Review: Olay Professional Pro-X Even Skin Tone Spot Fading Treatment

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to review the Olay Professional Pro-X Even Skin Tone Spot Fading Treatment. I have been using this product for almost two years now and I can tell you right now, it is amazing. This is the drugstore product you've been waiting for that does two amazing things - it works AND it's reasonably priced. I know there are definitely some good products that work to fade dark spots but they cost a fortune and there are even more products that CLAIM to fade dark spots and cost an arm and a leg (okay a little exaggeration..) and don't work at all. So with that said, I hope I didn't get you too excited and let's get onto the review.

Price:$22.99 to 29.99 for 1.3 fluid ounces depending one where you get it and if it's on sale or not

What it claims to do: "The gentle yet powerful ProX Spot Fading Treatment reduces the look of dark spots and discolorations caused by years of sun damage, while hydrating skin for a brighter, more even tone"

• Concentrated formula corrects and prevents hyper pigmentation while providing skin-nourishing hydration
• Exfoliants polish away dullness, leaving you with a healthy-looking, even skin tone
• Designed by leading dermatologists and Olay skin scientists to provide you with excellent results at home

You can buy it on Amazon or view it on the actual official Olay website (though it's more expensive so I would recommend Amazon as the cheapest place to buy it!). I've seen it at my local Target and CVS drugstores but they're about $30 also, so I would definitely go on Amazon unless you urgently need it.

Now that you know the basics, let me say that my mom was the one who actually recommended this to me. She actually suffers from a pretty decent amount of hyperpigmentation and discoloration due to sun damage, so if she says this works, like I believe her and you should too! The directions recommend you use the serum day and night for best results which is what I would recommend though I personally don't. I generally only use it at night but if I remember/have time, I'll do it in the morning too. I usually don't like to put it on in the morning though because I read somewhere that it takes time for serums to sink in so I like to make sure that I give the serum enough time to sink into my skin before putting on anything else (ie. sunscreen in the morning). My skin can scar pretty easily so when I pick at a pimple, I usually get a scar and even when I don't, my skin sometimes scars too. I also have a good amount of hyperpigmentation due to sun damage from swimming ever since I was young so those two reasons are why I started to use this spot fading treatment.

One of the best things about this serum is that it works so quickly. Here is my before and after 2 weeks picture of one spot that I had. Yes it's pretty unflattering, lighting is different (first in bathroom with artificial light, second using natural daytime light) and I felt pretty stupid taking the picture BUT I think it's a pretty good representation of how great this product is. It's amazing at fading dark spots and making sure that fresh wounds don't scar as badly. And after another 1-2 weeks, this scar was totally gone. (yes this product is that good!)

This product doesn't have any strong fragrance (I don't think it has any fragrance to it at all now that I think about it..) and doesn't feel sticky on your skin at all. It comes with a dropper which I like better than a pump so you can better control how much product you use at one time. I usually use about a fourth to half a pea size and it spreads really easily over my skin. Using this product has helped me fade my past and current acne scars and overall in general has helped make my skin look so much better. It really does make your skin look less dull and brightens it and unlike the Shiseido dark spot treatment that I reviewed before (which costs more than 4 times this product!), it actually works. I can't say enough about this except that if you're looking to fade dark spots, prevent new ones, and improve the overall quality of your skin, then you NEED to get this. I use this year round because it doesn't overhydrate my skin (though I do use other facial moisturizers along with it) and I generally like to use it as the last step of my nightly skin care routine.

Let me know if you have any other questions or if you have tried this treatment out and what you thought about it! Happy December~! (I just finished my exams so I'm pretty happy right now. I hope you all are too! ^__^)

Shiseido White Lucent Intensive Spot Targeting Serum Review

Who knew having nice skin took so much time and effort.. and not to mention money. It makes me regret not taking better care of it when I was younger and had the perfect baby soft, clear, and untouched by pimples and scars face haha. But anyways, today's review is going to be on the Shieseido White Lucent Intensive Spot Targeting Serum (wow that was a mouthful) and if you're trying to decide whether or not to slap that grand of money on the table for this product, well read on~!

 

Price: $170 for 50 mL

What it claims to do: "A super brightening serum created to diminish stubborn dark spots in 10 days and prevent future pigmentation from appearing." 

• Formulated with smoothing and re-texturizing ingredients to enhance clarity and radiance for flawless, perfectly even-toned skin
• Developed with advanced Shiseido Multi-Action Brightening System+, targeting all types of hyper-pigmentation and their causes: dark spots, age spots, acne scars and uneven skin tones. 
• Contains ME Complex (Yomogi Extract and Angelica Root Extract) to accelerate cell turnover and diminish and eliminate melanin pigment.

"The recommended replenishment cycle for 30mL is 1 month and 50mL is 2 months."

Okay all of that above was taken straight from the site so I'm sure you've read it before, but let me point out that last sentence.. the "recommended replenishment"?! I started off with the 30mL bottle and it lasted me a year. Maybe it's because I was super sparing with the product or that I stopped using it as consistently as I maybe should have? Who knows but regardless, I'm pretty sure it'll last longer than it says there so don't be too freaked out by that last sentence. 

I originally bought this serum hoping that it would help fade my dark spots and acne scars that I had gotten from my college breakout experience, but as time went by and I continued to use this product, I realized it wasn't really doing much for my dark spots and rather I preferred to use it to "brighten" my skin. I noticed that the mornings after I had applied the product (I usually only put it on at night), my face looked more luminescent, like it had nice radiant glow to it which helped my complexion look nicer. However, when I looked close to see any removal or decrease of my dark spots, I didn't notice any notable or incredible difference. For a product that costs $170 for the full size, I was definitely not impressed by the results. Sure it does make your skin look nice, but you have to continually use it to get that effect and really, who has that kind of money to spend on something that doesn't actually improve your skin? While I'll admit this product does meet the first bullet point in that it does "enhance radiance", I don't think it gives you even skin because I can still see my discoloration from my scars and I don't think that counts as "even"! Personally, I prefer my Aloe Vera gel lotion - which I swear by in treating acne and scars - as well as a Pond's dark spot treatment which I might review if you guys would like (it's less than $10 and I can say it works better than this $170 Shisiedo "intensive" serum. I'm now also trying out an Olay dark spot serum and will let you know how that goes once I've used it long enough to determine it's effectiveness but so far it's going well!

Anyways, back to this review ...Would I repurchase this? No, definitely not because it is way too pricey and did not get rid of my dark spots. Therefore, I can't say I would recommend it to you guys to purchase. Sure it makes your skin look brighter but there are a ton more products out there for less than half the price that do the same job so I'd say save your hard earned money and go for those! So tootle-loo for now, I'll be back with another review soon (hopefully!) ^__^