I received a 10ml sample of Sunday Riley’s Good Genes Treatment in the SpaceNK gift with purchase Goody Bag back in May. I desperately wanted it to be utterly useless and not live up the hype because of it’s super steep £85 price tag. Alas, it is as fabulous as people claim and my bank account will be poorer as a result of this.

Why is it so fabulous? Well, for me, it has worked wonders for my hyperpigmentation. I have a really obvious patch of hyperpigmentation from previous blemishes on my right cheek and this is the only thing I have ever used that has made a difference and so quickly. I first applied this on an evening before bed and, genuinely, woke up the next morning and could see a definite decrease in the level of redness of the skin. Good Genes contains licorice, which helps brighten the skin and reduce redness, so I suspect this is the ingredient that has made such a difference to the redness of my hyperpigmentation. Over time the hyperpigmentation became barely noticable, so much so that I went from being a full coverage, heavy duty foundation addict to wearing only tinted moisturiser with a little concealer and setting powder.

Good Genes is a leave-on brightening multitasking radiance treatment that aims to exfoliate, plump and brighten the skin and improve radiance, texture and circulation. The main active ingredient is lactic acid, so this can give a tingly sensation and may not be suitable for those with sensitive skin (although lactic acid generally is less likely to cause irritation than other acids, like salicylic), whilst it did have a slight tingly effect the first couple of times I used it, it was nothing unbearable and I have pretty sensitive skin – this didn’t irritate my skin at all, even using it at night after an exfoliating toner.

I’ve been using Good Genes a couple of times a week since I got it, to try and ration the sample, after using it daily for the first week and it only ran out in October so, whilst the £85 price is definitely an investment I think that £85 once a year for something that makes such a difference to my skin (I can see a clear deterioration now that I’m no longer using it) is well worth it. A definite repurchase or, hopefully, a Christmas gift as I’ve been very unsubtly hinting to just about everyone how much I want this!

Sunday Riley Good Genes Treatment, £85, available at SpaceNK here.

Have you tried Good Genes? What did you think?