Review: Marcelle's Hydra-C Radiance Holiday Collection

Late Fall is my favorite time of year – sweaters, hot drinks, wellington boots and, of course, massive beauty bundles. The bundles that come out for Christmas are a makeup junkie’s dream since you can safely buy discounted skincare regimes or makeup palettes in early November with the minimum amount of guilt required (especially for people who, like me, don’t properly start shopping until December). 

            Since I started the makeup trunk overhaul, I’ve been trying to avoid buying new products, but right before I started the blog I got Marcelle’s Hydra-C Radiance collection so I'll give it an early review one week into the daily use of all four products.

The whole kit was $39.95 altogether (and came with a somewhat cheap-looking sequin clutch that will, at least, make a nice makeup bag), but if purchased separately you’d be looking at $73.90, so it's a pretty big savings.

I got mine from the London Drugs on Granville, but I’ve been them for sale at the Shoppers Drug Mart as well.

It comes with the following:

Hydra-C Double Action Cleansing + Exfoliating Cloths

Hydra-C 24H Energizing Hydrating Gel

Hydra-C Gentle Self-Foaming Cleanser

Hydra-C Eye Roll-On

Since I’ve never struggled with oily skin and only occasionally suffer dry skin, I gravitate toward any product that promises to give me a “dewy” or “illuminated” complexion. Naturally, “radiance” seemed to suggest the latter of two and was the only one of the Marcelle packages that wasn't targeting “problem” skin, be it oily, dry or aging. When you have skin that’s not particularly dry or oily, it can be hard to find a skin care routine that doesn’t dry you out or grease you up. So far, Marcelle’s kit is a mixed bag. 

From top to bottom, I find the exfoliating face wipes a little scratchy, but they haven't caused any redness or irritation. They're not perfect at taking off my makeup (especially since I've been using Benefit's They're Real Mascara, which is a nightmare to remove), but it also doesn't leave my skin feeling really stiff or shiny. On a scale from 1-10, I'd probably give it about a 7.

 Next, the gel moisturizer: I've been using a lot of Japanese products from T&T over the past year, and I noticed that the majority of their moisturizers and face masks have this gel-like consistency. It's a little more cooling and it sinks into the skin a lot faster. The downside is that it doesn't seem to give the dewy, hydrated look that I really want, but it does its job as a basic day moisturizer. I'd give the moisturizer an 8.

The foaming facial cleanser is a simple, non-drying face wash. But -- and it's a big but -- it smells horrible. I'm having a hard time pinning down exactly what the smell is, but it's a little like furniture polish or Lysol. It's unfair, but scent is huge for me, so I'm giving the foaming cleanser a 5.

Finally, the eye roll-on. I've had dark circle issues for forever because I'm pale. So I know in my heart that my dark circles are literally nothing more than visible veins beneath thin, pale skin. And yet I still try to find creams or lotions that will remove them because I'm an idiot. I'm also growing paranoid that my excessive under-eye concealer use has given me premature lines. In any event, this roll-on feels nice when you're putting it on and dries a little bit tacky on the skin, but ultimately -- like all other dark under-eye circle products before it -- does nothing. It does seem to hydrate the skin at least, but there's no visible brightening. I'll give it a 6.

So there you have it. I got the kit because I wanted a whole regime and because it was a great deal, but the moisturizer is really the stand-out for me and everything else is fairly average. I don't regret buying the kit, but I think in future I'll keep the moisturizer and skip the extras when re-purchasing.