Vichy Slow Age

Hi there!

I hope you all had a nice weekend! :D For me, only one more week of work and then HOLIDAY~ yay I can't wait!

Today I have a review of a new Vichy skincare product called "Vichy Slow Age". This product hasn't been released in Switzerland yet but Coolbrandz is having a campaign where people can test the product before its release :D Also the packaging I have in this review is not the final one, it's a pre-launch sample bottle.

Vichy Slow Age: Put the brakes on your pace – and on skin ageing

CONCEPT OF THIS NEW SKINCARE and WHAT VICHY SAYS ABOUT IT

This new Vichy skincare has a very clever marketing point: it targets people who are always living in the fast lane, who never seem to have enough time in a day and who want one thing: to slow down and take the time to live peacefully.

So, what if we decided to stop running and live life to the full instead? Are you in? Then say no more: you’re already a Slow Life convert.

The Slow Life philosophy aims to free us from an over busy, harmful life; it encourages us to make the most of our time and learn to savour the present moment. In short, it’s good for our mental and physical health, and our skin, too!

With this new skincare treatment, Vichy is using this Slow Life concept to help fight the signs of time.

"According to Vichy, Slow Age is composed of 3 main ingredients:

- an antioxidant extract from baicalin root

- fortifying probiotic bifidus lysate

- Vichy’s mineralising thermal water


Baicalin root is a powerful antioxidant. Straight from China, it’s a flower with multiple benefits, resistant to both UV rays and extreme low temperatures. Bifidus from probiotics reinforces the skin’s barrier and reduces skin sensitivity. The treatment also contacts UVA and UVB protection, without leaving a white residue or greasy finish."

HOW IT LOOKS/SMELLS/FEELS

It's a lightweight creamy emulsion. I don't know why but I first I thought it be a serum, hence a more gel texture but it's definitely more like a fluid emulsion. Once you apply it, you can immediatly feel an hydration boost.

It has a powdery scent with a hint of flowery background. It's not overwhelming but it's definitely present. I wasn't a big fan of the scent first but it has grown on me and now I actually enjoy it.

INGREDIENTS

Water, Homosalate (sunscreen, esp. anti-UVB), Oxtocrylene (sunscreen, anti-UVB), Glycerin (humectant), Ethylhexyl salicylate (sunscreen, esp. anti-UVB), Bifida Ferment Lysate (anti-inflammtory, decrease skin sensitivity), Silica (thickener, opacifying agent), Alcohol Denat. (solvant), Butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (= avobenzone, sunscreen, anti-UVA), Dimethicone (emolient, slip agent), Isopropyl Lauroyl Sarcosinate (emollient), Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer (film-former), PEG-100 Stearate (emollient, emulsifier), Glyceryl Stearate (emollient, emulsifier), Tocopherol (Vitamin E, antioxidant), Synthetic Wax (emollient), PEG-8 Laurate (surfactant), CI 14700 /Red 4 (pigment), Stearic ACid, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Stearyl Alcohol, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Triethanolamine, Myristic ACid, Myristyl Alcohol, Sodium Benzoate, Palmitic ACid, Phenoxyehtanol, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Disodium EDTA, Capyloyl Salicylic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Scutellaria Baicalensis Extract / Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract (antioxidant, anti-irritant), T-Butyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Parfum/Fragrance.

I also run a CosDNA analysis. You can find the details here.

MY ANALYSIS/THOUGHTS

The main ingredients of Vichy Slow Age are water, sunscreens (anti-UVA and anti-UVB), humectant (draw water into the skin), and Bifida Ferment Lysate.

Then you have texture- and feel-modifying agents (silca, alcohol, styrene/acrylates copolymer, dimethicone), some emollients to make the skin smooth and soft, some emulsifiers to mix the water and oil phases of the emulsion together, Vitamin E (an antioxiant), and then you hit a pigment, which makes you believe that the ingredients that appear after it are present at very low concentration.

So from this short ingredient analysis, you can see that Vichy Slow Age is a lightweight emulsion that contains mainly sunscreens and bifida ferment lysate.

1. First, the inclusion of sunscreens is interesting because the sun is indeed one of the main causes of skin aging. Therefore if you protect your skin, you will slow down skin aging. I've noticed that in Europe, when I say that I wear sunscreen everday, most people look at me like if I wear crazy. Sunscreens don't look very sexy and incorporating them into an emulsion that is marketed as an anti-aging product (rather as a sunscreen cream per se) is a great idea.
   
   
2. Bifida Ferment Lysate! Oh yeah, I love this ingredient! I have a few serum that focuss on this particular ingredient. It's actually a very trendy ingredient that you can find in many "first essences" (and oh yeah again, I love first essences!). Bifida Ferment Lysate can decrease skin sensitivity and has anti-inflammatory effects.  Just to show you an example, I found a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that tested a topical cream containing 10% Bifidobacterium longum sp. Extract. The results demonstrated that the volunteers who applied the cream with bacterial extract had a significant decrease in skin sensitivity at the end of the treatment. Moreover, the treatment led to increase skin resistance against physical and chemical aggression compared to the group of volunteers who applied the control cream. It could therefore be a beneficial ingredient for reactive skin.
   
   
3. Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract. This extract is heavily used in the advertisement of this new treatment, but unfortunately it's almost at the end of the ingredient list, which means it's present at very very very low concentration. How sad! This extract has indeed powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and this is documented in many scientific articles. It also plays a key role in the prevention of UV-induced skin damages. This is therfore a fantastic ingredient! I wished it was present at higher concentrations, especially considering that Vichy plays with this extract so much in its marketing promotion for this product.

Overall I like the whole concept of this new treatment, I like the inclusion of sunscreen, I like the lightweight yet moisturizing texture that doesn't feel greasy on the skin. I also like that it includes Bifida Ferment lysate that is such a nice ingredient to soothe the skin. The cons for me would be the presence of fragrance that not everyone like and that can be irritating for some people and the fact that Vichy advertizes that this skin treatment contains baicalin root and bases a huge part of its commercial marketing on it when it contains only a teeny tiny quantity of it.

*PR Sample*