Review | Suki Face Balancing Skincare

I mentioned the Suki Balancing Kit when I first ordered it from Birchbox and in my August Favourites. Now that I have been using the products for awhile, I thought I would do a review in case you might be interested in purchasing this kit or some of the products.

 Individual Products

Pure Facial Moisture-Balancing  Suki
This is my first facial oil, and I have to say this is now a staple in my routine. I love the light texture while simultaneously providing deep hydration. I feel like it truly balances my skin type, giving my skin the proper moisture level to reduce it from over-producing oils. The blue chamomile and echincea essential oils have anti-inflammatory properties, great for reducing acne and acne scarring. I use this product about two to three times a week. Usually as my nightly moisturizer after I have used a clay or glycolic acid mask to make sure my skin is hydrated. It is absorb fairly quickly and has an herbal scent. Though it's a small little vial, I still have about half of it left. A little goes a long way, so don't be thrown off too much by the price.

Balancing Day Lotion Suki
I love this lotion. It is so light but does so much. I use this every morning as my moisturizer. It contains white willow salicins which helps fight acne and calm redness and natural retinol which increases cell turnover (treating acne and acne scarring, increasing collagen, reducing fine lines). After about a week of use, I did notice my skin seeming fuller and less dull. Again, it has an herbal smell that might not be everyone's cup of tea.

Transformative Cleansing Clay Suki | Birchbox
Though this is a kaolin clay mask, it is much more liquid than any other mask I have used. I have mainly been using it as an overnight spot treatment, but have used it once as an all over face mask (I would suggest using it in the bathroom as it can be messy until it dries). This also contains white willow salicins as well as zinc which is an antibacterial agent. It works really well for unclogging pores. I just read on the website that it can be used as a cleanser. I will definitely be trying it this way tonight!

Concentrated Balancing Toner Suki
This was my first product to be used up and that happened fairly quickly, by the first week. I was using this twice a day, after my morning and evening cleanse. This was the first toner I have used (not counting the Proactiv system I tried probably ten years ago), and it has made this step a crucial one in my routine. I wouldn't say this toner in particular is necessary, but I do think it was a good one if you are interested in the set. I only say this as it is pretty expensive and knowing how fast I went through the sample it might be better to look at a cheaper alternative. The featured ingredients are again the white willow salicins as well as vitamin c polypeptides.

Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser Suki | Birchbox
The whole reason why I ordered the kit. This product will instantly get you hooked. I first tried it as a sample in my Birchbox, and I just had to have more. With my sample I used it everyday as it smelled so good- sugar and lemongrass. However, now I use it two-to-three times a week whenever I need a deeper clean or feel like a need to exfoliate. Over-exfoliation is a bad thing, especially with acne prone skin. This cleanser is very gentle, and it foams up making it nearly impossible to over do it on the scrubbing. And even better the foaming isn't sodium laurel sulfates! No synthetic ingredients. I have about half of this jar left and will definitely be repurchasing.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I am so happy with this kit. It also comes with a cute white canvas bag with a happy yellow interior (yes, happy yellow is a colour....). The containers are all little apothecary style glass jars. Though they seemed rather small sizes, I have gotten so much use out of them. It's been a month and a half of continued use, and I am at the half-way point of most of the products (except the toner). I do think the toner should have been a larger size in order to match the duration of the other products.

With that being said the balancing kit would be a good way to start if you were interested in one product and had even a bit of curiosity about any others. If you were to only get one product, I would chose the Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser. It's really a 'wow' product. The oil is really great as well as the day lotion. I do feel this kit as well as the majority of the individual products are truly geared towards oily skin types and acne prone skin types. I am sure you noticed this as well with the active ingredients' properties. If you have an oily skin type and are struggling with acne, acne scarring, or both I would give this whole system a try. If you have dry skin, I would look into their "Nourishing" line of products. The "Balancing" items are just too light, though this is what makes it perfect for oily skin types. If you do have dry skin, I would still recommend the Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser if you are looking for a product with gentle exfoliation. Another positive about these products is that they would work well for men. The scents are herbal, and the packaging isn't overly feminine.

The Suki website has some great tools to find a suggested regimen and each product has a list of the ingredients, their purpose, and skin diagrams to demonstrate the goal of the product. The Balancing Kit is a Birchbox exclusive. Suki is a Leaping Bunny certified company and 100% free of synthetic ingredients (many products are also vegan, though not everything)!

Anytime I mention skincare, I feel compelled to say a few points. 1. Check the ingredients for both bad ingredients and to see if the product contains ingredients that are actually effective. 2. Eating & drinking healthy are very important for healthy skin- topical treatments can only do so much. 3. It takes time for your skin to heal.  4. If you have severe acne, don't be discouraged if you are eating healthy, using high quality skincare products, and aren't seeing results. There could be other issues at play (one main thing that comes to mind is hormonal causes.) See a dermatologist and talk about your options! 

Anyway, lots of writing in this post! Hope this helped if you are interested in changing up your skincare routine or were curious about Suki products.

What is your favourite skincare item? What do you look for in a skincare product/company?