Lighten up! Kahina Brightening Serum

*Product generously and lovingly provided by Kahina Giving Beauty, review is completely my own*

When I received a bottle of Kahina’s Brightening Serum in the mail, I was so excited! I love Kahina for their gentle, nurturing products which always do their job AND keep skin very pampered. I reviewed their Antioxidant Mask earlier, and ended up getting a full size of the product at work. In fact, I just used it last night because my skin was feeling very listless at the end of a grueling dead week before finals! Now onto the Brightening Serum!

Kahina’s Brightening Serum refines skin tone, evens out pigmentation, and increases luminosity. It does so with a blend of White Lily, Japanese Wakame Seaweed, Maritime Pine, Green Tea, and Argan oil, high in antioxidants. The serum is very milky in texture and consistency. The scent is composed of essential oils of Geranium, Lavender, Sandalwood, as well as Spearmint and Rosemary extract – therefore it has a fresh pine/mint scent. Kahina’s products are known to be great for drier and more mature skin types, but I found that I could basically use this serum as a moisturizer for my skin type. I apply two pumps all over my face day and night and it is enough to keep my face moisturized. I think the combination of Shea butter, Argan Oil, and Hyaluronic Acid are the key moisturizers which are enough for my skin type. 

I’ve been using this serum for 4-6 weeks as recommended and although I don’t really have pigmentation problems right now, I notice that my skin truly does look more luminous and bright. Even in the dull winter, my skin looks fresh and awake. I could not help but think how much better of an investment this is than the traditional brightening products you see from Shiseido (White Lucent Brightening Cream) or Clarins (Brightening Night Cream), not only do you get the results, but you’re also treating your skin well in the process with a very clean formulation.

One usage caution: for those with oily or blemish prone skin, start out using the Brightening serum every other night and gradually build your way up to see how your skin handles the serum. I noticed slight redness/bumps my first week along my cheeks and jawline and reined back my frequency of usage, and have now controlled/adjusted usage so that I do not get that type of reaction. I think we just have to figure out how to make the products work for us. I still think this is better than the non-clean products on the market like Shiseido and Clarins whose formulas cause me blown out cystic acne, irritation, and unbalanced skin, so take my tip for what it is but don’t let it scare you from trying this if you are looking for a product that will give you luminous, bright skin.