The dreaded winter is slowing creeping up on me and frankly, it’s hard to ignore the icy coldness in the air. I do love walking out and seeing my breath in the air, it’s something that fascinated me when I first arrived Canada and it still does until today.
My skin gets better with each winter as I’m hell bent on learning what to do and how to combat skin dryness and dullness. My methods don’t always work, my choice of products don’t always perform the way I hope but it’s a learning curve that I truly enjoy.
This year I am up in arms against winter dry skin with the new Paula’s Choice RESIST Brightening Essence* and Renewal Radiance Mask*. 
Paula’s Choice Renewal Radiance Mask* $36.00/50mL
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| Product Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Butylene Glycol (hydrating), Glycerin (skin-replenishing ingredient), Dimethicone (skin softening), Niacinamide (skin-restoring ingredient), Olea Europe (Olive) Fruit Oil (non-fragrant antioxidant plant oil), Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer (dispersing agent/texture enhancer), Carrageenan (Chondrus Crispus) (texture enhancer), Arbutin (skin brightener), Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (vitamin C/antioxidant), Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer (skin-replenishing ingredient), Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi (Bearberry) Leaf Extract (antioxidant skin brightener), Allantoin (soothing agent), Isohexadecane (texture enhancer), Echium Plantagineum Seed Oil (non-fragrant antioxidant plant oil), Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract (soothing plant extract), Hydrogenated Lecithin (skin-restoring ingredient), Polysorbate 60 (binding ingredient), Citric Acid (pH adjuster), Xanthan Gum (texture enhancer), Hydrogenated Phosphatidylcholine (hydrating agent), Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate (preservatives). |
A couple of years ago, there were only a handful of Western beauty brands that offered overnight masks in their range and fast forward to today, it seems almost every brand has at least one in the market.
Paula’s Choice Renewal Radiance Mask* was released a few months ago and what makes it unique is not only does it have Vitamin C as one of its skin brightening ingredients, it also contains arbutin. If you’re not familiar with arbutin, it’s a natural derivative of hydroquinone but without the same risks or side effects. Hydroquinone is supposedly the star ingredient for skin lightening but is banned by the EU and was labeled as carcinogenic by the FDA. This overnight mask has a lotion texture and I didn’t detect any strong scent from it. Bear in mind that it doesn’t absorb quickly and one pump is way too much for my face, neck and décolleté. I made the mistake once and it sat on top of my skin for what seemed like an eternity and my skin ended up feeling sticky with multiple levels of grossness. I have been using this three times a week and only half a pump each time and it leaves my skin feeling nourished, soft and smooth. While I didn’t notice any brightening effects, my skin does look noticeably fresher and healthier the next morning without fail. Do I like it more that Laneige Water Sleeping Mask (reviewed here) or Acure The Magical Wonderfluff (reviewed here)? No, but this is still a wonderful addition to my routine. If you’re a huge fan of Paula’s Choice and in need of an overnight mask then I highly recommend giving this a try. I know 50mL doesn’t seem like much but I only need very little each time and I can see this bottle lasting me for at least 4-5 months.
Paula’s Choice RESIST Brightening Essence* $42.00/30mL
| Product Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Butylene Glycol (hydration/penetration enhancer), Glycerin (skin-replenishing), Arbutin (skin-brightening), Acetyl Glucosamine (skin-restoring), Ascorbyl Glucoside (vitamin C/antioxidant), Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract (soothing extract), Arcostaphylos Uva-Ursi Leaf Extract (brightening plant extract), Morus Alba Root Extract (brightening plant extract), Niacinamide (skin-restoring ingredient), Sodium Hyaluronate (skin-replenishing/antioxidant), Hyaluronic Acid (skin-replenishing/antioxidant), Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 (skin-restoring ingredient), Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 (skin-restoring ingredient), Allantoin (soothing agent), Adenosine (skin-restoring ingredient), Silanetriol (antioxidant), Carbomer, (texture enhancer) Polysorbate-20 (texture enhancer), Citric Acid (pH adjuster), Sodium Citrate (preservative), Sodium Hydroxide (pH adjuster), Disodium EDTA (stabilizer), Ethylhexylglycerin (preservative), Phenoxyethanol (preservative). |
I’m going to keep the review for this essence short but holy mother of all holiness, this stuff is freaking brilliant! The results are noticeable within a mere two weeks, it brightens, smooths and evens out my skin tone. All those pesky little pigmentations, spots and marks from me picking my skin whenever a pimple pops up his head (yes, I know it’s bad but I can’t help myself!) were faded within 2 weeks.
Initially I rolled my eyes at the dropper packaging, I do wish beauty companies will be done with droppers and stick to airless pump or just normal pump packaging. That said, thankfully I don’t have problems with this dropper (yet!) and it always dispenses just the right amount of product. One dropper is enough for both my face and neck (I don’t use serum on my décolleté only moisturizer).
This scentless essence is very light, just like water and it absorbs within seconds. It doesn’t leave any residue or tackiness on the skin and layers beautifully under moisturizer, facial oil and sunscreen. I have been using this twice a day for the last month and will be repurchasing it once I’m done with this bottle.
I am happy to have both products in my routine and I must say that my experience with Paula’s Choice products have been great. You can read my previous reviews of her products here and here which I also had pretty good experiences with.
Are you familiar with Paula’s Choice products? *I received these products for free but my thoughts and opinions are 100% unbiased, honest and my own. There is no place for any sort of BS here.