DRUNK ELEPHANT PROTINI POWERPEPTIDE RESURFACING SERUM

This review was originally part of my blog article titled, Three Dope Products I Copped In The Sephora Bi Sale From Drunk Elephant, Supergoop And Indie Lee. You can catch the full piece here.

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Nothing gets me more excited than the bi-annual Sephora Beauty Insider sale. Like many people, I like to pre-fill my shopping cart in the week or so before the sale so I only need to go back when the event begins and hit the buy button. It also serves to assure that I’m not buying skincare products on impulse. We’re all guilty of that. So, the whole thing has become rather strategic for me.

In the FW20 Sephora Beauty Insider sale six months ago, I picked up a treasure trove of skincare to brace myself for the dry, dehydrating, cold months ahead. Among the products, I called out three in particular that stood out – the super soothing Farmacy Honey Potion, a new fermented toner from Sunday Riley amusingly called Pink Drink and a serious acid cleanser – the Sobel Skin Rx 27% Glycolic Acid Facial Cleanser. I have since repurchased Sunday Riley’s Pink Drink three times! It’s one of the best fermented toners I’ve come across.

COOL SEPHORA BEAUTY INSIDER GRABS – FARMACY HONEY POTION, SUNDAY RILEY PINK DRINK AND MORE

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This spring, I guess I copped a dozen or so products in all – some new, some refills of existing faves I was running low on (like Pink Drink!). Of the twelve, three new products have brought me tremendous joy over the last couple of weeks. I guess you’d say they were three of my favorite product discoveries of 2021.

I picked up an incredible toning mist powered by CoQ10, one of the most potent antioxidants in the body. The Indie Lee CoQ-10 Toner is not only a terrific hydrating toner, but the first product I’ve tried from the brand.

Next in the collection is Drunk Elephant’s Protini Powerpeptide Resurfacing Serum — the first extension of the brand’s uber popular Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer. To this day, Protini is the top-selling Drunk Elephant product at Sephora and consistently ranks in the top 20 face creams.

The third product I picked up at the sale is a new mineral sunscreen from one of my favorite sunscreen brands, Supergoop! The Supergoop! Mineral Sheerscreen SPF 30 PA+++ has an incredible texture and has earned its place as one of my favorite daily sunscreens.

With that, let’s take a look one of the products I copped in the SS21 Sephora sale…

Drunk Elephant | Protini Powerpeptide Resurfacing Serum

I love Lactic Acid.

That sounds kinda weird, doesn’t it? But it’s quite true. For my skin, Lactic Acid is the most effective acid exfoliant. Its mean, aggressive older brother, Glycolic Acid, is very often too harsh for my skin.

I’m also a huge fan of Drunk Elephant — like all serious skincare users. The only people who don’t love Drunk Elephant are big beauty marketers who feel like the brand came out of no where to virtual stardom. They’d worked their entire careers to break through to similar status and DE seemed to do it with its eyes closed. In fact, last year the brand was sold to Shiseido for some ungodly amount.

I’m fond of numerous Drunk Elephant products, among them the Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser — one of the best cleansers for dry skin in winter.

I also really like Drunk Elephant’s C-Firma Vitamin C Day Serum. It’s quite literally one of the best brightening serums with Vitamin C!

Oh and how could I forget Drunk Elephant’s E-Rase Milki Micellar Water??? I’d never come across a milky cleansing water before it. E-Rase has a thick, milky texture that reminds me very much of the Dr. Jart Ceramidin Liquid.

So imagine if Dr. Jart in all his wisdom (psst, there’s no such person!) turned Ceramidin Liquid into a cleanser. In fact, just like the Dr. Jart classic, Drunk Elephant’s micellar water is rich in ceramides. It’s a treasure trove for skin health!

PRODUCT REVIEW: DRUNK ELEPHANT E-RASE MILKI MICELLAR WATER – ONE OF THE BEST CLEANSERS FOR DRY SKIN

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So with my love of Lactic Acid and just about anything from Drunk Elephant I was super excited to cop the brand’s new Protini Powerpeptide Resurfacing Serum in the Sephora sale! If you’ve ever tried the OG Lactic Acid treatment, the Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment, then you know what’s up.

And if you haven’t…what are you waiting for? Both the new Protini Powerpeptide Resurfacing Serum and Good Genes are equally effective exfoliating serums powered by my favorite acid exfoliant. I am not 100% certain what the level of Lactic Acid is in Good Genes, but it’s somewhere around a 5% concentration.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

What Is Lactic Acid and What Does Lactic Acid Do for the Skin?

Lactic Acid is my favorite of the range of alpha hydroxy acids. My skin seems to love it often and at any concentration. That’s not something I can say about it’s more powerful AHA partner in crime, Glycolic Acid.

But what makes it so uniquely effective? There’s a great piece on the benefits of Lactic Acid written by the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team titled, Lactic Acid for Skin. You can catch the full article here.

Lactic acid is a skin care ingredient that quickly delivers numerous benefits when applied in a well-formulated exfoliating product. When used in a pH-correct formula (whether designed to be left on skin or in a high-strength peel that’s rinsed after several minutes), lactic acid works by gently breaking the bonds that hold dead, dry skin cells to the surface.
If you’re using a rinse-off peel with lactic acid, do so once weekly or every other week. Apply the peel to cleansed skin, leave on for the designated amount of time, rinse, and follow with the rest of your skincare routine.
These dead cells shed on their own when we’re young, but sun damage, aging, and certain skin issues can slow or even stop this process, leading to a buildup of dead skin that creates a dull, older-looking complexion. Regular use of an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) like lactic acid can turn this around.
As with other acids, research shows lactic acid’s ability to exfoliate effectively depends on the product’s acid concentration, with amounts between 5-12% having reliably impressive results.

I’ve been using the Protini Powerpeptide Resurfacing Serum nearly nightly for about two weeks now and have seen no signs of irritation, particularly on my overly sensitive forehead. That’s always the indicator that a product is too harsh for my skin.

In addition to a 10% concentration of Lactic Acid, the formula contains eleven signal peptides, rather blandly referred to as a Signal Peptide Complex. As I understand it, signal peptides communicate with cells, prompting them to function more efficiently. Signal peptides can help teach damaged skin to rebuild itself by relocating proteins in the cell membrane. Such wonky science!

There are also multiple amino acids in the formula — as well as a number of powerful antioxidants, including Green Tea Extract and Apple Fruit Extract.

It’s the texture of the Protini Powerpeptide Resurfacing Serum for me though! It’s a super light, semi-translucent serum that’s quite easily layered into any skincare routine.

SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the Drunk Elephant Protini Powerpeptide Resurfacing Serum for $82 here.

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