Top Gel MCA Extra Pearl Cream Review

After hearing so many great reviews about Pearl Cream, I have narrowed my search down between two brands. Ly-Na and Top-Gel. I decided to try Top-Gel first since it was conveniently available at my local Asian Market. Please keep in mind as you read this review that this is based solely on my own experience. When dealing with beauty products, what works best for one person may not work for another (and vice versa) so do not let my review make the decision of whether you will try this product or not. You may end up loving something I hate or hating something I love. Also, one last note, you can click on the images to view them in a larger size.

For those that have not heard of Pearl Cream, here's a basic rundown of what others claim they can do for your skin:

• Even complexion/skin tone
• Improve skin regeneration
• Fading of acne scars
• Filling of what I call "craters" from past acne (Sorry for lack of better words)
• Minimize pores
• Lightly whiten your skin

Sounds almost like some miracle cream! It especially caught my attention when someone had compared it to the Obagi System. For those that are not familiar with Obagi, it is basically an overly expensive line costing hundreds of dollars to do the same things that Pearl Cream is claimed to do for your skin (as I listed up there). I, myself, have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on the Obagi System and so naturally, the Pearl Creams costing around $2-$3 piqued my interest.

About: Top-Gel MCA Extra Pearl Cream

The consistency of the product is creamy and appears to be a beige...almost "skin" color. The dispenser itself is white and is a push-up tube. Inside the hologram-like box is a small slip of paper with instructions on use in English. Apparently, asides from acne, this product can also be used to cure what they call "armpits ordor", freckles, speckles, wrinkles, and "sum burns". The ingredients listed are: Stearic Acid, Vaselin, Mineral Oil, Titanium, Dioxide, Orange. Manufactured by: Zenna Chemical INC LTD.


First Week of Daily Use
I applied the Pearl Cream to my face day and night after cleaning my face properly. At first, I was a little surprise that even though the consistency was creamy, it did not go on my face as smoothly as I thought it would. Needless to say, there was some tugging involved here and there unless you use a whole gunk of it (which is not recommended since it can clog your pores). If you are not already white, you will notice that after applying this cream on your face, you look like a ghost. Right now, I have my summer tan, so it's the perfect shade to show you a picture of what I am talking about:

Some quick points I have noticed about this product:

• It is THICK, so you really have to be careful and start with very little on your fingers unless you want to have your face caked with this stuff, which I admit I did the first time.
• After a few minutes of wearing it, it may begin to feel greasy/oily (more than likely due to the vaseline) so it will probably be uncomfortable for those who have oily skin. Normally, my skin is not really oily, but after a few minutes, my entire face was super shiny and greasy looking...kinda gross. In the following picture, I wiped a tiny bit of the product on a Clean&Clear Oil Absorbing Sheet, so you can see for yourself:
  
  
• This stuff is quiet DIFFICULT to remove...properly and completely, anyway. The only thing that I found (out of all the things I own) to completely remove it off my skin was Pond's Original Clean Wet Cleansing Towelette.

It seemed to have caused a minor breakout here and there on my chin and cheeks, which many people say is normal for the first week of use. Other than that, there is no significant difference to note so far.


Final Impression: One Month of Daily Use
I'm rather disappointed that the product did absolutely nothing for me. Maybe I did not use it long enough, but then others claim that you can see a drastic difference almost immediately. It makes me wonder if they just did not remove the product from their face completely. I did notice that when the product first absorbs in your skin, your face does seem to look "better". Pores seem to look less noticeable and your skin tone lightens. However, after thorough removal, my skin looked the same as it did before I began using this product except it left me with some breakouts. There has been continuous breakouts for me, it didn't go away after one or two weeks of use like it did for others (and yes I did clean my face well...that is one thing I am really anal about ^o^). For now I will discontinue use and give the Ly-Na Pearl Cream a try.