I’ve spent quite a few years searching for the holy grail of skin care solutions – the perfect ingredient, cream, or potion that will leave me with the porcelain-smooth skin of my adolescence. Adult acne has been plaguing me since I hit my twenties and a single solution doesn’t seem to be in sight. A more complicated combination of diet, exercise, and a diligent skin care routine has made steady improvements. But I keep looking. And my search brought me to Dr. Stuart’s Skin Purify Tea.

Drawing from herbalism and traditional medicine, each of Dr. Stuart’s functional teas promises to treat common afflictions with pure, natural ingredients. Can’t sleep? There’s a tea for that. Trouble concentrating? There’s a tea for that, too. Using medicinal grade herbs, this particular blend promises to purify, cleanse, and soothe the skin. Always looking to incorporate more natural components into my skin care routine, my interest was piqued. Could I really sip my way to glowing skin?

The morning after falling asleep in front of my laptop with my makeup on seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it a try. My puffy red face needed help.

I brewed a small pot (about three cups) for the recommended 10 minutes and sipped away while I went about my morning routine.

Herbal tea novices beware! This blend has an acquired taste. Earthy and pungent, this is definitely not a cuppa Earl Grey. But don’t worry, it is palatable enough and I’ve actually grown quite fond of it.

While my blemishes certainly didn’t disappear completely, by evening I found my skin looked less red and inflamed. A week of drinking a pot of the Skin Purify tea per day saw continued improvements to the overall tone of my skin. The zits that remain are already less pronounced and my face is smoother – two big bonuses in my books.

Sure, it might not be my holy grail – the Skin Purify tea didn’t completely prevent my breakouts. But it did prove itself worthy of being added to my arsenal of weapons against the dreaded acne monster.