Evologie Intensive Blemish Serum

I have been introduced to this product through Glossy box subscription. I had two travel size mini versions and really have been hooked on it. So I purchased a full size product. This is the best spot treatment I have ever tried. I do have an amazing drugstore find in "acne fighting" category: Neutrogena 3 in 1 Hydrating Acne treatment.

 

I cannot say enough praise about Neutrogena's offering. So I have been very sad when they discontinued it (I think it may still be available in Canada). Because of that, I wouldn't do a separate review on it. But it is my gold standard, so I naturally compare everything to it. Both products feature salicylic acid as an active ingredient. I am a big fan of BHA (salicylic acid) as an acne treatment and as an exfoliant in general. Neutrogena's Acne Treatment is very light weight gel, which doesn't dry out skin, really efficient at reducing redness and pimples, and can be used all over face. Evologie's product is a serum type of texture which better suited as a targeted treatment and I do not generally apply it all over the face (for the reasons I will go into a bit later).

Packaging/Pricing:

15ml (0.5fl.oz) This serum comes in opaque pump bottle, which I 100% approve. The pump itself allows you to control amount of product you dispense rather well. Evologie brand offers only three products in their line (here), all of which are not cheap (still, they are not crazy expensive). The serum retails for 35$ US, which I have to admit for 15ml is not very budget friendly. But I do think it is worth a splurge. I've tried two other products from the line and though they are not bad (ingredients wise they are excellent), I would recommend to pass on them and go only for the serum.

 

Ingredients:

 

WATER, AZELAIC ACID, GLYCERIN, ARGININE, ETHOXYDIGLYCOL, SALICYLIC ACID, MELALEUCA ALTERNIFOLIA (TEA TREE) LEAF OIL, ARGININE ETHYL ESTER, SALIX NIGRA (WILLOW BARK) EXTRACT, LYCOPENE, CHAMOMILLA RECUTITA (MATRICARIA) FLOWER EXTRACT, XANTHAN GUM, ISOPROPYL MYRISTATE, MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, PHENOXYETHANOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, CELLULOSE GUM, POLYACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER-6

Excellent (only beneficial ingredients, proven research)

Good (mostly beneficial, not extensive research or just not quite outstanding properties)

OK (mostly thickeners, emulsifiers, mild preservatives, pH adjusters, all that is necessary, but not a skincare per se) 

Bad (irritants and anything bad that shouldn't be in skincare, usually fragrance)

Ingredients Discussion:

This product has unknown percentage of salicylic acid (the do not mention it anywhere on the packaging or website). But judging by the results
I see (and in comparison with other products as well), I think it is close to 1.5-2% (the highest non prescription strength). With salicylic acid containing products it is crucial that they would be formulated at a proper pH (otherwise BHA wouldn't work). Research has shown, that an appropriate pH for cosmetic use of salicylic is between pH 3 and pH 4. When you shop for a product, of course it is impossible to tell whether the pH is right or not. Here I did a quick test on pH paper with Evologie serum:

I am happy to report back, that this product is formulated at a correct pH, probably around ~3,5. 

Now let's talk about other ingredients. Company included tea tree oil here, which has some antimicrobial properties. Tea tree oil is well loved among natural skin care fanatics. Unfortunately there is no solid research on how actually effective it is to fight acne. So though I approve of this ingredient, it is actually salicylic acid that does the job. Another star ingredient here is azelaic acid which has antioxidant properties and also helps to lighten hyper-pigmentation by inhibiting melanin production. This is a good news, since pimples tend to leave nasty spots behind them. So this product not only treats breakout, but also prevents scaring. Willow bark extract, chamomile extract and lycopene are components with antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties. 

There no irritating or questinable ingredients. Everything else are just emulsifiers, thickeners and such. Company claims their products to be alcohol free, fragrance free, paraben free and oil free. All claims are true. Fragrance wise this serum strongly smells of tea tree oil (but yes, they didn't add actual "fragrance"). Parabens are trendy "bad" ingredients. There is no research showing them to be harmful in any way. They are actually good mild preservatives, which a lot of companies exclude these days in a favour of other (actually harsher) preservatives. 

Consumer Thoughts:

This serum has very light texture and quickly absorbs into the skin, without leaving any unpleasant residue. As I mentioned above, it has strong tea tree oil smell to it (which I personally not a big fan of). Because it is so expensive and has such a strong smell I do not like to put it all over the face (and I actually don't need to, since it is an acne treatment). It is very effective in treating regular (not cystic) breakouts and it really does help prevent after-scarring happening.

Verdict:

I highly recommend this product. Personally would repurchase it. It would suit any skin type. If you have strong cystic acne though, it probably wouldn't be enough. 5 out of 5.

P.S.: Not tested on animals.