OhhhhEmmmmGeeeee. I love, love, love this stuff in the pink jar! A true drugstore gem! And it's made by Pond's of all companies... which is great because they are easy on the wallet and have been around since 1846. I always believed to get an effective product, you would have to pay beacoup bucks for a big name brand. What took me so long to find this little miracle in a jar? I am unsure when it became available here in the Unites States, but evidently, Pond's is huge in Mexico. I've never tried or considered Pond's because I've always had sensitive-combination skin. Many of their products are mineral-oil based - so it goes against everything I've been taught as being a good-for-your-skin type ingredient. I was actually searching for a skin treatment to help with the unevenness of my skin - what from past acne scars as well as the sun damage I've been accumulating of the years. I spent years trying to turn my pale Asian skin into a golden tan. The glow was so lovely, but it has left me with sun spots too. My days laying out are over unfortunately as I know how damaging it is to my skin. I guess I can always use a self-tanner if I want color in the future.
Those days baking to get a sun-kissed glow have left me with so many freckles that I decided I needed a dark-spot cream. I stumbled upon this at Walgreen's and it was $10.99 for a 7 oz. jar and it came with a mini-travel jar as a freebie. I was sold. Now the question is, would it work? I purchased the normal-to-oily formula and it actually does not contain any mineral oil. I was just going to use this on my arms and hands, but realized that it was actually marketed to be used on the face. So I brought it home, excited to give it a try. The jars come sealed which is nice, so you know you're getting a fresh jar that no one has dipped their fingers into yet! I peeled off the safety seal excited and afraid of what I would find. I sampled some and it felt like whipped butter. The texture was amazing! I first applied it to the back of my hands where I had some sunspots and then to my upper arms because I have some weird tan lines going on there (not cute!) There is a fresh scent - hard to describe, but very pleasant (if you have allergies to fragrance, probably not a good idea to purchase this product!) and I really liked it. Slowly I applied some to my chin, cheeks, and forehead. It felt so light! And it seemed to keep my skin matte but moisturized at the same time - with no greasy after feel. I have not experienced any rashes or additional acne...just brighter, clearer, softer, smoother skin ... Wow...Yay!
It's an amazingly overlooked product that is hard to find (so no, I will not share with you which Walgreen's I found it at in Chicago - Tee-hee!) But on Amazon you can actually get a 2-pack and both jars are 7 oz. for around $15 - a much better value! When I looked at the ingredients there are actually sunscreen filters. I still apply Olay Complete over this during the day for the SPF 15 protection, just to be safe. It feels so nice on the skin and I'm sorry I overlooked the Pond's brand for so long. This is definitely a staple in my daily routine now. I have been using it a few days and have noticed that my complexion is becoming more even toned and the freckles appear to be lightening a bit. I liked it so much I have it on automatic order, "Subscribe and Save" via Amazon to get a bit of a discount - $14.27 for two jars! What an underrated product in America. It's huge in Mexico. I know, I never thought of Mexico as being known for their skincare products either and I'm so glad I'm taking a second look! After all, even the fiance thinks Mexican Coca Cola tastes better than U.S. Coca Cola (Mexican coke uses cane sugar!) Take home message: it's just good to keep an open mind because you never know what amazing things you can find!
XoX,
Marikym
P.S. I also sampled the normal-to-dry formula and it does not have the same whip-like consistency. It does have mineral oil in it and feels a bit more slippery/emollient. It has the same fresh scent and more suitable for dry skin types.
