Ok Wow! So much is happening right now I feel like a good few months have gone already but for some reason, my Calendar says 12th of Jan🤔. I hope everyone is well and I want to crack open my first skincare and review post of 2020 with the concern that began my whole journey on IG 3 years ago “HYPERPIGMENTATION”. For those new to my account please checkout #bwbwjourney for reviews on products related to hyperpigmentation from myself and the skincare community. ⠀
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Up next is a serum I bought (from Harben House) in 2018 with their amazing GWP offers (opening this just before summer). Also for those new to my account, I think it’s important to do a bit of housekeeping and get the disclaimer out of the way: “Paid for with my own hard-earned cash”. 😂😊
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❇️What prompted me to buy this: I have always been a huge fan of Mandelic Acid so this seemed like an interesting replacement to my Mandelic Acid P50 PIGM. ⠀
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1️⃣So what is it? According to Osmosis a hyperpigmentation treatment to address hyperpigmentation, age spots, melasma, photo-damaged skin and ageing skins.⠀
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Osmosis Enlighten (Pigmentation)⠀
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2️⃣Texture: Light, slightly tacky feeling which is no problem. ⠀
3️⃣Scent: Negligible.⠀
Suitable for: Those battling hyperpigmentation/ sun damage concerns. ⠀
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4️⃣Key Ingredients: Mandelic Acid⠀
Lactic Acid, Nonapeptide 1, Phenylethyl Resorcinol, Natural Arbutin ( Bearberry Extract) all clinically proven ingredients known to work against hyperpigmentation as well as soothers like Beta Glucan and Niacinamide and an encapsulation delivery mechanism.⠀
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5️⃣My Experience:⠀ .⠀
Overall this is a nice light fluid texture, helps renew and exfoliate my skin to keep my skin looking brighter. I definitely enjoyed this as a gentle exfoliating treatment and personally I prefer a serum format simply because it has other comforting and barrier supporting ingredients to cushion the irritation of an acid which can be of comfort especially to sensitive and problem skin.
5️⃣My Experience:
Overall this is a nice light fluid texture (a little sticky especially in humid climates but not a problem for me), helps renew and exfoliate my skin to keep my skin looking brighter. I definitely enjoyed this as a gentle exfoliating treatment and personally I prefer a serum format like this simply because it has other comforting and barrier supporting ingredients to cushion the irritation of an acid which can be of comfort especially to sensitive and problem skins. Secondly most exfoliants will dabble with a 1-2 name sake extracts for a brightening claim however this serum does select the more expensive and potent brightening actives like “Nonapeptide 1 and Phenylethyl Resorcinol” which have strong tyrosinase inhibiting activity.
On the down side I did feel this serum was more on the gentle side (to be honest I felt some of their other serums might have worked better plus being blemish prone I still had to top it up with another more potent acid treatment occasionally which made this tricky to use in my routine). Now being gentle is not a problem is just implies that the treatment period to address stubborn pigmentation will be longer. Now having taken months to write this review I have now found out as of mid last year Osmosis decided to take this serum off the market (Im not surprised). So if you have any questions about finding a suitable replacement I would speak to @andymillward_ (who is a stockist of Osmosis in the UK) and @harbenhouse (USA) for suggestions. Personally I think we may have something better to look forward to in 2020. If you would like a Mandelic Acid/Lactic Treatment for hyperpigmentation then P50 PIGM also gave comparable results (with a little more irritation due to the liquid format). .
❇️Verdict: 3.8 /5- (for some reason 3.5 feels mean and 3.9 feels too generous, so I have settled on a 3.8.
