Beauty Review: Testing Duchess Marden

Today’s post is dedicated to the Rose – the most romantic flower in the world that has also been used by women for centuries as a beauty treatment. Inspired by the benefits that rose petals can offer to the skin, Marla Steur created a skin care line- Duchess Marden. It is based on completely natural ingredients with the rose as a key ingredient in every product. The line offers products for various skin types and boasts of natural scents with no artificial fragrance and no allergy provoking ingredients. Duchess Marden promises that its highly concentrated formulations will provide visible results.


I had an opportunity to test a couple products and in this post would like to make a short overview and share my impressions. I tested sample products of the Neck and Decollette Serum, Cream Cleanser, Anti-Wrinkle Serum, and Hydrating Masque. In a separate post I will review Damascena Rose Water. I was very much impressed with the ingredient lists of the products. I like to see botanical extracts and natural ingredients at the very top of the list. So let me start...

I liked the nice texture and feel of Damascena Neck and Decollette Serum. It contains sea algae extract, apricot kernel oil, aloe, rose extract and other wonderful ingredients. You need just a bit for the whole area and it absorbs very quickly leaving skin soft and smooth. I was very happy to notice a change in my skin’s texture in a couple of weeks. I liked this product a lot! Note, it has a quite intense scent of a rose with some bitter woody notes. In case you prefer subtle scents for your skin care products, you may not like the intensity of this one.

Damascena Cream Cleanser has a herbal woody smell, feels creamy on the face and leaves skin feeling clean. In my opinion, a cleanser is crucial to skin’s balance. It should effectively cleanse without irritating. I tested this cream cleanser for a week and got no break outs or irritations.

Damascena Anti-Wrinkle Serum feels to me like a light face oil. Even though the product description reads that it does not leave oily residue, it did feel oily on my skin. Unfortunately I developed sensitivity to this product so I could not appreciate its benefits to the full.

Damascena Face Cream: This moisturizer has a light rose scent, contains mushroom extracts, organic shea butter and apricot oil. It feels rich but absorbs wonderfully. My skin really loved it! It felt hydrated and looked glowing.

Hydrating Mask is of clear gel texture with no obvious scent. Feels nice on the skin, leaves it feeling hydrated, comfortable and looking refreshed.

So my overall impression is truly positive. Duchess Marden is a great line of products for those who like their skin care to be based on botanical extracts, natural and pure. And it is quite affordably priced with products costing between $25 and $60.