Mario Badescu Skin Care Range Review

Here's a review on Mario Badescu's skin care range.

Price: Botanical Cleanser- Around P700.00+; Special Cucumber Lotion- Around P900.00+; Drying Lotion- P1,195.00; Oil- Free Moisturizer SPF 30- Around P1,700.00; Silver Powder- P745.00

Bought From: Silver Powder and Oil- Free Moisturizer were sent for a review; Cleanser, Toner, and Drying Lotion are from Essences, Powerplant Mall

Available in: Rustan's malls

THE VERDICT:

I don't know what really pushed me to try Mario Badescu, but whatever reason it was, it was divinely guided as I have found perhaps THE BEST acne solution there is. A lot of my friends in the beauty industry kept recommending this line to me and truly, they weren't doing so for no reason! And now I am one of its patrons and I would always recommend it to a lot of my friends who are suffering from pimples. In fact, I recommended it just recently to a friend of mine's sister, and she loves it too-she said that it treated her pimples fast and lightened some marks too!

MARIO BADESCU SKIN CARE RANGE IN DETAIL

Mario Badescu is world- famous for his simple skin care range that targets the most common skin problem in the world: Acne. His products are made with select ingredients and tried and tested formulations. Celebrities and regular consumers alike are fans of his skin care range. Mario's products, as I've observed, utilizes Salicylic Acid, which is perhaps the most powerful anti-acne ingredient in the world, along with Cucumber, Aloe Vera, and Kaolin to name a few, some of the products that address other skin irritations that come along with acne such as redness, dryness, and roughness.

I've the cleanser, toner, moisturizer, the ever popular drying lotion, and the silver powder so click READ MORE to read my journey with this fabulous brand!

Mario Badescu has different products depending on your skin type, but they all address acne. There are products for extremely oily skin and combination normal/oily skin, but I don't really remember if they have something for dry skin. There are also treatments that address anti- aging and chicken skin (Keratoplast line).

I got the following products for combination normal/oily skin-even if my skin can get really oily, I don't want to lose a precious amount of sebum because it keeps my skin moisturized, naturally.

Botanical Facial Gel

This is a non- foaming, refreshing, and easy-to-rinse gel that mattifies skin and gives you a cool, clean feeling. It doesn't contain soap ingredients, thus it won't leave your skin dry and taut.

Even if consistency is gel, it's thick and emollient enough to get rid of makeup and dirt residue on skin. It has this fresh floral smell that's so calming and two pea- sized dots would suffice.

Special Cucumber Lotion

This basically a toner, but it's more viscous than an average toner. It smells like cucumber and despite the alcohol content, it is not drying and takes out excess oil. It contains cucumber extracts to kill acne- causing bacteria. This is my favorite toner to date because it's pretty refreshing and gentle enough for the normal parts of my skin, and I really observed that it helped clear out my skin by removing deep- seated dirt. My cotton pad is always dirty when I'm using this product, so yay! This toner always assures me that my skin's genuinely clean before I sleep! :D

The basic cleansing products come in 236ml bottles, which can last for about 2- 2 1/2 months, respectively even if used on a daily basis. The pop- up tube dispenser is so convenient too!

Silver Powder

This is more of a spot treatment product, although consistency is the same as Aztec Healing Clay. I'm not sure if you can use it the same way as the latter though. Basically, it's pure clay powder that you apply using cotton on the clogged areas of your face such as the nose, philtrum, and chin.

I also use it as a spot treatment for my fresh zits because clay has negative charged ions, and it kills the positive ions that bacteria emits. (Oooohh..science!) It is pure and unscented as well.

Ingredients

How do you use it? Wet a piece of cotton, dip in the jar, and apply on the clogged areas of your face.

 Leave it on for around 15 minutes, that's what I do. Afterwards, you will see some white stuff coming out of the areas where you applied it-that's what it does: it pulls out grime, hardened sebum, and dirt so you can scrub 'em away easily with a soft washcloth or your preferred facial scrub, and leaves your face matte and fresh. Personally, I don't feel that it pulls out everything compared to a nose strip. That, or maybe my pores just have too much dirt inside them lol. Best for you if you can't stand the painful feeling from nose strips and if you don't have too much to squeeze out from your pores-it's just a lil' messy to use though!

TIP: Use tea tree oil in lieu of water for more anti-bacterial action!

Oil Free Moisturizer SPF 30

My favorite in the bunch along with the toner! This has a considerable amount of SPF, but it yields zero white cast on the skin.

It's very moisturizing despite the oil- free formula, and it's non- greasy too! It takes a while to set onto the skin, but once you top it with powder, it's fine already. It has a slight green tea smell to it too and is super makeup- friendly!

DRYING LOTION

Now we're down to my most favorite product in the bunch-the famous Drying Lotion! Seriously, this thing works like magic as in it literally dries up small pimples and shrinks huge ones overnight.

You don't use it like your average spot treatments that you squeeze out of the tube and apply on your zits, and it's not like your average spot treatment too. It's a unique dual- phase spot treatment with a pink powder at the base (the main spot treatment) and a beige liquid on top (activator). To use it, just grab a q-tip and dip into the solution to grab some of the pink powder, then proceed to application. Don't shake the bottle!

It yields a stinging sensation that's a little uncomfortable, honestly, but it goes away after a few seconds. If I'm going to use this product, I do so in front of a fan or air-conditioning to minimize the pain lol. The pain's worth it though as it literally banishes my zits in just two to three days (depending on the size of the zit) and leaves me with zero marks and bumps. Aside from clearing out pimples, I also feel that it deep cleans my pores! It also works on skin hives, but I wouldn't advise you to use it on hives caused by allergies!

MARIO BADESCU SKIN CARE RANGE IN ACTION

Here's my skin 3 months after using Mario Badescu. It's considerably clearer now that my makeup looks more flawless and even, thus I don't need to apply a lot anymore. I can even get away with just pressed powder on some days, especially when I don't feel like wearing makeup. I also like that it controls oil, which in turn makes my skin feel fresher and minimizes the risk of clogged pores, but it doesn't completely eradicate it-it leaves me with the right amount of oil that my skin needs. My boyfriend even complimented (who, by the way, is my greatest critic aside from myself) my skin lately and said that it looks even better now!

P.S. You can also purchase Mario Badescu at Sephora.ph.

When you find your match, keep him. In this case, KEEP IT. My skin gets used to skin care products after a month or two and it stops responding then goes back to its sad, sorry state after a few weeks, but I did not experience that with Mario Badescu. My skin got better (although I know there's still room for improvement) and what I really love about it is it helps me maintain nice skin-I get breakouts every now and then, but this line solves that pronto. In fact, it's the only acne solution that my skin responds to even after three months of religious usage. This is for keeps!

What if you stop using it? I have for a month now but you know what? My skin is still okay. Love that it doesn't make my skin dependent on it!

So there goes my journey with Mario Badescu! It's really worth trying if you have acne- prone skin, I'm telling you because it's so affordable and it TRULY MADLY DEEPLY works (at least to me)! I'm off to buy a new set of the same products, and I think I'll be adding a facial scrub and the anti-acne serum in the loot!

MARIO BADESCU SKIN CARE RANGE RATING

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