BLOGMAS Day 10 Luxola Haul - Great products for oily, troubled skin!

Mario Badescu Special Mask for Oily Skin
Rachel K Cosmetics Midnight Miracle

Three weeks ago, I bought two skincare products from Luxola because they had a mega sale. After using them for three weeks, I think they work effectively on my oily and acne-prone skin.

I'm most amazed by how well the Rachel K Cosmetics Midnight Miracle performed. This product is specially formulated for oily and irritated skin, and it promises to detoxify and soothe the skin to even out the skin tone and regenerate the skin cells. Daily use will help to decrease shine and the redness in your skin. For me, I use this once every two days. The formulation is too rich to be used daily. Initially when I used it daily the first three days, all was good, but after that small spots started appearing around my nose and upper lip area. I quickly switched to a once-every-two-days routine, and the small spots slowly disappeared. The best part about this product is that the term "Midnight Miracle" in the product name is not loosely used - it really is a midnight miracle! I have a lot of redness around my nose and jawline (because of all my acne scars and all that fun stuff), but just after ONE NIGHT, the redness was visibly reduced in the morning. I was definitely not expecting this, so that was a great pleasant surprise! Moreover, this product is only S$29! I love this and it's now a staple in my skincare routine.

The Mario Badescu Special Mask for Oily Skin is not as amazing though. It definitely does what it claims to do, but it's quite harsh on the skin. This product is most ideal for excessively oily and congested skin. It claims to control surface oil and in the long run, prevents pimples and blackheads. I use this twice a week and only my super oily T-Zone areas. For those with dry to combination skin, I suggest you stay away from this product because it is extremely drying. It's okay for me though because I definitely skin that's way too oily. The only discomfort that I felt during every session was that whenever the mask had dried up and I accidentally smiled/laughed, the mask would crack and I would start to feel tingly, pierce-y (is that even a word??) sensations. It's like telling me - hey, I have completely dried up, so RINSE ME AWAY!!

Overall, I do think that there was an improvement in the oiliness state of my skin, however there's still a huge room for more improvement. Skincare products cannot fully eliminate the crazy oiliness on my skin - I'm quite sure what I consume and my hormones contribute to this too. Can't wait for the day when I don't need to blot my skin 3-4 hours from the last cleansing.