keep Melano CC Vitamin C Essence in my routine, but I decided to remove it. This essence did help to brighten the overall complexion of my skin (subtly, nothing major), but it didn’t help with acne marks or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. I still noticed acne marks on my face while using this vitamin c essence, and I’ve been using it for years too. It should’ve done something by now, but I have seen zero changes in my acne marks. With the Melano CC Vitamin C Essence, I wasn’t impressed with the overall results. It’s OK. Nothing amazing. What’s great about this product is the packaging. It’s sealed and easy to travel with. I can bring it with me wherever I go easily without spilling the contents. But, since this essence hasn’t done much for my skin over the years, I’m just using it because I have it, and it’s much better compared to other vitamin c serums that I’ve tried in terms of texture. It’s lightweight, oily but not too oily, and absorbs into the skin decently. After seeing very little benefits from this product, I think it’s time to move on from it. It’s time to let go, lol. Instead of keeping the Melano CC Vitamin C Essence around, I decided to swap it out with another vitamin c product. It’s the vitamin c powder. A vitamin c powder contains only one ingredient while the Melano CC Vitamin C Essence has a lot more ingredients (compared to a vitamin c powder). I wanted to keep things simple. Also, vitamin c powder is more affordable too. I’ve been using vitamin c powder, and it’s been working just fine.

For my update on Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream:

Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream & Breakouts

For my acne journey…

My Acne Journey: 1 Week In…

My Acne Journey: 2 WEEKS!! 

My Acne Journey: 3 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 4 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 5 WEEKS IN!

My Acne Journey: 6 Weeks Results…

My Acne Journey: 7 Weeks Results

My Acne Journey: 2 MONTHS!! 

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 1 Week Results!

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 2 Weeks!

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 3 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 3 MONTHS!! 😃

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 1 Week Results

Skin Care Products I’m Using 🥰 + What I’m Doing for My Acne

I talked about skin care products I stopped using. Here are products that I’m still using (for now). I’ve definitely cut down on a bunch of skin care products. If you missed out on products I’m using to moisturize my skin, go here. I’m not going to go too much into detail on those products, since I’ve already talked about them in another post. I’m here to share the other products that I use that’s not in my moisturizing routine.

Let’s start off with The Ordinary products…

I’m only use 3 products from The Ordinary. They are The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10%, The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA, and The Ordinary Amino Acids + B5 that I mentioned in my moisturizing routine. The first two (Argireline and Matrixyl) are my favorite The Ordinary products. I don’t have much to say about the Amino Acids + B5. I’ve noticed better results from Argireline and Matrixyl. Well, I hope it’s actually working. My skin just looks good when I use them both. The three The Ordinary products that I mentioned are the only ones that haven’t broken me out. Now more about The Ordinary products and breakouts!

I actually stopped using The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% Alpha Arbutin 2% and The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3% on my face. It’s because both serums are way too oily on my face. I kept getting breakouts. The breakouts were really bad too. Left long-lasting acne marks behind too. I’m very disappointed in that. My face would just look like pure grease when I used these serums. It looks good at first. The serums made my skin look softer, dewy, and glowy. Also, a little tan. My complexion looked darker using these serums. That was kind of weird. But, by the end of the day, my skin looked like an oily mess. As mentioned, greasy. And the breakouts were too much for my skin to handle. I love the ingredients in these products. I just couldn’t deal with the oiliness and breakouts any longer. I really wanted them to work. They just didn’t.

Vitamin C & Sunscreen 🌞

Melano CC Vitamin C Essence is my favorite vitamin c serum that I use only in the morning. I stopped using it at night due to not seeing results using it twice a day. I really can’t tell if it’s working or not, to be honest, but it doesn’t break me out. I like this vitamin c product more than the other ones I have used in the past. I’m going to stick with it. No breakouts from it. 🙂 It’s also very affordable. Great for travel too. ✈️

I have some sunscreens that I use (more than one!). They are…

Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF 50+ PA++++ in Clear

Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF 50+ PA++++ in White

I use them both. The Clear version works better than the White. It glides on the skin much easier and absorbs into the skin better. It doesn’t leave a white cast behind and leaves the skin looking silky and dewy. It also works well as a makeup primer too. I haven’t had any breakouts from the Clear version. I’m really happy about that. I’ve gone through multiple tubes of the Clear by now. It works amazingly on my acne-prone skin! Much better than other sunscreens I’ve used.

I also have the White version. I recently just finished a tube of the White. At first, I didn’t like it that much. It leaves a noticeable white cast behind even though it sort of helps to even out a dull complexion. It’s also drier on the skin and accentuates dry patches due to the dryness (higher concentration of titanium dioxide). I like it just a little bit, but I don’t like it as much as the Clear. Unfortunately, I went overboard and purchased a ton of the White version. I’m going to have to live with it and use them all, ha! We’ll see if my thoughts change on them or not. We’ll see soon…

Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Lotion SPF 15 Sunscreen

Here’s another sunscreen I’m using. I don’t use it on my facial skin. It breaks me out due to how moisturizing it is. I wish it worked on my facial skin, but I’m prone to breakouts. Sucks, I know. So I’ve been using this sunscreen on my neck and upper chest. I love how moisturizing it is in those areas of my body. Also, sometimes I use this sunscreen around my eyes too. It’s just super moisturizing, so it works perfectly for that area of my face. Yes, it’s SPF 15, so it’s not a high SPF sunscreen. Don’t worry, I use Canmake on my neck and upper chest too. I just like the moisture from this product. It works if you have dry skin.

Acne Treatments

I only use tret once a week. I still have it, so I thought I would continue to use it. I tried using it twice a week, and it didn’t work out, lol. My skin started to breakout and looked so bad. It wasn’t the type of breakout where it’s just purging for the moment. My skin just looked terrible. Just random breakouts. Once I stopped using tret, my skin looked better. I know for sure that it wasn’t an initial breakout. I’m not going to wait it out this time either. It’s been over a year on tret. Possibly longer. I think that’s more than enough time to know if tret works for my acne or not. I’ve used tret many years ago before this too, and it worked during that time. I guess it doesn’t work for my acne anymore. But, I’m really over it. Since I still have the product, I’m going to stick to using it once a week. That’s more than enough. I’m done with the weird things that tret does to my skin when I use it more often.

My main acne treatment is benzoyl peroxide. I stopped using salicylic acid, by the way. It did nothing for my acne. It made my blackheads worse. It gave me blackheads. Ugh! With benzoyl peroxide, I only use it whenever my skin needs it. I’m guessing 1-2 times a week. Sometimes 3. But it seems like 1-2 times week is all my skin needs. I just monitor my skin and see how much benzoyl peroxide it can take. So I apply benzoyl peroxide all over my face now and spot treat on days when I take a break from it. The day after using benzoyl peroxide, I’ve been getting breakouts and clearing up at the same time. My skin also peels. It’s working like how tret is supposed to work. Exfoliating my skin. lol. I remember using benzoyl peroxide to treat my acne years ago, and it cleared up my skin due to how it was peeling my skin. I hope it works the same way this time. So far, with BP, my skin has been looking wayyyyy better. It’s the best acne treatment ever for my skin. I’m just crossing my fingers that it’ll give me awesome results again. Not only does it make my skin peel, it kills bacteria too. It zaps away those nasty cysts and pus-filled pimples quickly. Works wonders over night! Wish me luck!

I didn’t go over my favorite eye creams in this post. I think I’m going to save that for another time. If my face skin care routine changes, I’ll make an update. But what I’m doing right now is working very well. Benzoyl peroxide changed the game. I just hope my skin doesn’t dry out! Ahhhhh! More coming up soon! 🙂

1 Month on Melano CC Vitamin C Essence! My Results!

It’s been a little over a 1 month using Melano CC Vitamin C Essence. I finished another tube of the product just recently. Honestly, it was pretty satisfying since it seemed to last forever. haha. I just wanted to be done with it and start a new tube! 😀 Now here I am with a new tube! All fresh and new! Cheers! So after finishing a tube of this essence after 1 month, here are my results!

You know, I’m growing to like this essence. It’s not too bad. It’s lightweight. Absorbs into the skin well. Doesn’t pill. It works well with my other skin care products. It’s affordable and one tube lasts for a long time. The packaging of this product is very secure too. It prevents the vitamin c in this product from oxidizing. It’s also portable. I can take it with me while travelling easily, and I know that it’s not going to leak or spill everywhere. And most of all, I haven’t had any breakouts from it. It works with my skin type! Woohoo! I’m very excited for that! I’ve been searching for a vitamin c serum or essence that works on my skin without causing any issues. It doesn’t irritate my skin either. This vitamin c essence seems to be it. So it’s been great and all so far. But did it work to help fade acne marks, dark spots, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation?? Make my complexion more even and brighter?? Well…

Unfortunately, I haven’t noticed lightening of acne marks, dark spots, or post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. I have noticed a more even and brighter complexion. I’m not sure if it’s from the Melano CC Vitamin C Essence. I’m also using other skin care products that contain vitamin c, niacinamide, and arbutin, which are really good at fading dark pigmentation on the skin. I think a combination of skin care products that I have been using has helped so far. But, I don’t think this essence alone will do the job. I love that it works on my skin, but as far as effectiveness go, it’s an alright product. It’s not as good as people make it out to be. I honestly thought it would be a life changing skin care product. I was expecting a lot more from it that’s all. BUT! I will continue to use it since it hasn’t cause any breakouts or other skin problems. I’ll keep using it for its antioxidant effects. I like vitamin c products and this essence doesn’t cost that much either. We’ll see what happens as I keep using it. Stay tuned for a new update soon. 🙂

Restarting Melano CC Vitamin C Essence! Fading My Acne Scars!!

3 Weeks Results with Melano CC Vitamin C Essence

3 Weeks Results with Melano CC Vitamin C Essence

It’s been 3 weeks using Melano CC Vitamin C Essence! If you missed out on my first experience with Melano CC Vitamin C Essence, go here:

Restarting Melano CC Vitamin C Essence! Fading My Acne Scars!!

So it’s been 3 weeks using Melano CC Vitamin C Essence. What happened??

I’m still using it twice a day in the morning and at night. Sometimes I only used it in the morning. I was just testing to see if it made a difference at all (once vs twice a day). Since I had a lot of product of this essence left, I settled on using it twice a day. I didn’t have any irritation, such as dry skin, redness, or itchy skin. Everything worked out well. So this essence feels very lightweight on the skin even though it feels a little bit oily. I didn’t have any problems with the oiliness of the product. It absorbed into my skin quickly too. I wished it was at least moisturizing on the skin. It just felt like any other essence I have used. It vanishes into the skin and that’s all there is to it. I can layer it with my other skin care products, and it doesn’t roll off the skin. This essence is perfect in a sense that it blends into the skin well and works well with other formulas. Also, the packaging of the product is amazing. It protects the ingredients in this product very nicely, so I know my vitamin c hasn’t been oxidized and rendered useless.

My Results…

Honestly, I can’t tell if it has done anything for my skin, but I continue to use it, lol. Here are the ingredients in this product. Let’s take a peek!

Ascorbic Acid (Active Vitamin C), Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E Derivative), Dipotassium Glycyrrhizinate, Isopropylmethylphenol, Vitamin C Tetraisopalmitate, Ethoxydiglycol, Alpinia Catfish Seed Extract (Alpinia White), BG, Edetate, Viscosity Modifier, Perfume.

It utilizes ascorbic acid (vitamin c) to brighten the skin. It also contains other ingredients like vitamin e, licorice, and another form of vitamin c. If you’re allergic to fragrance, this essence does contain perfume. Be aware of that.

Just by looking at the ingredients, it looks pretty good, but it’s not living up to what it’s supposed to do. I’m trying to fade some acne scars and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. It’s really hard to tell if it has done anything for the marks. It’s only been 3 weeks. Maybe I have to give it more time to do its job. One good thing about this essence (even though it feels a little bit oily) is that it hasn’t clogged my pores. I’m really shocked because I haven’t found a vitamin c product that doesn’t clog my pores yet or have some weird side effects. Read more about other vitamin c products I’ve tried right below here. This doesn’t include all vitamin c products that I’ve tried. Just some, haha.

The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% Alpha Arbutin 2%

Timeless Vitamin C Serum

Yeouth Vitamin C & E Serum

Purito Vitamin C Serum

Since Melano CC Vitamin C Essence doesn’t clog my pores, I think I’m going to keep using it. Maybe I’ll see results in a few months or so. I hope. Well, all I can do is be consistent and wait it out. I’ll make another update soon. 😊

Restarting Melano CC Vitamin C Essence! Fading My Acne Scars!!

I noticed that I had a tube of Melano CC Vitamin C Essence sitting around. I decided to start using it again. I love vitamin c products. It’s been so long since I’ve used this product. Maybe it’ll work this time around (compared to prior experiences with it), lol. I’ve gone through two tubes of it already! Here’s a little bit about this product! It’s an essence that is formulated with vitamin c and vitamin e. Vitamin c helps to fight against pimples, marks, and dark spots. Vitamin e helps to soften and hydrate the skin for visibly fair, radiant, and healthy skin. It also contains Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate to sooth redness, calm irritated skin, and restore suppleness. Alpinia Seed Extract to brighten and even out the skin tone. That sounds all nice and dandy! I’m feeling very hopeful about this essence. Let’s get more into it! 🙂

The first thing about this product that stands out to me was the packaging. It’s amazing! It’s sealed shut. That means the active ingredient in this product is protected. All you have to do is snip the tip of the spout open, and you’re all set to go! No spillage. I really love it!! When dispensing the product, give the tube a good squeeze. The product comes out in single droplets. It gives you a lot of control on how much product you want to use. I use about 5-6 drops for my whole face, and I spread the rest to my upper body. The product feels oily when applied to the skin, but the oiliness vanishes when it absorbs into the skin. It feels quite moisturizing. It doesn’t leave an oily residue behind, but it does leave the skin looking dewy.

I use the essence twice a day, morning and night. You don’t have to use vitamin c twice a day if you don’t want to. It’s not necessary, but this stuff lasts forever, and I love applying skin care products to my face, lol. I enjoy it. This vitamin c is pretty moisturizing as I mentioned earlier. It’s not drying at all using it twice a day. I like it. haha. I haven’t had any issues using it this much. No skin irritations, redness, itchiness, or even breakouts! Yay! That’s awesome! I thought this essence would break me out due to the oily nature of the product. It’s oil-based. But, nope! No issues with it yet. I hope it works out! Everything is going well so far!

So I’ve been using it for less than a week. Of course, I’m not going to see results this quickly. Vitamin c takes time to work. A long time to work. It’s not something that magically happens over night. But, from my past experience with this vitamin c product, it took about 3-4 months for me to see improvements in my skin, such as a more even complexion and fading of acne marks. Even at that many months, not all of my acne marks faded. It just looked lighter, which is better than nothing. I don’t remember it working on freckles though. I don’t think anything topical works for freckles, and I’ve used a ton of skin care products, lol. But that’s OK. If this essences gives my skin a more luminous, even toned complexion in combination of making my acne marks lighter over time, I would love that more than anything!

Well! Stick around to see my future results! So far, I’m enjoying this essence. 👌🏻

For more reviews on brightening skin care products go here!!!