Forest Secrets Anti-Blemish Kit

Forest Secrets is a very small range of just three products; 2 serums and 1 elixir.  All 3 products are treatments that you mix together (which ones you use depend on what you feel is best for your skin type) to create your own bespoke moisturising treatment.  The philosophy behind the brand is that we are the best at deciding what our skin needs, so Forest Secrets supply products that contain ingredients that all skin needs and we adjust the dosage to suit our individual concerns.

I absolutely love the concept of tailor-made skincare as I am definitely someone who has difficult to pin down skin; is it oily? Yes.  Dry? Yup.  Breakout prone?  Sadly, yes.  So what skin type am I?  Obviously I’m extreme combination, but where are the products aimed at extreme combination skins like mine?  My experience of most combination skin care is that it’s very middle of the road; it’ll kind of moisture and kind of avoid adding grease to my skin, but obviously I want to target all my issues as effectively as possible without having to settle for average.

One drop of each: left is the iRejuvenate Plus Elixir and right is the iBright Serum.

The kit I have been using is the Anti-Blemish Starter pack which includes the iBright Serum which treats pigmentation, sun damage, age spots etc and the iRejuvenate Plus Elixir which is a light facial oil that contains antibacterial properties whilst also being an effective anti-ageing treatment.

Before I launch into the benefits of these treatments, I’ll address a couple of minor issues that some people may come across.  Firstly, I feel the name ‘Anti-Blemish’ could be misleading as we’re used to associating the word ‘blemish’ with spots.  However, there is the argument that our association is due to skincare companies trying to “pretty-up” the word spots by referring to them as blemishes as really, blemishes are marks on the skin and somehow over time, spots have slipped under this umbrella term without really meaning the same thing.  But I am aware that the connotation is there, so it’s worth pointing out that whilst this kit is perfect for breakout-prone skins as it won’t exacerbate the problem at all, it isn’t a kit aimed at treating spots.

The next thing that’s worth mentioning is the double-edged sword of tailor-made skincare as on one hand it’s fantastic that we’re finally being given the option of putting together our own unique skincare treatment but on the other side, deciding what our skin needs and having the decision put back into our own hands can be quite overwhelming.  I really do believe that, as with most things, it’s a case of trial and error until you work out exactly what it is that your skin needs.  Thankfully, this is a skincare line that’s chock full of fantastic ingredients that are only going to do good things for your skin, even if you’re way off at working out what your skin needs to start with.

Both treatments blended together.

I have been using this kit for pretty much two months now and it’s safe to say that if I wasn’t constantly sent new skincare to review, I’d definitely continue to use this every day without fail.  I have found that for my ‘everyday’ skin (read: nothing major is happening, no harsh dry patches or angry breakouts) 2 drops of each treatment covers my skin perfectly, absorbs quickly and leaves me with perfectly balanced skin that doesn’t feel like it needs more or less moisture and doesn’t look greasy or dry.  The interesting thing about this combination of products is that they feel really rich on application but absorb within moments.

At this point, it probably sounds like these are just decent, moisturising oils but here’s where I think the pair have a lot of other similar products beat; when my crazy skin starts acting up I can adjust the dosage accordingly.  So when my skin is feeling oily/hormonal/breakout prone I up the dosage of the iBright to 3 drops and decrease the iRejuvenate to 1 drop.  If my skin is feeling dry I again change the dosage so I use just 1 drop of the iBright and 3 drops of the iRejuvenate and if my skin is feeling seriously dehydrated I up the dosage to 4 drops of the iRejuvenate but I still keep 1 drop of the iBright to ensure I’m still making the most of the beneficially ingredients in the iBright.

Being able to adjust my skincare routine at the exact point it starts changing (which, let’s face it, is pretty much daily) whilst still using the same products is fantastic as it means that I’m not going to confuse my skin by having to introduce new products as my skin changes and that I don’t have to waste money on new products whenever the changes occur.

Immediately after they’ve been worked into the skin.

It’s still too soon to tell whether the iBright has had any impact on my hyperpigmentation but the two products together have certainly had a positive effect on my skin in general.  The products are quick and easy to use (once you understand how to use them, which really isn’t hard in itself), conveniently packaged in glass jars with pipettes and they smell lovely.  They’re also gentle enough to use around the eye area, therefore, if you’re really looking to streamline your skincare routine I strongly recommend investigating this line.

I was sent the 2 products mentioned above as well as the trial-sized version of iRejuvenate Plus Serum which is the third product in the range and part of the anti-ageing kit.  Whilst the IPS isn’t essentially aimed at my type of skin, when the horrid cold weather arrived and my skin completely freaked out and became incredibly dry and flaky, I used 2 drops of each treatment together (possibly overkill but it felt necessary!) slathered all over my face before bed and my skin was back to normal the following day.

Less than a minute after the above picture was taken, the treatments absorbed and skin is left moisturised and dewy. without any greasy residue.

So in conclusion, these products aren’t cheap as they retail at £35 per bottle of £70 for the kit (which I think is a bit strange as you think buying the two together would result in a saving, but for some reason it doesn’t!) but they will last you for ages.  As mentioned earlier, I’ve been using these for around 2 months and I’ve barely made a dent in each of them.  It’s worth noting that you can use them both morning and night, but I’ve just been using these in the evening as I do as little as possible in the morning to grasp hold of every last minute in bed.

Forest Secrets deserves attention as I really feel that all 3 products have been incredibly well formulated to do as much for the skin as possible without confusing it or overwhelming it. The range is also available in Urban Retreat salons and, having done a considerable search for other people’s thoughts on these products, it seems that everyone who tries this thinks as highly of it as I do.

If you fancy trying these out but don’t want to commit to the full sized products then the trail pack which contains 2ml of each of the three products for £15 and is available to buy here.  The Anti-Blemish Kit is here and the Anti-Ageing kit is here.

*PR Sample