Thursday Things #1

Hello, friends!

I’ve seen bloggers in the community share Friday Faves posts and I’ve been wanting to share my own version. For this series, I’ll be sharing a blog post with 3-5 products that I’m trying or what I’m currently loving on the first and third Thursday each month. These will be mini reviews, so I hope you’ll get a good enough feel of them if you’re interested in trying any of the products being shared!

Maybe we’ll have a few things in common that we love or are using.

The first post of the Thursday Things series happens to be all skincare products. I established my skincare routine at the beginning of the year, and hallelujah, my skin has cleared up and it’s looking so much better! I’ll be reviewing Derma E’s Scar Gel, Marina by Earth Harbor, and the PMD Clean facial cleansing device.

DERMA E Scar Gel

Derma E is a clean beauty company that cares about what goes into our bodies, as well as what ends up in bodies of water or other areas in our environment. I highly admire this company because it also gives back and supports global communities. The company is intentional and conscientious about choosing natural, safe ingredients in their products and it has opened up my eyes to pay closer attention to ingredients in other products.

I have sensitive skin, so I have to be wary when choosing skincare products. After 8 months, I can confidently say that I have found products that work for me. The products I’ve been using have cleared up dark spots and evened out my skin tone so I no longer have blotchy spots on my face.

The DERMA E Scar Gel was the first product that I purchased from the company. The only makeup I wear is eyeliner and lipstick, although I haven’t worn much lipstick since having to wear a mask during the pandemic. I always get zits every month and some of them leave dark spots once they go away. I don’t wear foundation and I was feeling more self-conscious about my acne scars. Also, last summer I had a yucky boil on my nose and it left a small scar. I have no idea how that happened, but I’m so relieved that it’s gone.

Initially, I was hesitant about buying this product because it’s only 2 ounces, but I severely underestimated how long a couple of ounces would last me. My first purchase of the scar gel lasted me almost 8 months, and I actually spilled some of it onto the floor. That was a sad moment. I use the gel twice a day and it’s done wonders for me.

Whenever I opened the container for the first time, I thought it had a strong smell, but it went away and didn’t linger whenever I applied it to my skin. Now, I don’t even notice the smell of it whenever I use it. If I do, it’s a faint scent and goes away quickly.

Within using the product for only a couple of weeks, I instantly noticed how the lighter dark spots were fading already and the more darker-toned spots faded within a few months. This magical gel made the spot on my nose reduce in appearance, thankfully. I’m taking way better care of my skin now and I don’t know why I didn’t implement a skincare routine sooner, but I’m learning and doing better with sticking to it now.

For $20, this product is worth it and a must-have for me! Sometimes Ulta will have it on sale for $16, so I make sure to keep my eyes peeled for it at this price. I’d only have to buy this product twice a year and I think it’s absolutely worth buying.

I’ve also purchased other products from DERMA E and I’ll be sharing them in future posts. I like how affordable their products are and they work just as well as more expensive brands, I think.

Marina by Earth Harbor

This product was part of the Spring FabFitFun box and I nearly forgot about it. Earth Harbor is a plant-sourced skincare company and I love what they stand for. The founder of Earth Harbor wanted to create a skincare company that sells nontoxic, ethical, and sustainable products that will benefit its users and our planet. They also are also partners and members with other organizations that strive to make the planet better for us all.

Their ingredients are —

I adore the names of their other products. They are dreamy and serene sounding, and I think the products are fitting for that description!

I can’t rave enough about how much love using the Marina Biome Brightening Ampoule! The scent is light, the color is gorgeous, and it smells lovely! I use it once a day and I quickly noticed how even my skin’s appearance looked after applying a few drops of the oil on my face after a few uses.

This was when I was still new to skin care and my first time using an oil product. I was slightly worried that my face would feel oily after using it, but not at all. I just use about 3 drops and my face feels so much softer and smoother. Also, my face has a more even tone and a glow to it!

Lots of magic is happening in the skincare department, and I’m so happy to have received this in my box! It wasn’t a product I picked, so I’m immensely happy to have gotten to try it out. I’ve had my eye on a few other products by Earth Harbor and I hope to try out more of their products in the future.

It’s $38 a bottle, which does seem pricey, but I have been using it for over 3 months now and I still have over half the bottle left.

PMD Clean

I’ve seen these products advertised, but I didn’t give them a second thought because the price was higher than I was willing to pay. Luckily, one of my FabFitFun boxes had one of these as an option, so I chose it because I was curious.

I don’t know much about PMD Beauty, but according to their website, they create high-quality skincare tools for men and women using cutting-edge technology. They also partner with nonprofits and donate a portion of their sales. The company aims for their customers to have a healthy glow and brilliant confidence in themselves after using this product that targets and deeply cleans pores.

Before receiving this product I was using a small handheld one to clean my face. It came in a cleansing kit, but I don’t think I really used it much because I wasn’t sure how effective it was. When receiving the PMD Clean facial cleansing device, it definitely took a few times for me to get used to it.

There are 4 vibration settings, which I’m not sure of what each one is called or how to describe them well and not butcher them, but I’ll try:

• Setting 1: Like a standard vibration on any other product
• Setting 2: The vibrations are a little more intense and faster than the first
• Setting 3: A few pauses between each vibration. It’s like da-dun, da-dun, da-dun repeatedly with a millisecond of a pause between each one
• Setting 4: Rapid short segments. It’s like a da-da, da-da, da-da with no pauses in between the beats

Hopefully I described that okay enough for you to have a slightly better idea.

I was using the first setting for a couple of weeks, but now I’ve had it set on the second one. I like the convenience and handiness of the little stand for it. I didn’t get to pick a color, but this one is lovely and I really like it. The silicone outer layer feels nice as well.

I just learned this a few weeks ago, but whichever setting you’re using, you can hold the button down for like 3 seconds and it’ll turn off. For the longest time I was using the first setting and pressing the button four times to turn it off. That was helpful to discover because sometimes I would accidentally press the button one too many times and it would turn back on and I’d have to repeat the button-pressing process.

I’m happy that this product was in the subscription box because I wanted something like this to clean my face with. Although, I would never buy this product because its retail value is $99, which is super crazy to me! I will admit that I do enjoy using it, but the price is out of my budget for me to make a casual purchase.

Final Thoughts

Would I buy these products again?

If you have used any of these products, I would love to hear your opinion on them!

What have you been loving lately?

Keep Reading!

Read my second Thursday Things post here.