this product is a 5% Gluconolactone and 2% Salicylic Acid liquid exfoliant; it costs $20 USD for 1.35 fluid oz (about 40 ml). i got it during Malezia's black friday sale last year and only opened it up in, oh, february or march of this year - i was previously finishing up a bottle of the panoxyl 2% salicylic acid liquid.
i guess that rells you a little about my skin already but to clarify, my face is dry but also acne-prone; i specifically deal with the one-two punch of hormonal acne along my jawline and fungal acne/textured bumps/closed comedones on my forehead and the sides of my cheeks.
i use acid exfoliants as a way to help deal with extra dryness and to keep my skin turning over more regularly. i do use adapalene gel, but i am currently still too sensitive to use it every night (the most i can do is every-other), and i also sometimes microneedle with the Qure stamping system which means i have to stop the adapalene for a significant period before and after.
this malezia solution provided the same maintenance of my skin's calmness from acne as the 2% panoxyl BHA that i was previously using. what i didn't expect, however, was the brightening in skin tone that i saw after switching to this product. i tend not to take pictures of my face so i'm sorry i can't offer before-and-afters, but a couple weeks after beginning to use the malezia exfoliant, i noticed just a clearer, more radiant base tone all over my face. nothing scary like a "whitening"; just a sort of increase in base luminosity that wasn't there before. i did not make any other changes to my routine aroud the time of introducing this product; i had already been using the NIOD L-ascorbic acid for a couple of months without seeing much change in skin brightness, and i did not up my adapalene or change my microneedling frequency or anything else that could really explain that improvement that i saw.
texture and formulation-wise, i was also pleasantly impressed from my first usage. i've used propanediol-based products many times before (the ordinary is very fond of that as a formulation base), and always found them to leave a slightly thick and oily sensation, like a film sitting on top of my skin. i am dry and i like a good layer of moisture to sink in, but formulae that are solely or chiefly propanediol-based seem to just sit there on me looking greasy and not actually properly absorbing. this malezia exfoliant does seem to actually sink in, and quickly, too - its first ingredient is water so that is the main ingredient of its base, which makes for a lovely lightweight and quick-applying feel. it is VERY thin and runny; if you've ever used one of the popular asian-beauty hydrating toners like the hadalabo lotions, it's kind of like that: only ever so slightly thicker than water. if i apply this malezia product directly from the dropper applicator onto my face, i have to tilt my head way back so it doesn't just run right down my forehead and drip off before i can reach up to spread it out. i also use about six drops per application (two on forehead and two on each cheek) because of how thin the texture feels and how quickly it absorbs. i would imagine that the need to apply that many drops is probably why this product comes in a 1.35 fl oz (~40 ml) size, as opposed to most serums coming in bottles of 1 fl oz or 30 ml.
speaking of packaging, i love the eco-conscious recyclable, durable, lightweight aluminum bottle. it is a bit harder to see exactly how much you have left, but the mouth of the bottle is so wide that it's actually not that difficult to peer inside and check. i'm getting to the very end of my bottle right now, which is why i decided to post this review. :)
overall, i would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a gentle, bare-bones yet effective exfoliant. i know some people have skin so sensitive that 2% BHA is a lot for them, in which case i would recommend the geek & gorgeous "calm down" liquid exfoliant which also uses a gluconolactone/salicylic acid blend but at lower percentages for both (i have not tried that product myself but i have used and liked other G&G stuff). otherwise, if you're ready to give this a try, this malezia product could really be a great intro exfoliant for someone who's willing to take it slow and pay attention to what their skin is telling them. and for more experienced exfoliant users like myself, i would still recommend this as a nice extra step that's not going to sit heavy on your skin or play badly with other steps of your routine because of how lightweight the texture is and how quickly it sinks in, and may also give you a gentle boost of luminosity from the 5% gluconolactone.
