Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster Mini 5 ml Review

Ingredients:

Water⁠, Azelaic Acid⁠, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate⁠, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride⁠, Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate⁠, Glycerin⁠, Cetearyl Alcohol⁠, Glyceryl Stearate⁠, Dimethicone⁠, Salicylic Acid⁠, Adenosine⁠, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract⁠, Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract⁠, Allantoin⁠, Bisabolol⁠, Cyclopentasiloxane⁠, Xanthan Gum⁠, Sclerotium Gum⁠, Propanediol⁠, Butylene Glycol⁠, Phenoxyethanol⁠.

azelaic acid 10% and 0,5% salicylic acid

I try to mark the sunscreen ingredients in red and other possible irritants in lilac. Ingredients thought to be good and useful for skin I mark green.  Learning as I go, google is my friend etc...

Thoughts:

- Probably too low Azelaic Acid/Salicylic Acid percentage to actually do anything significant, at least fast

- Pricy

- My eye contour really seemed to hate the booster, if I accidentally put it too close to eye, the next day I had small bumps



+ No scent

+ Plays well with other products and make up, never had pilling no matter if I layered the booster first, last or somewhere between the products

+ Not as drying as Skinoren, still slightly drying but nothing dramatic

+ Dries fast, easy to spread, light white lotion

+ I think it helped my acne prone jaw and chin to stay manageable, but I only used the mini for two weeks or so

+ No irritation or more acne

+ Azelaic Acid without prescription

+ Mattifies skin somewhat (if oiliness is a problem)

* The 5ml mini sample size lasted me about two weeks with once a day use (but I tend to use so little at a time that products last for a while). Obviously this is quite a short time. But enough for first impressions. That were good on my case. With similar usage the regular size of 30 ml should last 3 months.

* In some ways, I feel the 10% Azelaic Acid Booster is even better than Skinoren, the prescription treatment that has become the golden standard. Paula's Choice product is more elegant, doesn't have the funky scent, doesn't feel as drying, has a bit of the same mattifying quality as Skinoren (for under make up as a primer) and generally feels more gentle so it is possible to use it everyday without special moisturizers and without any irritation, yet still I think the results are similar as from Skinoren (which is not a miracle worker either, by the way). Obviously, this is just my opinion and my skin.

Price: 

33-42 € / 30 ml regular size

7-9 € / 5 ml mini

Bought from: 

Got from Skincity Advent Calendar

Buy again? 

Yes- (Maybe). But only after I've finished some products from my current stash, this is not an immediate must have for me.

Worth the money? 

From my experience, Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster (with 0,5% Salicylic Acid) is a good all arounder for acne prone skin, maybe even for a slightly drier one. Tentatively I say, it is worth a shot, at least to try the mini if it sounds good for your skin, even though it is on the pricier side.