If there is one skincare concern I have always struggled with, it is hyperpigmentation. After having pretty bad acne in the past, spot scars and uneven skin tone have stuck with me through the years - so any product that promises to help with this immediately catches my attention.
Although some of the best vitamin C serums and best retinol creams I've tried have helped me gradually nurse my complexion back to health, any new breakouts tend to leave aggressive marks and texture that no amount of treatments can quite shake, even after a couple of months.
But after testing out a new resurfacing serum for the last 10 days, I think I have finally found the miracle product I have been longing for, and it has been one of the simplest additions to my nighttime skincare routine...
The serum that has single-handedly transformed my skin
Fresh's new Lotus AHA Gentle Resurfacing Serum promises to work while you sleep, evening out skin tone, reducing the appearance of imperfections, and boosting skin radiance. Gentle enough for daily use on all skin types, it ticks just about every box.
RRP: £60
Delivering everything I need in one handy little bottle, this resurfacing serum really packs a punch. Formulated with prickly pear flower extract and a duo of AHAs, it is the key to an even, glowing complexion.
Although many people will find that marks left behind from spots and other kinds of hyperpigmentation will fade naturally, I have never known any of my scars to disappear in less than a few months - and that's with plenty of help from other facial exfoliators and PHA skincare.
So to determine whether or not the Fresh Lotus serum could really deliver on its promises and improve my complexion, I put my usual skincare products to the back of my cabinet and made this the only treatment product in my arsenal for 10 days straight.
Focusing on a specific area of my chin where I have had some tough red marks lingering for over a month, I monitored how they were looking each morning after applying the serum the night before, as well as analysing my skin as a whole in terms of radiance and evenness - and the results were seriously impressive.
As well as dramatically improving my hyperpigmentation by almost totally eradicating those red marks, I have also noticed that my skin is significantly more radiant, and the overall texture of my face is miles smoother than it has been with any other type of gentle exfoliant. My desire to cover up imperfections with my best foundation has pretty much been removed, but when I do decide to go for a more glamorous makeup look, every complexion product applies beautifully with no lumps or bumps.
Although I am a skincare product enthusiast, I prefer products that are easy and fuss-free. The fewer steps in my daily skincare routine the better (in my book) so anything I can trust to work its magic with minimal effort from me immediately goes up in my rankings - and this is exactly that.
After using a cleansing balm to remove my makeup and my best cleanser to ensure all impurities are gone, I follow up with just a couple of pumps of the Lotus serum before applying my moisturiser. And that's my nighttime routine done.
The only small downside to the Fresh Lotus serum is the price point. At £60 for 30ml, this is by no means a cheap product. However, for me, it is absolutely worth the investment. Using just two pumps for a full face, a little bit can go a very long way - especially if you opt to use it every other night or a few times a week.
For those suffering with stubborn marks, uneven texture, or hard-to-shake dullness, I expect you will find it is worth the splurge too.
