My eyes lit up with wonder when I first heard about the Milk Makeup Watermelon Brightening Serum. A serum in a solid stick form that supposed to brighten? Yes please!
My skin type
Oily; fading acne scars on cheeks and chin
What it’s supposed to do
Brighten dark spots; hydrate and smooth the skin.
Ingredients
Water/aqua/eau, butylene glycol, bis-PEG-18 methyl ether dimethyl silane, sodium stearate, pentylene glycol, glycerin, oleth-2, citrus aurantium amara (bitter orange) flower water, citrullus vulgaris (watermelon) fruit extract, fragaria vesca (strawberry) fruit extract, pyrus malus (apple) fruit extract, lens esculenta (lentil) fruit extract, lens esculenta (lentil) seed extract, cichorium intybus (chicory) root extract, prunus domestica fruit extract, opuntia ficus-indica stem extract, lepidium sativum sprout extract, acacia senegal gum, sea water/maris aqua/eau de mer, tocopheryl acetate, sodium lactate, hydrolyzed rice protein, lecithin, sodium PCA, polysorbate 20, palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7, palmitoyl tripeptide-1, sodium hyaluronate, ethylhexylglycerin, xanthan gum, stearic acid, carbomer, ascorbic acid, citric acid, BHT, hexylene glycol, caprylyl glycol, sorbic acid, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, phenoxyethanol, chlorphenesin, red 40/CI 16035, yellow 5/CI 19140
How I use it
After cleansing, I swipe the stick across my cheeks and chin area. There is a white residue that appears, which serves as my signal to stop, that dries up in a matter of minutes. I also used it 3rd in my regimen after toning, but prefer it to be the step after cleansing for maximum effectiveness.
How long I used it
I have been using this since the beginning of April and I didn’t start seeing brightening results until nearly two months after using it.
What I like about it
Again, inn-o-vate! Who else is doing it? Ain’t no product waste ’round here, bih! Just twist up and apply. Love, love, love this.
Now while I was positively distracted by serum in stick form, I was still focused on whether or not the product actually worked. After the first month, I didn’t see much change in my acne scars, but as month two crept up, there was noticeable brightening on my cheeks. While using this, I kept my skincare routine to the minimum. You can read more about that here. I don’t find it particularly hydrating so you’ll definitely want to continue with moisturizer.
The stick form also makes this great for travel. I was expecting the stick to smell like watermelon, or at least have some kind of fragrance, and I was surprised to find that there is no fragrance at all in the stick. I am more than ok with that because I don’t particularly like the smell of watermelon so I am glad they didn’t go that route.
Oh, and after two months of daily use, twice a day, I have barely made a dent in the serum. I see you, Milk Makeup. Trying to get me all hooked! I imagine this stick is going to last me the rest of the year at this rate. The joy factor is amazingly high on this one.
What could be better
I think compared to other brightening products, this one is slower-working for my skin. However, while I am someone that really, really appreciates instant gratification, I think this is a really innovative product. It’s got a lot of extracts and fancy sounding ingredients in it (it’s supposed to be vegan, talc-free, and cruelty free, btw) but I do wish the ascorbic and citric acid were higher up the list. Perhaps this would work faster? Or maybe add some niacinamide or licorice root extract, ingredients I am confident work to brighten my skin.
Joy Factor
Where to indulge
-XX
*The products in this post were sent by the brand to review. All opinions are my own.
If you enjoyed this post, you should add me on Bloglovin so you never miss another.
