A couple of months ago, I shared with you this super awesomesauce facial I had with SK-II in Sydney. A week later, I was kindly given the opportunity to trial four SK-II products that were recommended to me during the skin consultation prior to the facial.
Now if you remember, I had my skin analysis done using the Magic Ring and my results weren’t as well as I expected. I had poor scores on Spot Control and Texture Refinement and an overall skin age of 30*. I was disappointed with the results and repeatedly questioned my own skincare routine. What the heck was I doing wrong? I wasn’t looking for a skin age of 25 but at least something less than 30 would be nice, wouldn’t it? The number 29 looks better than 30! 😛
Anyway, back to the products I was given to try out. The only SK-II product I’ve used prior to this was the Facial Treatment Essence. Now I used that for almost a year quite some time ago and while it did produce good results at first (smooth and soft skin), a few months down the road and there was no more improvement. I was disappointed at the lack of results and haven’t used it since.
A couple of years later, here we are again. The skincare regime starts out with the Cleansing Gel, then the Facial Treatment Essence, the Whitening Spots Specialist serum and finally the Stempower moisturiser.
How did it go? Were the results still the same as before? Was my skin age still *gulp* 30*?
SK-II Facial Treatment Cleansing Gel (RRP AU$85.00)
Ingredients: Mineral Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Neopentyl Glycol Diethylhexanoate, Water, Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Polysorbate 60, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Butylene Glycol, Triethylhexanoin, Sucrose Palmitate, Sucrose Distearate, Diisostearyl Malate, Butylparaben, Sodium Benzoate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Disodium EDTA, Tocopherol, Ammonium Silver Zinc Aluminum Silicate, CI 77019, CI 77891.
This cleansing gel works like an oil cleanser. It goes on dry skin, you massage it on the skin for 30 seconds, watch it emulsify before using a cloth or cotton pads to wipe it off. You can even rinse it off if you want. Oh I like this one. It doesn’t strip the skin of moisture at all and whilst it doesn’t remove every trace of makeup (mascara requires a separate makeup remover), it does a good job as a cleanser. I use this in lieu of an oil cleanser and still double-cleanse in my skincare routine. You don’t need a lot of gel per cleanse so one tub can last quite a while.
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence (RRP AU$100.00 to AU$185.00)
Ingredients: Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Water, Sodium Benzoate, Methylparaben, Sorbic Acid.
This is what I call the “smelly water”. The pitera in all SK-II products makes them smell like yeast and this one has the strongest scent of them all. When I first started using this many years ago, it stopped showing results after a couple of months. Now that I’m using it again, I didn’t have very high hopes that this will work well. Well, it’s been 2 months, and I’ll have to say, so far so good. My skin is still soft and boing boing.
SK-II Whitening Spots Specialist (RRP AU$175.00 to AU$255.00)
Ingredients: Water, Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Niacinamide, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Inositol, Dimethicone, Isohexadecane, Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, PEG-20 Sorbitan Cocoate, Methylparaben, Aminomethyl Propanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Dimethiconol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Disodium EDTA, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Palmaria Palmata Extract, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract
The category that pulled my skin age score down was my growing hyperpigmentation. I checked with the skin consultant on whether I should try out the whitening serum or the Cellumination Essence (which gives the skin radiance). She said that as I should be targeting my problem areas first, I’m to tackle the hyper pigmentation with the whitening serum first. I’ve been using this for 2 months and I wouldn’t say it lightened my hyperpigmentation much. It looks like it’s slowing down the production of more spots but I’m still keeping a very close eye on them. While there wasn’t a signficant amount of lightening on the hyperpigmentation, they do appear slightly lighter than before I started using the serum. Overall, my skin looks brighter and more radiant after using this so yay! Thumbs up! 🙂
SK-II Stempower (RRP AU$130.00 to AU$200.00)
Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Galactomyces Ferment Filtrate, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Butylene Glycol, Isohexadecane, Pentylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Isopropyl Isostearate, Polyacrylamide, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Acanthopanax Senticosus (Eleuthero) Root Extract, Cynara Scolymus (Artichoke) Leaf Extract, Sodium PEG-7 Olive Oil Carboxylate, Sucrose Polycottonseedate, Panthenol, Dimethiconol, Methicone, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Methylsilanol Tri-PEG-8 Glyceryl Cocoate, Behenyl Alcohol, Benzyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetyl Alcohol, Laureth-7, PEG-100 Stearate, Stearic Acid, Stearyl Alcohol, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Ammonium Polyacrylate, Sodium Hydroxide, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Polyquaternium-7, Disodium EDTA, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, CI 77492 (Iron Oxides), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide).
This replaces the Skin Signature Cream and is my favourite product of the four that I tried. The texture of the cream is oh so light and smooth (like smooth single cream) but emollient enough to keep my skin hydrated all night in winter. It makes my skin feel so smooth and soft the next morning. I’ve been using this in the evenings for the past 2 months and I haven’t even touched 1/4 of the 80g jar yet! So, in terms of cost per use and all that, the $200 price tag isn’t actually too bad. That’s the justification I’m sticking to when I purchase this when it’s finished, thank you very much!
After 2 months of being on the SK-II skincare regime, it’s time to see if there’s any improvement to my skin. I only use this in the evenings though; since they aren’t cheap to begin with, I thought I’d only use them before bed to make them last as long as possible :P. I went to the SK-II counter at MYER in the city and had my skin analysed again with the Magic Ring. I kept my fingers crossed for good results this time. Anything less than 30 years old, hell I’ll take it!
When I saw the results on the laptop, my jaw dropped. Now I don’t think the Magic Ring nor the laptop was faulty so I cannot tell if these results are 100% accurate but if they are, son of a gun! My new skin age is now a whopping 23! 😀
Wonky equipment or not, I am super-duper chuffed with the results. Even if I didn’t have my skin analysis done again, there is a significant difference to my skin ever since I started on this regime. My skin is now softer, brighter, the hyperpigmentation slightly lightened and it’s all round just better.
On the other hand, now that I know this works so well for me, I’m also kinda screwed. How the hell am I going to keep up with this skincare regime?? Oh boy, looks like I’m going to need to really save up to keep on with SK-II! 😛
What I like about it: Mighty impressed with the overall results from using the recommended products above. I believe I can do without the cleansing gel but the rest, so far so good. Even the “smelly water” is holding up well. The Whitening Spots Specialist serum is the star of all the products I’ve tried but honestly, I still like the Stempower moisturiser best just because it feels oh so good on my skin. 😛
What I do not like about it: Well, it’s SK-II so you know it ain’t cheap. Sigh.
Have you tried any of these SK-II products before? What did you think? Did the famous “smelly water” work for you?
*30 is a very good skin age if you’re in your late 30s or 40s. Not so much when your actual age is 33.
Note: These products were provided for editorial consideration.
SK-II is one of those brands that is perpetually on my to-try list. I’m curiously to try the Stempower, especially. 🙂
I love the Stempower. Feels so good on the skin and lasts so long! 🙂
I still blame the EARLY MORNING FLIGHT we had to catch prior to this face test for the results; so give or take I think your skin is 27 years old and mine is 20!! HAHAHAH
To be honest, my theory is that good skincare regime is there to prevent and to preserve what we have not to “constantly” change our skin. All or most reputable skincare products will deliver some form of changes be it good or bad when we first trial them but I call it the honeymoon period because don’t expect them to do the same 3 months down the track.
My trick is to pick what worked for me and helps to preserve and maintain my skin the best hence FTE has and will always have a spot in my regime.
MAJOR love FTE! I’d marry it if I could and le garçon is hooked onto it too. Between the two of us, this household is drowning in FTE.
Vx
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Yeah I agree with what you mean by the “honeymoon” period. A lot of skincare I’ve tried out don’t work as well as the first few months of using them. There’s only few skincare products that I still use regardless of the new items I get the opportunity to trial.
Hahaha I get it, you love the FTE. If you have a tub, go bathe in it. Hee hee hee! 😛
Oh and I have accepted the reality, brightening and whitening products are there to only help PREVENT and slow down “future” spots. Existing spots are like wrinkles, once they are formed only laser will be the only answer for them.
Hence all the “laser” creams we see in the market. The only spots that can be helped with brightening products are fresh ones like acne spots.
ponikuta recently posted..There are two sides to everything – positive and negative. I choose #positivethinking.
I’ve been thinking of getting laser treatments to sort of my hyperpigmentation for a while now. There are a lot of mixed reviews on them on the Internet though. A lot said the treatments made the spots darker and/or caused more to grow! :O
Wow, so much improvement to your skin 🙂 Tried SK II in my late twenties but could not keep it up since it was just too expensive to maintain. Would have to forgo this as well although I am tempted to try the Cellumination Essence for brighter skin.
I know right? Almost fell off my chair at the SK-II counter 😛
I’m not sure if I’m going to continue on with the FTE but I absolutely love the Stempower and after doing lots of calculations, it’s not going to cost me a lot of money per ml because it takes ages to finish. My next serum to try would be the Cellumination 🙂
Impressive! 23, wow! I appreciate your honest assessment of the whitening cream. That’s probably my key problem, and I haven’t found anything yet that’s really effective. Nevertheless, I have to see if there’s a Magic Ring at Neiman-Marcus or Saks. I am still so curious about this brand. I just don’t have the $$ to buy it lol!!
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I think it’s available at all SK-II counters worldwide but don’t just take my word for it, best to check it out yourself. But yeah, I do highly recommend you check it out even if you don’t buy anything. It was good for me to see what areas I needed to target. I didn’t think my hyperpigmentation was an issue but it was one of two aspects that pulled my score down.
As for the new skin age, I still maintain that that particular Magic Ring must be faulty or something. Still, no complaints! 😀
Jaw drop !!! Wow, can ppl really have that kind of test result ?!!! If that happens to me, I’ll be sure to stick with it no matter how many meals I have to starved myself to save enough $$ to repurchase.
Hahaha I know right? I maintain that the Magic Ring isn’t working all that properly BUT I’M NOT COMPLAINING. 😉
Wow. My Magic Ring analysis indicate that my skin is 25 years old and that already makes me darn happy! Yours is 23! Wow. I stopped SK-II temporary to test out other products. Perhaps its a good idea to get back on SK-II and go for another Magic Ring 🙂
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25! Huzzah! Yeah remember to get another analysis done when you’re using SK-II again. If your results don’t improve, you have the excuse to tell them to suck on it 😛 Me, I have to shut up 😛
OOOH we can just go and get this Magic Ring done at the SK II counter? I wanna try it!
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Yep! It’s a complimentary service. Go to the MYER at Bourke St Mall. You might bump into someone you know there. 😉
I am a believer now! 🙂 I am using the FTE and the other day my Magic Ring analysis was a little devastating. My spot control was a scary finding of about 300++ spots hidden under my skin while 57 is visible. *Shakes head*…Anyhow, I had just started proper skincare regime including sunscreen just about 3 years ago. Better late than never I guess.
Happy for you Tine! SK-II indeed rendered very fabulous results for you 🙂
Thanks Jennifer. I’m not complaining, dodgy equipment or not 😛
I recommend that when you do your skin analysis with the Magic Ring, take photos of your results with your phone’s camera. You’ll know where the spots are, where and how to target them.
Very interesting to see that there is some kind of software to analyse skin condition. Just a cheeky thought – wondering if it’s rigged when you go back a second time. Like all second time visitors will have improved skin scores! But Tine, jokes aside, your skin does look good – as shown in many of your pictures on your blog. Actually I’ve always thought you look younger than 33 to be honest – thought you were 27 or 28. But to be told my skin is like that of a 23 year old’s would make me feel absolutely thrilled as well. Glad to hear you’ve found some products that you know for sure work for you. My sister swears by SKII but I find it too strong for my sensitive skin.
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I KNOW, RIGHT?? Of course, I really hope it’s not rigged (perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned that I just used SKII). Let me stay on that happy skin cloud, thankyouverymuch! 😛
Aww thanks Yuming, really. 27/28 is VERY good. 23? Pfft. Over-reaching, don’t you think? Still, again, happy skin cloud 😛
LOL – actually SKII is such a reputable brand, I’m sure they did extensive research and iterations on developing that software. I’ll be sure to tell my big sis about it – she might be able to get into a happy skin cloud too 😉 She has awesome youthful looking skin and that’s prob thanks to using SKII for years. I guess it is worth the investment despite the high price tag. Hope you are feeling much better from your cold.
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Wow 23!! I’m 20 but I’m sure my skin age will be in 30s or later T^T
Can I ask you something? I want to buy an SK II product for my mom, I was thinking about the FTE because it seems like the easiest to absorb for the skin and the miracle Pitera in it. My mom’s skin is oily and kinda dull and she has a lot of dark spots T_T I really want to make her skin looks better. After reading your blog, I was thinking is it better to buy her the Stempower? I also want 1 of SK II products for me to try, but my mom’s birthday is on 13th this month, so hers will be my top priority 😀
Hi Sherly,
Haha thanks! Nah, I’m sure it’s not 🙂
I recommend the FTE. It’s a good start. I’m not 100% sure but I believe it contains more pitera than the Stempower (don’t quote me on this yet, I’ll check and let you know). I love the Stempower, I really do but I reckon it’s more because of the texture that I love than it actually giving me good results. I believe the combination of products (FTE, the SKII serum and Stempower) gave me good skin. If I were to use the Stempower on its own, I’m not sure if it would have given me that good skin compared to using the combination of products.
My recommendation to you (and to anybody asking me for recommendations from SKII) is to always start with the FTE. There’s a reason why it’s still their bestselling product. Plus you don’t need a lot per use so it’ll last you a lot longer than the Stempower.
Good luck and happy early birthday to your mum! 🙂 x
Thank you for replying! ^_^
I actually think the same way as you, the FTE might contain more Pitera than the Stempower because….. I don’t know what made me think that way haha Thank you for your help 😀 I really appreciate it hehe
Thank you, I will send your birthday wish to my mom ^_^
There is not my difference between the skin of someone in their late 20s and early 30s. If you’re 33 and have the skin of a 30 year old, that means your skin is its age. A few years isn’t going to make any noticeable difference unless you have sun damage or an unhealthy lifestyle. For example, you shouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a 27 year old and 33 year old. They should look roughly the same age. In some instances the 27 year old might look older, in other instances the 33 year old might look older, and sometimes they look the same age. Its not like you suddenly get lots of wrinkles in your 30s. You’re still young and should look quite young at that age. So I don’t think you’re a initial results were bad at all.
I’d be interested in the magic ring analysis, but I do worry if its rigged so they sell products…
Thank you so much. In hindsight, I agree with you, the difference between a 27yo and 33yo would be minimal at best.
Y’know, it came across my mind if the Magic Ring was rigged. I mean, you never know right, what people or even brands would do to sell products. Somehow, I don’t think SKII would stoop this low. I can’t say the same for other brands but SKII is so “up there” that even their name kinda sells itself. It was a friend of mine who did my second Magic Ring analysis and it blew her mind too.
I just purchased the Facial Treatment Essence and the Brightening Der Revival Mask. Has anyone tried the Brightening Derm Revival Mask?
This is very interesting and the product looks promising! Would love to give it a try specially the Magic Ring! I am very conscious with my skin appearance because it also reflects our body health. In addition, our skin undergoes several changes as we grow older, so we really have to take care of our skin more and these are great tips you have shared here!
Hi m gonna ask my be bought me SKII whitening spots specialist last weekend but when I open Isn’t clear but white color like body lotions coz the one I have before for clear not white color inside so what m gonnA ask is this new product or else cos m coNfuse n afraid to use it