WIN: Aphelia Cosmetology Skincare Pack

I have now brought you three reviews of the Aphelia Cosmetology acne products from three different guest reviewers. Here is: Andrea's review (age 33); Jenny's review (age 20) and Nalini's review (age 30).

The Aphelia Cosmetology herbal skincare range is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine. Rather than rely on one 'hero herb' in an otherwise basic formulation, Aphelia Cosmetology uses a precise prescription of herbs to create a formulation that heals and nurtures your skin.

The acne range from Aphelia Cosmetology is truly unique - it is the world’s only acne solution with no Benzoyl Peroxide & Salicylic Acid that has been proven with independent in vitro (this means in a petri dish or in a test tube) tests to inhibit acne bacterium for 6 hours at 99.96% (I have a copy of these studies which I will go through in more detail in another post). This means that the acne range from Aphelia Cosmetology won't produce the side effects that Benzoyl Peroxide & Salicylic Acid may cause such as drying and irritating you skin.

If you think that this might be something that you would like to try then you are in luck - I have a pack of the Aphelia Cosmetology skincare to give away.

What your pack will include: Oasis Acne Solution, Classic Skin Purifier Cleansing Beauty Oil and the Master Cleanse.

To win, all you have to do is follow me by either GFC, Facebook or email and then comment with the answer the following question:

What is your worst pimple/acne experience?

The winner will be drawn randomly (so don't worry if your story isn't too horrific!).

Want to hear mine? It happened when I was about 14 and is a classic why you should not squeeze pimples story. I woke up one Saturday with a smallish pimple right on the tip of my nose. I had a party to go to later that night so wanted it gone. It had a white head on it so I thought that I could squeeze it but when I did nothing came out. So, I tried again. Still nothing. So I popped it with a pin. A little bit of gunk came out but it still looked like more was there but it just wasn't coming so I gave up and put some toner on it (that seemed the right thing to do in my 14 year old wisdom). Clearly it wasn't. An hour later it had tripled in size and was now yellow, so clearly infected. So, of course I squeezed it again but only water pus came out. For the rest of the day, each time it was allowed it scab over, within minutes it would be full of yellow pus again. It was hideous and now the surrounding skin was also bright red and swollen. In fact, it was so swollen the tip of my nose was now in my line of vision which just further irritated me and reminded me it was there. I spent the entire day putting a dab of every product I own on it every 5 minutes. In hindsight, none of these products were antiseptics so were never going to clear the infection - I think they just further inflamed it. By the time time the party rocked around, I had managed to get rid of the yellow infection but now had a rather large scab on the end of my nose plus my entire nose was very much Rudolf like. To say that it was noticeable is an understatement. The redness was actually so bad that my nose looked sunburned; however, it was the middle of winter so that was not possible. I remember people asking what happened to my nose at the party. For some reason, I recall being really embarrassed to admit that I had a pimple so made some lie up about hurting my nose. I have no idea why I was so embarrassed to have a pimple since, as the party was full of 14 year olds, I would say that every single person there would have had one on their face at that time! As a 32 year old looking back at my 14 year old self, I no longer feel that situation was embarrassing and am surprised how strongly I felt shame about that pimple. Teenagers are a funny species - one that we will never fully understand, even having had once been one!

Anyway, this competition will run until 8.00pm (AEST)on Sunday April 14th and the winner will be contacted by email. I have two methods of commenting below - if you use Intense Debate (the bottom comment section) there is no need to provide an email address as it gets sent to me with your comment. However, if you comment with Nuffnang X Conversations can you please leave your email address so I can contact you. This competition is open Australia Wide. 

The Acne Series: Guest Review 3 of Aphelia Cosmetology

I was lucky enough to get three acne skincare packs from Aphelia Cosmetology for guest reviewers with acne to trial for me. I think that this is important because the treatment of acne is such a personalised journey that it is good to hear about the results of the skincare from a variety of people.

In the third review of this series, Nalini from The Made Up Maiden has reviewed this acne set for me. Nalini is 30 and has troublesome skin. She has tried many products to fix it without a lot of luck.

Here is Nalini's review:

I've always thought the journey to clear skin can be quite a complicated one. There are just so many things that affect the condition of your skin; genetics, skincare, diet, hormones, weather, stress...the list is endless.

In my case, both parents had acne when they were younger, and I had hopes that my acne would fade once I left my teens. My skin isn't completely horrendous, but I do have some minimal scarring on my cheeks (which goes away after a little while), and the odd large pimple on my chin during those hormonal times, which goes away after a while but is still really frustrating when it happens! I'm 30 years old, so it looks like these problems are here to stay. I have contemplated taking hormonal pills or medication aimed at reducing acne, but decided that the possible side effects haven't really been worth the benefit.

As a result, I was really keen to explore the Aphelia Cosmetology range and see if it lives up to the promise of helping with acne troubled skin. I would classify my skin as combination, the t-zone gets a little oily towards midday, while the rest of my skin is pretty much classified as 'normal'. I received the following items.

Master Cleanse Deep Cleanse Fluid:

This was the foaming cleanser that I used morning and night. It's packaged in a slimline silver tube that you pump to get the cleanser out. Like all foaming cleansers, you only need a tiny amount for your entire face. All you need to do is dispense into wet hands, rub together, and gently apply in circular motions. I felt that it was quite good at cleaning my face and my skin didn't feel dry or tight afterwards. It's also unscented, which is good because certain scents can really put me off using a product.

Classic Skin Purifier Cleansing Oil:

This is the cleansing oil that is packaged with the treatment essence. I didn't mind this product too much, it's basically unscented and you apply it by dispensing a couple of pumps into your hands, apply all over your face, then damped your hands and massage to emulsify. I felt that this did a fair job of cleansing my makeup off, but I did feel that it didn't quite work as well as my much beloved Shu Uemura cleansing oil. I ordinarily double cleanse at night, once using the cleansing oil, and then follow up using the deep cleanse foaming fluid. Using this left my skin feeling quite supple and clean. What I liked most about this is it's packaged in a clear tube, which is very handy at estimating how much you have left before you need to repurchase.

Acne treatment 12+5 essence:

This is basically the star item in the range, as it's supposed to target the blemishes. I was initially a little put off by this. It's packaged in a pump-action, slimline tube, with the essence being a yellow, clear liquid with a very strong scent. I'm hard pressed to define it but I would say that it's quite herbal. It does fade a little while after application but it did take me a while to get accustomed to the scent. You're supposed to put this on after you've cleansed and dried your face, concentrating on blemishes before spreading the remaining product over the rest of your face.

Overall, I must say that I did notice a change in my skin. It's much clearer than it used to be and I don't get breakouts as often as I did. However, as I mentioned in my introduction, there are many factors that could have contributed to this, so I'm not really sure if it's because of regular use of these products.

I do like the range though and I would probably repurchase the deep cleanse fluid and the essence, the only downside is I find the essence a little expensive at $49 a bottle. It does come packaged in a set with the cleansing oil, which retails at $49.95 (making it much more affordable to get the set), but I happen to like the foaming cleanser more than I like the oil. This leads to me to believe that paying $49 for just the essence alone isn't quite justified.

Thanks for your detailed review, Nalini.

If you missed the two other reviews in this series, you can find them here and here.

If you would like to try Aphelia Cosmetology to see if it can fix your acne then you are in luck. I am giving away an entire set of the products that you have seen reviewed here. I will have the link to that giveaway up this afternoon.


What has been your acne Holy Grail products?


All opinions are my own or Nalini's own and we received no remuneration for this post. The products were provided to Nalini for her consideration.

The Acne Series: Guest review of the Aphelia Cosmetology Oasis Acne Solution

The next guest review in my acne series that I am going to bring to you is from Andrea and is of the Aphelia Cosmetology skincare range. Andrea is 33 years of age but still suffers from bad acne especially on her forehead and cheeks.

The Aphelia Cosmetology herbal skincare range is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (a little aside - Traditional Chinese Medicine is actually the degree that I wanted to study at uni but I was worried it might limit my job prospects if I didn't like the field so I went for a more broad science degree - Biomedical Science, with the plans on specialising in Tradition Chinese Medicine once I finished. Instead, I fell in love with pathology and went on to do a PhD in wound healing but I still find the field absolutely fascinating). Rather than rely on one 'hero herb' in an otherwise basic formulation, Aphelia Cosmetology uses a precise prescription of herbs to create a formulation that heals and nurtures your skin.

The acne range from Aphelia Cosmetology is truly unique - it is the world’s only acne solution with no Benzoyl Peroxide & Salicylic Acid that has been proven with independent in vitro (this means in a petri dish or in a test tube) tests to inhibit acne bacterium for 6 hours at 99.96% (I have a copy of these studies which I will go through in more detail in another post). This means that the acne range from Aphelia Cosmetology won't produce the side effects that Benzoyl Peroxide & Salicylic Acid may cause such as drying and irritating you skin.

Andrea was provided with the Acne Solution Set (RRP $49.95) which contains the Oasis Acne Solution and the Classic Skin Purifier Cleansing Beauty Oil as well as the Master Cleanse.

Here is Andrea's review:

Aphelia Oasis Acne Solution

For the first time in months, more like years! I had just 1 pimple for the first month, so the product did work for sure in reducing pimples forming. However the one pimple I did get was pretty bad and did take ages to go away even with using it religiously twice a day. Have been using the cleanser and makeup remover in the range too. Don't mind the fragrance of the oil and cleanser but don't care for the fragrance of the acne treatment essence so much. It has a very strong herbal medicinal smell which I do not like much at all. The second month I used it I got a few more pimples. So pretty average at stopping pimples from forming which is good. Wish it actually treated the ones that did occur too. The product itself is like a pale yellow liquid which you apply all over the face. It dries quickly and is a bit drying on the skin. Does not leave it looking oily though and can apply makeup over it without any problems.

Aphelia Master Cleanse Deep Cleanse Fluid

Have been using this a face wash for up to 2 months now. My skin has much less breakouts than normal. Does not lather up too much. My face feels really fresh and clean. It removes all traces of makeup, even eye makeup completely. My skin feels soft, clean and fresh. Does not dry out my skin or leave me with a "tight" feeling. . It has a very faint almost no fragrance and a nice white shimmery colour. Like the white and gold lettering clean classic lines of the bottle. You only need one press of the pump for washing your face so it lasts for a long time too. For all 3 products found a sharp contrast in the very bright green and gold outer pack and the inner actual look of the bottles.

Aphelia Classic Skin Purifier Cleansing Beauty Oil

I used this for removing makeup with a cotton pad. Like the look of the bottle and the easy dispense pump pack. SO no wastage or mess. Has a delightful light oriental/floral fragrance. Its useful when I have worn heavy eye makeup to get the makeup off as gently as possible. I do use it for cleansing my skin too. It does not lather up, it emulsifies with a few drops of water to cleanse your face. Again left my skin feeling incredibly soft and clean. Perfect for dry skin types and for use in winter. I thought it would be hard to remove as it was an oil based product, but it washed off very easily after cleansing.

Thanks Andrea.

The Aphelia Cosmetology range can be bought online.

I actually have two more guest reviews coming up for this range so it will be great to hear how it works on a variety of skin types.


What have you found to be your solution to your acne woes? Does your current acne range dry out your skin?


I received no remuneration for this post and all opinions are my (or Andrea's) own. The Aphelia range was provided to Andrea for consideration.