Reviewed by Leslie on January 11, 2014

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The last Arcona product I tried and tested (Arcona Pumpkin Lotion 10% [$35 in the shop]) was fabulous and I immediately became a huge fan of their line. So I was pleased and anxious to try out Arcona Brightening Drops ($38) for lightening dark spots.

A child of the Southern California sun, I have plenty of dark spots on my face, which have gotten more visible with age. But I have one particular sun spot which I was happy to try and get rid of and focused specifically on for this test.

On the Arcona bottle (a lovely 1.17 oz frosted plastic column with a brushed chrome top) it states that “Benefits are cumulative with regular use.” Instructions say to “Use 1-2 times a week at bedtime. “ Their website instructions are a little more specific: “Use sparingly as final step in your PM regimen. If skin is sensitive or becomes dry, use every other day. If used in AM, follow with SPF 30 sunblock .”

I decided to apply it every night on that one spot and on several other smaller areas on my face after cleansing and moisturizing. It’s a deep orange-colored clear serum that has an astringent but not unpleasant fragrance. One pump delivers more than enough for your entire face, so it took a bit of practice to get the right pressure for the amount I needed. I did start to feel a slight tingling after a week, most likely from all the various acids.  After five weeks of this, however, I am sorry to say that it did not produce significant results. I know that there are many different kinds of pigmentation and I am not an authority on which kinds are surface spots and which ones go deeper into the sub-dermal layers. So I am reluctant to conclude definitively that this product does not work. It did not work well on me. But because I like their products so much, I am going to continue using it for a while longer and see if with a little extra use, it might begin to show some results.