Before reading this, make sure you’ve checked out my previous post about alpha hydroxy acids.
As I told you yesterday, I am massive proponent of fruit acids, not only because of their unparalleled results, but the impressive list of their overall benefits for the skin. To me, the perfect skin care range would be based on fruit acids, antioxidants, cold pressed vegetable oils, and the principles of natural cosmetics.
I keep myself up-to-date with the events of the natural cosmetics industry, especially beyond Finland’s borders – new things take their sweet time getting here, if they ever do. These two top brands, however, are to be found within our borders.
American brand Suki is not new to the Finnish beauty market, but I’m sure there are some of you who are still unfamiliar with the brand, or have yet to try their products. Out of the new arrivals I’ve tested, this range comes closest to perfection.
Suki’s products are very technical, which endears them to me; high quality products require a high quality formula. Their products are also 100% natural. You might recall that certified natural cosmetics may only contain a very small amount of synthetic ingredients, and if you take a look at the INCI of almost any Ecocert-certified product, you will see that they do indeed contain some small amount of synthetic elements. Personally, I don’t find such tiny amounts in any way harmful, especially as the approved ingredients are carefully monitored. But if you can do 100 % natural, I won’t mind.
Suki’s premise is providing efficient skin care solutions. I love it. The products have been especially designed with the most common skin problems – such as rosacea, dermatitis, and atopy – in mind. Besides consumer products, the brand offers also a range of products intended for professional use.
Naturelle sent me two of Suki’s professional products for testing: an enzymatic peel and a purifying serum.
The facial peel is amazing. AMAZING. After just one use my skin was brighter and my pores had disappeared; after the second try my skin felt new and positively glowing. It’s a simply perfect product. I love the slight tingling sensation that comes first – a sign that the fruit acids doing their job. This stuff is also a perfect over-night spot-killer treatment. Apply it to the worst spots and voilà, they are gone within two nights, max.
The list of active ingredients in the peel is impressive: papaya extract, pumpkin seed extract, apple extract, blueberry extract, willow bark extract, lemon extract, orange extract, and cranberry extract all contain fruit acids. Willow bark extract also contains salicylic acid, which is an excellent cleanser as it too works as a keratolytic exfoliate. The product also contains calming and nourishing ingredients like chamomile, marigold and rose hip (which is high in vitamin A – perfect for a product like this!).
As for the serum, it is easily the most effective purifying serum that I’ve ever tried, and a look at the INCI tells us why: willow bark and apple extract feature at the top of the list here, too. There are also ingredients to help to fight infection, impurities, and clogged pores – candeia extract with soothing bisabolol, Echinacea, and goldenseal herb, amongst others. Together with the facial peel, the results of this pore-unclogging, purifying serum can be seen in less than a week.
A purifying serum benefits from a combination of fruit acids in mild concentrations, anti-bacterial and pore-minimizing ingredients, as well as soothing and moisturizing ingredients. I use the serum morning and evening, after which I apply my favorite (deliciously cooling) moisturizer of the moment.
I have yet to test Suki’s other products, but if the above is anything to go by, I can’t wait to begin. I’ll get back to you on that!
Products provided for testing by Naturelle
Photos Katja Kokko
Translation Katja Nikula
