Alba Botanica ACNEDOTE Review

Ahhh… my unending battle with PMS breakouts. It’s tough being a woman. I think having to go through PMS every single month is the WORST (well, I don’t know about pregnancy—yet) It’s during PMS that I get bloated, eat like an animal, lose all my will to workout, get killer cramps, and most of all—BREAKOUTS.

I had the last straw 2 weeks ago. The breakouts I got along the jaw area was just pure monstrosity. I knew I had to take action because none of the products I was using were showing signs of effectiveness. If that’s the case and I still stick to the same old routine, it’s like [okay, I can’t even think of a proper metaphor] Bottom line was I NEEDED TO TRY SOMETHING NEW.

You’d think I’d go to Watsons, but I didn’t. As far as it is concerned with a wide variety of skin products—Watsons does win, but I’m not the kind who’d switch from this brand to this brand. I don’t want to risk it! The best option for me was to go organic.

Healthy Options it was!

Healthy Options has always had my trust since the beginning. That place is organic heaven! From their food, supplements, medicine, up to their skincare—everything is muy bien. I have tried quite a number of their snacks, protein shakes & teas and never was I disappointed.

It was time for me to try out their skincare products! The first skincare product I bought from them was the Mint Julep Masque from Queen Helene. Definitely one of the best masks I’ve ever used!

I stood by the skincare shelf for about 20 minutes (no kidding) just going through all the skincare descriptions. After about 30 minutes, what I got on my hands were the Alba Botanica ACNEDOTE set. I got the Invisible Treatment Gel, Deep Clean Astringent and the Deep Pore Wash.

Deep Pore Wash: fights breakouts even after you rinse!

Deep Clean Astringent: claims to reduce breakouts in 8 hours!

Invisible Treatment Gel: claims to give you clearer skin in 4 hours!

Take note that these products are “MAXIMUM STRENGTH”, contains 2% salicylic acid (which is I think more than what some of the usual acne gels contain) formulated with willow bark extract.

Reading the words ‘maximum strength’ actually made me hesitate on purchasing—but I bought them anyway.

Each product cost me PHP 359.00 each. Total of PHP 1,077.00

That night I used it right away. Of course, I removed all my makeup beforehand. And then I started to wash my face with the Deep Pore Wash. First thing I noticed was the very medicine-y smell. No stinging, no suds, just the smell. My face felt so smooth afterwards. Patted my face dry with a clean towel and proceeded with using the Deep Astringent.

Soaked the cottonball and started wiping it all over my face.

(insert all the curse words you can think of)

THE ASTRINGENT STUNG LIKE A BEE!!! My eyes literally watered because it stung so bad. The stinging is actually an indication that the product is seeping through and working on fighting all the icky stuff inside all that acne.

I had to FAN my face and wait for the stingin to subside before I proceeded with the gel.

While fanning, that was when I told myself, “KAYA NAMAN PALA MAXIMUM STRENGTH!”

After the stinging subsided, I went ahead and applied the invisible treatment gel.

(insert all the curse words you can think of)

THE GEL ALSO STUNG LIKE A BEE—EVENT WORSE! There I was fanning once again. My face felt burning. Come on, it claims to clear up skin in 4 hours—it can’t do that if you don’t experience a little pain!

As the old saying goes, no pain, no gain [clearer skin]

I slept that night. Upon waking up, I was surprised because all my angry acne died down! No more swollen, icky bumps, no more redness, no more anything! Everything shriveled! I was like, wow, Day 1 down, 6 to go.

I wanted to get a full on test before I reviewed the product.

Acnedote will make you peel. Not over-peel, though. I noticed slight peeling on the areas where I applied the treatment gel. After the peeling comes the results!

You may ask me if I still moisturize. I don’t. It was clearly indicated in the back of the box to refrain from using other products together with the Acnedote as reaction may occur. I didn’t want to risk it.

This is my schedule:

As I am writing this it is May 23, 2 weeks has passed and I’ve been religiously using the Acnedote products. I am left with acne marks (well, you can win them all!) AcneDote got rid of all my PMS breakouts! What’s even more amazing is that it actually prevents more acne from forming! Acnedote is amazing. It works amaaaazing  on me despite all the downsides like the stinging and peeling.

I have never felt so confident going out without any makeup before. That’s how much AcneDote has worked for me.

Now that my review is over and I have now typed in 800++ words in this entry, let me just close by reminding you that works for me may not work for you. Of course, everyone has different types of skin, yours might react differently to AcneDote compared to mine. My tolerance for pain and stinging might be higher than yours (and the product made my eyes tear up). Althought I highly recommend this product, I hope you take into consideration all the honest opinions I’ve written down in this blog entry. Please consider them before taking the risk to finally put an end to acne monstrosity.

And if anybody is wondering, no, I was not sponsored to do this post nor the video. I bought these with my hard-earned money. That’s 1,077 pesos I definitely do not regret spending.

I finally found the one. I hope it works for you, too.

***video review coming up soon***

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Alba Botanica AcneDote from Healthy Options (359.00 per product)