Pure+Simple Hydration Serum and Skin Drink

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Toronto’s Pure+Simple so I was thrilled to see two of the company’s offerings in my Spark Sessions Swag Bag: the Skin Drink and the Hydration Serum. Both products are full-sized and are aimed at moisturizing one’s skin, so they were well-timed for the winter.

I started both items shortly after I received them in late November and I’m still working on finishing off the two 50 ml bottles. That’s over a month’s worth of usage, plenty of time to come to the conclusion that these two products are great… for someone else.

I can confidently say that they did improve the sections of my face that were already in pretty good shape. For example, my cheeks, which generally don’t have issues with blemishes or dry skin, look healthy, glow-y and happy.

But the sections of my face that aren’t in good shape didn’t benefit at all from the serum and moisturizer.  Take, for example, my nose, which often has at least one dry patch plaguing it. That dry patch popped up again shortly after I started using these two products and only disappeared when I fortified the Skin Drink with Kaia 24 Hr Booster Serum.

Both products also did nothing to prevent or fight blemishes. In mid-November, just in time for Spark Sessions actually, a nasty pimple appeared on my forehead. Ever since then, at least one visible blemish has been calling my forehead home. While the pimples do (eventually) go away, they’re never truly gone until they’ve left some flaky skin behind. I was hoping that the two Pure+Simple products would quickly dispatch those pimple-reminders but nope, that hasn’t been happening.

To be fair, Pure+Simple isn’t marketing either product as items that should have any impact on blemishes. But dry skin is a whole other matter.

According to its webpage, the serum is, “An Aloe Vera and Kelp based gel serum that improves the health of skin while reducing redness, increasing skin hydration and softening skin.” Other ingredients, “help reduce skin sensitivity and inflammation on a cellular level without causing any adverse effects”

The Skin Drink is a lotion that supposedly, “reduces skin sensitivity + redness due to higher hydration levels, offers protection from harsh climate conditions, and hydrates + balances oily skin.” It also, “absorbs quickly making this a wonderfully protective moisturizer without a greasy feel.”

Like most (all?) Pure+Simple products, these two are made in Canada with natural ingredients, some of which are organic (the Skin Drink is also unscented). Pure+Simple also says that these two items are ideal for people with sensitive skin, with the Skin Drink also being suitable for those with rosacea.

I do not have rosacea or sensitive skin or skin that’s prone to redness but I do get both oily and dry patches. However, those patches were the ones that didn’t seem to respond to these products apart from easily and quickly absorbing them.

I do agree with some of Pure+Simple’s claims. The Skin Drink wasn’t at all greasy and it did hydrate the parts of my face that weren’t overly oily or dry. Meanwhile the serum did soften my skin and again, did hydrate those parts that needed to be more maintained than improved. And neither product caused any kind of adverse reaction.

If I had “normal” skin that just got the occasional dry patch or blemish, I think these two product could work quite nicely for me. But since that’s not my skin, these items aren’t for me.

 Skin Drink retails for $21.95 while the serum goes for $44.95 for the same amount. Both products can usually be picked up at any of Pure+Simple’s spa locations or online right here.

Would I buy these products: No. While they aren’t bad, they aren’t for me.

Should you buy these products: Do you have relatively healthy skin? Do you like supporting small, Canadian businesses? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then do pick up these products.