There’s no question that the pandemic has aged more than a few of us, emotionally and physically. The stress, the sleepless nights, the hours spent scrolling through screens, and the frequent frowns at the influx of bad news could do a lot of damage and accelerate skin aging, the way the sun or the actual passage of time can.
And that made me wonder, how were celebrities and influencers like Heart Evangelista and Rei Germar looking even better and younger than ever? The answer seemed simple enough. Dedicated teams filled with dermatologists and beauticians, a line-up of expensive products, and countless skincare steps.
Image: @iamhearte / @reigermar Instagram pages
But then I noticed that several of them had actually simplified their routines. Less arte on the number of steps, more concentration on just a few quality products and ingredients. Less focus on fancy brand names, more priority on the product’s effects. They were all raving about the same incredible, multi-tasking miracle worker that matched those luxury serums in performance, while cutting their skincare steps in half. After seeing this cult favorite pop up in numerous posts, I finally decided to try the Pond’s Age Miracle Ultimate Youth Essence.
Image: Pond’s
And it did not disappoint. Not only does it have ten powerful skincare ingredients—everything from skincare gold standards like niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, collagen and retinol—to rare ingredients like peptides, prebiotics and red algae extracts, which were once only bottled into the priciest luxury serums. Unsurprisingly, it was Rei Germar who pointed this out. The ultimate queen of discovering and sharing the best dupes. “I love how they [Pond’s] offer the best skincare ingredients at an affordable price,” she said, raving about its price, “In just one step, it targets my skin issues – dryness, dark spots, and fine lines! It’s very comparable to expensive serums.”
“When this came out, I immediately fell in love with it,” Heart gushed of the product in a recent interview with Cosmo, “I love the scent, I love the texture. It’s really good for softening the lines, and evening out the skin tone. This is actually also one of the favorites of Chiz!” she continued laughing. Heart can afford any skin care product on the planet, but I’m amazed that even in her travel vlogs, she’s always carrying around this bottle of Pond’s Essence in her makeup set.
After I finally got my hands on it, I didn’t have to ask why it was so well-reviewed. I could see and feel the difference by the second week of using it. My skin felt inexplicably plumper, brighter, and tighter. I found myself turning my video on in Zoom calls that week, and finding reasons to post selfies. Despite a mad year of mask-induced dryness and tired late nights, Pond’s had made my skin start to look fresher, brighter, and—dare I say it—younger, with a healthy glow that had been missing in my skin for a while.
At only P849, it’s surprising that Pond’s isn’t advertising it more. Maybe it’s one of those cases where the proof is in the product, or that there was no need to hard-sell when all its users are living and walking billboards for it. Maybe they’re afraid they’ll run out of stock across the country once people discover that it has all these powerful skincare ingredients and sophisticated packaging, at that price. Whatever the case, I’m glad I’ve discovered one of Pond’s best-kept secrets.
A few quick Google and YouTube searches led me to Johnrey Almonte, Sayna Anne, Bea Mocorro, and Kris Lumagui. Seemingly different skin types, different lifestyles, and at completely different points in their lives. But they all seemed to be in on the secret too.
Johnrey shares with her fellow curls how surprised she is that she hadn’t learned of the product sooner. “Nakatipid ka, pero hindi ka tinipid ng Pond’s!” she shared, as if divulging a juicy secret, “The simplicity, authenticity, and effectiveness of this product makes skincare simple for consumers.” Though she admits to having oily and acne-prone skin, you’d never know it with how flawless her bare skin looks after introducing the product into her routine.
Image: Pond’s
On the other hand, Sayna Anne raves about the product and its price, while giving an in-depth breakdown of its benefits.
And Kris Lumagui can’t get enough of its convenience and simplicity. As a busy mom, she looks for a routine that includes all the benefits she needs, but in significantly fewer steps. It isn’t just her secret to reducing fine lines and wrinkles, increasing collagen production, and brightening her skin, it’s also her secret to saving time and energy on her routine.
Even Bea Mocorro, a talented young make-up artist more popularly known as Booya, joins the trend, proving that you don’t have to wait for a certain age to start using an anti-aging serum.
Another popular opinion is how perfect the product is for tropical Philippine weather. “I personally like that it’s lightweight and absorbs easily. This isn’t just perfect for our humidity, but it has all the ingredients to help women get that young and glass-skin look,” Chelsea Robato described of its texture and effects. It’s no surprise, then, that this product was designed for, and offered exclusively to Asian women. In fact, Pond’s Essence is available in only 4 countries in the entire world — and the Philippines is one of them. You can’t even get this in the US.
An even deeper look into the Pond’s Age Miracle collection revealed that popular IT girls like Verniece Enciso, Nicole Andersson, Christiana Collings, Dani Baretto, and Ava Daza have always known what the rest of us haven’t. It’s been a mainstay in their beauty routines and a recurring rave in their vlogs for months now.
Skincare is essential, but I’m learning that it doesn’t have to be expensive, exhausting, or time-consuming. With all that’s going on in the world today, we all need a beautiful, reliable product that we can return to in the morning and at night to work its magic on our skin. I’m glad I got in on Pond’s best-kept secret: the Pond’s Ultimate Youth Essence is the miracle my skin had been waiting for. It really must be tried to be believed.
The product is already affordable at its standard price, but it’s an absolute steal on sale! This October, to celebrate 10.10, you can BUY ONE AND GET ONE FREE at a mindblowing price. See the offers below:
Watson’s: From October 09 – 15, only PHP 1,219 (SRP 2,348)
Lazada: From October 10 – 14, only PHP 1,219 (SRP 2,348)
Shopee: On October 10, only PHP 1,219 (SRP 2,348)
