Dr Sam's Flawless Brightly

Dr. Sam's is a skincare line created by a British dermatologist. I talked about the first range of her products (cleanser, SPF, Moisturizers) HERE. I'm still a huge fan of the low pH gentle gel Flawless Cleanser and Flawless Moisturizer. I have since tried the Flawless Moisturizer Light which is nice but it's just a bit light for me, if you need a true gel cream you might like it, it's not quite enough for me moisture wise. It's great for oilier skins and combo for sure. I also have now tried Flawless Lip which is a lanolin based lip balm. Normally lanolin makes my lips go numb and it did a little with this one as well. It's thick and quite nourishing/moisturizing but due to my lanolin allergy I was unable to give it a good test.

I was super excited to see them launch a day serum. Flawless Brightly is a different type of day serum, it really gears towards brightening, helping with skin tone, texture & pores as well antioxidant protection. Details per Dr. Sam's:

An Amplified Active- Azelaic Acid, Niacinamide, Ascorbyl Glucoside and Bakuchiol. Your daytime warrior for complexion brilliance. It evens out skin-tone, calms bumps + clears pores; and makes the light love your skin. A featherweight serum with that Flawless signature silky-smooth texture. It absorbs rapidly without stickiness so your morning routine flows like a dream.

Its formulated with 4 outstanding, multi-tasking Actives: 

• 10% Azelaic Acid
• 5% Niacinamide
• 2% Ascorbyl Glucoside
• 1% Bakuchiol

Benefits

• Evens out skin-tone, unclogs pores + delivers that Grown-up Glow
• 4-Actives-in-1 means zero worries about mixing ingredients

Directions

We recommend a slow increase in use after 2-4 weeks to daily use. And as skin becomes more tolerant you can try using a full pump. Remember - a skin cycle is 6 weeks, so the benefits of using Actives takes time to appear. We recommend watching our video to get the full picture and commence with confidence!

The serum actually has a thick creamy texture almost like a lotion but it's not as hydrating as a lotion. This gives me a slightly matte finish to the skin. It has no discernible scent and comes packaged in an airless plastic pump. I like the minimal print and chubby bottle aesthetic. This serum is a different take on a day serum as I mentioned above. It's got niacinamide which is the multi-tasking b vitamin derivative that helps with pores, lines/wrinkles, barrier repair, smoothes texture, reduces pigmentation, regulates oil production. I like 5% as it's enough plus sometimes 10% can be irritating. Azelaic acid is a dicarboxylic acid that works like a really gentle exfoliant. It also does so much more like helps reduce redness and sensitivity so it works for rosacea. It also helps with reducing pigmentation and evening the skins texture plus helping with acne and blemishes. It's an ingredient getting a lot more attention lately. I like the 10% concentration myself even though you can get 15-20% (prescription in US or non-prescription in other countries). I find 10% works for me and doesn't irritate me like 20% does.

This also has vitamin C derivative ascorbyl glucoside. Normally this vitamin C is really gentle on the skin as it's a derivative so no irritation or stability issues like with ascorbic acid. I find the derivatives tend to not give me the best brightening results but honestly since this is with niacinamide and azelaic acid I'm not worried about using it for that reason. Those two should be able to handle the brightening part. This also has bakuchiol. You may have heard of this ingredient touted being a plant based alternative to retinol. It has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-ageing benefits for the skin like reducing lines/wrinkles, helps with texture and evening the skin tone. It has some soothing properties that could make it good for sensitive skin and doesn't have the photosensitivity. As always any plant extract/ingredient can cause irritation or reactions so that can't be a blanket statement. Bakuchiol doesn't have near the amount of research it needs to on it yet to really be claimed as an alternative to the extremely well studied retinol. I think it's a nice ingredient and compliments formulas well, even ones with retinol, I just don't necessarily agree it's an alternative at this point. Formulations do have both retinol and bakuchiol and it even helps stabilize retinol. Bakuchiol follows some of the same pathways retinol does but it was used twice a day to even get close to retinol effects in studies. I look forward to seeing more studies on it in the future and for now enjoy testing it out and using it in formulations, but I still use my retinoids as well. I think bakuchiol has a promising future, I hope they can make it sustainable as there may be some issues with that as well.

This does have a mattifying effect on the skin so if you're oily it should be OK for day use, don't think it has a really heavy moisturizing texture by just looking at the swatch. I actually found it a tad drying/irritating at first but my skin adjusted pretty quickly. I highly suggest starting with the 1/2 pump and moving up to full pump as Dr. Sam's suggests. I liked that this worked for so many skin concerns like pigmentation, redness, antioxidants & texture/pores. I was able to use way less steps in the morning with this. It says morning but honestly this could easily be used at night as well, there's no reason you couldn't. By the end of the bottle I noticed my skin had less redness and was a bit brighter overall. Azelaic acid takes quite a long time to reach peak performance (12 weeks plus). I think this is a product you need to use for a while before you judge it's effects. Three months would be a good start to use this consecutively due to the niacinamide and azelaic acid (unless you were already using these regularly in your routine). I found it layered well with other products and used it more at the end of my routine in the morning. For myself I wish it has a more fluid texture (personal preference) as it was a bit heavy feeling for days but it wasn't super moisturizing so it should work for most. I like this interesting combination of ingredients as it does really target all areas I'm looking to work on. Flawless Nightly is on my short list to put to the test.

 

Ingredients

Aqua (Water), Azelaic Acid, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Niacinamide, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Cetearyl Olivate, Bakuchiol, Sorbitan Olivate, Benzyl Alcohol, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Dehydroacetic Acid.

 

*Gifted by brand but all thoughts are my own.