About a month ago Coral Actives sent me these two products:

Retinol Exfoliating Cleanser with Sea Whip Extract (5 fl.oz./150 ml)
+
Penetrating Acne Serum with 6% Benzoyl Peroxide and Sea Whip Extract (1 fl.oz./30 ml)
I’ve mentioned Coral Actives before, read it HERE. Both products use a renewable resource of Sea Whip Coral Extract that reduces redness, irritation and inflammation of acne – areas that prescription brands seem to ignore. Sea Whip Coral also contributes toward cellular repair. It has very strong soothing properties for sensitive, irritated skin.

The Cleanser contains Retinol which is a pure form of vitamin A and encourages skin renewal and promotes collagen production. Retinol also reduces fine lines, clears congested pores, and smoothes skin texture and tone, creating a more even appearance.

My opinion?
When I received these products, I was really happy to try them out. Having good skin is really important to me. More important than makeup, actually. Cause if my skin doesn’t look good, there’s no makeup in the world that will make it look completely flawless all day long!

For those who don’t know, my personal skin issues are:

• Occasional whiteheads and other unidentified objects due to hormones or stress or a combination.


• Extremely oily skin. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my face completely matte, expect for right after I’ve washed it.


• Little scars/red spots on my cheeks that are left overs from whiteheads. It takes a while for them to fade away, at least a couple of months.

Before I had been using Proactiv and other products that contain Benzoyl Peroxide, which have worked really well. Unfortunately they do leave me with another problem though: dry and flaking skin. My skin gets really dry in the morning (after I’ve cleansed my skin), then a few hours later it gets really oily (its ‘normal’ self). By the end of the day my skin is one hot, flaking mess.

So for the last 3 weeks (exactly 21 days now) I’ve added both Coral Actives to my skin care routine. Coral Actives is an acne treatment with a moisturizing formulation: the moisturizing formulation minimizes the traditional side effects of benzoyl periode. While trying out the products, I’ve been focusing on two things: Has my occasional acne been improved? Is my skin still dry and flaking?

People, let me tell you…

My face has been LOVING these products! I have not had one single breakout since I started using Coral Actives. Not one! My existing acne scars are fading away and my skin hasn’t felt dry at all. It still gets oily throughout the day, but I haven’t experienced any flaking (which make the oiliness easier to deal with).

Step 1: I wash my face with the Retinol Exfoliating Cleanser. It smells nice, foams easily and doesn’t leave my face dry.

Step 2: I dry my face and then apply the Acne Serum (evening only). This gel has a gel-like texture and smells a bit ‘chemical’. It sinks right in and leaves my skin feeling smooth and soft.

Result: a clean and fresh face

I received these products for free, but I can honestly say that I will definitely be repurchasing them when I run out. For sure! If you have (occasional) breakouts or if you’re just interested in reducing redness/inflammation, you might want to consider Coral Actives. A+ in my book!

You can order the Coral Actives 2 step treatment here for $39.90 (they ship worldwide).