Paula's Choice Review #1

Well, I've admittedly been postponing this review of Paula's Choice; the day I go to review the company, I have a monumental hormonal meltdown and awake with bumps, blemishes, and pustules.  Yummy.  Who wants to take "after" photographs where they look worse?  Especially when the product actually works and your body is just being uncooperative.

I purchased the travel sized (30ml) CLEAR cleanser and exfoliate with 2% salicylic acid in the regular strength formulation, and the Balance 10 day trial pack.  I absolutely ADORE the CLEAR acne solutions, but the Balance range left much to be desired.

I'll start by explaining that I have radically combined skin conditions; hormonal acne, oily T zone and forehead so that in a matter of hours you could jet ski on it, and dry chin and cheeks.  Mix that in with sensitive skin, and you'll understand that finding an acne product which works and doesn't leave me needed to sandpaper off the dried out skin afterwards is a constant war.  That's right, not battle, but full on, ax swinging, Kevlar worthy war.

I saw results from the CLEAR cleanser from the very first wash.  My skin wasn't at it's worst when I used it admittedly, but I had a very prominent pustule on my upper lip area.  The cleanser is soft and foamy, and makes my skin feel clean and balanced after use.  I say balanced because my skin is a bit tight, but not uncomfortably, and there is a distinct lack of oil on my skin.  The redness which accompanies my acne also, was considerably diminished.

After washing with the CLEAR cleanser.

I followed the cleanser with the Skin Balancing Toner, which I find none irritating and works well in combination with the cleanser from the same range to reduce blackheads.  Then the CLEAR exfoliate which again I found none irritating, and while is a bit sticky on the skin, drys completely matte, the Skin Balancing antioxidant serum with retinol which feels silky, almost oily, until it's absorbed, and the Balancing moisturiser without SPF.  The results within hours was reduced redness, my acne was far less inflamed, and my little pustule was almost gone!

My fringe isn't down on this one, but see!  No puss!

The next couple of days I used just the CLEAR cleanser and exfoliate (that's right, no moisturiser!), which has consistently kept my complexion even and shine free for close to 12 hours.  On the fourth day of my 7 day trial, however, I deviated and used the Balancing cleaner, which is surprisingly thick, the exfoliate, which is almost gel like, and the moisturiser with SPF.  After cleansing and exfoliating, my skin felt incredibly tight, but not painful.  The blackheads which plague my nose were significantly reduced in size and colour, but my skin tone was no longer even, which the Balance range is formulated to do.  When I applied the moisturiser with SPF, my face started to burn horribly!  I lasted perhaps ten minutes before I absolutely could not stand it anymore and had to was it off.  My complexion in the bathroom mirror was horribly red and splotchy, and while washing with the CLEAR cleanser helped a bit, it was the following day until my complexion was normal again.

After that my skin became steadily dryer while using the CLEAR cleanser and exfoliate, and on the sixth day I finally applied a thin layer of moisturiser before I went to bed.  After cleansing the following morning, I noticed the skin along my jaw and upon my cheeks felt dryer than normal, and sure enough, there was a thin layer of white flaky skin which I had to manually exfoliate away.  Time for some heavy duty moisturiser!

I don't have any wrinkles yet, so the retinol treatment was wasted on me, and the Balance moisturisers are just too harsh for my sensitive skin.  I have fallen in love with the CLEAR system though, but while as it has evened out my complexion significantly, I am still breaking out with bumps and pustules.  The regular strength helps heal my acne noticeably faster than with drug store acne treatments, so my next purchase to Paula's Choice will be for the extra strength exfoliate to see if it can better prevent my acne.  I also intend to purchase the Hydralight system, which is for Rosacea sufferers with oily skin, so should hopefully agree better with my skin than the Balancing system did.  The Hydralight collection is formulated to reduce redness and inflammation, strengthen and soothe the skin, and restore the skin's natural barrier and smooth it's texture.  The cleanser is formulated to help with blackheads also, but if I do not see the same result with the Hydralight as I did with the Balancing, I may pick up the Balancing cleanser and toner too!  Just wish that Paula's Choice EU distributors would price the products comparably with the US, as there is almost a $100 difference in expense for the complete Skin Balancing system which through multiple emails Paula's Choice claim to have absolutely no say in..

Paula's choice is cruelty free, but a few of their RESIST anti aging products do contain palm oil, so if you're wanting to avoid that, then make sure to read the ingredients!