You may have seen my post a few weeks ago talking about cult beauty brand, Glossier.
Since my first initial gush, there has been a new product release from the brand, the Solution, £19, glossier.com, an 'exfoliating skin perfecter' that promises to transform your skin into glowing clear beauty in just 4 weeks, and the publication of this post marks 4 weeks since I started using it...
Now as I said in my previous Glossier post, I am a sucker for a hype, and I was well and truly sucked in on the 17th January 2018 when the sudden release of a new Glossier product started being plastered all over my instagram feed. A product that had some of my favourite bloggers and beauty journalists going absolutely mad for it and swearing by it's immense powers.
Not only that, but it's adorable glittery, millennial pink packaging could make even the most basic skincare lover want to post a 'shelfie' due to it's completely irresistible look. Combined with 'before and after' shots of reduced scarring, clearer glowier skin, it was impossible to avoid the social media hype around this product, and I have to admit it was a little overwhelming with everyone telling you you NEEDED something you had never heard of until that day, but the truth is, the hype bombardment worked.
Despite it containing Glycolic acid which I have had a few ups and downs with in the past (read Pixi Glow review for the downs) I was officially convinced that I needed this product.
As someone who has really struggled with my skin in adult life, I was a little desperate to get the results it promised, and I made sure I had this within a few days of it's release (it was launched just days before my birthday and I dropped very obvious hints to my boyfriend) and I could not wait to get this product all over my face.
Not only that, but it's adorable glittery, millennial pink packaging could make even the most basic skincare lover want to post a 'shelfie' due to it's completely irresistible look. Combined with 'before and after' shots of reduced scarring, clearer glowier skin, it was impossible to avoid the social media hype around this product, and I have to admit it was a little overwhelming with everyone telling you you NEEDED something you had never heard of until that day, but the truth is, the hype bombardment worked.
Despite it containing Glycolic acid which I have had a few ups and downs with in the past (read Pixi Glow review for the downs) I was officially convinced that I needed this product.
As someone who has really struggled with my skin in adult life, I was a little desperate to get the results it promised, and I made sure I had this within a few days of it's release (it was launched just days before my birthday and I dropped very obvious hints to my boyfriend) and I could not wait to get this product all over my face.
So how does it work?
Solution is a chemical exfoliator rather than a 'scrub' exfoliator. It uses acids to slough away dead skin to encourage fresh new skin to the surface appearing brighter and softer. Here is where it gets more science-y. Solution contains a particular 10% blend of three acid actives for maximum efficacy: Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA), Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA), and Polyhydroxy Acid (PHA)
The AHA is in the form of lactic acid and Glycolic acid, the one I've had a bit of ups and downs with before. AHA's brighten the skin and improve tone and texture.
The BHA is salicylic acid, which reduces redness and reduces spots. I have recently bought this in a pure form from the Ordinary for any breakouts.
Finally, the PHA is Gluconolactone which I have never heard of before but apparently moisturises, conditions and exfoliates.
Before I dropped the big hint to my boyfriend, I got in contact with a couple of people who had been sent the product ahead of the launch to trial it, and had sworn by the results, vouched for its reputation and said yes, the product worked. I even DM'd Beauty Director of ELLE UK Sophie Beresiner (I love her and Joely Walker as the beauty team) to hear her honest thoughts before she published her review. She stood by what she said in her article, and said that she suffered with sensitive skin, but this was gentle enough and her skin had taken quite nicely to it.
With that reputable go ahead, I went for it. After receiving my Glossier solution (TY again Tom), I used it straight away.
The Glossier website says:
AFTER 24 HOURS
Glossier reviewers said "Skin felt cleaner and softer; they felt Solution working right after they applied it."
For this statement, I would agree. My skin definitely felt smoother and the redness in my spots had certainly reduced slightly. I even did a little before and after of my own on my instagram stories because I woke up to dramatically reduced redness. But after 4 weeks, was my skin REALLY going to be as clear and wonderful as everyone said it would be?
Well there were thumbs up from all the beauty gurus right?
Wrong.
A few days after the launch, and also a few days after I'd been using Solution, absolute Queen of the Acids as well as Beauty Blogging Royalty Caroline Hirons wrote her review of the Solution, and I have to admit, it really made me feel guilty about the stuff I'd been using on my face. I won't go into the full post as you can read it here, but she wrote a really black and white review about the product and went into great depth about the ingredients in the Solution and actually how damaging - in their quantities- they could be to the skin, and it made me feel really silly for not properly researching the acidic product I was using on my face.
Caroline Hirons herself used the Solution, and came out in big red, painful itchy spots on her face, and her review caused quite the stir in the beauty world, because she was the first to go against the grain and challenge this product.
At this point, the shine had really been taken off the product, and I felt like a real fool for giving in to a pretty pink bottle with a funky pump, especially as I had given into the hype knowing that some of the acids it contained didn't react too well to my skin in the first place. I am quite stubborn though, and as someone who likes to see things through to the end, I was determined to stick with the solution for the full 4 weeks so I could say I gave the product enough time to do exactly what it said.
Solution is a chemical exfoliator rather than a 'scrub' exfoliator. It uses acids to slough away dead skin to encourage fresh new skin to the surface appearing brighter and softer. Here is where it gets more science-y. Solution contains a particular 10% blend of three acid actives for maximum efficacy: Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA), Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA), and Polyhydroxy Acid (PHA)
The AHA is in the form of lactic acid and Glycolic acid, the one I've had a bit of ups and downs with before. AHA's brighten the skin and improve tone and texture.
The BHA is salicylic acid, which reduces redness and reduces spots. I have recently bought this in a pure form from the Ordinary for any breakouts.
Finally, the PHA is Gluconolactone which I have never heard of before but apparently moisturises, conditions and exfoliates.
Before I dropped the big hint to my boyfriend, I got in contact with a couple of people who had been sent the product ahead of the launch to trial it, and had sworn by the results, vouched for its reputation and said yes, the product worked. I even DM'd Beauty Director of ELLE UK Sophie Beresiner (I love her and Joely Walker as the beauty team) to hear her honest thoughts before she published her review. She stood by what she said in her article, and said that she suffered with sensitive skin, but this was gentle enough and her skin had taken quite nicely to it.
With that reputable go ahead, I went for it. After receiving my Glossier solution (TY again Tom), I used it straight away.
The Glossier website says:
AFTER 24 HOURS
Glossier reviewers said "Skin felt cleaner and softer; they felt Solution working right after they applied it."
For this statement, I would agree. My skin definitely felt smoother and the redness in my spots had certainly reduced slightly. I even did a little before and after of my own on my instagram stories because I woke up to dramatically reduced redness. But after 4 weeks, was my skin REALLY going to be as clear and wonderful as everyone said it would be?
Well there were thumbs up from all the beauty gurus right?
Wrong.
A few days after the launch, and also a few days after I'd been using Solution, absolute Queen of the Acids as well as Beauty Blogging Royalty Caroline Hirons wrote her review of the Solution, and I have to admit, it really made me feel guilty about the stuff I'd been using on my face. I won't go into the full post as you can read it here, but she wrote a really black and white review about the product and went into great depth about the ingredients in the Solution and actually how damaging - in their quantities- they could be to the skin, and it made me feel really silly for not properly researching the acidic product I was using on my face.
Caroline Hirons herself used the Solution, and came out in big red, painful itchy spots on her face, and her review caused quite the stir in the beauty world, because she was the first to go against the grain and challenge this product.
At this point, the shine had really been taken off the product, and I felt like a real fool for giving in to a pretty pink bottle with a funky pump, especially as I had given into the hype knowing that some of the acids it contained didn't react too well to my skin in the first place. I am quite stubborn though, and as someone who likes to see things through to the end, I was determined to stick with the solution for the full 4 weeks so I could say I gave the product enough time to do exactly what it said.
And the results?
In all honesty, I feel like you've probably got to this point of this long old post hoping for a huge reveal, but the truth is, I am not sure if this is working for me or not.
Whilst I have had red, painful spots on my face, this is pretty common for me, especially for one of those 4 weeks (yes, I am referencing a period) so I can't say it is due to the Solution or not.
In short, Glossier says:
Whilst I have had red, painful spots on my face, this is pretty common for me, especially for one of those 4 weeks (yes, I am referencing a period) so I can't say it is due to the Solution or not.
In short, Glossier says:
AFTER 1 WEEK
Reviewers said Skin looked smoother, brighter, and clearer.
AFTER 2 WEEKS
Pores looked smaller and skin looked glowy.
AFTER 3 WEEKS
Solution unclogged pores and reduced the appearance of redness; skin looked more even.
AFTER 4 WEEKS
7 out of 10 people said skin looked transformed.
3 out of 4 people said this was the solution they were looking for.
In short, for me personally, my skin has not been transformed. It's probably just as bad as it was before, with old spots calming down leaving new red marks in time for new red spots to appear. I feel as though this cycle is going to keep happening and before I find a 'solution', I need to actually the tackle the cause of my acne which could be down to stress, diet and a number of other things.
I have stopped using this for a couple of days and found my skin has calmed down and my spots have not been so red. Personally, I feel as though this product would work perfectly as a post acne treatment to help clear up the last few blemishes and keep pimples at bay, however as a direct acne target, I feel as though it just isn't it.
For me, I have always had fairly sensitive skin, and when I was really interested in researching the ingredients going into my skin, I found using natural and paraben free products worked really well for me, and is when my skin was at it's best. I am not saying the solution is good or bad, I'm just saying that maybe I need to stop being so lazy and actually research the products I am putting onto my skin before jumping on a product bandwagon. The eratic and imbalanced place my skin is as at the moment isn't the best time for me to experiment with new skincare, especially something as strong as acids.
I apologise if you have got to the end of this post looking for an affirmation on whether or not you should purchase this product, so I hope you don't feel as though you have wasted your time reading this post, however I will always review honestly and at this moment in time, I feel as though this product isn't going to help my skin get to it's full potential.
What I do hope though, is that I have left you with enough information and sources for you to research yourself and make your own decisions. I'd really love to hear of anyone else's experiences with this product and what their thoughts on it are.
If you are still unsure, another helpful blog review I found is from WhatLucyLoves and you can read that here.
To review the product with its full ingredient list, go to the Glossier website here, and please do read my review of all the other lovely Glossier products I have tried because they really are great!
I still love you Glossier!
In short, for me personally, my skin has not been transformed. It's probably just as bad as it was before, with old spots calming down leaving new red marks in time for new red spots to appear. I feel as though this cycle is going to keep happening and before I find a 'solution', I need to actually the tackle the cause of my acne which could be down to stress, diet and a number of other things.
I have stopped using this for a couple of days and found my skin has calmed down and my spots have not been so red. Personally, I feel as though this product would work perfectly as a post acne treatment to help clear up the last few blemishes and keep pimples at bay, however as a direct acne target, I feel as though it just isn't it.
For me, I have always had fairly sensitive skin, and when I was really interested in researching the ingredients going into my skin, I found using natural and paraben free products worked really well for me, and is when my skin was at it's best. I am not saying the solution is good or bad, I'm just saying that maybe I need to stop being so lazy and actually research the products I am putting onto my skin before jumping on a product bandwagon. The eratic and imbalanced place my skin is as at the moment isn't the best time for me to experiment with new skincare, especially something as strong as acids.
I apologise if you have got to the end of this post looking for an affirmation on whether or not you should purchase this product, so I hope you don't feel as though you have wasted your time reading this post, however I will always review honestly and at this moment in time, I feel as though this product isn't going to help my skin get to it's full potential.
What I do hope though, is that I have left you with enough information and sources for you to research yourself and make your own decisions. I'd really love to hear of anyone else's experiences with this product and what their thoughts on it are.
If you are still unsure, another helpful blog review I found is from WhatLucyLoves and you can read that here.
To review the product with its full ingredient list, go to the Glossier website here, and please do read my review of all the other lovely Glossier products I have tried because they really are great!
I still love you Glossier!
