Tried And Tested: Sunday Riley’s Good Genes Treatment

This serum comes with some bold claims - instantly creates a flawless vibrant, brighter complexion. Reveals younger skin, plumps fine lines. Long term reduces scars and mild to moderate hyperpigmentation. Evens out skin tone and increases epidermal thickness. Goodness!

With a billing like that, I was waiting for a good time to test it. As I mentioned in my Kiehl's wrinkle cream review last Monday, I developed pretty bad sun-induced hyperpigmentation last summer. Most of it has now shifted thanks to a course of ReAura home laser, but a few spots remain on my left cheek and below my left eye. I'd really like them gone now and before embarking on another round of ReAura, I thought I’d give Good Genes a good try.

I love the sound of some of the actives: lactic acid to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, liquorice to combat uneven skin tone, and lemongrass to improve circulation and protect from environmental aggressors. Bring it on! Yes, dark spot treatment is what I'm seeking here but I’m certainly in the market for an instant radiance boost too.  

Sadly, me and Good Genes didn’t get off to a good start. As soon as I unscrewed the cap and squeezed a pea-sized amount on my finger I was hit by the smell. Very strong and not that pleasant, a pungent citrus, almost chemical-like in odour. I kept reminding myself of the marketing blurb and those promised results, and so I soldiered on with it.

The serum applies easily and the smell dissipates after a minute or two. My regime was to apply daily in the mornings after a cleanse and tone. Upon application I didn’t see an 'instant' brightening or 'flawless' complexion but Good Genes sat well under my dry face oil and moisturiser (with an SPF 30!).

I had nothing to report for the first few days but then suddenly on day 3 I woke up and noticed how smooth my skin felt. It was a marked smoothness. This did surprise me as I use some pretty heavy duty exfoliating products on a regular basis, not least the ReAura which re-surfaces the skin. I was impressed to see such further improvement from a topical product.

Sadly, two days later, all hell broke lose. I woke up with spots. Argh! A spot on my forehead, a big pimple on my left temple and a blemish next to my lips. My skin is normally robust and I rarely break out, so this was annoying and disappointing after things were starting to look promising. I had to abandon further use of the serum until the spots cleared, which took three days.

Sun spots on left cheek before Good Genes (L) and after (R)

Once back in the saddle though the ride was calm. I used Good Genes as my only exfoliating product for two weeks for the purpose of this trial. At the end, yes my skin was lovely and smooth. Full marks for that. But my skin wasn’t flawless or more radiant. And to me the dark spots looked exactly the same, although I must point out that Good Genes states it will take long term use to reduce hyperpigmentation, and 2 weeks clearly isn’t very long.

Mine was a bit of a roller coaster ride with Good Genes. I know there is a lot of love out there for this product – Stella McCartney and Helen Mirren are reported fans and they both have great skin. But it didn't suit my skin and I would advise any one with sensitivity to patch test this before purchasing.

Sunday Riley’s Good Genes Treatment costs £85 for 30ml and is available from Space NK here

Ingredients: Prickly Pear Extract, Blue Agave Extract, Lady's Slipper Orchid Extract, Cactus Extract, Aloe Leaf Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Butylene Glycol, Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, PPG-12/SMDI Copolymer, Stearic Acid, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-75 Meadowsol, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Extract, Triethanolamine, XanthanGum, Phenoxyethanol, Steareth-20, Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben, DMDM Hydantoin

Free sample with Space NK purchase