Rave or Rant? - Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil

Hey kiddos!

As mentioned in my "June Favourites" blogpost (to read the post click here) I have been turned on to the idea of using a pure, natural oil as part of my night skincare regime and had gotten the opportunity to try one of the most talked about facial oils - Tarte's Pure Maracuja Oil.

I had received a deluxe sized sample with a Sephora Haul (to read about the entire Haul, click here) that I got back in May and I have been using it for almost 2 months now. Needless to say, that I have given it suffice time to do a real in-depth review, but I am not even half way through the bottle yet! My absolute favourite thing in life is happy, healthy skin. My second favourite thing in life is finding a bargain or stretching out my dollar as far as it can go!











Now a little information on the product itself -you can buy the full sized bottle (1.7oz) from Tarte (online only, website link at the bottom of this post) for $46(US) or at Sephora (online or in-store) for $55(CAD). Considering that its skincare, the price tag is fair. If you are put off about the price tag, let me just say that although its a lot to shell out at one time, the product will last you at least half a year!  If you think of it that way, its less than $10 a month. The price tag isn't so scary when you look at it like that!




The description on the Tarte Website of this product is as follows:
"This nutrient-rich oil contains Vitamin C and essential fatty axids to hydrate sensitive, dry and acne prone skin, leaving skin even toned and smooth without a greasy feel. Pure Maracuja Oil is a hydrating treatment oil known for its anti-aging and healing properties for firmer, brighter and smoother looking skin, and won't cause breakouts."









I've heard a lot of good things about this oil, especially for dry sensitive skin, but I was skeptical at first with putting an oil on my skin as I am a little acne prone. I was optimistic that it would help my dry skin feel a little more comfortable and heal some of the scarring and discolouration. But at the same time I was also scared that it would cause my acne to flare up. Since I am always on the hunt for skincare that works for my sensitive and acne prone skin, I gave it the benefit f the doubt and decided that I would give it a good 2 week trial before I make up my mind.

How I apply the oil in my nighttime skin routine - The directions tell you to put the oil directly on your skin after its been cleansed. I don't usually have the finesse with these oil products and would most likely apply it to my face and not be able to smooth it out, leaving the rest of my face dry and one super oily spot. Since I was already reincorporating my Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray into my day and night routines, I thought that it would be a good vessel for me to be able to smooth out the oil completely over my entire face and keep it light, without that heavy oil feeling. So after cleansing my face, I apply my night eye cream first, than I spray my entire face with my thermal water before applying a few drops of the oil to my hands then face. The thermal water makes it super easy to spread the oil, and in doing so I think I don't use as much product. I have only gone through half of the deluxe sample size, a Big Bang for my buck - just how I like it!

The packaging is super cute (deluxe sample sizes are cute little minions to their full sized counterparts!) and I love that the bottle is made of glass along with the dropper. Makes everything feel super luxurious and sometimes I feel as if plastic packaging is not the best for skincare products. (This may be my own fabricated paranoia, but if its not good to drink out of plastic bottles, than wouldn't it be bad for our skin to apply products from plastic bottles?) I love the natural glass bottle and materials and it does give it a vintage luxe feel to the product.

Unfortunately, I do not have any before or after photos of my skin. I sincerely apologize, I wasn't thinking things through and in all honesty I didn't think this product would work for me, so I didn't think I would need comparison photos. But what I can tell you is that it has drastically changed my skin for the better. My skin is more even toned and the texture is a lot more even too (no more bumpy, dry patches!). The size of my pores have shrunk and my reoccurring blackheads are barely there or noticeable. My dry, sensitive skin has been reaping all the benefits of this oil, super moisturized and I feel that I've gotten a little more bounce in my skin back. My acne flare ups are controlled, instead of having a huge patch of pimples or blackheads, I will have 1 pimple or two while I'm menstruating, which is a huge change from the erupting skin I would have during this time of the month.

I just feel like I have control of my skin back, its so liberating and freeing because I used to feel like a prisoner from my acne. I always had to make sure I have some sort of foundation on at all times or I would try my best to hide an acne flare up which would usually cause it to become worse. But since I have been using the Maracuja Oil, I have been leaving my home without anything on my face and I'm not afraid to face people because my skin is looking so great! Now, of course, I still have some acne and dry spots and scarring, but the oil is helping all of those issues wonderfully and now I don't feel like I have to hide behind a mask of makeup. I can now bring my best face forward, literally, and feel good about it!

The only thing I'm not crazy about is the smell/fragrance of the oil. Now it's not a bad smell or fishy smell, its natural so there is no sweet or perfumed fragrances. I actually like it, but if you are someone who enjoys the perfumes or fragrances from skincare products, this might initially turn you off. It completely disappears once you apply it and it does not linger at all, so you won't have to worry about it leaving an odour on your skin.

Just because I am so pleased with my personal results with this product, I have to give it a 5/5.  From the pretty and natural packaging to the results and softness from my skin, this has met and surpassed all my expectations. Now, if you have naturally oily skin, without any dry or sensitive patches, I'm not sure if this product would work as well, although it claims to work well for all skin types. If you are super oily and super acne prone, I would still try this as the oil can help heal the acne and make acne scarring disappear, I would just maybe use less or use a thermal or charged water spray before applying to make it lighter.

Product Grade: A

As it is hard for me to find skincare products that control my acne while still soothing my sensitive skin, I am very happy to have found this. It has been really helping the overall health of the skin on my face and making makeup application (and life!) so much easier for me on the daily. I am definitely buying the full size bottle when I'm done this deluxe sample size and I can see it being staple in my skin care routine from now on.

Have you tried this product? I would love to hear what you thought and if it worked, in the comments box below! Sharing product experiences with peers is caring. What you think of a product can really help someone else decide if that product might be right for them. Please share your experience with this item, or if you use a similar item that you think is great for other reasons, in the comments box below! We all benefit from sharing information!

If you have any questions or concerns about this product or review, or if you have any recommmendations or suggestions on future reviews, be sure to email me (makeupmasochist@gmail.com). If you enjoy reading beauty product reviews, be sure to subscribe to my blog for future review posts (top right corner) and you can also follow my blog on Bloglivin' (Makeupmasochist). For more daily photos and videos, check out my Instagram and follow me (@fernonje).

For more information on the product and to purchase, please visit the links below:

http://www.tartecosmetics.com
http://www.sephora.com

Stay beautiful lovers, lord knows I'm trying!

xoxo
Ashley