Mario Badescu Drying Lotion Review

The Infamous Pimple Healer

Here it is ladies, the infamous Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, the product that made Mario Badescu famous! I don't know about you guys but I've been hearing about this stuff for ages! It always has an ad in every magazine I see or has a write up as an "editors favourite" or "best skin care product". So, naturally I was curious... And had to try it out for myself! Heres what the Mario Badescu website has to say about this product:

"The Drying Lotion is a fast acting, effective acne spot treatment. Formulated with salicylic acid, calamine and other quick-drying ingredients, this product will shrink ugly whiteheads virtually overnight while you sleep. While other acne spot treatments can irritate and dry delicate or sensitive skin, this product is safe and effective for all skin types." 

How to Apply

First off, this is the most different (in every way!) blemish treatment I have ever seen! The idea is you dip a q-tip down to the bottom of the bottle (through the clear layer and into the pink layer) then pull it out and apply to the blemished area. Heres a photo of what it looks like once you take the q-tip out:

After you dip to the bottom, then remove

You end up with a saturated q-tip, bathed in a pink sort of "clay" looking substance. It actually looks really strange once on the q-tip, take a look:

I assume the idea of dipping the q-tip to the bottom and then back out is to get two layers of the clear liquid (below the pink layer and then above the pink layer). This is what it looks like after you apply:

It becomes pretty obvious as soon as you apply this that this is not a day treatment! haha You can only use this at night as you don't blend it in. You dab it onto the blemish directly and then let it dry and leave it on over night. The active ingredients in this blemish treatment are (from the website again):

"Isopropyl Alcohol,Deionized Water (Aqua), Calamine, Camphor, Colloidal Sulfur, Salicylic Acid,Glycerine, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Talc."

I was hesitant when I saw the first ingredient, alcohol. You by now know my feelings about alcohol but lately, I've been having trouble finding products without them! With that being said, I kind of overlooked it on this one as it is only a spot treatment and I apply it sparingly and over very little areas. The other active ingredients are good. Salicylic acid will help exfoliate the area and clean the pore out, Calamine & Camphor soothe, Colloidal Sulfer further fights the breakout and Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide and Talc all help with drying out the white head. Speaking of which, this is only really a treatment for small white heads. They have a few other products (Drying Cream, Buffering Lotion) for different types of breakouts. Lets move onto the pros and cons:

Pros:

- Dries up whiteheads overnight (It really does, it WORKS!)
- Non-drying
- Doesn't create flakey skin
- No Benzoyl Peroxide (I have an allergy, so its good for me!)
- Big Bottle - this will last forever

Cons:

- Only works for whiteheads - not other types of breakouts (under the skin, cystic, blackheads)
- Price: Expensive, $21.00 CAD
- Messy
- Can only be used at night
- Strong alcohol smell

Overall, this is a great addition to my arsenal of blemish-fighting products. Although it is not the "cure-all" I expected it to be! It works amazingly on the small, annoying whiteheads that pop up, but anything bigger or non-whiteheaded (?) lol it won't work on. You also CANNOT use this on open or ruptured blemishes (please don't try, I did (silly) and it hurt so bad!). This is a really great product to use in conjunction with the drying cream or buffering lotion to cover all your breakout bases! I am super glad that I spent the money on this, I've never had something help so much with whiteheads, its really amazing what it can do! Just keep in mind, it isn't for every blemish concern.

Final Verdict

I will repurchase this product. Although, I probably won't need to! This bottle is really big and you only use the tiniest bit each time (even if you use it on 1000 blemishes a night like me! haha), its a good investment to your skin care regime, especially if you struggle with mostly small whiteheads.

NOTE: A lot of cities don't have an actual retailer of Mario Badescu products. They have a great website (linked in my sidebar) that you can order off of and get your free samples!