Banish Acne Scars: Vitamin C Beauty Elixir

Welcome back lovely people!

I hope you're all enjoying the final days of Autumn and looking forward to the cold Winter months which are right around the corner!  Similar to the pumpkin scents that were being released a couple months ago, we now see tons of peppermint scents being released.  One product in particular, which isn't marketed as a "Christmas" scent but reminds me of Christmas because of it's peppermint scent, is the Vitamin C Beauty Elixir from Banish Acne Scars' website!  According to the Banish Acne Scars website, the Vitamin C Beauty Elixir "calms and reduces redness, reduces acne breakouts, prevents dark spots from forming and helps scar healing."  So in other words, this seems to be a "miracle in a bottle" type of product.  Is it really a miracle in a bottle?  Keep reading to find out..

 After using the product for about a month, I would say that it's probably my favourite "toner-type" product.  It is obviously not marketed as a toner (because it's called an Elixir), however, I think it does the same thing as a toner but better!  It doesn't over-dry my skin like most toners but it is able to balance the pH in my skin without stripping too much moisture away.  It definitely tightens up my pores and calms the redness in my skin but in terms of helping to fade my acne scars it's hard to say.  Since I am using so many other Banish Acne Scars skincare products, it's hard to say which product is helping the most in fading my acne scars.  I will continue to use the elixir, as well as the Pumpkin Enzyme Masque, and of course my loved M roller + serum.  If you've tried other mists/toners and haven't been super impressed, I would definitely recommend giving this one a go!  There is a link at the bottom of this post that takes you to the website if you were interested in buying this product!  ALSO, if you do try it out, I would love to hear your thoughts on it in the comments below!

Ingredients:  Distilled Water, Aloe barbadensis (Organic Aloe) Leaf Juice, (Vaccinium Myrtillus (Organic Bilberry) Extract, Saccharum officinarum (Organic Sugar Cane) Extract, Acer Saccharinum (Organic Sugar Maple) Extract, Citrus auranium dulcis (Organic Orange) Fruit Extract, Citrus medica limonum (Organic Lemon) Extract, Vaccinium macrocarpon (Organic Cranberry) Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Salix alba (Willow Bark) Extract, Polysorbate, Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree) Essential Oil, Tetrasodium EDTA, (May contain sodium bicarbonate and/or citric acid as pH adjusters).

So I'll just go over a quick Pros & Cons list:
Pros

• Refreshes the skin without over drying it
• Helps calm acne and visible redness
• Tightens up pores
• The spray of the actual product is very wide and even (not like other spray bottles which spray out in chunks -.-)

Cons

• $15 for a 1 oz bottle (I always put the prices of products in the "cons" list because it varies from person to person; some people may find this to be expensive whereas others may not).

Click here to purchase the Vitamin C Beauty Elixir from Banish Acne Scars!

Stay tuned for my next blog post and take care,

Glynn  

"Go big or go home. Because it's true. What do you have to lose?"

Eliza Dushku

Week 31: Banish Acne Scars

Welcome back beautiful people!

Hopefully my college and university babes aren't stressing too hard as we approach exam season.  I know November is a tough time for all of us, especially us students.  We are getting to the homestretch which may result in us getting lazy with our eating habits as well as our skincare regimen.  I know for me personally, November is filled with many all-nighters and lots of caffeine, which takes a toll on my skin.  However, I am trying my best to make sure I keep up with my skincare regimen and swap out the coffee for herbal teas instead.  Also, try your best to not let the stresses of school get the better of you.  Set aside some time for a nice relaxing bubble bath, or some pleasure reading, or a wine night in with the girls?  The possibilities are endless but make sure there is some form of relaxation in your schedule during the month of November.

As for my skin journey? It's coming along like it always is.  I've had some new acne scars pop up which is always fun to see *insert sarcasm here* However, I've been trying my best to stay on top of my skin care regimen which is still the Proactiv+ 3-Step System.  I absolutely love these products and will continue to use them until they stop working for me (which hopefully doesn't happen anytime soon).

Birth Control Update: I am still using Alesse and it has been probably about 3 months maybe?  I've noticed a huge difference in my hormonal acne and I do believe the birth control plays a huge part in this.  In conjunction with the Proactiv+ products, some of the areas on my face have not seen a pimple for months which is so great!  Again, making sure you're eating healthy, drinking enough water, and getting enough sleep are crucial to your skin.

Banish Acne Scars Update: I have been using the Pumpkin Enzyme Masque, the Vitamin C Creme (*review coming soon*), and the Vitamin C Beauty Elixir (*review coming soon*) for almost a month now and I have to say I absolutely love the pumpkin masque as well as the elixir.  However, the Vitamin C Creme is a little thick for me and I notice leaves me skin feeling/looking quite greasy.  Of course I am still using my M Roller Banish Acne Scars System and like always results are showing every day, it just takes time.

The pictures on the left were taken from Week 27, and the photos on the right are from this week.  Some notable differences can be seen just within 4 weeks!  As you can see the scars that were left on the left side of my chin/jawline have faded as well as some of the scars on the right side of my cheeks.  These are very minor differences but a lot of minor differences built up over time create a major difference. 

 

 

 I hope you've enjoyed this week's blog post and look forward to filling you all in next week!  As you can see the changes are pretty small, but I'm being very patient with my journey and staying hopeful along the way.  If any of you are out there on your 5th or 6th week and noticing small changes like me, don't give up! Stick with it and the results in the end will be worth it, I promise! Rome wasn't built in a day remember that! 

Click here for my Week 30: Banish Acne Scars blog post!

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Click here to purchase products from Banish Acne Scars!

Stay tuned for my next blog post and take care,

Glynn  

"There is always room at the top."

Daniel Webster

Week 30: Banish Acne Scars

Welcome back lovely people!
I've sort of been in a little funk these past couple of weeks to tell you all the truth.  I'm not sure if any of you can relate, but sometimes I just want to stay in bed all day and do nothing.  I feel as though post-secondary education can be stressful and gets exhausting after a while and sometimes you get into those ruts of not wanting to do anything.  Anyways, really hate to start the blog post negatively, so let's talk about something positive. Maybe the fact that Christmas is only 6 weeks away!? Isn't that crazy!? 2015 has definitely been a year filled with experiences and moments that have made me smile, laugh, cry, etc. and I can't wait to see what the new year has in store for me.

 With all of that being said, let's move onto what I'm sure you all came here for.  Week 30's before and after pictures as well as some insight on how my skin is doing.  As you may or may not know, I changed up my skincare routine (which will be updated soon on my blog), and switched over to Proactiv+.  I did a separate blog post on the products that I have been using from their line as well as all the details of my experience using the Proactiv+ products.

I highly recommend you check out that blog post first before you go ahead and order any of their products as you may be surprised to hear my initial experiences using their products.  Overall though, I have fallen in love with the Proactiv+ products and noticed a huge change in my skin over the past couple of months.  Although it does not help much with my actual acne scarring, the amount of pimples I get now is nothing compared to what I used to get and I believe Proactiv+ has a lot to do with that!

 

 The pictures on the left were taken about 8 months ago, and the pictures on the right are from this week!  I just want to preface by saying that in no way has the Banish Acne Scars erased all of my acne scars because that can obviously be seen in the pictures.  However, the M Roller has done an exceptional job especially on my forehead and chin/jawline.  It is also important to realize and understand that I have had to deal with active acne along my journey and with active acne comes new spots/scars to try and get rid of.  But hopefully the pictures can do it justice and as always I will keep rolling until I am almost completely satisfied with the results of the Banish Acne Scars kit!  

Side note: Please don't judge the pictures from this week, I had just woken up and didn't even think to run a spooly through those brows or tuck back my sideburns, oh well what can you do now :)

Click here for my Week 29: Banish Acne Scars blog post!

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Click here to purchase products from Banish Acne Scars!

Stay tuned for my next blog post and take care,

Glynn  

"Set your goals high, and don't stop until you get there."

Bo Jackson

Banish Acne Scars: Pumpkin Enzyme Masque

Welcome back beautiful people!

It's that time of year again when many stores start selling pumpkin flavoured products such as Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte, Tim Horton's Pumpkin Spice Muffin, Yankee Candle's Pumpkin Spiced Candle, and the list goes on and on and on.  One pumpkin flavoured product that is actually sold all year around is the Pumpkin Enzyme Masque from Banish Acne Scars!  The mask is a great anti-acne mask which contains lots of vitamins and enzymes to help smooth out the skin's texture while keeping the skin healthy!  Pumpkin contains natural ingredients that are great for getting rid of acne, and getting rid of scarring so if you're looking to get rid of any of the two, look no further!

This chart was taken directly from the Banish Acne Scars website and shows exactly what the Pumpkin Enzyme Masque contains and the benefits.

Vitamin A Great for healing skin!	Dries out acne Heals blemishes Promotes exfoliation of skin to prevent new acne from forming Essential Vitamin for healthy skin, hair and eyes Treats oily skin
Vitamin C & Beta-Carotene Antioxidant to protect skin so it can heal!	Reverses skin damage Binds with free radicals so they won't harm your fresh new skin cells Defends against cancer and damage from the sun Reduces fine lines and wrinkles Builds more collagen
Alpha Hydroxy Acids The natural exfoliator.	Slough off dead skin cells Lightens blemishes from hyper pigmentation or scarring Exfoliate skin to show off your healthy glowing skin underneath Keeps skin moisturized and heals any skin flaking
Zinc The immune system booster.	Anti-inflammatory Prevents scarring Helps heal damaged skin

Ingredients: Pumpkin Fruit, Organic Bilberry Fruit Extract, Organic Sugar Cane Extract, Organic Orange Peel Extract, Organic Lemon Peel Extract, Glycerin, Tetrasodium ETDA, Vitamin E, Phenoxyethanol, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Vitamin C, Glycolic Acid, Neem Seed Oil, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Cinnamon Bark Powder, Ginger Root Powder, Nutmeg Powder.

Application Process:

1. Start with a clean face. 

• As with any face mask, you want to make sure you start off with a clean face.  If you plan on using this first thing in the morning, I'd suggest just wetting your face with water.  However, if you plan on doing this before bed, take off all your makeup or anything you have on your face with a gentle cleanser, wash off, and pat dry.
2. Apply.
• Application is super easy with this product!  You can use your clean fingers to take a toonie-sized amount and apply it all over your face.  You can also use a foundation brush to apply which is my preferred method because it is less messy that way.  I use my Real Techniques pointed foundation brush to apply a thin layer of the mask all over my face making sure to avoid the eye/eyebrow area.
3. The waiting game.
   
   • Now is the fun part.  Put on some Netflix, watch some YouTube videos, listen to music, read a book, etc., etc., etc.  Now's the time to do whatever you want while you wait for your mask to almost completely dry.  I usually leave mine on for 10 minutes.  You'll know when your mask is ready to be taken off when you notice it starting to flake off when you make certain facial expressions.  The colour and texture of the mask also changes which indicates that it's time to wash it off!
4. Wash off the mask to reveal cleansed and soothed skin.
• The best way to wash off this face mask is to apply lukewarm water to the skin and gently massage off.  You'll notice the first few massages won't get everything entirely off, this is normal.  Just keep applying water to your skin and eventually it will all rub off.  Once it's all off, simply pat dry with a clean towel.  Apply your favourite moisturizer if needed and you're good to go.

So I'll just go over a quick Pros & Cons list:

Pros

• All natural & organic.
• A little goes a long way.
• Lightens blemishes from hyper pigmentation or scarring.
• Dries out active acne which helps to heal blemishes.
• Gives a nice cooling sensation (if kept in the fridge) to the skin

Cons

• Heavily fragrant, so if the smell of pumpkin pie bothers you than this may not be the product for you.  I put this in the "cons" list because for some it may be considered a negative, whereas I personally don't mind the smell.
• Price point. Again, for some this may be an issue.  The product is $29.00 USD for 2 oz, although a little does go a long way, it is all based on personal budgets.

 

Click here to purchase the Pumpkin Enzyme Masque from Banish Acne Scars!

Stay tuned for my next blog post and take care,

 Glynn  

"I always tried to go a step past wherever people expected me to end up."

Beverly Sills