PRODUCT REVIEW: SKII Facial Treatment Essence

Photo Credit: Bloomingdales.com

While in Chicago last week, I stopped in Saks to poke around as we were killing serious time waiting for a table at Giordano's. After lapping the Chloe Marcie bag I love for the 4th time, I wandered towards cosmetics to see which lines they had.  Inside I found an SKII counter, containing a product I have longed to try, but was too cheap to otherwise drop the cash on.   It made my hand and face feel like silk. Soft like I've never experienced.  SOLD!  I know that Cate Blanchett is a face for them, and loves this stuff, so any opportunity to throw some cash down to look even a little like that...hell yea! 

The story goes: the old ladies working in the sake factories had amazingly soft, young looking hands compared to their wrinkled old faces (Im sure they say this far more elegantly in their materials...). The "scientists" realized that the "pitera", which is the name for the "leftovers" that go into sake, was the key to this so they started bottling it up.  90% pitera "broth" is supposedly in this bottle.  Whatever the other 10% is... I have no idea.  This line is huge in the Pacific Rim areas, and Japanese women bathe in it.  But it might be why maybe some of these women look ageless. One of a million reasons I am sure, besides obviously not eating like an American.

Before I left the counter, the saleswoman packed me up two samples of eye cream, neither of which I have touched yet, and also applied the eye patches to me. She did one eye at a time to show me the difference. To be totally honest, I didn't see shit for a difference even side by side, besides the fact that she took off my fucking concealer and I still had to be in public.   Here's the link for the eye patch thing. 

I waited til I returned home to mess with this stuff, in part because the packaging is ridiculous.  I mean, seriously.... a glass bottle, with a little hole in the top for which to pour out the solution.  I can't even believe it lasted almost two weeks in my possession.  I drop everything.  I go through mascaras and those Maybelline Eraser concealer thingies like water because I drop them all the damn time. Usually on the floor. Good thing those are cheap! 

I was told by the sales girl to pour a little in your hand, just two shakes, and dot that under your eyes before then pouring a few more shakes (4ish) into your hand and then pressing it into your skin. I would pat my hands together to get it on both then start patting it in, and down my neck and on my hands with whatever was left.

The first few days I thought it was heaven. My face looked nice and so damn soft I couldn't believe it. Then around the 5th day...red rosacea splotches started on my cheeks. Then a few visible whiteheads. By the 7th day, I had a serious eczema patch going on under my one eye, and on my neck.  By day 9, there were LOTS of whiteheads to pop (I know...) and the patches were not going away.  So I stopped it. I gave it 24 hours, and the neck started to clear up with a little bit of cortisone, and the whiteheads started going away. Now a little over 48 hours later, the patch under my eye is still going strong but my neck is cleared up and no more whiteheads.   So I must be among those who have had issues with the yeast in the product. I am going to give the eye thing another night of cortisone before I bust out the Elidel (boo).  My Finacea is helping a lot on my rosacea.

This stuff is pretty expensive, and the ones that it works well for can't be without it. I bought the small bottle from Saks that is linked below. It was $100. Now with as little as you use, and I was only using it at night, that thing might last me a year easily, making it considerably more reasonable in that cost-per-wear/use argument. Only one size at Nordstrom but several sizes at Saks.  The Saks link is the bottle I bought.   Sadly, it went back, because I can't deal with an allergic reaction of that magnitude.