If you don’t know me by now (writing that line, all I want to do right now is burst out singing “you will never never never know me”) …

Anyway. If you don’t, I’ll have you know that I am obsessed with skin care – anything skin related – more so than the next girl, I promise you. It’s been my mission to find a brand that works amazingly well and doesn’t cost me a month’s worth of meals while offering their consumers (me and hopefully you, too!) transparency as to what ingredients they put into these products. No fillers, no junk, no words I can’t pronounce. Although it seems like a simple request, the beauty industry is as saturated as any other. So I am here to help you cancel out the noise and help you find products that work for you. Plus, I’ve had my boyfriend try out just about everything I get. I consider the effects on his skin, too, to see if it REALLY works. The obsession is airborne.

About this brand that has everything your face needs, there are 3 major points I have to make about their products:

1. They do not use filler ingredients, instead they use microalgae – the legit stuff!
2. It’s affordable with the majority of products offered at under $100
3. It actually works to make your skin look luminous, even, and uber clean.

So Algenist uses Microalgae which is known to provide amazing anti-aging results. As it says on their website, “The story of Algenist is deeply rooted in biotechnology expertise from the heart of the biotechnology industry, San Francisco. Scientists behind the brand were studying Microalgae as a source of environmentally sustainable, renewable energy when they came across an unexpected discovery that revolutionized the skincare industry” which is actually very cool to discover about this brand.

REVIEWS:

Algae Brightening Mask: Smells really pleasant. Has a thick texture but easy to slather on. Great packaging. In terms of if it works  –  my face looked smoother, brighter, and felt cleaner afterwards. I’m quite critical of masks and find this to be one of my top 5 favorites. I don’t have major uneven tones but it left my face feeling revitalized and bright all over.

Detoxifying Exfoliator: Meant to minimize pores and clean pores. After rubbing it on my face in mini circles, focusing on my t-zone (the more oily parts of my face), I rinsed it off and voila!! Pores were visibly smaller – miniscule, I might add. I truly felt that this was super effective in detoxing my pores. There are tiny little particules that help to exfoliate your skin which leaves it looking cleaner than I have ever seen my face even after washing it with cleanser. Highly recommend to use a couple times per week.

Color Correcting Drops: I use the apricot one. Each color serves a different purpose. I mix it into my moisturizer or blend it on top of my tinted moisturizer and suddenly my under-eye area looks less dark and sallow. I thought it worked really well! It’s supposed to reduce visual signs of aging but I can’t quite testify to that yet. It just makes me look like I had 10 hours of sleep! And I’m good with that result.

Tinted Moisturizer w/ SPF 30: YES to SPF and YES to tinted. Doesn’t smell like SPF usually does – has no sunblock scent which is what I want. I use the Tan color and it blends REALLY well. Now, please note that I quit wearing foundation 2-3 years ago and have been bare-faced for a long. time. I’ve been itching for a tinted moisturizer that would be a good base for the rest of my make-up and would be subtle. This is it. I’ve been using it every day now and I am in love. It gives my face a really nice perfect blurry effect and lasts all day. Sold. Done deal.

 Concealer: I use it for my under-eye darkness. It covers really well! It says it’s strong enough to cover scars or tattoos for an even matte finish. It’s definitely matte and covers evenly. You only need a very, very little bit to cover something like skin discoloration. It is well pigmented but blends amazingly. Haven’t tried it on my tattoos yet (because I don’t want to waste a drop!)

 Overall, I say do some research into Algenist and get something that you think you’ll need even if it is to fix the most tiny, seemingly unimportant skin issue. Once you do so, holla at ya girl 😉