Safi Rania Gold Series Review

Nora Danish, the current ambassador of the Safi Rania Gold lineup
Source: Google Images

Hi, everyone! This is my first post of the year. *lol* Since I did spring cleaning on my blog, this is  - unofficially - my first post. *awkward laugh* Okay. Back to the point.

This is a review for a Malaysian skincare brand, the Safi Rania Gold series. You know, the one with the gold and purple-coloured containers. I'm sure that almost every Malaysian women who has entered Guardian or Watson's stores or any shop that sells skincare and cosmetics, should have seen this very eye-catchy lines of golden-hued products. That golden hue isn't limited to the colour of the containers only, but also the colour of the product inside. That's because they contain gold particles. Yes, you read that right. Real gold dust. *Ahh sounds really exquisite huh...*

Safi isn't really a newcomer in the Malaysian skincare industry, in fact, I've seen this brand since my early secondary school years. That said, it means that I'm aware of the existence of the brand and all their product lineup since forever. It's just that I don't have the gutz to be a Gutierrez ahaha.. *oh no.. it's a lame joke, I know.* I don't really have the courage to try any skin care product because I'm very much aware of my skin condition. My skin is very sensitive. Sometimes, I develop allergy symptoms especially for whitening skin care products. Not to mention, my combination skin (dry and oily) makes it very difficult for me to find a suitable skin care product. To make that worse, I have hormonal acne and sometimes normal menses breakouts, but my main concern is my acne scars on areas under the cheekbones. The black spots are just too visible, I mean, ugh they're just very ugly. You know what I mean. You girls know how I feel. *seriously*

The story of how I FINALLY got the courage to try treating my skin? Well, a colleague teacher who is teaching at the school where I'm currently doing my internship, recommended this brand. I wasn't sure of her suggestions at first, but after a pupil of mine made a comment *a heartbreaking comment* on my dull-looking pathetic skin, suddenly I got the boost I desperately needed to treat this pitiful skin of mine. Imagine how I felt when the pupil said that I looked like a sickly grandma, when I'm just in my mid-twenties. God! This is truly the most horrific comment made by a student about me.

And so, I went to the nearest Guardian store and bought - at first - the Safi Rania Gold Beauty Cream. That's because I remembered my ex-roommate back in the teacher training institute who used to lather this cream on her face every morning and night. She used to rave about the whitening properties the cream offers. I'm not exactly sure which beauty cream she used, either the Safi Balqis or the Rania Gold one, but her skin sure looked amazing. I lathered the cream on my face and neck in the morning before going to the school. *Miraculously* some pupils commented that my skin looked brighter and fairer. Oh that delightful moment! Haha.. *Hold on, I need to recall and savour that moment*

The next products I bought were the Facial Cream Cleanser, Concentrated Serum and the Moisturizing Night Cream. They left a good impression on my first application, so I bought the Skin Drink Lotion *how did they come up with this name* and the Toner. The steps that I followed are as follows:

EVENING/NIGHT ROUTINE:

1. Of course, you need to clean your face first. I use an oil cleanser to remove all makeup buildup on my face first and then I use the Facial Cream Cleanser to clean the oil cleanser residue. After two weeks into the skin care routine, I changed my evening cleanser to the Safi White Trilogy 2-in-1 Oil and Acne Control Cleanser and Toner. I use a different brand scrub cleanser to exfoliate my skin.

2. Next, I apply the Toner. As usual, dab a small amount of the toner onto a cotton pad and gently wipe the face and neck.

3. I use the Skin Drink Lotion after the Toner, but sometimes I omit this from the night routine.

4. I apply the Concentrated Serum after that. Just a small amount is enough. About one pump for the whole face. I never skip this step. Do not skip this, ever.

5. Lastly, I put some Moisturizing Night Cream on my palms, rub them a little and pat 'em onto the face. Yes, I don't massage them into my skin like the instructions said on the container, I just pat them gently, just enough to cover my face and neck. If you apply too much, your face will bloat when you wake up. Plus, be careful not to apply this cream close to your eyes, because it stings really bad. You don't want to wake up with puffy eyes and boogers.

6. Have a good night sleep. *Zzzz...*

MORNING/DAY ROUTINE:

1. I wash my face with the Safi Facial Cream Cleanser every morning. As I mentioned before, I use a different cleanser for my evening/night routine.

2. Next, I apply the Toner.

3. After the toner has dried, I apply a small amount of Skin Drink Lotion. I find it easier to blend the beauty cream if I apply the lotion first, compared to using the toner or serum first.

4. Lastly, I apply the Beauty Cream on the face and neck area. This evens out my skin tone. Say 'No' to Dayang Senandung hahaha... I haven't tried the Safi Moisturizing Day Cream, though. I'm afraid that using too much products on my face during daytime might cause the skin to feel heavy and oily. I've read some reviews on the day cream, some said good things about it. Well, maybe, someday.

Alright. Apparently, the main ingredients of the Safi Rania Gold products are Bio Nano Gold 24k which supposedly trigger the formation of collagen; and Silk Protein which contains 18 types of amino acids that can lock in moisture in the skin. Gold isn't a new phenomenon in skin care routines. Geishas in Japan have long relied on gold to make their skin glow.

The result?

I divided my skin care progress into stages:

STAGE 1 (1 week into routine)
I definitely experienced brightening and softening of the skin. Just like what it claims, my skin became more evenly-toned. Not that too drastic of a change, but yeah, it brightened a bit. Not as dull as before. Yay! But the biggest improvement is the softness of the skin. It feels heavenly. *Oh yesss...* Seriously, it became more supple than ever. My acne scars haven't faded nor does my hormonal acne problem, but that requires different treatment methods, I guess.

STAGE 2 (3 weeks into routine)
I see a lesser yellowish tone on my skin and more pinkish undertones emerging. Contrary to my fear, the nano gold particles didn't make my face yellow. Hahaha.. To my surprise, my pupils said that my acne scars looked a bit faded. *Omaigudness, omaigudness* Even though this product lineup is designed to combat pre-mature wrinkles, I don't have that much of a problem on wrinkles so I can't comment on that.

STAGE 3 (6 weeks into routine)
In progress.

Overall, Safi Rania Gold has definitely proved some of their points, as in moisturizing and softening the skin. My skin tone looks way brighter than before. No more dull face, no more sickly grandma. Unfortunately, I'm still in the process of assessing its effectiveness in STAGE 3. I'll update as soon as I complete the third stage. I'll be sure to post before and after photos of my skin soon. Till then, cheers!

#update

Alright... So, exactly one month has passed since I started this Safi Rania Gold skincare routine. So, as promised, these are the photos of my pre- and post-routine. *beware of ugliness*

#BEFORE

#BEFORE

................

#AFTER

This was taken after three weeks sticking with the regimen. No filter, no softening effect, no Camera360, no alterations whatsoever. Oh, except the cropping. The lighting certainly changed because these pictures were taken from different times and different locations, but you get the idea, right? 

From what I've noticed, the biggest improvement was the softness of the skin. Certainly better than before. Hydration level is superb. It really feels more supple after the one-month routine. Secondly, the brightening effect kinda worked a bit slow, but it did happen. My skin did become one or two tones fairer. Acne scars aren't that noticeable anymore, only those on my chin and forehead, a bit stubborn urgghh.. 

There you go. Haha.. So, let's hear your thoughts about this skincare. *xoxo*