Bottom Line: A clay-based mask that contains beneficial skin-brightening ingredients, but keep in mind the formula contains parabens and fragrance. If you're interested in adding a daily cleanser to your skin care kit, then you may have already considered Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel as a possible option. This product is formulated to be gentle enough for everyday use and designed to remove excess oil, cosmetic residue, and environmental impurities from the skin. Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel is just one product within the large array of skin care products offered by this brand. The Mario Badescu lineup also includes exfoliants, anti-aging serums, masks, body care items, and products that fight acne. Mario Badescu first started offering his skin care products in the late 1960s when he opened a salon in New York City and soon the line grew to include dozens of items, including Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel.

The one thing we don’t love about this formula is the inclusion of fragrance ingredients. While fragrance certainly creates a pleasant sensorial experience, these fragrance ingredients have the potential to cause skin irritation.These ingredients aren’t used often in the skin care industry anymore, but perhaps you recognize them from your grandmother’s medicine cabinet. Drying Lotion is the original, award-winning product that targets pesky surface blemishes while you sleep. It was formulated by Badescu himself in the 1960s and has since taken top shelf in medicine cabinets around the world. Anti-Acne Serum isn’t a spot treatment. It’s a super lightweight gel that’s designed to re-balance skin and promote a clearer complexion. Here’s how: Salicylic Acid (a powerful beta hydroxy acid) helps rid the skin of pore-clogging sebum and dead skin cells—which when left to accumulate, leads to breakouts—and allows Thyme Extract to clarify pores. Then, after a while, I started developing texture on my skin; Comedone-like bumps in certain areas of my forehead, chin & jawline, as well as a few other areas of my face. I also began breaking out a lot more, the more I used it, (& I’ve used it A LOT). I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what’s been causing it; my diet is fairly healthy, I drink enough water, I use other decent skincare products, in fact, a lot of the products that I use seem to help clear my skin a little bit. But over time of using this spray, my skin has just gotten increasingly worse, no matter what else I’ve used.

These brightening ingredients are formulated into a base of kaolin, a type of natural clay that helps to absorb excess oil and unclog pores. It also helps to gently exfoliate your skin as you wash the mask off.Similar to the Drying Lotion, the highest concentration ingredient in this formula is isopropyl alcohol. While this type of alcohol can cause skin dryness and even damage when used long term, the Buffering Lotion is a rinse-off product so it should be okay if you need to get rid of bumps right away. Dip a cotton swab into the pink sediment. Here’s a tip: use the smaller, fine-tipped cotton swabs for more precise application. It’ll grab less product too, which means your bottle will last you a little longer. The cleanser also includes surfactants to remove excess oil and surface impurities, as well as soothing extracts like marsh mallow extract, chamomile extract, yarrow extract, and St. John’s Wort extract. Vitamin C also helps fade dark spots, evens out skin tone, and increases radiance. As if that wasn’t enough, research suggests that when vitamin C is applied to the skin, it significantly reverses aging-related structural changes by influencing collagen and elastin synthesis.

Beyond the affordable price point is the fact that Mario Badescu is accessible for all—men and women of every age. While their tagline is "skincare for all," Gen Z and millennial shoppers tend to post the most about the brand on social media. That said, Cabasso says that Mario Badescu shoppers range from teens to mature adults. For example, one review says, “This drying lotion works on breakouts fast. I’m 59 years of and still have breakouts. Immediately when I see one I apply lotion on spot and the time of breakout is reduced at least by 50%. I will continue purchasing and sharing information with friends and family.” There are quite a few additional key ingredients in the Drying Cream formula, including zinc oxide, sulfur, beeswax, niacinamide, and panthenol. But, unfortunately, this is another Mario Badescu product that contains parabens and fragrance.Unfortunately, this mask contains a few problematic ingredients, including two parabens as preservatives and a synthetic fragrance blend. Bottom Line: A refreshing gel cleanser that uses surfactants and papaya fruit extract to clean and exfoliate the skin. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, it can. Vitamin C also helps to promote a brighter complexion with fewer dark spots and a more even skin tone by inhibiting melanin synthesis.

Glycolic acid is a type of alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) that exfoliates the skin by targeting corneocytes (dead skin cells that make up the stratum corneum) in a process called corneocyte desquamation. By enhancing their breakdown and increasing the separation of skin cells, the rate of cell turnover is increased, leading to smoother, brighter skin and a more even complexion. For example, one review says, “Has been ineffective for any pimples. Only dries them out and they still don’t go away. Very disappointed.” Overall, we think that some Mario Badescu skin care products are better than others, and we would recommend avoiding the products that include parabens and fragrance. Pros For starters, do shake the bottle: you want the white sediment to mix with the liquid so it turns milky-white in color. For every spot you see, squeeze one drop onto a clean fingertip and gently pat it onto the blemish.Think of it this way: The pink dot you make on your face works like a teeny overnight mask that gives targeted attention to your blemish. You want the product to be clay-like when it’s applied so that it goes on opaque and pink, completely covering the bump. When you shake, that sediment becomes diluted. Mario Badescu is a mid-priced brand; the products are slightly more than your average drugstore product, yet they are far more affordable than luxury brands like Drunk Elephant and SK-II . That’s because all fragrance ingredients (whether natural or synthetic) impart scent through a volatile reaction, and this natural reaction almost always causes a sensitizing reaction on skin. Even if you don’t have a full blown reaction to the ingredient, the damage may still be occurring every day.