The Science of Beauty: The Acne Series: Guest Review 2 of Aphelia Cosmetology

Monday, 11 February 2013

The Acne Series: Guest Review 2 of Aphelia Cosmetology

The other day I brought you a guest review of the Oasis Acne range from Aphelia Cosmetology. I have mentioned before, but the journey to perfect skin for acne sufferers is often not clear cut and what works for one person many not work for another. Therefore, for the Aphelia Cosmetology acne range I have recruited three different acne sufferers to trial it.

The second reviewer I have is Jenny. Jenny is 20 and has bad acne on her forehead. Here is her review:

I spent the majority of my teenage years not appreciating that I had nice clear skin and I never felt the need to wear makeup since I had nothing to cover up anyway. I only ever got the odd spot or two and that was pretty rare as I can’t remember even one time when I might’ve freaked out over a breakout.

When I reached year 12 in high school, I started to get lots and lots of break outs and it was all concentrated on my forehead. I can even tell you how it started as it literally started overnight with little pimples on my forehead which grew and grew and I soon had a breakout on my forehead which has never cleared in the last 3 years.

My breakouts are consistent and never go away. I always have a small amount of pimples on my forehead and I get some pretty nasty big ones during that time of the month. They tend to stay around for about a week but the little ones pop up as the old ones go away. My acne has also spread to both my cheeks (although the left cheek is significantly clearer than the right) and occasionally I also get pimples under my bottom lip and above my top lip near my nose.

You’ll see in my photos later, that I scar very easily. Some of the pimples that I got during the trial turned into red dots that stay red for weeks. I still have the scars today! It had nothing to do with the products and everything to do with the way my skin is as it happens regardless of the products that I use.

I’ve tried everything at least once from not using cleanser at all (just water), not wearing makeup, using natural products and using different brands like Nivea, Garnier, Biotherm, Khiels, Estée Lauder and Clinique. Nothing has even come close to clearing up my skin, let alone reducing the amount of pimples. I put my hand up for trying out these products when Sarah gave out a call for people to trial the products as I thought that it couldn’t hurt to change up my skincare regime again, especially since it wasn’t working anyway.

I admit that I didn’t really look too much into the brand that was offering the products for trial so when I first opened the package that Sarah sent me, I noticed that there was Chinese writing on the side of the boxes. Immediately, my boyfriend and I got a bit freaked out as we know that Chinese products can often smell quite bad. As children, our parents forced us to eat really smelly black medicine and we’re both familiar with Chinese traditional medicines and the awful smell that some of them can have. Luckily, the smell of the Aphelia products wasn’t too bad.

There were 3 products that I was sent to try.

Master Cleanse Deep Cleanse Fluid:

This was the cleanser that I used in the morning and at night. It looks like liquid soap and it also smells like it. To use the cleanser, I put a small amount (literally one or two small pumps) in my hand and then added water to it. When you rub the cleanser and the water together, it foams up and turns white. While I felt like it cleaned my face, I also felt like I was just using plain soap on my face as it really stripped it of the oils. My hands would also feel really dry afterwards. I think that the cleanser would be better suited for people with really oily skin unlike mine which is mostly dry.

Acne treatment 12+5 essence:

This was an essence that I had to use twice a day (morning and night). It’s a clear runny liquid with a strong herbal smell that I put on my face after I washed it. The instructions told me to focus on the blemishes but that the essence needed to be put on the whole face. I wasn’t a fan of it as the smell lingers even when the essence has been absorbed. I found it hard to spread it on my face as it’s so runny that it kind of dripped off my face unless I worked fast. However, I felt that this step was important as the cleanser dried my face out so much.

Classic skin Purifier Cleansing Beauty Oil:

The instructions said that it was good at removing makeup so I used it as a makeup remover each night. It didn’t make sense to use it as a cleanser since I already used the Master Cleanse Deep Cleanse Fluid as my cleanser.

This didn’t have a strong smell but it smelled faintly like the cleanser. It had a light oil consistency to it and I used it by putting it onto cotton wool pads and wiping it over my face. Interestingly, the instructions said that you didn’t have to wash your face afterwards but you could if you felt like it was “merited”. Because I did this step before cleansing, I obviously washed it off each night.

It was good as a makeup remover and I definitely rate it higher than some of the makeup remover wipes that I’ve been using. It did a good job removing everything but I should probably point out that I normally only wear some concealer and eyeliner so I don’t wear heavy makeup.

Overall, I didn’t see a huge change in my breakouts. It did reduce the large ones as I only saw 2-3 in a month. I think that no products will clear my skin and that my acne may be due to my diet or hormones. I think that people who get breakouts because they have oily or congested skin will benefit from this range. I’ve seen other reviews where people have noticed a huge difference and I’m so jealous!

I think that the Classic Skin Purifier Beauty Oil is the stand out product and will suit any one. The cleanser is a bit harsh but good if you’re targeting really oily or congested areas on your face. I think that the smell of the essence really lets it down as I got pretty sick of the unpleasant smell. I’m sure that some people wouldn’t mind as “no pain, no gain” but I personally wouldn’t buy it for myself.