Clarins Vital Light Facial Serum

My skincare choices have consisted of almost exclusively Caudalie for several years, all the way up until I began looking at Clarins products for my French Week 2011 theme week.  I started with one of their primers and quickly fell in love with both that product and what the sales associate told me about the background of the brand.  Therefore I jumped at the chance to try out a huge sample of the Vital Light Serum when Sephora offered it for free on their website several months ago.  After about two weeks with my sample, I fell in love with this product and quickly bought the full size version of this facial serum.  This is the first time that I have ever liked a serum near as much as my beloved Caudalie Vinoperfect Facial Serum, a very huge accomplishment for this serum.

This is the first skincare product that I have used consistently from this company and it was a great introduction to their brnad of high quality skincare.  I have to count the primer that I bought from Clarins as a makeup product since I only use it when I need my makeup to last all day long, I use this product much more consistently than the primer.

The Sephora website gives the best product description that I have seen so far for this serum.  "A superchared serum that defies dark spots, dullness, and wrinkles.  This serum helps to correct the appearance of dark spots.  It also visibly lifts and firms skin while restoring the deep luminosity of a young-looking complexion.  Vital Light Serum features the unprecedented ingredient Hexylresorcinol.  The latest scientifically proven dark spot reducer, this active ingredient addresses dark spots at the source: the pigmentation process.  It is four times more effective than a two percent concentration of hydroquinone, an anti-dark spot ingredient used in the pharmaceutical industry.  This serum also includes a tripeptide and exclusive plant extracts."

"Hexylresorcinol is 100 percent safe, 100 percent kind to skin, and creates zero toxicity.  This product also boosts the performance of Clarins Vital Light Day and Vital Light Night products.  It is allergy tested and non-comedogenic."

The Sephora website provides some of the results of the testing that was done on this product, showing that it is very effective and works the way that it is designed to.  "71% saw a reduction in dark spots.  84% saw firmer skin.  85% saw a more radiant complexion.  88% saw a more even skintone.  57% saw a reduction in wrinkles."

The active ingredients are as follows...

- Hexylresorcinal - The latest scientifically proven ingredient, this safe, gentle alternative to hydroquinone is used to treat hyperpigmentation.  A natural molecule, it reduces dark spots by going to the source of the pigmentation process.
- Spergularia - A pioneering plant extract, it helps lighten dark spots and hyper pigmentation to promote smooth, even skintone.
- Waltheria and Cochlearia - These two pioneering plant extracts reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles while restoring the deep luminosity of young looking skin.

I did a bit of researching into Hexylresorcinal but wasn't able to find much more than I found out about it from the Sephora website, it was originally used to treat small skin irritations and showed so much promise in this area that it was then used in clinical trials to treat the signs of aging.  It showed promise in this area of skincare and as an added benefit, it showed unexpected promise is skin lightening and brightening.  The current ingredient that is most used for brightening is hydroquinone, a bleaching agent that is very effective in small doses but has come under review from the FDA and cannot be used by women who are pregnant or nursing.  It also has no effect on the signs of aging.  This new ingredient is considered to be safer than hydroquinone and still as effective on lightening the skin, it also can be used in anti-aging.

I am a huge fan of this serum, it brightened my skin like almost nothing else that I have ever tried and evened my whole complexion out.  The redness in my cheek area was reduced and my skin looks great without the full makeup routine.  The texture of the product is thinner than the average serum and two pumps covers my entire face.  It has a slightly perfume fragrance, nothing unpleasant but I would prefer it to have less fragrance since it could be irritating to those who have issues with fragrance.  I use this product after cleansing both night and day and I beganto see results in two to three weeks, it first brightened my skintone and then as I kept using it, it evened out my facial redness.  My skin looked clear and bright after three full weeks of use.

Do I prefer it to Vinoperfect?  Yes and no.  Here is a comparison.  Vinoperfect has an anti-oxidant in it, this one does not and I prefer to use some form of antioxidant on my face during the day.  I like that aspect of the formula of the Caudalie serum better.  This serum works much faster since it contains more chemical ingredients instead of the natural based ingredients in the Vinoperfect.  I love both serums and I bet that I will switch on and off between them, I am thinking about using this one at night to continue evening out my skintone and the Caudalie one for the antioxidant protectin during the day.

photo courtesy of Sephora