Hortaleza MD Illuminous Plus Facial Soap

note:
I'm warning you in advanced that i have lots of pictures of my face in this post. I don't usually do this but this soap had convinced me otherwise, so to provide you with pictures that you can use to judge for yourself. this is embarrassing as f*ck for me but i'm doing this for the love of you all.
XD

I tested out a new soap, although i love my Orange Peel & L-Glutathione Soap to death, just because im quite curious to see how other soaps would fare after my finding "THE ONE" soap.

I'll not lie & tell you that i found a better soap than my favorite but i will tell you,people, something... this soap is the only soap that made people compliment me on my skin.

Confusing,huh? I'll tell you why later...

Now question...
How many of you know about glycerin soaps?
You know those "clear soaps" that you mostly see on bath sets, they are just simple glycerin soaps.

Glycerin is a humectant, clear liquid that is a by-product of the soap-making process. Humectant means that it attracts moisture to your skin. Soaps were produced before by combining oils & lye, the end result of it would be soap & glycerin. It is also sweet & is also use for baking & cooking purposes too! Au naturel~

As i made my research i read several claims that other soap manufacturers would strip the glycerin off of the soap. The reason is that these manufacturers also sells lotions,creams or moisturizers together with the soap. Again, glycerin is humectant which means that it will attract moisture on your skin so you won't need anything else to moisturize your skin because your skin will be hydrated anyways.

So i guess this is the reason why most companies who manufactures facial soaps/washes also have moisturizers that they sell together with it,huh? Not saying that you should stop using moisturizers just because you are using glycerin soap,mind you, if your skin is naturally dry then you have to apply moisturizers. (how many "moisturizers" did i use back there?!haha)

Since glycerin soaps contain natural oils it is better in removing oils too. Remember the idea behind OCM? That only oils can take oils off? Well, i'd recommend using glycerin soaps better than OCM!

Glycerin Soaps doesn't lather much. Why?
It doesn't contain sodium laureth or sulfate or any of those agents that makes shampoos & soaps bubbles like detergents. The said chemicals actually dry out the skin. I'm pretty sure that you know what i'm talking about. The reason why we love using facial wash is because you feel squeaky clean after usage. The natural oils are stripped off the skin, that's why.

So now that we got that little info out of the way then we can go straight to the product itself.

Illuminous Soap is specially formulated for lightening blemishes & dark spots. I guess since it contains arbutin so you can use this to address hyper pigmentation as well.

The ingredients list..

It has what they call as TinyWhite (which is combination of Glutathione & Arbutin) which i think is formulated for skin lightening purpose.

By the way, did you know that Arbutin is better than Hydroquinone?
Hydrquinone can cause skin darkening in some cases, on which is a lot worse because there's no way for you to reverse the effect of it, based on what i read. So you have to be wary when using hydroquinone. Do your research first before it's too late.

So it's good that they used a safer alternative for their skin lightening soap,no?

I'm sorry but i seem to have deleted the picture of the product accidentally while i was cleaning out my HD so i just took a picture of the soap when i washed my face a few minutes ago. hehehe

I have been using this for a month now & i can already see the effect. Not only me, even the people around me has seen a subtle glow. My cheek area has that natural flush that i almost look like i had a blusher on.

Tsk!
I hate this part.. where i have to show pictures of my face...
-_-"
but i know it has to be done...
I just never feel comfortable posting pics of my bare face though.. Im sure you could understand no matter how good people say your skin is, posting your pic on the net for every one to see is like being caught naked in a public place over & over. lol!
Plus the fact that i have to scrutinize each & every picture that i'll be posting that i'm sick & tired of my face already after deciding what i'll be choosing. XD

Well then, here goes nothing...

Remember the picture that i posted before when i did my review on the Physician's Formula Mineral Wear Powder? I'll be providing you with the full on pictures of it so you can see for yourself...

My skin is almost clear & blemish-free already except for the zit on my cheek, but im already happy nonetheless so i posted it as reference. Take note of the redness on my cheeks & it may not be too obvious here but there are some pigmentation on the apples of my cheek. Click the 2nd picture for a better view...

Now, I'll be showing you a picture of my face just this morning (October 29,2012) right after taking a shower.

Of course, my skin will be really clean because i just took a bath. I took a picture right after bathing so that you can clearly see if there still any pigmentation left. You can click it for a better view.. i can already vouch that my skin is clear & there are no underlying pigmentation unlike the pictures that i took before.

Now, here is a picture that i took just a few minutes ago... same day of course with the picture on top.

The rosy glow on my cheeks may not be obvious but it's there, believe me! People kept on telling me how naturally flush my cheeks are. 

I really hate this part because it feels like i am complimenting myself because im not really the type of person who do so, but just trust me in on this. I went to a party yesterday, i did not put on any make-up at all but i saw that my cheeks are flushed already. I have washed my face but it's just there. No need for any powders or anything! I even stopped using my Benetint days ago because i don't see the use of it.

This is the main reason why i like using products that are made locally!

They are specifically made for filipina skin so you know that what you are using is something that would agree on your skin. yay for local products~!

It's really liberating to finally free myself from using make-up!

I am already confident enough to go out & brave the big bad world with just a tube of lipstick on my bag.

hehehe

Now, i don't want you all to get excited over it. Please finish reading this post first ok? hehehe

There are still some things that i want you to take note of about this soap.

Yes, it's glycerin & it's humectant... but please be advised that this is not pure glycerin soap so you may still need moisturizer after usage. If you just want a simple glycerin soap then feel free to try out their Puressence facial soap of the same line.

In my case, i felt a need for a little moisture so i use a tiny bit of Watsons Collagen gel or L'oreal Youth Code Essence the first few times that i use it. Now i can get away with not using any but i still apply my essence or gel as much as i can.

Hortaleza MD products are recommended for people ages 18+.

I'm not really a professional so i can't go into details about each & every ingredients in their products so use at your own discretion. Please don't ask me if it's ok to use it if you are 15.. because i am using it now & i am 28 yrs old already. So the experience that i have over using this is because of my developed & "not-so-young" skin anymore.

A pretty bird told me that HBC is coming up with an anti-acne product specially designed for teens next year.  You might want to wait up for that...

My skin has been acting up again because of hormones but i'm happy to report to you all that i don't have any zits! yay for that!

PROS:

• locally available (at your HBC stores)
• very wallet-friendly (P65 only!)
• it worked for me (hello, rosy skin!)

CONS:

• might not be available internationally

Will i recommend it?
Well,i'll let you judge that one after seeing my pictures.

^_~

This is already very cheap but if you want to maximize your money's worth then you can cut this up in smaller pieces. Glycerin soaps tend to melt faster than ordinary soaps so just cut a small piece, then store the bigger piece for later use.

If you will be asking me the ultimate question of "which is better, illuminous or orange peel soap?", i would not really know what my answer will be.

I don't want to be called biased because Orange Peel cured me of my acne, but Illuminous gave my clear skin a more refined & rosy glow so i can't really say. I don't know how Illuminous would fare on acne though because i used this with clear skin. So please don't subject me to a life or death option. hahaha!

Hortaleza MD Soaps are available in different variants:

• Acnesol (for pimple control) P65
• Puressence (mild skin care) P60
• Total Solution (skin exfoliating) P60
• Illuminous (skin lightening) P65

I have tried Acnesol for a few times but since im not a fan of tea tree oil so i'm just not enamored to it.hihihi

But please try out their other variants for your different needs. 

I stand by with what i believe that every skin is different. 

What works for me might not work for you so you have to keep your options open to different choices.

I might not be able to cover everything on this post so feel free to shoot me any questions on the comment box.

Hope you all are enjoying your day!
Jaa ne~!
^_^

ps:
Product sent as sample. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post. Opinion shared is personal view & is no way influenced by the company. Use at your own discretion.