REVIEW: Miracle Skin Transformer w/ SPF 20

A product that will hydrate, enhance, protect. That's what Miracle Skin Transformer with SPF 20 promises.  Do they deliver?  Let's check it out.

Miracle Skin Transformer is the brainchild of beauty industry pro Sarah McNamara. She has tapped into more than 15 years of experience in the corporate cosmetic and fragrance industry to bring the world the first product offered by MST Beauty New York. Over the course of her career, she has held senior-level beauty positions at Elizabeth Arden, L'Oreal, Unilever, Valentino and Fendi.  As the working mother of two young boys and an ambitious modern business woman, McNamara knows that busy, fashion-focused individuals need products that deliver instant results, without being complicated or artificial-looking or feeling.

MST Complex is a proprietary combination of natural active antioxidants, plant extracts and vitamins that hydrates, protects and enhances your skin.  This is a one-step application that instantly transforms your skin, leaving you with a smooth, radiant, airbrushed finish. Miracle Skin Transformer claims it's the first-ever, naturally derived silicone formulation with powerful protection and hydration benefits.  The formula includes an antioxidant rich hydrating base, weightless, luminous, buildable coverage and a powerful SPF 20 broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection.

• Dermatologically tested
• Free of petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances, parabens, dyes, wax, mineral oils, and talcs
• 100% natural active ingredients
• Not tested on animals

Miracle Skin Transformer is specifically designed to improve skin's texture and pore size, evenly smooth out and help minimize the appearance of fine lines and reduce pigmentation imperfections, all with SPF 20 UVA/UVB protection.  The light, oil-free, anti-shine formulation is said to have an instant matifying effect on skin, offering buildable coverage that is ideal for daytime and nighttime high-definition looks.

MST hydrates, enhances and protexts skin with a unique combination of natural active antioxidants and vitamins. 

• Saw Palmetto Extract, derived from Saw Palmetto berries, is an all-natural, lipophilic (fat-dissolving), active ingredient that provides hydrating benefits. Rich in phytosterols, it moisturizes and soothes the skin.
• Passion Fruit is a natural ingredient derived from India. Rich in Omega 6 (fatty acids), it penetrates deeply into skin to deliver incredible nourishment, hydration and moisturization.  
• CO Enzyme Q10 helps increase elasticity and firms the skin while increasing cell renewal.  
• Vitamin K helps diminish vascular conditions such as dark circles, redness from rosacea and broken capillaries (including spider veins).  
• Vitamin A (retinyl palminate) is a skin renewal booster that energizes skin cells, kills off dead cells and produces fresh new ones, improves wrinkles associated with aging, may help promote the production of skin-building compounds, and exfoliates and renews skin. 
• Naturally Derived Silicones and Mica allow light to deflect off your skin, yielding a luminous radiance.  
• Naturally Derived Silicones give a velvety cushion to the skin, fill in fine lines and smoothe out and refine pore texture, leaving skin firmer, brighter and even-toned. Additionally, they protect skin from environmental pollution, cover pores' visibility, even out skin and provide a velvety feel.
• Mica, a mineral pigment in the form of pearls, gives skin uniformity and improves its texture and performance, resulting in a flawless finish.
• Color Minerals (iron oxides minerals) give the product a fine tinted coverage (available in four shades) that adapts to virtually all skin tones.

• Ecophysalis, a natural plant extract found in the Brazilian rainforest, acts as an environmental shield to immediately reduce the redness and inflammation associated with stress, pollution and climate extremes. EcoCert Certified (that's huge by the way!!) and excellent for environmentally sensitized skin, Ecophysalis helps prevent rosacea and repair broken capillaries, protects from photo-aging, decreases melanin synethesis (pigmentation from sun damage), delivers anti-inflammatory and soothing benefits and helps increase skin tone luminosity and provide uniformity.
• Anti-oxidant Vitamin E, encapsulated for slow release using state-of-the-art technology, is vital in protecting skin from ultra-violet light, pollution and free radicals.
• SPF 20/UVA/UVB provides broad spectrum protection in a lightweight, oil-free formulation that has been tested using FDA guidelines and regulations.

  

BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS

(Click photos to enlarge for better detailed viewing)

MY REVIEW:

Ok, first let me say I was extremely skeptical that this product was going to be a one-product/multi-purpose wonder.  I agreed to review the product envisioning that it may, perhaps, act as a nice primer for my medium-full coverage foundation I generally need to wear.  If it also happened to provide some hydration so that I wouldn't have to use a moisturizer or if it included the SPF so I could skip the sunscreen step, those would be extra benefits. I've used these kinds of tinted moisturizer, SPF-included, go 'head skip the primer type products before and they've never given me the finished flawless complexion I've wanted. 

So I am wow'ed! Miracle Skin Transformer not only gives me the priming, the SPF and the hydration, it gives me coverage.  I really need to re-state that, though, as I'm not sure it covers so much as, true-to-its-name, transforms my skin to even, flawless perfection. Yes, it is a miracle! I'm in my early forties, ladies and gents, and using a product, one product, that not only gives me the skincare benefit, but also covers my redness, reduces visibility of pores and fine lines, and produces a smooth, luminous, even-toned complexion is unheard of. MST has a creamy whipped texture and blends so easily. I'm squeeling with joy over this product!  I've literally cut down my morning routine, just in face product application, by probably abount 10 minutes.  That's ten extra golden minutes of sleep, coffee grabbing and kissing my babies goodbye in the morning. I not only enjoy that; I appreciate that!

Shade of TAN: before (left) after (right)

Shade of MEDIUM: before (left) after (right)

When I received the samples and saw the color of the product, how dark the tint was, I immediately thought there was no way it would work on my fair NW20 skin.  It does!  It blends so thoroughly and flawlessly that I can even make the Tan shade work on my skin - some feat.  All I need is a little concealer for the inner corners of my undereye dark circles and the Miracle Skin Transformer (no foundation, no setting powder even), and I'm set to go. This is a product that also gets better as it absorbs and blends into skin, so the benefits you see after initially applying the product get even better after 15 minutes or so go by.  It's truly amazing!

The only drawback I can find with Miracle Skin Transformer is that it is so hydrating and luminous that I do like to apply a matte lotion prior to applying the MST.  This is personal preference.  I just felt my skin was a little too dewey, if that can be construed as a complaint, for my own personal liking. I've been using REN Hydra Calm Day Cream, but you could also use Cosmedicine Medi-Matte, Clarins Hydra Matte or another of your choosing if desired.

COMPARISON PRODUCTS

Some products Miracle Skin Transformer remind me of include:

Philosophy Supernatural Poreless Flawless w/ SPF 15

MST is better in that it gives a finish that is much more natural in finish than the orange-y tint of poreless flawless; it is also smoother in application, blends better into skin and provides better luminosity.

Colorescience Wild to Mild Skin Bronzer/Line Tamer Combo

Again, I like MST better because of how natural this finish is, how well it evens my skin's tone, the blendability of the formula, and the luminosity it gives my skin.

Here's a video review if you'd like to see and hear more about Miracle Skin Transformer. The video was created by YouTube user AMommaoftwo.

MST Beauty New York is offering free sample tubes (5 ml) to those who would like to try it.  For more information on ordering your sample, visit Miracle Skin Transformer online.

Miracle Skin Transformer with SPF 20 is set to launch the first of week of August 2010 and will retail for $48 a full-size tube. I will definitely be ordering the full-size tube as this product has impressed me beyond belief. Enjoy xo