It’s been so long since I’ve been able to regularly post vacation photos..
A quick run through of the hotel I stayed at this trip.
Hacienda Buenaventura Hotel is a quaint hotel that offers an authentic Mexican atmosphere. It’s an all inclusive that has one pool, a beach club area and two restaurants The buffet style restaurant opens for breakfast, lunch and dinner while the a la cart restaurant is only available for dinner and reservations must be made the morning if. It’s a very small and intimate restaurant so spots are limited but the food is 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼 All inclusive means food and drinks and I had no issues getting anything from local beers to food liquor. The staff was very friendly and accommodating and the room were nice. It’s definitely an older hotel but everyone I talked to mentioned the “homey” or “authentic” feel and there were many people who have been visiting the hotel for DECADES. As with every hotel there are some downsides: only one bar open through out the day. The beach club hours are only 10a-6p and if you can’t walk the two blocks you risk having to wait 30+ minutes. In general the guests were also friendly and willing to get to know strangers or stick to themselves. Saturday there was a “Mexican night” celebrating authentic Mexican cuisine and music. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the night. You can catch an Uber ride, taxi or bus ride at the hotel. I can’t wait to come back and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to visit and stay away from the typical touristic hotels.
Something I still struggle with is uneven skintone and texture. My cheeks get red spots that sometimes comes through my makeup and it’s something that still makes me feel self conscious.
Any serum that’s meant to focus on reducing redness or hyperpigmentation immediately has my attention.
Today I’m talking about three products, which are all on sale for 2021 Black Friday/Cyber Monday
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops, Juvia’s Skin The Niacinamide Serum* and Good Molecules Niacinamide Serum
From Beautylish.com
The Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops can be used to hydrate visibly reduce hyperpigmentation and correct the look of dullness. The description also says it provides a “reflective glow” but that’s not something I’ve noticed. I can’t say I’ve used it long enough to notice a difference in my skin but, it is nice and hydrating and feels gentle on the skin.
The Juvia’s Skin The Niacinamide Serum is new, the skincare line in general is new, and it comes in a very similar looking bottle as the Glow Recipe product. It also clames to reduce hyperpigmentation and brighten the skin. With this one, I feel like my skin needs added moisturize.
The difference in the hydration made me take a look at the ingredients. I’m not an any kind of chemist or even someone who often checks ingredients so everything I say here should be taken with a grain a salt (what does that actually mean btw?).
The biggest difference I noticed is that the Glow Recipe product contains 10% Niacinamide and the Juvia’s Skin product contains 20%. Niacinamide is also the second product listed on the ingredient list on the Juvia’s Skin product while it’s listed as the fifth. I vaguely remember hearing that the higher up on the list an ingredient is listed, the higher amount of that chemical is used in the formulation.
There were a few other common ingredients, and some that were not found in one or the other. This got me to wondering which product would be considered the better deal.
I was focused on the Niacinamide. I did some Google-ing and found that you only need 2-5% Niacinamide to make a difference in your skin health. I also noticed that Juvia’s Skin provides 1oz of product for $20US (regular price) and Glow Recipe has 1.35oz for $34US. That actually makes the Glow Recipe product cheaper.
In my Google research, I also found that Good Molecules (found on Beautylish, Ulta, and other places) also has a Niacinamide Serum at $6 for 1oz. This is the only product I haven’t tried but I wanted to include it because of its price and because Good Molecules is a brand I enjoy and feel comfortable recommending.
In the end, I don’t know if a higher amount of Niacinamide makes a difference but, I can say the Juvia’s Skin product was noticeably less hydrating than the Glow Recipe product. Between the three, the Good Molecules product shares more ingredients with Glow Recipe product which leads me to believe it would be more hydrating than the Juvia’s Skin product.
Have you used any of these products? I’m especially interested in hearing how the Good Molecules product is.
Thank you for reading and I hope this was helpful or entertaining in some way.
*Juvia’s Skin The Niacinamide Serum was sent complimentary for review through BzzAgent with no obligation to post.
A while back Good Molecules gifted me a few of their most popular products and since then I’ve been interested in trying more products.
If you don’t know what Good Molecules is, it’s the affordable skincare brand sold on Beautylish.
They offer a nice variety of products to fit different skin concerns without being overwhelming.
Today I’m talking about the Yerba Mate Wake Up Eye Gel. (not gifted)
I was initiag surprised at this squeeze tube packaging. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an eye cream come in thus type of packaging but you know what? I like it! I like the idea of being able to squeeze out the very last bit of the product, haha.
Even though I knew it was a gel, the texture itself surprised me as well.
The only thing I can compare it to in looks and expectation is vasaline. But, it’s not actually anything like it.
The gel went on nice and smooth and quickly absorbed into my skin. The yerba mate is used to achieve more radiant, energized skin.
Like with all skin products, I’ll need to continue to use this to see the lasting effects but for now, at $6US, I would definitely recommend trying this eye gel.
My Life in Makeup 