DDF Fade Gel

DDF Fade Gel 4 - Skin Lightening Gel

As a makeup artist I find myself constantly on the quest for perfect skin. That luminous dewy glowing complexion that every woman dreams of. With the help of the right makeup and application most anyone can have gorgeous skin.  But it is only temporary and eventually gets washed away revealing what we are trying to perfect in the first place. Unfortunately not all women are blessed with a flawless complexion, and I am definitely one of them. So naturally I am constantly over analyzing my own skin and willing to experiment with anything that claims to help me get that gorgeous complexion.

My most recent obsession is Brown Spots! Under my eyes and under my nose, as if it were a skin mustache!!! Over the past 6 months this has been getting worse and worse, even harder to conceal with my regular foundation. I decided to research my spots and different treatments and found (which I already knew) most are from the sun. But I am extremely sun cautious, wearing anywhere from 30- 110 SPF everyday! So what gives? It must be genetics. Thanks mom!

So I decided to try DDF Fade Gel 4. I’m semi familiar with the brand and its not too expensive.

So the first night I applied the gel after cleansing & toning skin.  After about 10 minutes I applied a little Clearasil on a blemish I had on my chin and cheek. (DON’T EVER DO THIS!) When I woke the next morning my chin and cheek were stained BROWN! Worse then my skin mustache! What on earth? I goggled chemical interactions and found out the main ingredient in the fade gel (hydroquinone 2%) reacts with Benzoyl Peroxide, the main ingredient in a lot of blemish creams (Clearasil, Proactive etc...). Which it does not mention ANYWHERE on the booklet of instructions that comes with the gel. Luckily the skin stain only lasted for a day or so. Thank Goodness! So I decided to only use the fade gel once a day to start off. My new routine was cleanse (CHANEL Mousse Exfoliante Purete), tone (Oil of Olay Refreshing Toner), fade gel & SPF in the AM (leaving my PM routine open if I get a pesky blemish). It is crucial to use SPF everyday when using any skin lightening product! I cannot stress this enough. You want to get rid of the spots, not get more!

I am very diligent about my skin care routine, never miss a wash or cream. Never! It is important to stick with a product to give it time to work; there are no overnight miracles ladies.

After about 1 week I noticed no change, 2 weeks …I was starting to see a little lightening, but not really sure. 4 weeks into it my spots were almost completely gone! What? When did this happen? I couldn’t believe it. The stuff actually works! I continued to use the product till I ran out. That was about 3 weeks ago, since then I haven’t bought another bottle,  and have went back to my normal skin routine and the spots have not come back! Hopefully its permanent!

So if any of you are suffering from the annoying brown spots epidemic, weather it be genetics or sun damage, I highly recommended DDF Fade Gel 4 Skin Lightening Gel.

L'Oreal Magic Perfecting Base

L’Oreal has teamed up with Makeup guru James Kaliardos, and legendary supermodel Linda Evangelista to create Studio Secrets. A range of niche products that is affordable and as convenient as a trip to your local drugstore.

The Magic Perfecting Base claims to “transform fine lines and large pores into smooth, shine free, soft feeling skin”. What more could a girl ask for? So, I decided to put it to the test.

I started off applying the product with my fingers; I find a sponge would soak up the entire product not giving you an even exchange of coverage.  A foundation brush would also work but I still think using your fingers with this product is the best. Its velvety consistency glides easily on the skin, giving you a good base for foundation.

I let it set for about 30 seconds and it felt nice, super smooth and velvety to the touch. I did notice a dulling of my oversized pores and fine lines! Halleluiah!! The product also leaves a matte finish as it claims! So far so good!  I then proceeded with applying my normal liquid foundation (I am currently using Shiseido Dual Balancing Foundation with SPF17 which I love!) with a foundation brush and smoothed it with the Beauty Blender sponge. For some reason it then felt way to heavy on my skin. Which was strange, because this foundation normally feels amazing. After a light dusting of powder to set the foundation, it looked flawless, but felt like a light spackle on my skin. All night I found myself feeling as if I was extremely shiny and felt  self-conscious that it was too much and people would notice and think I was heavy handed tonight when applying my makeup. But when I looked in the mirror, it was nothing more then the average glow and after a quick blot, my skin still appeared quite flawless. So with that said, I feel this product does live up to what it claims. Other then feeling to heavy for my own taste, I was satisfied with the appearance of my skin and the over all results.

As a makeup artist I would definitely use this product when I work, and on my clients. But I can honestly say I would never wear it myself under foundation. I may wear it alone, with a dusting of powder, but that would be it.