MEDIHEAL Vitamide Brightening Pad 100ea

A jar of one hundred cotton pads, each one heavy with a thin essence built on 3% niacinamide and a run of seven vitamin ingredients. The pad itself is half the idea. It measures 2.6 inches across, its corners are rounded so nothing catches, and it stretches when you pull the two ends, so a single pad can be a small square on the chin or a wide sheet laid over a cheek.

Mediheal writes two methods on the pack and means both. On an ordinary morning, one pad wiped across freshly cleansed skin handles the toning and the prep by itself. On a day when skin looks flat, lay pads on the forehead, cheeks and chin instead, leave them fifteen minutes, lift them away and press in what is left. Nothing gets rinsed.

Read the label and the name makes sense. Niacinamide sits third, sea buckthorn water sixth, and then seven vitamin ingredients run one after another near the end: B2, a vitamin C salt, B6, retinol, vitamin E, a vitamin K form and B1. Betaine and trehalose hold water at the surface while allantoin and dipotassium glycyrrhizate, a licorice-derived salt, keep the finish soft rather than tight.

Two honest notes. The essence is scented with geranium, lavender, chamomile, orange peel and cedar oils and declares four fragrance allergens, so skin that reacts easily should patch test along the jaw first. And retinol really is on the list, so sunscreen is not optional on the mornings you reach for these.