A couple of weeks ago I received some NeosStrata products to test and review for free courtesy of Influenster. It's probably one of the most expensive items that I've ever received from Influenster (or any review program) to review. In the NeoStrata VoxBox, I received four items to review: a facial lotion, facial cream, facial cleanser, and a glycolic peel.

The products that I received are supposed to help enhance skin clarity by smoothing the texture and reducing wrinkles through exfoliation (which is weird, because they're all very smooth products that don't feel exfoliating at all). I'm only 25 and don't really think about using products to target signs of aging, but I do have some thin lines on my forehead that I'm concerned about so I figured that these products may do me some good.

NeoStrata Resurface Glycolic Smoothing Lotion - $45 CAD

The facial lotion that I received is supposed to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, enhance skin clarity, exfoliate with AHAs, and is ideal for people with normal and oily skin. I have oily skin so this product is suitable for my skin type. The lotion came in a 10ml bottle and was okay, but didn't feel like anything special for me. It wasn't the most moisturizing facial lotion I've used, and I couldn't tell at all that the lotion was exfoliating my skin. I do think that it has helped a little with the redness on my skin, but aside from that I wasn't wowed by it.

NeoStrata Restore Bionic Face Cream - $75 CAD

The Bionic Face Cream honestly didn't wow me (and holy hell, look at that price tag). The cream is ideal for dry and sensitive skin, and is extremely hydrating. I received a 10ml bottle and I find that the product goes on very thick, a little sticky, and doesn't fully get absorbed by the skin. I can put it on an hour before bed and still have my face sticking to my pillowcase. My face feels super greasy afterwords which isn't very impressive for a $75 face cream.

NeoStrata Restore PHA Facial Cleanser - $30 CAD

One of the most affordable products in this line, the facial cleanser was probably one of my favourite products that I received. I received a 10ml bottle to test out, which I feel isn't a whole lot of cleanser for this particular product. I feel this way because the product applies a with a jelly-like consistency, and doesn't have much spreadability when applying it to the face. However, it's a very gentle cleanser. It's soap-free and lightly exfoliates without drying out the skin. It's also ideal for dry and sensitive skin types.

NeoStrata Smooth Surface Glycolic Peel - $80 CAD

The glycolic peel started off by wowing me, but quickly turned into my least favourite product from the line. It's a high strength exfoliating treatment that is meant to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, uneven pigmentation, roughness, and pore size when used as part of a NeoStrata regimen. It's most ideal for normal and oily skin types. For $80, I thought that this product was going to be amazing. Boy was I wrong. When I started using this product, it definitely reduced the redness of my face as well as diminish the size of some of my larger pores. It stung a little with the first use, and only for a few seconds, but I may have just had some open sores (i.e. I popped some black heads). The more I used the product though, the more white heads appeared on my face. At first I figured it was like the skin regimen that my doctor prescribed me when I was in high school; that my face would get worse before it would get better. But my face progressively got worse and worse. I hadn't had such a bad breakout for several years. So sadly, after two weeks of using the peel, I had to give up on it. It's been a few days since I stopped using the peel and my face has almost instantaneously recovered.

I wish that I could say that I loved these products, but I just can't. For a luxury skincare line, I wasn't wowed. I've tried drugstore brands of products that are more gentle on my skin and don't cause me to break out in horrible whiteheads across my face. I expected more from a brand that is so ridiculously expensive and meant to help my face recover. Instead, it made my face look reminiscent of my years in high school — of when I had horrible teenaged acne. A memory I'd strongly like to forget.