I walked into Nordstrom one night…three days after an awful facial…my chin was all broken out and red, I wasn’t sure how to treat it. I was willing to try something new, because nothing I had on hand was helping. This was the night I was first introduced to: Mario Badescu

Mario Badescu is a skin care line – that’s been around for over 40 years…started in NYC.

I’d seen Mario products before but the plain packaging didn’t lure me enough to try anything. After some research, the plain packaging is part of Mario’s mission: “Using simple, no-frills packaging is part of the reason we are able to do this. While other companies are concerned with fancy, shiny wrappers and bottles, the packaging of our products is not as important as the products inside them. This allows us to focus on providing a quality product at an affordable price.”

I didn’t have to buy anything that night – I was given free samples of a few products – two of which I now LOVE…the special cucumber lotion (link below), which is an acne healing astringent. I was told to dab it on the effected areas after washing my face. I was also given a sample of the healing and soothing mask (link below)…to help diminish redness on my chin from the healing acne marks. I was told to apply it to the affected areas after I washed my face, and to let it sit for 5-1o minutes. Both samples had screw tops – it was nice to get a sample I could actually close, and use again!! I can’t stand those tear open samples that leak all over my make up bag. Or the really small ones, that only give you 1-2 uses. Mario offers generous size samples…so you really get to try the product before potentially buying.

Howie likes Mario's generous samples, it saves Mom money

**All the samples in this pic were free! and came with that cute bag

My take: The cucumber lotion is now my go-to toner for when I feel a break out coming on, or to treat active pimples. It’s a great disinfectant. I don’t use it on my whole face though because it’s a bit strong. I am in love with the healing mask…I often get big red marks from pimples that take a while to heal…this mask takes away redness, once I wash it off the spot is noticeably better. I often put it on before applying my make up in the morning so that I can use less concealer on certain blemishes. The mask also speeds healing and NEVER irritates. I use it as a spot treatment, more so than a mask for my entire face. The best thing — I am still using the free sample! You only need a small dime size amount…it spreads nicely (and it’s easy to wipe off, it doesn’t get all dry)

Another thing I like about the Mario line – the company makes it easy to find products for your skin type/concerns. They have products for:

• acne
• acne scars
• cystic acne
• anti-aging
• melasma
• cellulite
• keratosis pilaris
• rosacea
• stretch marks
• broken capillaries
• black heads

This is a great line – it’s no frills packaging is refreshing and simple. The price point of products range…from $5-$30. You get a good amount of product, at a more affordable price for a dept store brand.

• Mario website: http://www.mariobadescu.com
• Special Cucumber Lotion ($15): http://www.mariobadescu.com/special-cucumber-lotion
• Healing and Soothing Mask ($20): http://www.mariobadescu.com/healing-and-soothing-mask