Mario Badescu • Drying Lotion • Treatments

adatironce182 on 5/16/2013 2:33:00 AM more reviews by adatironce182

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I'm surprised this product does not have an overall 5! This is just one of those rare products that WORKS! I have a few staples in my beauty regime and this is def one of them that is a must have! I am so happy that I discovered this because it truly dries pimples like nothing else. I put it on during the day if I am home, on any pimples that i have and at night after i cleanse and moisturize my face, I apply this and go to sleep. In the morning the pimple is either fully gone or dramatically reduced in size and irritation. I will say that if you have a stubborn pimple and you keep applying this, it will slightly dry the skin. This happened to me once only, because I had a stubborn one and I applied this like 3 times a day. The skin just dried and makeup wouldn't sit well, but it was not anything dramatic. If you have very sensitive skin use it more sparingly to avoid dryness. I personally have not found this to be irritating and my skin is semi sensitive and I'm prone to allergic reactions. I also got my sister into using it and she loves it! The only downside is that now my drying lotion is more than halfway gone because we're sharing it, but our skin is getting a lot of help in getting rid of pimples and we're both happy. Try this, you can always return it if you do not like it.

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Naina27 on 5/9/2013 2:20:00 PM more reviews by Naina27

Age: 25-29   Skin: Sensitive, Olive   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

This product is good in the sense that it does make your pimples smaller and less red. And applying it on your face is really easy with a q-tip. The alcohol does still a little but that subsides. It does stay in place so you dont wake up with a mess.

The only downside is it takes a while to come off of your face. I end up really rubbing my face to take it off so i dont look like I have pink spots all over my face lol.

Other than that, i dont have a lot of complaints about it :)

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*TOP REVIEWER* ColdFire on 5/5/2013 2:25:00 AM more reviews by ColdFire

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

This is a great pimple treatment, but you have to use it correctly. For me, this works best on pimples that are just about to come to a head, ones that have already done so completely, and ones that have popped either by accident or that I extracted myself. It seems to draw the pimple out faster and less painfully than it would on its own. For me, it doesn't work on cystic acne or pimples under the skin, I use the MB buffering lotion for those buggers.
Yes, the alcohol stings, but it works. Once the pink sediment is dry, I don't have to worry about it rubbing off on my pillow during the night, it pretty much stays put. Applying it every night for 2-3 nights takes care of pimples very well.
I'd recommend this if you get pustule-type pimples or whiteheads, and you're looking for something other than the ubiquitous salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide acne treatments. That little bottle will last a long time and it's worth the ridiculous price.

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ellfabric on 5/4/2013 4:33:00 AM more reviews by ellfabric

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Black    

Got this shipped to me after hearing so much about this. Great item, really dries out my pimples; takes about 2-3 nights. It doesn't rub off on my pillow when I sleep at night cuz there are still pink dots on my pimples in the morning. I'm just not into the medicinal smell.. will buy again when I run out!

For those who've accidentally shaken the bottle, don't worry because it's in a suspension form. Just set the bottle down on the table and the contents will separate as normal. You can start using it with a q-tip once the contents are separated. :)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

cawowinnose on 4/30/2013 4:08:00 PM more reviews by cawowinnose

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Coarse   Eyes: Green    

I have sensitive skin and I found this was very harsh, though it might have been because I had shaken it up before reading the instructions. It gave me chemical burns.

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becktasm on 4/21/2013 8:42:00 PM more reviews by becktasm

Age: 19-24   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

Best spot treatment on the market, hands down. Zaps those painful emerging zits that I know are going to be pretty ugly in a day or two. A bit drying with overuse, but what can you expect? A very reasonable price considering how many uses yoy get out of the bottle.

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lovelyKk on 4/14/2013 10:53:00 PM more reviews by lovelyKk

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

This is something that I know I will use for years to come. It is amazing!! Make sure you do not shake the bottle. You take a cue-tip and dip it all the way to the bottom into the pink liquid, then tap it onto the zit. It stings, but it is worth it! I usually put this on in the evening before bed and wash it off in the morning, it will help clear skin quickly, and can keep zits from forming if they are under the skin. Can be drying if used too often, maybe a couple of times a week. I have tried a few similar products from other brands, this one was by far my favorite, worth every penny and more!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

gisselbrangenberg on 3/15/2013 9:40:00 AM more reviews by gisselbrangenberg

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Olive   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Guys this worked for me i mean it doesn't make your big pimples desapear overnight but definetly make them dry also the small ones do go away the next day and they are gone completly!
i hope it works for you too

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blushinglara on 2/18/2013 10:53:00 AM more reviews by blushinglara

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Tan   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

AMAZING! Ive had lots of annoying pimples appear suddenly a few weeks ago and they werent going away! I tried acne washes and a few pimple treatements that burnt and irritated my skin more! And then i found this.... Actually got it because of reading reviews on here. Its now been 3 days ive been applying it every night and my pimples are SOO much better. Each morning they look smaller and are less irritated and painful. :) very very happy with this product. Its not a miracle - but its REALLY helped!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* MissJulie89 on 2/9/2013 11:53:00 AM more reviews by MissJulie89

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

WARNING: There's gonna be more all caps than usual in this review. Enjoy!
I have pretty problematic skin (bouts of regular and hormonal/cystic acne, bouts of dryness and oiliness, tons of little acne scars and hyperpigmentation, large-ish pores...), and Mario Badescu products have been my only true saving grace. The Drying Lotion in particular has been a HUGE miracle in my life. I want to get down on one knee and propose to it, but first I have to sort out the pros and cons of a lifetime together.
Pros: IT WORKS. It works like nothing else. No product has ever been able to zap not only regular pimples, but cystic ones as well, in the span of one to two nights' worth of application. Our relationship is just as fresh as it was in the beginning- I've been using the Drying Lotion for months now and its effects haven't worn off or anything. I just dab a little of that noxious-smelling, magical pink sediment with a q-tip on each pimple, let it dry, sleep it off, and wake up with the bugger half its original size or more. By the second or third night (depending on how big the pimple is)- GONE. It's seriously miraculous. Sometimes, when I'm too tired or drunk to wash my makeup off, I still apply this stuff, and it STILL works. No other spot treatment has done or can do what Mario Badescu Drying Lotion does. It's my One and Only.
Cons: Now, no one- or no product- is perfect. I have some issues with the Drying Lotion that I work around. First of all, the price for the amount of product you get wouldn't be so bad if the liquid suspension didn't DRY OUT SO QUICKLY. One bottle only lasts me a couple months due to that enormous flaw. $17 for a treatment that dissipates too soon after its initial use is literally cash evaporated. I've debated on creating my own alcohol suspension to revive it, but it probably wouldn't be the same and I'd most likely blow up my house doing whatever chemistry experimentation necessary to create the suspension.
Lastly, the packaging. I understand that glass is much better to store... well, anything to keep it fresh and free of the chemicals that plastic is composed of. But, I have to clutch the bottle like a baby bird when I move it from my cabinet to the bathroom sink. If I drop it, it's done. $17 gone and a facefull of pimples.
Now, I know the poisonous smell and messy, awkward application process could be considered cons, but I'm not complaining about that. The smell is an olfactorial manifestation of the product's prowess, and the application could be worse. In the end, this is the product that keeps me from going bananas due to my acne's persistence. Mario Badescu Drying Lotion maintains my skin and my sanity.
Hmm... Maybe I will propose. Where can I find a little bottle-sized ring?

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

nanamoo on 2/6/2013 4:07:00 PM more reviews by nanamoo

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Olive, Warm   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I feel like the efficacy of acne spot treatments tends to vary from person to person, so this is just an account of my personal experience with the product, and not necessarily a recommendation for everyone to buy or avoid the product.

My Conclusion: (tl;dr) this product didn't work for me but it might work for you. However, I found it obnoxious in other ways, so gave it a low rating.

Anyway, I've been using the drying lotion for the past ~3-4 months, (intermittently, obviously, since it's a spot treatment after all). I have pretty mild acne. I only use this on white heads, so I don't know how well this works for cystic acne (I also have the MB buffering lotion for cystic acne; I'm not terribly impressed with that product either).
I dab some of the "lotion" onto my pimples at night, as per the instructions, and wash it off the morning. I haven't noticed any consistent results from the product. I have never had any whiteheads disappear completely after an application. It's very seldom that they even shrink or appear less noticeable.
In addition to being ineffective (for me), the product has a noxious smell, is expensive, and is inconvenient to apply, hence the low rating. Also, be careful---if you apply at before bed---of getting it all over your pillows.
This product contains salicylic acid and sulfur. I've used SA in the past and didn't find it terribly effective. I've also tried Queen Helene's Mint Julep mask, which contains sulfur; it also didn't do much for my pimples. Obviously, if you, like me, haven't had much luck with SA or sulfur in the past, I wouldn't expect this product to be a miracle-worker.
[for the record, my skin is not at all sensitive, not terribly acneic, but can get quite oily. I've found BP works okay, and high concentration of glycolic acid works better. Also I haven't had much luck with other MB products...]

The one good thing is that this product is supposedly good for sensitive skin. I'm not sure how true this is, but I will say I didn't feel it at all drying or irritating, like harsher spot treatments I've used in the past. Might be worth of shot for those of you with sensitive skin?

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* sll74 on 1/11/2013 1:38:00 PM more reviews by sll74

Age: Unknown   Skin: Acne-prone, Dark, Warm   Hair: Brown, Kinky, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

this and excellent spot treatment! i don't glob it on so it dries down easy. it doesn't flake off or peel. by morning the area is much better!! it's an overnight product versus something your could wear under makeup. that's the only downside to me. i would imagine a bottle would last a long time too.

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pinkseaoyster on 1/1/2013 6:58:00 AM more reviews by pinkseaoyster

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

the drying lotion made my break out even worse and pimples and white heads even bigger. but it was so hard to wash off so i have to scrubb my face for about 20 to 30 minutes to remove a small dot from my face that i actually pop my cystic acne lol so after using this product my cystic acnes dissapear lol. i had 6 cystic acne yesterday but today they are all gone lmao. i will not repurchase though. also it stings my face but my face is very sensitive.

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JavariaK on 12/21/2012 11:14:00 AM more reviews by JavariaK

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

I am on my third bottle and here's why.

I'm 22 and developed acne 2 years ago, however after crying about it I decided to deal with it seriously. MB drying lotion is an amazing product IF used correctly.
So, you have a pimple with a white head on it? Or a pimple with no head? Either of which doesn’t matter. You take a cotton swab dip it into the yellowish liquid and then into the pink liquid, scoop out the pink stuff and apply it as a spot treatment directly onto a raise bump on your skin. Cover it and sleep.
You'll feel a tingle NOT a sting, this will stick around for a little while but if you’re like me you'll be glad to feel its working!
As you sleep this will do either one of two things depending on the stage the pimple is in:
1) Help it develop faster and therefore making it possible to get rid of it faster, as opposed to letting it grow into a nasty pimple over the space of a good week, and then lead you to the following option;

2) If it a raised pimple it will dry it out and by dry I mean literally dry it out and shrink it.

This isn't, as a fellow review has mentioned, a masque, this is a spot treatment and YES it works amazingly.

The downside is the whole idea of not shaking the bottle, if you drop it or move it vigorously, you'll have to wait a few hours until both components settle back into their rightful place. Also once you near the end of the product the pink element is harder to grasp so there is a bit of waste.

The cons can never outweigh the pros of this product. A true miracle for pimple prone skin.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

RoseJade on 11/28/2012 11:26:00 PM more reviews by RoseJade

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Combination, Olive   Hair: Brunette, Wavy   Eyes: Brown    

We’ve all been in that position where you have a horrible pimple you NEED down for the next day because you have a big event or whatnot. This is my go to weapon to get that ugly thing gone by the morning.

**Marked it down a lippie because if you travel alot like myself this isn't suppose to be shaken and thats a huge obstacle while traveling.

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taylor123 on 11/27/2012 8:57:00 PM more reviews by taylor123

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Tan   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

It makes me angry reading all these bad reviews from people that aren't using this correctly. I have hormonal white head bumps on my forehead and cheek bones from time to time. I have literally tried everything to get rid of the damn things and this is the only thing that made a difference. Keep in mind this is a SPOT TREATMENT NOT A MASK and only should be used when you really need it. This isn't something you should be using every day and night, over and over again because it's a very strong treatment. If you use it too much instead of just when you really need it, yes it probably will break you out. If you have really severe acne all over the place you're gonna wanna look for something like an acne wash that can be used all the time. This isn't it. Don't overdo it with this product and you will have wonderful results. The product is very simple to use, it's a liquid with a hot pink powder at the bottom. Don't shake the two solutions together, just dip a cotton swab in the solution so it hits the bottom and you pull it out and dab it on your pimple. I was concerned about it rubbing off on my pillow while I slept but I didn't have that problem at all. It dries into sort of a clay like mask on your spots. It smells kind of strong and that kind of worried me and thought it might be too harsh but it's the exact opposite. The next morning my bumps were noticeably shrunken down and some of them had dried up and came off. I am very pleased with this. It's about 17 dollars with tax which is kind of expensive but it could be much more expensive. Also if you use it wisely you won't run out as fast and you will save money. The only bad thing is it's kind of hard to find. I have to order it online, I don't know of that many stores close to be that carry it. Apparently there's a Mario Badescu store in NYC. I will definitely be looking into more of Mario's products in the future. All in all, if you use it how youre supposed to, you won't have an issue at all. It's a good product :)

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

krung on 11/23/2012 3:07:00 PM more reviews by krung

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

It's okay. i find that it either 1) makes them bigger (like SERIOUSLY bigger, i had one small pimple on the side of my nose and i put this on it, the next day it got really huge) but the good thing i find is that when it does make it bigger, i can "pop" it? (i know i shouldnt pop them but i had to that one day cause i was going out and it was bugging me) after i popped it, it just turned slightly red and then back to normal after a day or two. 2) or does nothing.

it's not a BAD product, but i expected more, especially since it claims to "shrink" them overnight. I wouldnt repurchase it (I actually ended up throwing it away when i had half of the clear liquid left). I prefer the murad acne clay mask (as a spot treatment, even though it doesnt shrink blemishes overnight, i find that it does a lot more work compared to this product.

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vuj on 11/6/2012 4:05:00 PM more reviews by vuj

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

This worked for me for about a year before my skin got used to it, now i'm on the search for a new miracle worker. When this did work for me, I would apply to any sore or stubborn pimples and it would shrink it almost over night. Nowadays when I use it, it doesn't shrink it as much but maybe because i've been using it too much or my bottle is old? I would repurchase to see if that's true but considering the price I rather have a product that works AND last until I can finish it. I still love it, but I need better.

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emmylai90 on 11/1/2012 1:12:00 PM more reviews by emmylai90

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I used this product for the first few days on my whiteheads and I noticed the reduction in bumps on my face. I was impressed with the results so I decided to go on using it but then I started breaking out. It basically turned my whiteheads into cystic pimples. And the condition of my face worsened and now I have a lot of scars on my face.

I don't know what went wrong but I'm so not happy with this product. I'm spending more money now to correct my face again. Terrible.

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ennvyblog on 10/28/2012 11:39:00 PM more reviews by ennvyblog

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Tan   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

This cult classic is adored by celebrities worldwide. Made from a mix of calamine and salicylic acid, it is said to dry out and remove whiteheads over night. I found that on my skin, which tends to break out due to hormones or sometimes randomly, the drying lotion was ineffective unless used on blemishes with broken heads. The ones with broken heads were cleared and flattened by the morning when the lotion was used and so I think it is a bit hit and miss in terms of effectiveness. I did like how it reduced the pain associated with blemishes and took away some of the redness.

http://ennvy.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/mecca-maxima.html#more

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