Skin Beautiful Tripe Action Vitamin C Serum, $40/1oz @ skin-beautiful.com. You can also order a 5ml sample for $5.
If you have never heard of Skin Beautiful before, consider yourself now informed!! I first discovered the site from MakeupAlley on the Skincare Board. Someone recommended the site as a great US company from which to order Bioderma and Avene Sunscreens (the Euro versions). Unfortunately the owner no longer carries these sunscreens but she has an amazing selection of fantastic products, several of which have become staples in my routine.
No fancy packaging here. Instead you get very affordable products with high quality, simple ingredient lists that are selected and tested by the owner, Kathleen, for their skin friendliness and lack of irritation. What I really appreciate is that you can purchase samples of most of the products before committing to a full size purchase. Shipping is very fast - I have always received my order within a few business days and the customer service is excellent.
Back to the Triple Action Vitamin C Serum!! I am so totally in love with this Vitamin C, and am considering it one of my great finds of 2012!!
In the last year my skin has become very clog prone and tends to get irritated easily. Even products I've previously used with absolutely no problems have suddenly become no-go's. Because of this, I've had an extremely difficult and frustrating time trying to find a sunscreen that is be compatible with my skin.
For the time being I've decided to amp up my external antioxidants instead of solely relying on sunscreen. And there are sometimes weeks where I have had to go sunscreen-less in order to give my face a chance to recover from any sunscreens I don't like. I decided to give Vitamin C a try.
There's the famous SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic, but I didn't fancy shelling out $150 when I had read multiple reviews saying it can turn if not refrigerated. Not a problem for most, but as a Flight Attendant I'm sometimes away six days a week and didn't want to even want to think about the headache of keeping the SkinCeuticals cold the entire time. Not to mention the headache if it did turn and then all that $$ down the drain. Then there was the DIY route. Same problem...you have to keep it refrigerated. It dawned on me I should check the Skin Beautiful site, as I had been very happy with previous products. Voila!
From Skin Beautiful regarding Triple Action Vitamin C Serum:
Ascorbic Acid works best at an acidic pH. While effective, acidic Vitamin C products may irritate some skins. This novel formula uses Ascorbyl Glucoside, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate and Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate. These three forms of vitamin C create a remarkable synergistic combination that remains stable for long periods, offering high antioxidant and collagen boosting poperties but without any rritation of the skin. In fact, this formula is soothing and anti-inflamatory. It is the perfect product to use after facial peels as well as in the A.M. for antioxidant benefits and in the P.M. for additional skin lightening effects.
Ascorbyl Gluscoside is a new type of stable Vitamin C that is not easily oxidized, but still shares the same physiological activation mechanism as ordinary Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic acid). By formulating the product with Ascorbyl Glucoside, the less degradable Vitamin C exerts a sustained action on the skin, bringing about remarkable effects not only in improving discoloration and freckles, but also in stimulating collagen production to prevent the aging of skin.
Ascorbyl Glucoside has proven antioxidant, skin lightening and age-spot reduction efficacy and has been historically recognised in Japan as a Quasi drug for skin whitening.
Wham! Bam!! Super stable so the refrigeration issue - solved! Only $40 - awesome! Not just one, but three forms of Vitamin C - fantastic!
Oh, and guess what...this is also gentle enough to use around the eye area including the eyelids! Minimal ingredients, too:
Distilled water, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Hyaluronic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Ethlhexlglycerin
The consistency is that of a watery gel. I use approximately 1.5-2 pumps for my entire face, neck and chest. 1 for just my face. I pump the product into my hand, then dip a couple of fingers into it and apply to each area separately - forehead, cheeks, eyes, nose/chin, neck, etc. To the touch it is only slightly sticky, but dries to a soft and smooth finish after a few seconds. More than 5-10 seconds of stickiness and you have applied too much. I find it extremely soothing...no irritation or stinging at all. It is very lightweight...once it dries I don't even notice it's there. This has caused no clogs, no acne or other spots and wears perfectly under other serums and moisturizer.
I have been using the Triple Action Vitamin C Serum since the beginning of June, and have seen a huge improvement in my skin tone. My skin has almost a creaminess to it that I never had before - ever!! I've had several compliments using that exact word...creamy! Any acne/spot marks fade much more quickly. I've also seen a great reduction in the hypopigmentation on my cheeks, to the point where I feel it's hardly noticeable. Some of my lighter brown sun/age spots have disappeared, and others have decreased significantly.
It's been awhile since I've seen this big a difference in skin tone from adding one product into my routine. I adore this product right now, and highly recommending ordering at least a sample to see for yourself. Especially for the price, this product is outstanding :-)
**Note: I just contacted customer service and received an email from Kathleen...she said the website is being revamped so the picture of the dropper bottle is not accurate - it still comes in the pump bottle that is shown in the picture I took and showed above.