Maelove The Glow Maker Review

Maelove The Glow Maker is an antioxidant serum that’s received a ton of buzz since it first hit the market in early 2018. After reading a feature about The Glow Maker on Refinery29, I decided to try it for myself. Today I’m sharing my experience with this serum and whether or not I think it’s worth the hype.

Disclosure: This post is not sponsored. This post does not contain affiliate links. I purchased this product myself with my own money.

Maelove The Glow Maker

Maelove The Glow Maker is an antioxidant serum primarily focused on treating hyperpigmentation, nourishing the skin, and increasing hydration.

About Maelove

Maelove is a skincare company dedicated to providing high-quality, effective, research-supported products at an affordable price point. The Maelove team believes that skincare products can be elegantly formulated and intelligently designed without having to carry a luxury price tag. Maelove worked with expert chemists, top production labs, and clinical research to develop their line of skincare products. However, one of the most unique and exciting parts of the development process for Maelove was the use of artificial intelligence to gather consumer feedback on a massive number of skincare products. According to Maelove, they assessed “over 3 million online skincare product reviews to better understand what attributes correlate with customer satisfaction.” On top of all of the research that went in to developing this line, every single product is under $30, making it easily accessible to most consumers.

How to use The Glow Maker

As the instructions explain, you should use this serum after cleansing your skin. If you choose to use a vitamin C serum such as this one, it should typically be the first product you use after you’ve cleansed and dried your skin. Apply The Glow Maker, then continue on with any other products you may be using. Most days, I use this in the morning and then apply moisturizer, sunscreen, and makeup. It wears really well under makeup, and using it underneath sunscreen helps to boost sun protection. On days when I’m not leaving the house, I use it as part of my nighttime routine, which would go cleanse –> The Glow Maker –> Differin gel –> any other serums I want to use –> moisturizer –> face oil (sometimes).

Maelove The Glow Maker is packaged in an opaque glass bottle with a dropper. This packaging has its pros and cons. The opaque glass helps to protect the ingredients inside the bottle from light, which can degrade the quality and effectiveness of a product over time. Exposure to air is another way that a product can be degraded over time. Products are typically formulated to prevent as much degradation as possible, but there’s only so much that can be done, especially with a substance that’s difficult for scientists to work with such as vitamin C. No matter how a vitamin C serum is packaged, it’s going to oxidize over time, meaning it will slowly lose effectiveness. You can tell that your vitamin C serum has oxidized when it turns from clear or slightly yellow to a bright orange or brown. Obviously the glass packaging isn’t going to be very travel-friendly, but it was probably the best option for protecting the quality and effectiveness of the serum.

Ingredients

•Ascorbic acid, a form of vitamin C, is an antioxidant that helps to fade pigmentation (such as the pigmentation left over after an acne spot has healed) and brighten the skin. It encourages the skin to produce more collagen, which is a substance that occurs naturally in the human body. Collagen has many roles, but one of the most notable in relation to skincare is that it helps skin to keep its youthful, bouncy appearance. As we age, we produce less collagen, which leads to fine lines, wrinkles, and a loss of elasticity (check out the image below to see how this process effects the skin). Using a serum such as this to help stimulate collagen production is going to help prevent skin from showing signs of aging. Vitamin C can also help to protect the skin from sun damage when it’s used underneath sunscreen. It works best when it’s combined with vitamin E and ferulic acid, as it is in The Glow Maker.

Source: MedicalNewsToday

             • Ferulic acid is an antioxidant that helps to stabilize ascorbic acid and also has the 

               potential to double vitamin C’s ability to protect skin from sun damage. Vitamin E  

               (tocopherol) is another antioxidant that also helps to prevent sun damage when used in  

               conjunction with a sunscreen.

 

              • Aloe is a hydrating and anti-inflammatory ingredient that also aids in healing damaged 

                skin (that’s why it’s typically used to treat sunburns!).

              • Magnolia Officinalis Bark Extract is also anti-inflammatory.

              • Glycerin and sodium hyaluronate improve the skin’s hydration levels.

              • Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Callus Culture Extract is orange stem cells which have 

                 demonstrated an ability to contribute to wrinkle-prevention, increased skin elasticity, 

                 and improve skin firmness according to CenterChem.

              • Grape Seed Extract contributes even more antioxidants to this serum.

Scent

The Glow Maker does not contain fragrance, but it does have a slight scent naturally. To me, it smells similar to grape seed oil, but if you’re not familiar with that scent I would describe it as light and fresh without any sort of sharp or citrusy notes. I do notice the scent as I’m applying the product, but it doesn’t linger after the serum has absorbed. It’s not something likely to trigger a migraine, so if you’re sensitive to scent, you shouldn’t have any issues with The Glow Maker.

The Glow Maker is a thin, lightweight serum that absorbs quickly and easily in to the skin. It has a lot of slip, so it spreads easily. Once it has absorbed, the skin just feels soft and hydrated, there’s no film or greasy feeling left behind.

Here you can see that my serum has oxidized a little bit. I took this photo a few days ago in August 2018, while the previous photo was taken on April 29 2018. It’s definitely still in the usable range, but I probably only have about 2 months to finish it up before it goes bad. That’s a completely normal shelf life for a vitamin C serum.

I’ve been using this serum consistently since mid-May, so about 3 months. In that time period, I’ve noticed that my skin tone looks more even overall and the fine lines on my forehead have completely disappeared. The improvement in my fine lines is probably due to a combination of products I regularly use, such as Stratia Rewind and Differin Adapalene gel. However, I noticed the most improvement in the time since I started using The Glow Maker, so I definitely think it played a large role in the improvement of my skin.

I love the texture of this serum because it absorbs very easily in to my skin and layers well with other products. The Glow Maker is also a very skin-friendly formula, and I would say that’s exactly what I experienced while testing this out. This is also something that’s going to work for every skin type and any age. The photoprotective ingredients are going to help prevent damage to your skin, while vitamin C and orange stem cells are going to help to repair existing damage.

Final Thoughts

After using The Glow Maker, I definitely feel that it’s worth the hype. True to Maelove’s goal, this really does feel like a luxury product from the packaging to the formulation to the results I observed. Everything about this is so bang-on that I don’t even have anything critical to say about it, and if you’re a regular reader of mine, you know how rarely that happens. This is a product I can easily recommend to anyone and everyone.

Thanks for reading!

WHY WE DO IT

For years, women have been told to use an endless number of skincare products and have been overwhelmed with hyped marketing claims. This is when skincare becomes confusing and expensive.
At Maelove, we believe it doesn’t have to be that way. Skincare can be simple and effective. We're out to prove that the best skincare doesn’t require you to sacrifice your precious time or money.

OBSESSIVE RESEARCH

We start by looking at proven clinical research in peer-reviewed journals and collaborate with brilliant chemists, dermatologists, plastic surgeons and medical researchers to create formula blue prints.
In addition, we collected and analyzed over 3 million online skincare product reviews to better understand what attributes correlate with customer satisfaction. 
By combining the best knowledge from medical science with the insight gleaned from the most data, we’re able to create breakthrough formulas that not just work well, but work well for all skin types.

QUALITY WITHOUT COMPROMISE

As a young startup, we're incredibly fortunate to partner with 3 of the most respected cosmetic laboratories in the world.
All 3 partners are US-based, FDA-registered, GMP-certified and manufacture products for some of the most luxurious skincare brands.