Kiehl's Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution

I bought this product about a week ago. I can't fault the texture and feel of it on the skin. For something that you expect to be quite harsh, it is very silky and does not irritate my sensitive skin at all. It is also non drying on my skin.
However, I have dark scar marks from the aftermath of spots that i'm dying to get rid of. So far I haven't seen any difference in them, however it has only been a week.
Also this solution is also no good at preventing breakouts, and although it says on the bottle you can use it as a spot solution, I don't think it does anything compared to say, teatree oil.
I will persevere though because it's only been a short amount of time, hopefully I will see results.
Remember if you are not satisfied with Kiehl's products after 28 days, you can take them back and get a refund with their 28 day skincare guarantee!

This is one of those that either will or will not work for you! I've seen so many different experiences and decided to try it out for myself...

This is a lightweight serum that you use a couple of drops of AM and PM, before your moisturizer. It contains a fair amount of alcohol and not a great deal in the way of effective lightening ingredients to fade dark spots. I counted Vit C, E (both destroyed by the oxidizing see-through bottle packaging), a couple of plant extracts, an AHA (Citric acid) and a BHA (Salicylic acid) and that's about it! The rest were humectants and binding ingredients.
With the right packaging and a few tweaks to the ingredients list I'm sure this could be a fab product. As it is I just didn't find it all that effective. and whatever is in there is not at the concentration it should be. I used up my sample on one area - my chin as this is where my marks show up the most frequently.

In the week or so I used this I saw only a minor difference in the color of the marks, it was barely even noticeable. What I liked about it on the other hand is that it didn't cause any adverse reactions (it's fragrance, silicone & paraben-free) and it helped keep my chin area blemish-free, most likely down to the AHA & BHA content. However I wouldn't go out and repurchase for that effect alone as I have other products that take care of that, and at a much better price point.

My advice: Try before you buy!



Selena x


~ My HG list ~

(As I've sampled many 100s of skin, hair and m/u products over the last decade and a half, I thought it might be useful to share my top 10 must-have products, subject to change if and when I come across something more effective. I love constantly trying out new stuff - usually sample sizes via e-bay, also plenty courtesy of a friend who works at Sephora)


1. Hair Loss Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Hair Oil
2. Lip Balm: 'Nuxe' - Reve De Miel Lip Balm
3. Pigmentation + Anti-Ageing Treatment: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Facial Treatment Serum
4. Cleanser: 'Paula's Choice' - Skin Balancing Cleanser
5. Concealer: ‘Mac’ - Studio Finish Concealer
6. Lash Growth Serum: ‘Divine Herbal’ - Divinelash
7. Foundation/SPF: ‘Juice Beauty’ - Stem Cellular Repair (warm glow)
8. Face Scrub: ‘Sisley' - Botanical Gentle Buffing Cream
9. Moisturizer: ‘Antipodes' - Rejoice Light Day Cream
10. Hand Cream: 'Origins' - Make A Difference Rejuvenating Hand Treatment

I have a sun allergy and despite I used a cream with SPF50+ during vacation (not Kiehl's/ that was new brand I tried - never again), I ended up with dark pigment stains on both hands. After a month I went to Kiehl's to buy some stuff and a shop assistant recommended me this serum. Day by day the stains were less and less visible and after just 8 days of usage, they completely disappeared - it is unbelievable but true. My stains were quite "fresh", so I assume that can be the reason why they were gone so quickly, but I think if you keep with this product, you will see the results at some point of time. ;)

I use this product with kiehl's calendula toner followed by iris essence, dark spot corrector, their hydro plumping re-texturizing serum, clear corrective moisturising treatment and lastly their midnight recovery concentrate every night and during daytime, i finish this routine with their spf cream instead of the midnight recovery concentrate. It seems to have lightened my skin within 1 week of usage. I just feel that good Spf lotion/cream need to be used both indoors and outdoors so that we can see a result with this product.

This product works really well on my skin, for a serum that only claims to fade scars, I was surprise to see that it also prevents acne. I usually get a lot of pimples during my period but when using this, I only got a couple of them. It also did fade most of my scars and it isn't too harsh on my skin. The downsides of this product is the packaging and the price. It's just difficult to bring around when travelling because the serum would leak if I leave it in my luggage bag. Super pricey in my country too. But I'd still repurchase it because it's the only serum that has ever proven to work well on my skin.

This is nothing! No results after one entire bottle. Chanel Le Blanc serum works 1000 times better.

Decided to try this product on a whim when I was struggling to get rid of several dark acne marks that wouldn't fade despite repeated use of vitamin C and AHA products. Applied it every night for a week and it managed to fade the marks considerably well. They weren't completely gone, but it was barely noticeable. So far it's the most effective product for fading pigmentation that I've tried. Only downside is that it's really expensive in Malaysia.

My mother bought me a gift set from Kiehl's, and this was the main product inside.
I suffer from severe acne on the lower half area of my face, so my skin has lots of pigmentation and redness.
After finishing the bottle...I feel like it did nothing for me. But my sister claims that it did brighten her skin and lighten her old acne scars. I guess it works for most people with average good skin condition, but not strong enough for my ongoing acne condition.
Would not repurchase for myself, would consider looking at other formulations of vitamin C serums from smaller brands for cheaper price.

I have used this serum to even out the discolorations after cryotherapy on my abdomen and back. It is a runny clear liquid which I found it pleasant to use, non sticky or greasy. I am not pleased with the pipette packaging and clear glass bottle. The antioxidants in this serum should be better protected by a dark bottle and a pump would lead to less air exposure and overall risk of contamination than a pipette. In terms of this product's brightening performance I do think it initially worked pretty well and then seemed to lose its efficiency over time after about half of the bottle was finished. In my case I noticed this after about 6 weeks. Since many other reviewers have noticed the same I suppose this is due to the above mentioned packaging which offers no protection to the ingredients over the course of the use. Overall I find this solution too pricey for what it does, will look to La Mer's Brightening line next.

I think this product is so amazing. It's only been two weeks and I've started noticing the dark spots on my face have become lighter. It also evens pigmentation. I apply it every morning and night.