Unboxing Beauty

[disclosure:  product  received complementary for an honest & unbiased review ]

Beautibi selects and curates the most amazing products and Jen really goes out of her way to find some of the most unique brands.   I was lucky enough to be picked by Jen to review the new Simplistic Skin Supreme Salve. I was very interested in trying this product, as I have loved the other two Simplistic Skin  products that I have tried and am currently using ~ Begin Cleanser (HG status) and Wonder Essence.  This is more of an initial impression than a review, as with these types of exfoliating products, I should be testing it for at least 6 weeks.

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Skin Type and Concerns:  Oily, blemish prone, with aging concerns ~ hyper pigmentation, sun spots, fine lines and wrinkles.

Descriptions in italics from beautibi.com

What It Is

I was initially confused by the description as I wasn’t sure if it was for oily skin, blemish prone skin, dry skin ~ this is an overnight skincare treatment, similar to Sunday Riley’s Good Genes and Innisfree TrueCare CICA Intensive Balm (review here).  It will exfoliate your skin as it contains AHA and BHA’s while gently exfoliating and moisturizing your skin.  Whiteheads, blackheads, dead skin, clogged pores with dirt and excess oil ~ AHA/BHA’s are perfect for dealing with those issues, while refining your skin’s texture.

Simplistic Skin Supreme Salve uses a mix of AHA and BHA, for a total of 7% actives.

• Glycolic Acid (AHA) is an exfoliator which removes top layer of dead skin cells, exposing new skin. It also lightens hyper-pigmentation from sun damage or aging. Glycolic acid is derived from cane sugar.
• Betaine Salicylate (BHA) is another exfoliator that helps reduce pore size, helps prevent acne, remove dirt and debris from clogged pores by dissolving the dead skin cells and smooths the skin.  It is also an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. This BHA is salicylic acid combined with betaine and it is gentler than salicylic acid alone. 

This uses Japanese Cyprus (chamaecyparis obtusa) water as part of the base. The Hinoki cypress has antiseptic, antifungal and antiviral properties to heal blemishes and minor skin issues, like abrasions and rashes, and purifying your skin. This ingredient is certified by EcoCert.

Aronia melanocarpa (chokeberry) contains a powerhouse of antioxidants and according to Simplistic Skin’s information, has higher anthocyanin than grape extracts ~ 80 times more ~ and blueberry ~ 7 times more). It also has a high polyphenol content as well, making this extract a free radical destroyer, combating fine lines, wrinkles and damage caused by free radicals while preventing new damage.  It is also has brightening effects on your skin and will help suppress the production of melanin, which causes hyper-pigmentation.

Moisturizing and antioxidant oils ~ jojoba and sweet almond ~ will help protect your skin while licorice, centella asiatic and chamomile extracts will help soothe and calm your skin.This has some occlusives ~ caprylic/capric triglyceride, beeswax and dimethicone, which helps lock in moisture.  This salve does not contain any PEG ingredients. 

Ingredients:  Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water, Glycolic Acid, Glycerin, Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Aronia Melanocarpa Fruit Extract, Potassium Hydroxide, Betaine Salicylate, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Beeswax, Dimethicone, Cetearyl Olivate, Polyacrylate-13, Sorbitan Olivate, Polyglyceryl-3 Stearate, Allantoin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Centella Asiatica Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Soy Isoflavones, Butylene Glycol, Arachidyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Arachidyl Glucoside, Polyisobutene, Glucose, Xanthan Gum, Glyceryl Caprylate, Polysorbate 20, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Extract cosDNA analysis 

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Performance

The Skin Salve is a night time savior, moisturizing and removing dead skin cells over night. It’s smooth texture is not too heavy and will be a perfect companion through winter. Supreme Salve is a simple solution for skin problems such as skin tone, skin texture, keratin, sebum, pigmentation.

This comes in a plastic tube that is sealed ~ just peel off the metallic tab.  The cream is off white and when compared to other white creams, it looks almost pinkish, which is due to the chokeberry extracts.  It is very dense and waxy, but spreads easily ~ and it has a distinctive odor to it.  It is slightly stinky with that tangy-sour scent that you get from AHA products.  It does disappear quickly once applied to my face.  This isn’t sticky on my skin and while it is very thick, it does absorb into my skin, leaving it soft and smooth.  For initial testing purposes, I did not put any other product over this ~ as I wanted to see how my skin would react with just this product alone.  This can be used as a spot treatment or you can use it all over your face ~ I chose to use it as a spot treatment on my chin ~ my lucky, hot spot for blemishes!

This does have a pH level of 4, which is within the range for AHA/BHA products.  It also increased my moisture level by almost double.

Morning time!  First day after use ~ I was horrified to see a bunch of little whiteheads.  Now, these were those easy whiteheads, where if you just use a facial brush, they pop on their own and just flatten back down.  However, since I scar so easily, they do stay red/reddish-purple on my face even after they heal.  My skin takes a long time to fade after PIH and so I stopped using this, got my face back into shape by using two other products ~ and then I tried again.  Same result.  Only more whiteheads.  I decided to try this on my cheeks and sides of my face ~ areas that I normally do not break out, to see if this was a “true purging”.   I was hoping I would not break out, because that meant I could use this on my non T-Zone areas. However, I did break out and once again, I stopped using this product and healed my skin using other products.

image credit from Anatomy & Physiology, OpenStax College

I totally get the whole purging concept, but I am not a fan of it.  I scar way too easily and also it is, quite frankly, embarrassing at my age to go to business meetings with a face full of zits. Granted, Supreme Salve just caused minor whiteheads that could easily flatten out and be rid of, but the red spots remained.

Final Thoughts

As I reviewed the ingredients in this product and why I had such an adverse reaction to it, I looked at my older reviews with AHA/BHA products that failed for me ~ Chica Y Chico Beta-Salic 2.0 and 23yearsold Badecasil Cream, I am struck by the fact that all of these items have… glycolic acid and betaine salicylate.  These two creams caused a horrible reaction to my face ~ angry, hard, really-under-the-skin pimples that would not go away for weeks, even months. I am confused by this, as I have used glycolic acid and betaine salicylate before without noticing it, but perhaps this “balm” type solution, which all three of these products are, could be the culprit here. I am going to be very careful of balm products with these specific acids in the future, as they obviously do not work for my skin. Now, Simplistic Skin Supreme Salve did not give me such dramatic negative effects, but it was enough for me to look back at my older reviews of AHA/BHA products that did not work for me and I found this commonality with the 3 items.  I was much harsher in my reviews for Chica Y Chico and 23yearsold items as they did cause a much more negative reaction than this product. 

Now, this is just MY skin type and reaction.  I do know that several wonderful bloggers, who also received this product for review purposes, have had a much more positive reaction to Supreme Salve that I have.  They will be reviewing it soon, so if you are interested in their opinions and how it worked for them, I highly recommend that you follow Amberly @woodnote_song and Amy @peepingpomeranian on Instagram.  I really admire both of these ladies and their honest opinions.   I might try using this product to exfoliate my decolletage area, so long I don’t have a negative reaction there. I really want to thank Jen at Beautibi for her amazing generosity in sending me this product to review!

Disclaimer:  As with all actives/acids, your results might be quite different from mine. I recommend reading other reviews and researching this product before deciding it is for you.  If you do choose to purchase it, always patch test with actives and acid products. 

Where to Purchase

As promised, I have a promo code for my readers that is good until 1/14/2017.  You can save 15% off your purchases at Beautibi by using code michele15.   Enjoy and let me know what you purchased!!

• Simplistic Skin Supreme Salve 30 mL RV $24.00

If this is your first time purchase, you can use my referral link first and receive a code for $5.00  (referral link http://beautibi.refr.cc/9VSQ7SJ)

 

[ product received complementary for review purposes. contains referral links. description in italics from beautibi]