Allow yourself to dream for a moment. Dream of the skin you've always wanted. What comes to mind? Radiance? Smaller pores? No fine lines? A smooth appearance?
Perhaps, like me, you're thinking of the kind of skin high-profile Frenchwomen have! That kind of easy, breezy, effortless healthy glow. That's my ideal skin. And French pharmacy brand Vichy have the same ideal.
I'd read about about Idealia Life Serum when it launched and very much wanted to try it. I was lucky that the very lovely Sarah sent me a bottle to try after I said how much it was on my wishlist.
I was so excited to get my hands on some of this. It just seemed like the perfect serum for someone of my age - where you're (possibly) a bit too young for the heavy duty stuff, but you have specific skin concerns that you'd like to target with a smart product.
I found out that this serum has a whopping 27 patents (I'm sure the Hadron Collider has less!). Its active ingredients are the very science-tastic sounding LR2412 +LHA. Do I know what they mean? No. Do I know what they add up to? Yes. Smoothed out, glowing, rested skin that looks like you've been on a two week holiday - and that's what we really care about, right?
The first thing that struck me was the gorgeous packaging (hey, I didn't call this blog 'Seriously Shallow' for nothing, y'know?). It comes in a heavy glass bottle flushed a pretty shade of pink. This will certainly be no embarrasment on your dresser, so its nice to find something like that which also delivers. The bottle is a pump dispenser which is much more hygienic. It also ensures that the active ingredients aren't exposed to oxygen, which would degrade them (which is precisely why I won't buy a moisturiser that comes in a jar). Look how pretty:
I wanted to wait a couple of weeks before I posted my review on this so that I could measure a difference in my skin. In that time, I've really come to rely on this stuff to make me look passable in the mornings.
One pump dispenses a pearly white cream. If you look closely, you can see its shot through with a very fine, rose gold sheen:
It smells fruity and delicious (raspberries?) and is very light and absorbed into the skin in seconds. It leaves a really smooth, velvety feel behind and is a great base for makeup.
After two weeks of use, my skin feels a lot more even-toned and my pesky forehead lines are shallowing out, which is one of my biggest skin concerns.
What Vichy have done here is look at the 'nuture' rather than the 'nature' in skincare - the behavioural factors we all have that we know are less than great for our skin - but we're not saints, right? Idealia Life is designed to target these factors:
- Lack of sleep - Not a big problem for me at the moment, but 77% of women say they don't get enough
- Pollution - working in a city, this is an issue for me, same as 71% of women
- Stress - definitely an issue for most (66%) of modern women
- Unbalanced Diet - I have to plead guilty to this one, as I veer between trying to be virtuous and treating myself, like 63% of women
- Lack of sport - Definitely not an issue for me at the moment, I exercise every single day at the moment, but 60% of women say its a concern
- Hormonal imbalances - what person doesn't suffer from some of these? 58% say its an issue
- UV Rays -47% say its a factor, but I think that should actually be 100% unless you live in a cave and never venture outside
- Dry Weather - And with the harsh winter winds and central heating that's bad at the moment, say 16%
It evens out pigmentation issues and dark spots, reduces how visible your pores are, and makes everything smooth and glowing.
I've definitely seen an improvement in the quality of my skin. This serum has become my grab-and-go quick route to looking refreshed when life is up against me.
It costs £29.50, which is a great price for so many actives, and if you're a bit younger, the price point and consistency makes it an ideal gateway product into a more serious skincare routine, which is exactly what I hoped it would be. You can get hold of some at boots.co.uk. I will definitely be repurchasing this and its now something I rely on as a shortcut to great looking, glowing skin.
This has inspired me to check out more of what Vichy has to offer, especially its cleansers and the famous Dermablend foundation (which I'm told from a very reliable source covers all manner of sins, and is virtually indestructible!).
Have you tried any French pharma brands? Are you thinking about upgrading your skincare regime?
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