Black Pearl Philippines Contouring Face & Eye Cream Serum REVIEW

My friend once told me that she loves beauty products that contain Dead Sea minerals because they are some of the purest natural occurring minerals in the world. The reasoning behind this is the Dead Sea has such high salinity levels that no animals can live in its waters. This means that nothing has ever dirtied it with its waste.

After doing some research, myself, this little factoid turned out to be true— the Dead Sea in Israel is so “dead”, in fact, that it only has miniscule amounts of bacteria in its waters. Being a beauty geek, like that, I thought to try out and review a skincare product containing these minerals; specifically from the Black Pearl line of skin care which is now available in the Philippines.

When I saw the Black Pearl Philippines Contouring Face & Eye Cream Serum, I decided to test it out for myself. While I own a number of moisturizers and facial washes, I don’t own any face or eye serums (nor have I reviewed any of these kinds of products), so this might be a good addition to round out my facial care routine.

This serum is meant to be applied before you apply your moisturizer.  Face serums have a higher concentration of minerals than regular face creams, and enrich and protect your skin. This particular serum contains a blend of pearl powder, seaweed, and Dead Sea minerals. All of Black Pearl’s skin care products contain Maris Sal, a naturally occurring mineral salt extracted from the Dead Sea. This product is made in Israel by Sea of Spa Labs.

Here are my first impressions:

Packaging 

Box and product packaging

The serum comes in a flashy black and silver holographic box with the Black Pearl logo emblazoned on the front. On the back, it states that it is paraben free and that the company is against animal testing — always a plus for me. I like that the Sea of Spa is making a conscious decision to go cruelty free.

While the holographic box is a nice touch, I wish that it was made of better card stock. I think that’s what the packaging needs to make it feel a tad more luxurious.

Inside the box

When you open it up, the product itself is nestled between several pieces of cardboard, which prevents it from being jostled around inside the box. It also comes with a piece of paper with usage instructions and introductions to their whole product range.

Unboxed

The product is contained in a shiny rectangular bottle with a nice mirrored effect. It rather reminds me of a lipstick tube, but much larger. You get 30ml or 1.0 fl. oz. of product and it comes with a mess-free pump dispenser.

Application

The instructions say that you apply the product to a clean face, working it in using little circular motions. I have sensitive skin and most face creams I’ve tried stung and resulted in red patches. I decided to do a patchtest on my arm first to see if I would get any adverse reactions.

After leaving it on for an hour, I decided it was safe to put on my face and begin my review of the product. The Black Pearl serum has a pleasant fragrance — sweet, musky and green. It was feminine, yet robust, and not at all cloying. While I usually avoid scented products, the smell dissipated quickly after I put it on, which is a plus for me.

As a nourishing serum, it includes ingredients such as seaweed, pearl powder, and of course, Dead Sea salt. According to Sea of Spa, Dead Sea salt is rich in magnesium, potash, sodium, and over 20 other minerals. The serum penetrates deeply into the skin and protects from free radicals.

The product itself is a light, silky cream. After showering and washing my face, I started massaging the serum into my skin. As instructed, I used my fingers to gently work it into my face using small, circular motions. 

Applying the Black Pearl Contouring Face & Eye Cream Serum to my face

It took about two pumps to cover my entire face. It felt only slightly greasy and left a light sheen, but it was eventually absorbed into my skin after just a few minutes, leaving my face soft and supple. The initial greasiness experienced was probably from some of the serum’s other ingredients, which includes avocado and evening primrose oil.

After application

I like that this product is safe to use around the eyes. While I did not notice any immediate brightening effect, the cream did not irritate my eyes and felt nice and cool.

My skin did feel smoother and softer the following day, even if I actually forgot to apply moisturizer afterwards.

The Verdict

Black Pearl Contouring Face & Eye Cream Serum is a great product, ideal for sensitive skin. I love that it's mildly scented, lightweight, and only minimally greasy, and can now be bought in the Philippines. I appreciate the fact that it only contains high quality ingredients taken from natural sources —the quality of the cream itself really shows.

I'm very eager to try out other Black Pearl Cosmetics line after this one, perhaps a night cream to go over the serum. It's a pretty good choice for my first product with Dead Sea minerals.