Today, I’m doing brief reviews on three products that, unfortunately, didn’t work for me. My opinion, but I thought I’d share.
Porcelana Night Skin Lightening Cream
Oldies but goodies, in beauty brands, always attract my attention because I believe they have withstood the test of time. I remember Porcelana commercials from when I was a kid. I noticed it on a lower shelf at CVS when I had some CVS Extrabucks in hand. An old school brand name, Porcelana always was or had a “fade cream”. Now, they updated that concept with a daytime and nighttime product. The daytime product has SPF. I went for the nighttime product to try to fade my serious dark spots, the result of years of hanging out at the beach before I discovered sunscreen.
The active ingredient — the skin lightener — is hydroquinone 2%. Hydroquinone is a strong inhibitor of melanin production, and 2% is the highest concentration that is sold without a prescription. Although some people consider it a controversial ingredient, research studies in medical and dermatological journals have shown it to be effective and safe to use. In fact, natural skin lightening ingredients like arbutin breakdown into hydroquinone.
A few years ago, I tried a product that I got at Sephora from DDF with hydroquinone, and it didn’t do much. What is it that they say about people who repeat a behavior but expect a different outcome?
Hydroquinone hates air. It can turn brown, and it becomes ineffective when exposed to air. The Porcelana Night Cream is packaged in a jar, so every time I open it, the product including the hydroquinone is exposed to air that affects its efficacy. So, if you buy a skin-lightening product with hydroquinone, make sure it is not in a jar.
Porcelana Night Skin Lightening Cream is a very thick cream in a 3 oz. jar with a fresh scent, and it is very inexpensive: It was less than $8 at CVS. I used it as a spot treatment on my dark spots almost every night for about 3 months, the recommended period of time to use a product with hydroquinone. It didn’t fade my dark spots. Not one bit. Time to move on.
WunderLift 60 Second Wrinkle Reducer
I was lucky. I didn’t have wrinkles for a long time. I attributed that to a lifetime of jogging. But nothing lasts forever, and my crow’s feet have gotten more pronounced over the past couple of years. Very noticeably so.
One night in August, I was either on Facebook or just looking around the internet and I came upon a 50% off sale at a beauty website selling WunderLift 60 Second Wrinkle Reducer for about $25 instead of $50+. I read all the reviews on the site, and I searched for other reviews online as well. The majority were positive. Some thought it was a real miracle product. I was feeling daring, so I took a chance and bought it.
WunderLift 60 Second Wrinkle Reducer comes in a slim tube with a pump top. Unfortunately, the cream is a “skin tone” color rather than white or clear. The “skin tone” shade is darker and yellower than my skin tone, so covering it up is a necessity. And adding BB cream or foundation on top of it makes it ball up. Ugh.
Most important, WunderLift does not make any difference for me at all. My wrinkles still look the same. $25 down the drain. Move on, Allison.
essence Nail Polish
If you’ve been reading Never Say Die Beauty for any length of time, you know that I love essence cosmetics. They are super-affordable, good quality, and some of their products are my absolute faves: I Love Crazy Extreme Mascara, gel-look topcoat, I Love Stage Eye Primer, and the new line of lipsticks that are sold only at Fred Meyer, boo hoo.
essence nail polish comes in a distinctively shaped bottle with a top that matches each shade of polish. The shades are fashion-forward and many change with the season. I love the wide brush that makes application so easy. And they are inexpensive: only $1.99.
So, what’s the problem? Great colors, super-cute bottle, easy to use brush, inexpensive. The problem is that the formula chips. I thought if I used essence gel-look topcoat that wears like iron when I use other nail polish brands I’d be OK. Wrong. I was traveling on business this week, and I often don’t wear nail polish when I’m on the road because I’m concerned about chipping. I took a chance because I really wanted to wear the essence nude glam, shade 05, Cafe Ole. I adore this color.
Well, I applied it on Sunday night, and on Monday morning, it already showed wear around the tip of my index finger. I repainted that nail before I left. On Tuesday, all the nails showed some wear around the tips. At least with a nude shade, it didn’t show too badly. On Thursday morning, I was getting ready to go to meet a client who was taking me out to lunch at a great restaurant, and the polish on my left thumb and my right index finger both had huge chips. I was not happy. I didn’t have polish remover with me, and I didn’t have time to find a store to buy some. I went out to lunch with chipped nail polish. Not a good look. In spite of my love for essence, I will give the nail polish a rest till they improve the formula.
These are my tales of woe. I’d pass on these products if I were you. But if you’ve had good luck with them, please comment and let me know!
On a totally different topic, tomorrow Saturday, October 5, Estee Lauder is having a event, Picture Me Online at Macy’s in Portland Maine. If you’re anywhere near Portland, this is a fun event. You can have a Lauder makeup artist give you a new look, and their photographer will photograph you, if you like. Also, you will get color-matched for foundation, and they will give you a free 10 day supply of foundation to take home. I did it, and I had a ball! Their amazing photographer, Cory Stierley, took a really good photo of me that I’ll post soon with more details about this event. How nice not to have to take another selfie!
And on yet another subject, I am announcing the winner of the essence lipstick, On The Catwalk, giveaway: Jeannie S. of Canada. Congratulations to Jeannie! Also, she was sent an email to let her know, and she must get in touch by email by Monday night. If not, another winner will be chosen at random. Thank you to all who entered by commenting, subscribing and following. A giveaway of another beauty product from another company will begin next week so stay tuned, and please try again. 🙂
Thanks for the info on WunderLift 60 Second Wrinkle Reducer. I’m always looking for good products that really work and have been disappointed many times. The before and after pics looked convincing but I’m glad I came across your site before purchasing.
Thanks again.
Madaline
And thanks for your comment, Madaline! When I purchased the product, I was afraid that it wasn’t going to be worth it, but I got it on sale. You might want to try DermaFreeze365 Anti-aging Eye Cream that I have picked up at Marshalls or TJMaxx in the past for about $5. It works a little better than Wunderlift, is a better shade, and much less expensive at those stores. 🙂
I enjoyed reading the honest reviews of the three products which ended up in your cosmetics graveyard LOL. I wanted to add a couple: Revlon Gel Envy nail Polish and Sally Hansen Miracle Gel nail polish. I bought the Revlon polish first at CVS and had such high hopes based on the fun print ad that I bought 4 colors. I didn’t expect salon quality but definitely that the polish would stay on at least 5 days with high shine. When I say it chipped after one day I’m being kind because it was really less than 24 hours! I returned all to CVS and the associate there told me she and other customers had the same experience. My next try, the Sally Hansen gel polish, was no different, I returned that one too. Bummer!
Thank you so much for your excellent comment, Sybille. I have never tried any at home gel polishes. Did you have to use a UV light with the Revlon and Sally Hansen? I’m guessing no. It is so disappointing when polish chips after the first day! No matter which quick dry topcoats one uses, it still takes a darn long time to do a mani and wait for it to dry. I’m glad you returned the polishes. I do the same thing. I don’t want to spend money on disappointing makeup.
No light was required for these two brands of gel polish, so I was really excited, hoping they would work out. I just thought it would save the time and effort it takes to run to the salon. Sadly, I have to keep going to the pros LOL.
Glad they didn’t take the UV light, so not good that they didn’t work! For gel, I think the pros are still best because the mani really does last and last. I need a pedi from the pros soon!!
It is really annoying when you take the time to paint your nails and the polish chips. I don’t have any Essence nail polish, but will probably avoid 😛
Monica.
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I agree! Usually essence gives me about 3-5 days without chipping. I’m afraid this one got my wrath because it chipped while I was on a business trip and I stupidly didn’t bring along polish remover pads to take it off. Not wearing polish while traveling is usually my mantra since all brands of polish seem to chip if I’m traveling. essence is a good polish for a treat since it costs so little. My Ciate polish that is not cheap just chipped after one day so go figure!