There are some beauty brands that I've had my eye on for a long time, but haven't pulled the trigger on trying out. For a long time, Rodial was one of those brands. I was fascinated and super interested in their products, but I wasn't sure what to try out and because it has a more luxury price tag I didn't want to choose wrong. Enter the Rodial Hero Collection Kit, which includes travel sizes of four of their best selling products. I've been testing this out for nearly a month now and I'm definitely ready to give you my review.

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The thing that jumped out at me about this kit was the selection of different products. I think that really gives you an opportunity to try out different types of products from the brand in a whole routine and figure out what really works for your skin before investing in full sizes.

Rodial Stem Cell Cleanser

I'm a bit of a nerd for cleansers, I must admit - you should see the shelf in my bathroom - and I'm always interested in trying different formulas, particularly if they're creamy in texture. I have to say, I'm a little bit in love with this cleanser and already planning on investing in the full size. The texture of this cleanser is really lovely. While creamy, it's not too thick and I find that it rinses away easily even if I skip the washcloth and just rinse with splashes of water. Afterwards, my skin feels clean and soft without any tightness or discomfort. For me, as soon as a cleanser dries me out, I'm done with it. I don't mess with anything that could mess with my moisture barrier. This cleanser strikes a really perfect balance for me of cleansing my skin and leaving it hydrated without leaving any residue on the skin once I rinse. I honestly can't say enough good things about this cleanser.

Rodial Super Acids X-Treme Acid Rush Peel

I. Love. Acids. One thing that I really love about this is that it's a combination of different acids. With azelaic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid and fruit acids, you have a selection of acids that serve different functions. Again, I really, really like this product. I think the formula is really fantastic in that it's effective but gentle at the same time. Using this twice a week, I did feel a little bit of a light sting while I was on, but I didn't have any irritation after using it and it left my skin feeling incredibly smooth. While this obviously isn't going to have the potency of a clinical peel, I would say this is one of the best peels that I've used at home and another product that I would personally buy a full size of and use again.

Rodial Dragon's Blood Sculpting Gel

This is by far the smallest size product in this sampling and probably my least favorite, though that isn't to say that I didn't like it. I used this as a daytime moisturizer during the testing period and I found that my skin seemed to really like it, though it wasn't particularly transformative for me, if that makes sense. I suspect that with a larger size and a longer testing period, I would have be able to say more about results. As it was, I found that this imparted enough moisture for daytime wear that I felt hydrated but not overwhelmed and it played really well with makeup underneath it. I think I felt a slight tightening effect on the skin - in a lifting way, not a stripping way - but not enough that it blew me away. Overall, I think this is a good product, but probably not one that I would personally buy again.

Rodial Bee Venom Moisturizer

This was probably the most surprising product in this set for me, because I've really, really fallen in love with it and I didn't quite expect to. The caveat that I feel like I need to mention is that this is not a light moisturizer. It's very rich and emollient, so I only use this at night and I suspect this is definitely a colder weather moisturizer for my normal leaning combination skin type. Now, even though this is quite rich, I didn't suffer any oiliness or clogged pores when using this, which is something that I tend to struggle with when it comes to really rich moisturizers. In fact, when I woke up in the morning after using this product, I always felt like my skin was deeply hydrated without being greasy and that the hydration stuck around until the next night when I applied it again. While I did love this, I'm not sure that I'll personally be able to justify purchasing a full size since it is $190CAD for the 50ml full size and that's a little bit outside of my personal budget for moisturizer. That said, if you do have the budget for a really luxury moisturizer, this one is absolutely gorgeous.

Overall, I'm absolutely thrilled that I picked up this set. For smaller sizes, the price tag of $88CAD can seem high, but this is actually over a value of over $120CAD - with, of course, the increased value of being able to try out multiple products for a lower price. Personally, I think the products that I'm most likely to repurchase are the Stem Cell Cleanser and the Super Acids Extreme Acid Rush Peel, but I would also happily use the Bee Venom Moisturizer every winter night for the rest of my life. I really think this is a well curated set and a lot of people would find value in it.

If you're interested in picking up the Rodial Hero Collection, it's available in Canada at BeautyBoutique.ca - and it's available elsewhere at Ulta online, Selfridges, and Rodial's website. 

Thanks for reading!