I've been using Laboratoire Remède super c serum for over two months. I absolutely love it, but I'm not sure that I'm going to buy a new bottle once I run out. The reason is the packaging, not the product itself.

Let's start with the good: It works.

This serum lives up to the promise of brightening the complexion and improving skin texture. While my trio of freckles/sun spot is still there, they have visibly faded, together with a couple of other questionable areas. Those parts of my skin that needed to be brighter have become so, while the rest of my face has also improved (though it was in a very good shape to begin with).

The serum I used before, Vinoperfect Radiance Serum by Caudalie was nice and could also multitask as a very light moisturizer (great for an oily complexion and/or on a humid summer day). The Remede serum is much more active and requires extra moisturizing, especially for the dryer parts of my face. I actually felt a slight tightening when first started using it, so a good face cream is definitely a must over this product. It absorbs quickly and cooperates nicely with my beloved Secret de Vie, so I couldn't be happier.

The problem is that the bottle and its pump are very poorly made. The base of the pump started leaking after a few weeks of use. It squirts the serum from all around the plastic cap and from the moving part of the pump, resulting in product waste and in ugly brown stains on my pajamas and nighties. I'm not amused.

Of course, there's a chance that I bought a random bad volcano bottle, but it still makes me more inclined to try a different serum next and not to subject myself to another round of squirt-curse-wipe.

Super C Me

I finished my regime of the Caudalie serum sooner than I anticipated and, as planned, moved on to a new one: Laboratoire Remède Super C Serum. I wasn't expecting to see quick results, definitely not within a week. But, I can already tell that barring some delayed reaction, this is going to warrant a serious raving review.

The Caudalie serum was nice, made my skin feel comfortable and started some fading action on the little sun spots. But this one has gone beyond that as far as skin texture goes. And, the fading of freckles/spots has accelerated.

I'll write an official review in four weeks, but so far I'm very happy with it.

It's been six weeks of religious use of Caudalie's Vinoperfect Radiance Serum, so it's time to take a good look at my face and review the results. The bottom line is that the freckles and little spots are still here, even though some have faded quite a bit, including the large one on my left cheek. Obviously, no miracle was performed. The fading action is giving me some hope that eventually I'll get rid of them.

Other than that, my skin is happy, but that can and should be mostly attributed to the King of Moisturizers, Secret de Vie. Still, I know that a good serum is a must, and this one does seem to be working nicely, as (I'm guessing) most decent products that one isn't allergic to would be.

I haven't fallen in love with Vinoperfect, despite its overall niceness. I find the texture to be too runny and not very serum-like. Also, the packaging is annoying. It has a dropper that when the bottle was still full I used as an applicator, since it was covered with the goop, but as the bottle empties, the dropper has a hard time pumping enough serum for application. I much prefer pump bottles, both for ease of use and for hygiene. But, it smells nice, which is always a plus.

My bottle still has about 10 days worth of product, and I intend to finish it up. I like it enough, but my quest for the perfect brightening serum is far from over. The next one from Remede is already waiting its turn, and after that I plan to try a vitamin C product, probably the one from Lancome. You'll be in the know.

Covering Some Ground

I had skin on my mind when I entered Sephora earlier this week. My original intention was to have a look at the Nars skin care line, and especially at their brightening serum that got rave reviews from several bloggers. Koneko wrote that it would work as a primer, as well as being an under foundation glow thingy, only with very little shimmer and some serious skin benefits. Sounds perfect, only problem that neither the store on 5th Ave/19th st. nor the one on Union Square had the skin care products. Also, they didn't have the new makeup collection for spring. I wanted to check the Corinthe lipstick and see what was all the fuss about the Habanera eye shadow duo. But it was not to be. Curiously enough, all these products are available on the Sephora web site, just not in the stores I visited.

But I was not leaving without some goodies. I wanted a serum and was thinking about brightening. I have a couple (as in two, actually) of freckles/spots that I could do without (note to self: get very serious about using a sun block), so I picked up Caudalie's Vinoperfect Radiance Serum. I figured that it was worth a chance before I try the really big guns like ReVive that require taking a mortgage. It'll be about a month before I can write a review (4-6 weeks until you're supposed to see results), but so far it feels nice under my moisturizing cream (still rocking Secret de Vie with excellent results).

The other thing I wanted was a new concealer. I'm nearly out of the discontinued Chanel one, and after nearly nine months it's time for replacement. The selection of concealers in every Sephora store (or at any department store, or even Target) is bordering on the overwhelming. There are so many brands and they all make concealer in every texture and consistency under the sun. Trying them on is way less fun than playing with lip gloss. The results aren't that striking and you're forced to pay careful attention to an area of your face you usually do your best to ignore: the under eye (cue horror movie music).

I knew that I prefer something on the creamy side, which ruled out a product or two. Then I decided to zero in on Lorac, just because I dearly love Carol Shaw's products. Everything I purchased so far has been a success, both in texture and color. The tiny pots of creamy Coverup concealer caught my eye and I tried it on. My initial guess that I needed the C3 proved to be wrong. My color was actually C2, light.

The cream went on easily (I used my finger), looked smooth and did magic for my undereye circles. It is as close to erasing them as I could hope for. The color blended nicely with my skin, didn't crease or sink into it, thus avoiding the bad effect that too thick concealer create on my face. It also evened out my skin where needed and brightened that suspicious side-of-the-nose area. It's actually a very light product. It glosses over the dark areas, but it doesn't cover those two dark freckles I have on my cheeks. So, if you need more than a moderate coverage this might not be the concealer for you. But, for a light-handed smoothing and brightening job it's perfect and I couldn't be happier.

Coverup has an excellent staying power (I do use primer most days, but it lasts even without it) and keeps in place through the day or a night out on the town. No fading/creasing/flaking. The first Sephora I went to was temporarily actually out of C2 (as is the website), but the one on Union Square still had several, and Beauty.com has it in stock.