Review – Stratia Soft Touch AHA

Hi guys! It’s me! Your super-inconsistent blogger! Heh.. Anyway, I was just looking through my site and saw this post that I had reserved and saved way back in the year 2017! *inserts horror face emoji* Yup, so that’s why you see this product Stratia’s Soft Touch in its previous packaging! Anyway, I thought that since I had taken photos and have already finished this product, maybe I could give you guys a proper review. 

Ingredients

Water (Aqua), Mandelic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Panthenol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Matricaria Recutita (Chamomile) Flower Extract, Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Allantoin, Sodium Hydroxide, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate

How does the Stratia Soft Touch AHA fare?

Stratia’s Soft Touch AHA is claimed to be a hyper-gentle, highly effective exfoliant that sloughs off dead skin cells to help reveal smoother, clearer skin. Although AHAs are excellent in dissolving the intercellular “glue” between dead cells on the surface of your skin and revealing the smooth, bright skin underneath, many AHAs can also cause significant irritation and redness, especially to those with sensitive skin. However, the AHA included in this product (Mandelic Acid) is the exception. It is a much larger molecule than glycolic acid, so it doesn’t penetrate the skin as deeply and therefore causes significantly less irritation. Soft Touch AHA has 10% mandelic acid, along with skin-soothers like aloe, chamomile, and allantoin to give you bright, smooth skin with the least amount of irritation possible.

In a nutshell, Soft Touch AHA is a very gentle AHA product especially formulated for sensitive skins.

I usually use this product in the mornings straight after cleansing. True to its claims, it is very gentle and has never caused any stinging sensation to my skin. But guess what?! After a few weeks into using this product, my skin was the smoothest that it could ever be.. What kinda sorcery is this, Alli?? *Alli is the founder of Stratia Skin*

Anyway, to cut it short, I think that practically all skin types (except if you are truly super sensitive, then maybe do a patch test first?) can benefit from having this product in your skincare regime. In fact, I find that even on days when I use tretinoin, my skin is still able to tolerate this product. So if you are looking for an exfoliant but is scared to try one (just in case your face melts off), I think that this is a safe bet! 

Where can you find it?

You can purchase it from their official website. It retails at US$16 (50ml sized).

Review – Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream

I realize that I hardly take photos of products when they are new.. Heh..

So I finally want to renew my blog and found this draft in my folder and it was dated May 2019.. ^_^”

Anyway, as usual, ingredients of the product are as below:

Ingredients:

Water/Aqua/Eau, Glycerin, Coco-Caprylate, Stearic Acid, Coconut Alkanes, Glyceryl Stearate, Niacinamide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Pentylene Glycol, Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Retinol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Brassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Extract, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Chrysin, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Ceramide NP, Xanthophylls, Phytosphingosine, Phytosterols, Jojoba Esters, Physalis Pubescens Fruit Juice, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate, Oryza Sativa (Rice Bran) Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Carthamus Tinctorium (Safflower) Seed Oil, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, Cetyl Palmitate, Trehalose, Lauric Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Glucosamine HCL, Tocopheryl Acetate, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Pisum Sativum (Pea) Extract, Tocopherol, Bambusa Vulgaris Leaf/Stem Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer, Trideceth-6 Phosphate, N-Hydroxysuccinimide, Ceteareth-20, Sodium Hydroxide, Laureth-23, Steareth-20, Propanediol, Chlorhexidine Digluconate, Polysorbate 20, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Chlorphenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Ethylhexylglycerin.

How did the Drunk Elephant A-Passioni Retinol Cream fare?

Drunk Elephant states that A-Passioni™ Retinol Cream is a clean, cutting-edge formula that combines 1.0% vegan retinol with nourishing, superfood-rich ingredients to dramatically diminish the appearance of fine lines, deep wrinkles and sun damage revealing a vibrant, younger-looking complexion. It is also 100% free of essential oils, silicones and fragrance. Please do note that it is not recommended for use while pregnant or breastfeeding.

I’ve been using it for around 1 year plus and I think it’s a good time to talk about it.. First of all, it’s Strong! OK? So first time retinol users, please be very careful about using it. My skin is very used to retinol, or so I thought, but this DE retinol made my skin purge for the first month and my skin was really quite dry and sensitive. I had to stop all other actives during that time because my skin just wasn’t having it! The retinol purge made all the pimples came out so I was breaking out like mad for the first month. However, after around 2 months, my skin FINALLY started to calm down and return back to sorta normal. I still cannot use this retinol without buffering and I’m only using it on alternate nights. My skin looks much brighter, smoother and clearer now. Fine lines on my forehead are also reduced. One thing that I noticed after using retinol for so long is that my skin is finally very much not prone to clogging anymore. I used to be very prone to getting clogged pores but now my skin is pretty smooth. Lastly, unlike what Drunk Elephant recommended, I really really wouldn’t advise you to use this in the daytime. Your skin is fighting against the sunshine, pollution and maybe air conditioning in the daytime. It really doesn’t need a strong retinol to make things worse. Final thoughts: Use it with caution, love the final results!

Review – Zelens Provitamin D Treatment Drops

Hi everyone, I’m finally back with a new post! Sorry for disappearing from my blog for so long but now that I’m back, let’s start with a review of a product that I’ve been using for the past 6 months. Yes, 6 months! As always, when I test a product for a much longer period of time, there’s a reason for it. Read on to find out more!

As always, the ingredients list is as below for your reference:

Ingredients

Coco Caprylate/Caprate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, C10-30 Cholesterol/Lanosterol Esters, Caprylyl Caprylate/Caprate, Isoamyl Laurate, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Lipids, Zea Mays (Corn) Oil, Linoleic Acid, Phospholipids, Octyldodecanol, Isoamyl Cocoate, 7-Dehydrocholesterol, Plankton Extract, Ganoderma Lucidum (Reishi) Extract, Agaricus Bisporus Extract, Lentinus Edodes Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Sterols, Glycolipids, Lecithin, Linolenic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Tripeptide-29, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Ethyl Linoleate, Ethyl Linolenate, Ethyl Oleate, Arachidyl Propionate, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Pelargonium Graveolens Leaf Oil, Citronellol, Geraniol, Linalool

The ingredients list is very interesting to me because unlike a normal oil, you would find that this product actually has both Linoleic Acid (omega-6) as well as Linolenic Acid (Omega-3) listed. Now why is that special? Typically, oils have a composition that consists of a mixture of Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Lauric Acid and Oleic Acid. These acids, also known as free fatty acids, are the reason why applying facial oils to your skin might have greater benefits to your skin than just preventing transepidermal water loss (TEWL). For example, lauric acid is strongly antibacterial and is useful for treating acne. Oleic acid is a barrier disruptor (meaning it can help to restore skin moisture barrier), while linoleic acid can fade pigment. By and large however, most facial oils in the market would not have ingredients list that consists of the free fatty acids listed as such. Additionally, there’s this concern that facial oils do not breakdown efficiently enough onto the skin itself for the skin to reap such benefits (read here for more info!). Therefore, when you have a facial oil with free fatty acids already broken down for you, you know that it’s quite special indeed! Enough with the ingredients analysis, so how did it fare for me?

Reference from @goalstogetglowing instagram

How did the Zelens Provitamin D Treatment Drops fare?

Zelens Provitamin D Treatment Drops is a light facial oil enriched with Provitamin D and bio-mimetic lipids similar to those found naturally in the skin that helps to restore the skin’s natural barrier and build skin’s resilience. It also claims to help protect against microbial attack (helping to keep blemishes at bay and control skin conditions such as dermatitis), wards against environmental stresses and helps to fortify skin’s fragile fabric.

So, did it work for me? Well, my answer to that would be both yes and no. To be honest, I could only use this product whenever I feel that my skin’s moisture barrier is compromised or when it’s feeling a bit drier or more sensitive than usual. Using this product at night over 2 or 3 days would help to restore my skin to a healthier state without fail. It’s kinda like a fail-safe skin repair and restoring oil for me.

However, when I try to use this product while my skin feel quite healthy, I would discover that it causes me to breakout a little. I’m not quite sure why this situation occurs for me though. This situation frustrated me and I was on the fence for this product for some time. I wanted to test it over a much longer period of time and it wasn’t until 6 months later that I feel confident enough to sum up my thoughts in this post.

I think that if you have ultra-sensitive skin with a compromised skin barrier, you should find this oil to be quite life-changing. However, if you already have relatively healthy skin, you might not see much benefits from it. Nowadays, I would use this product on a weekly basis after using the aha/bha mask as an excellent skin-restoring oil to repair my skin and protect it while it’s in a slightly weaken state.

A light-textured treatment oil

 

Where can you find it?

I bought this product from CultBeauty Online. It retails at £115.00 (30ml sized).

Thank you for reading!