Review: Mizon A.C. Care Solution Acence Blemish Out Pink Spot

I've previously commented on Mario Badescu's pink spot serum (reviewed here) but have since converted to another version: Mizon's A.C. Care Solution Acence Blemish Out Pink Spot (why do so many Korean products have ginormously long names?!), an acne treatment I've liked enough to re-purchase once already. =)

The gist of pink spot products is that the user dips a Q-tip past the yellow liquid, into the pink sediment, draws it out and then dabs it over the blemishes for overnight therapy.  Sulfur, an active ingredient of these pink spot products, has a rap for being potentially irritating and stinky.  The stinky part is right but I've found my skin responds well to sulfur if it's in a good formulation and I use in moderation.  Many traditional acne treatments like benzoyl peroxide don't seem to do much for my breakouts so I'm glad I have a fall-back product when I'm not trying out new acne ingredients. 

Compared to Mario Badescu's drying lotion, Mizon's has more anti-inflammatory/anti-bacterial substances (calamine, tea tree leaf oil, triclosan, coptis japonica root extract, portulaca oleracea, etc) that are plant-based.  Plant-loving me gets embarrassingly excited at seeing these skincare goodies!  

The Mizon ingredient list on CosDNA also has alcohol listed in second place after water while Mario's has isopropyl alcohol as the main ingredient (insert frown-ey face).  Glycolic & salicylic acid are included but my pH strips put the yellow liquid around pH 7 (too high for exfoliation benefits) so these probably aren't the star performers.

I did not re-purchase the Mario version because I found it too drying with a so-so performance.  However, I'm so glad I gave the Mizon a tryout because I feel their formula delivers better results without stripping my skin.  Whether it's because of the extra skincare benefits or the milder formulation, this product has been a dependable winner for me!

I regularly dab this pink spot treatment on after all of my evening skincare products have absorbed (about 4-6x/week).  It's the last thing I use because it has great clinging power, penetrates everything else and the rough texture it dries into wouldn't allow for other products to be applied over it anyway (plus why would you even want to deprive yourself of seeing the beautiful pink polka dots on your face?!).  

The main benefits I get from Mizon's pink spot treatment:

a) Less pain - new erupting spots are always uncomfortable and 1-2 nights of this blemish treatment always calms things down

b) Less inflammation/redness/elevation - bumps look smaller & less obvious so make-up applies more easily over it; if it's a small bump (< 3-4mm) I can flatten it overnight with this treatment!  I also like how the edges of the blemish don't look peel-y or overly dried in the morning =)

c) Draws pus closer to skin surface - (sorry, I don't know how to describe this more prettily muahahaha) the timeline of a blemish often includes a concentrated area of white pus close to the skin surface; it's completely unattractive but also a good sign I'm nearing the end of the blemish life cycle so I can stick a hydrocolloidal patch over the spot and see the pus sucked away the next night!  If it's a big cystic monster I may need pink spot treatment & hydrocolloidal magic more than once but that's alright with me because I can see the progress and improvement.

The Mario version always dried into clumpy flakes that littered my pillowcase by morning but the Mizon version flakes considerably less and stays mostly adhered to my skin.  It's staying power is good for overnight therapy but does necessitate an extra cleansing step in the morning.  I use toner on a cotton pad to gently loosen and rub off the remaining pink stuff before my morning wash.  Otherwise, I'm spending more time working at the spots and potentially irritating my face.

Like with Mario's, my first Mizon Pink Spot bottle dried up over time and I was left with a significant amount of pink sediment without yellow liquid (see image below).  I tried scooping up the moist sediment and continuing to use it but found it less effective in performance so the liquid is definitely crucial.  Now with my second bottle I'm more careful to immediately screw the cap back on to decrease possible evaporation.  You can see I wasn't too careful about stabbing my Q-tips around the bottle so there are pink streaks all over hehe... still better-looking than Mario's bottle because that one was considerably more narrow and harder to navigate!

My first bottle after the liquid dried up!

Anyway, I'm happy I decided to give pink spot treatments another try with Mizon's A.C. Care Solution Acence Blemish Out Pink Spot (whew, running out of breath here).  Not all pink formulas are created equally and I will definitely re-purchase this one when I'm out!

Summary

• Packaging:     4/5 (sturdy; wide opening; easy to see when running low)
• Smell:             2/5 (not pleasant; strong; takes getting used to)
• Performance:  4/5 (reduces pain/redness/inflammation; best for fresh spots)
• Value/Price:    5/5 (~$11+shipping on RRS; lasts for months & months)
• Recommend? Yes!
• Repurchase? Yes!