The Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution is clearly a complete misnomer

You know, I’d forgotten about this one. Remember when it was first launched last year? I remember lots of people loved it. I was gifted a bottle and I almost finished it up but for some reason, I didn’t review it. Ah bad me! In fact, I’d totally forgotten about this until Sam the Curious Bear pinged me on Twitter to ask me about it.

It turned out we both share the same view on it – it sucks at what it claims to do.

Yeah you read it right. It sucks.

Alright, lets be fair. No product that claims to eradicate dark spots topically work. If they did, I’d have porcelain, clear, freckle and pigmentation free skin. I would be the best example of someone on whom dark spot serums should work. None do. The only one that has come closest to lightening my dark spots is the Clinique Even Better Clinical serum. Even then, it lightens it to a degree and then plateaus. The only way you will actually see any results is if you go for laser treatment.

So, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about this very popular Kiehl’s product. I know many of you have given it a go. Do you like it? Did it work as promised for you or are you like Sam and I sitting here going “Huh? My dark spots are not diminished, dammit!”

However, I will be fair, this one isn’t a total whitewash.

I used up about 3/4 of the bottle and I liked the clear runny texture that absorbs very quickly into the skin and the light lavender scent. Use it with the Midnight Recovery Concentrate and it is sheer bliss to the senses.

The active ingredients are supposed to be activated vitamin C to correct and reduce the reoccurance of dark spots, white birch to hydrate skin and peony extract to reverse discolouration.

But you see, my beef is with the name of the product – Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution. The idea is that this product will target and correct dark spots. I have dark spots. Lots of them. Not a single one was corrected rapidly or otherwise.

However, I liked how my skintone was clarified and brightened with daily use of this product. This part of it is noticeable. My skintone looked more even and my skin looked better. If you have fresh acne or pimple scars, it actually helps fade it more quickly. Pair it with the MRC and you can wake up to lovely glowy skin in the morning. I did experience this.

But this isn’t called a Skin Tone Evener Solution is it? It’s called a Dark Spot Solution. And in this respect, I will say it did diddly squat.

So my take on this is that the name is a misnomer. This isn’t a Dark Spot Solution. It is a Clear Skin Solution or even a Clarified Skin Solution or maybe a Skintone Evener Solution or perhaps even a Acne Scar Fading Solution. Calling it a Dark Spot Solution just raises our hopes up and dashes them on the cold rocks of reality after you’ve gone through a bottle with no evident change to your dark spots.

Then again, perhaps I’m in the minority. I know this product is wildly popular. So many before/after photos online seem to tell the story of it being a Dark Spot Solution. So maybe its just me…. or maybe its Photoshop. Pbfft 😛

In a nutshell

The Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution is a clear serum that is targeted at reducing the appearance of dark spots on skin and to clarify the skin. I vouch for the latter. My skin does look clearer and more even toned and does look better overall. I decry the former claim. Dark Spots Solution? Pishposh! Did nothing for my dark spots except maybe make it look even more prominent sitting on my brighter, more clarified skintone. Bleh.

Pros: Smells nice, Skintone generally appears more even toned

Cons: Does nothing to reduce the appearance of my dark spots, Expensive since it does not do what it claims to do

Who will like this: Anyone who isn’t too taken in by the idea of this ever reducing dark spots

The ingredient list for anyone interested:

Water, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Alcohol Denatured, PEG/PPG/Polybutene Glycol-8/5/3/ Glycerin, Hydroxypropyl Tetrahydropyrantriol, 3-O Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, PEG-6 Decyltetradeceth-30, Phenoxyethanol, Salicylic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Potassium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil/Lavender Oil, Disodium EDTA, Linalool, Citrus Tachibana/Citrus Aurantium Tachibana Peel Extract, Paeonia Suffruitcosa Extract/Paeonia Suffruitcosa Root Extract

One more thing. This product is supposed to contain Vitamin C yet it comes in a clear solution in a clear bottle. It is a known fact that Vitamin C oxidises very easily so unless a clever chemist can tell me that the solution it is in makes it so stable that it does not oxidise in a clear bottle, then I’m guessing it’s pretty much rendered useless after a spell.

Have you used this serum? Did you have good results from it?

Naturally, you can tell I didn’t. All I had was a nice sensorial experience thanks to the lovely lavender scent and what appeared to be more even toned skin overall. But it definitely fails to live up to its name and label. Save your money and get something else.

Paris B

Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Dark Spots Solution Price: RM200/30ml Availability: Kiehl’s stores