Sparkled Beauty

Since we had so much fun with Yves Rocher Summer 2014 makeup collection (which is now available online by the way), I dived in testing their White Botanical skin care collection with the same enthusiasm.

With 4 products featuring White licorice powder (for brightening) and White lupin extract (anti aging), the line aims toward dark spot correcting and anti-aging, with no paraben, mineral oil nor colorant. Sounds like something made for me :)

First impression on the packaging: nice and simple. The cardboard is recyclable and printed with botanical ink, no leaflets inside either. Environment friendly, kudos!

The colour tone is iridescent off-white/ pale pink, very pretty. A quick note up front: all products are lightly scented (floral, to be exact).

First product, which I think is the center of the collection, is the Exceptional Youth Essence.

Essences have become "the new black" in the skin care industry. This one is basically an iridescent gel/ lotion texture that goes on clear, works like a serum and melts into the skin faster than you can count to 3 :)

Meant to even out skin tone, reduce the look of age spots and wrinkles, the essence does seem to work toward that direction, but I don't know if it would work alone. I always pair it with my moisturizer (morning) or the night cream below (night).

The pump (and its plastic stopper) gives the bottle a luxurious feel. The gel is very pleasant to use (unless you are sensitive to scents) and does not interfere with the texture of the skin care products that follow it in a routine.

I did not expect the essence to move mountains (or in this case, to make my wrinkles and dark spots disappear) but it works well for what it is.

Ingredients: Water, Methylpropanediol, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Glyerin, Alcohol, Dymethicone, Isononyl Isononanoate, Propylene Glycol, Arachidyl Alcohol, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, etc.

The bottle is of the standard 1oz/ 30ml volume, reg. $56, on sale for $31 right now (45% off).

Heavier in texture, the Exceptional Youth cream (night) gel cream works with the essence to give the skin the plump and soft look the morning after.

The flattened front makes the wordings stand out. Even though plastic jars are more travel friendly, I do wish it is glass, like the essence bottle, to boost that luxury feel.

Appearance aside, the cream, as expected, needs a bit more work to absorb but does not feel greasy nor heavy and it pairs well with any serum. Again, my face won't look like I'm 20 after using it, but I like what I see in the mirror in the morning.

Ingredients: Water, Methylpropanediol, Glyerin, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Talc, Isononyl Isononanoate, Dymethicone, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/ Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Arachidyl Alcohol, etc.

This is a 1.6oz/ 50ml jar, sells for $56.

2 more companions in the line, one is the Exceptional Youth Eye Contour.

Comes in a tube with a pointy opening, the cream has a good consistency for an eye cream. I don't want to use the pointed tip directly on the eye area so I put a dot on my finger first, the tap it in.

Brightening eye creams are hard to judge on the eyes of someone who gets less than 6 hours of sleep a day like me. I know they work their best to help my dark circles over time, but in my situation, the effect on me is not as promising as on others. My own fault of course and I can  appreciate them keeping my fine lines in check.

Ingredients: Water, Methylpropanediol, Glyerin, Dymethicone, Alcohol, Isononyl Isononanoate, Arachidyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Aphloia Theiformis Leaf Extract, etc.

The tube has 0.5oz/ 15ml and is on sale for $23 (reg. $42).

The second one is the Exceptional Youth Dark Spot corrector, with the same gel cream texture as the night cream but lighter.

The slanted plastic applicator can be helpful for spot application. However, I have a larger area on my cheeks with dark spots and find it hard to spread out the product, unless I go in with my finger.

After more than a month, I don't see tremendous result in brightening my spots, but at least they haven't got worse. I might sound like a broken record, but it is hard to win a complete winner in  dark spot treatments on me.

Ingredients: Water, Methylpropanediol, Talc, Glyerin, Alcohol, Isononyl Isononanoate, Propylene Glycol, Dymethicone, Arachidyl Alcohol, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, etc.

Slightly smaller tube of 0.47oz/ 14ml with better price ($30). On sale for $16.50 at the moment.

To summarize it all, mind the scent and certain ingredients that you might be sensitive to, you can find a product or two from the White Botanical line that might help with your skin concerns. I favour the essence, but that's just me :)