First Use of the Depology Caviar Serum Stick

Depology sent this Multi Balm Caviar Serum Stick over for me to try out and review but as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own. I am very excited about trying it out actually it is a serum stick designed to target wrinkles and fine lines. while I will be adding it into the skincare line up, it is also supposed to be a product that you can use throughout the day on top of makeup as well.

I can’t lie as soon as I opened the box I wanted to try it so I am doing this first use post to record what my skin looks like before I use the stick as well as my initial thoughts on the way the product feels going on for the first use. Plus I can also have my before photos in a safe place where I won’t accidentally delete them. I am trying to get better at making sure I have the before and after photos.

Think of this a my safe storage space.

For this first use I went on over bare skin. While I did use my regular skin care this morning it was a few hours ago so all of it is well absorbed. But before we use this Depology Multi Balm Caviar Serum Stick , lets see what the brand website has to say about it.

Instantly restore elasticity to your skin in under 3 seconds with our multi-purpose balm stick, formulated with Caviar and supercharged anti-aging ingredients. Quickly smooth out your crow’s feet, 11 lines, smile lines and keep your eye area hydrated on the go.

This moisturizing balm stick will create a moisture barrier providing long-lasting hydration to your skin. Slow down aging with this serum-infused stick – anytime and anywhere.

The formulation in this stick was upgraded to enhance the benefits- this new formulation now also includes bakuchiol. The size of the stick has been reduced after consulting customers and our R&D.

While this is the general description there is also a little bit of extra info in the product description tab that I thought worth noting as I will be testing it out later…

This balm stick can be used to prevent makeup from drying and caking through the day and can be easily applied on top of foundation.

While I typically don’t have any problems with caking in my foundation, mainly because any foundation I try that does end up with that problem very shortly gets the heave ho out of my makeup rotation, it am interested in seeing how it works with the fine lines around my mouth. In general a good primer helps out the fine lines around my eyes where foundation settling occurs, but it is the fine lines around my mouth that I have issues with foundation settling in and making more visible. I really hope that using this Multi balm serum stick either before or during foundation wear will help with that problem. I will be playing around to find out.

While most of the photos in this post are before pics, I have one picture that is taken just after application. I know the description says instant restoration, but skincare isn’t magic so I did not take the picture post application to show magic properties, I did it to show how the product sits on the skin.

The balm applied smoothly and without needing to be warmed up first. It just glided easily over the skin. As it passed I could see a line of wet behind it, but that line of wet disappeared quickly. It melted into the skin. I then put the stick down and used my hands to spread it over my face. On first application, it was slightly stick. Not very. I’ve had serums that were much stickier. After a moment or two the serum lost the stickiness. On my face it feels weightless and I can’t tell there is anything on my face. when I touch my face I can tell there is something there. It feels a little bit like I applied a balm style primer to my face. It doesn’t have the silicone-y slippy feeling some primers get, but more of the smoothing effect that a good pore filling primer will give you. I quite like the feeling actually.

Although I have to say I like the fact that when I am not touching my face, I can’t feel it on my skin at all. i don’t want to be feeling the weight of skin care throughout the day. And I can’t feel this. The scent of this Depology Multi Balm Caviar Serum stick is slightly herbal. It reminds me of rosemary. I am not entirely certain why. I did a check of the ingredients list (mostly to make certain i wasn’t allergic) and there was no rosemary on the list. Perhaps it is a combination of some of the ingredients. The scent is only there when I am applying it and for maybe a moment after it is applied. Then it fades and there is no scent. It is just something to note.

while I didn’t see any three second magic, I do like the way my skin feels with this Caviar Serum Stick on it and I am looking forward to giving this Depology Multi Balm Caviar Serum Stick a full thirty day trial. After thirty days of use, these are the pictures I will use for comparison. Given that I really like the way this product feels on my skin, I am hoping for big results. I suppose only time will tell…

The Depology Travel Set

A while ago Depology sent over several product for me to try out. They had some really great eye patches and really good chin lifting items, but the item for me that was the mega winner in the collection was the Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum. The bottle of serum they sent lasted six weeks and and I really saw a fantastic improvement in my skin texture while using it. It was amazing in reducing my fine lines.

In case you have never heard of Matrixyl 3000 it is …formed from two peptides that work synergistically to restore and maintain the skin’s youthful appearance by signaling to cells to produce more collagen. This serum combines this with Hyaluronic acid which I think you all know my skin loves and aloe which is not only a fantastic skin softening ingredient but it also soothes skin irritations.

When i used this serum I really enjoyed it.

Now Depology has come up with a travel set. This is the Depology Matrixyl Travel set to be precise For just ten dollars more you can get one full sized bottle of the Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting serum along with a travel sized bottle. For me this is an amazing thing.

I love my skin care, I know you know this by now. And I love having multiple steps in my skincare regime. I know a lot of people really prefer the one or two multifunctional items to simplify and streamline. I get that, but that isn’t really me. I have noticed over the years that many multifunctional items only to one or possibly two of the things they claim to do well. The others they are listed as performing they are only so so with. If given the option I will choose three separate products that each do one thing really well over something that is okay with three things.

Plus I like options. I like to be able to target issues. If my skin is looking a little dull, maybe this is the day to lean into the Vitamin C brightening serum. Those fine lines looking a little deeper than I like? maybe today is the plumping serums day to shine. I like to be able to look at my skin, see what issues I want to address and then address them directly.

It is however a problem when traveling. I have had enough travel mishaps with tossed about luggage, bathrooms with no counter space or shared with someone who is a little less careful with glass bottles than he should be to not like traveling with full sized bottles of certain products. With Serums I will especially reach for a travel size or even a sample when packing rather than a full size. I love having that option. I am going to be rotating this full sized bottle into my routine as I am in need of a serum at the moment. While I usually host Easter, this year there is a schedule mishap so while there will be a small Easter celebration at my place, the following weekend we are travelling down for a large scale family thing this year.

I will still be cooking the family meal, I will just be using someone else’s kitchen to do it. One the weekend after actual Easter.

Which means that this travel set comes at the the most opportune time. I can start the regular sized bottle in the line up and then just rotate in the travel size when i pack to hit the road. For me, that makes this Depology Travel Set of Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum a winner.

For more information about how to use Matrixyl 3000 this is an excellent site to visit and for a full run down on what benefits Matrixyl 3000 is supposed to provide for your skin you can read more here. I personally love knowing what a product is supposed to accomplish before I go testing it out I like to wallow in all of the little details and I find these sorts of informational posts helpful to read through.

A week of Babor’s Perfect Glow

In the February Beauty Fix box from Dermstore there was this Ampule concentrate series from Babor called The Perfect Glow. It is a seven day ampule set with each ampule being broken open each day for morning application. Oddly enough I couldn’t find the set for sale on Dermstore but i could find it on Lovely Skin (the other on-line skincare store I frequent). It is actually on sale as well so if you are interested you can get it for a little less.

According to the website…

These ampoule face treatments rejuvenate skin’s healthy glow with elicate glow pigments and precious ingredients. Together, they give skin a picture-perfect appearance with a lasting glow effect and renewed radiance. Pullulan provides an instant lifting effect, Vitamin E provides antioxidant protection and Sunflower seed oil provides lasting moisture

The concentrate is in little glass vials and there is a tool included that you snap open the little ampules with. It works well, there was no accidental glass breakage or any issues and a part of me does like that it is glass as opposed to plastic filled ampule capsules. However I can’t say I got used to breaking the glass each morning while using this serum set. Each time I braced for some sort of mishap. It never happened, everything worked perfectly well. I was just entirely comfortable with the morning glass breakage.

There is another reason I dislike the glass ampules. The fact it I adore this serum concentrate. I would happily use it ever morning and I think my skin would love it. However I can only find this serum in the seven day sets. Apparently I am only allowed to use the serum for a week at a time. I don’t know if there is something in the serum that makes it incapable of surviving in a larger pump tube and must there for be put into little sealed one dose vials. The ingredients list didn’t look too volatile to me, but I am not a chemist.

I really like the way this serum works with my skin. I have seen a decided improvement in the past seven days. The texture of my skin is firmer and it is less dull as well as being more hydrated. It is a very good serum. while the dose in the little tubes is the perfect amount to cover my face, neck and upper chest, I am fairly sure that if it were in a larger bottle i would be able to dispense it myself.

I think that is the frustrating part of this serum/concentrate. I can only have it for a seven day set. It is a serum designed to be used every day but in order to use it everyday I would have to purchase at least four packs to get through a month. To me that seems like a lot of waste.

In the end there is always the final question. would I purchase this product again. The truth is that Yes I would purchase the Babor Ampule Concentrate series again. it is a lovely product. I would love to have it in a form I could use every day. However since that is not really feasible without creating a lot of waste, I would look at picking this up to use a week before I had an event I had to go to so that my skin was looking it’s best. A week of this Perfect Glow from Babor before a major event would help my skin look and feel fabulous. All told it is a good product that does improve the skin’s texture and appearance over the seven day period of use. It is just a pity it can’t be used everyday.

First use of the Babor Perfect Glow

This Perfect Glow Ampule Concentrate from Babor came in my Beauty Fix box this month. There are seven ampules to the set and i will be using one a day for the week as my day time serum. This ampule set is in individual containers with each day’s serum pre-measured. But we will get to that in a moment. First let’s take a look at the description.

The beauty filter for every day – with instantly visible effect. Even if sounds too good to be true, it is in fact possible in seconds thanks to Perfect Glow Ampoule Concentrates. Delicate glow pigments and precious ingredients in the concentrate give the skin a picture-perfect appearance with a lasting glow effect and fresh radiance.

Okay the ampules are little glass bottles and you are supposed to use one a day. They come with a small tool that you slip over the top of the ampule and then use to snap off the top of the glass at the etched point. I like that it is glass instead of plastic. With a quick rinse the empty containers go into my recycling bin. So I won’t complain about the individual doses.

I will say that that first snap opening is a bit of a shock. Breaking glass in the bathroom is generally not something that is viewed as a good thing. But it did snap cleanly with no excess breakage. Everything was fine. It felt wrong to break the glass but it worked out well. The tool worked as it was supposed to. And I dispensed the serum into my hand. It has a light fresh scent that to my nose just reads skincare. when I poured it into my hand I thought, wow that’s a lot of serum. It is a thin consistency serum. more like a water than a gel.

I applied it to my face and neck as well as upper chest and it was exactly the right amount to cover all of the skin. Which for me means that the pre measured dose might be a good thing. I tend to forget my neck and upper chest Since the serum was already dispensed I used it. So that was a definite bonus.

It did take a few minutes to dry down enough to continue with my skin care.

However honestly I don’t care how long it takes to dry. My skin feels silky smooth and soft. It feels really well hydrated. I’ll be honest, I will have to take some time and break down this ingredients list as very few of the items on there are immediately recognizable.

Full Ingredients: AQUA, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, ISOAMYL LAURATE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, DISTARCH PHOSPHATE, GLYCERYL OLEATE CITRATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, GLYCERIN, HYDROXYPROPYL METHYLCELLULOSE, PULLULAN, MICA, LECITHIN, DEHYDROXANTHAN GUM, PARFUM, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, TOCOPHEROL, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS SEED OIL, PORPHYRIDIUM CRUENTUM EXTRACT, BIOSACCHARIDE GUM-1, LIMONENE, SILICA, SACCHARIDE ISOMERATE, BENZYL ALCOHOL, SODIUM BENZOATE, CITRIC ACID, ALUMINA, HEXANOYL DIPEPTIDE-3 NORLEUCINE ACETATE, CI 77891, CI 77491

I can recognize water, sunflower oil, glycerin and citric acid but I will need to do some research on the rest. I am in love with the way my skin feels. The Babor website says there are visible results in seven days from this Perfect Glow Ampule Set. And it is a seven day kit. So I am posting today’s first use photo to be compared with the post seventh day one. For feel alone, they get two thumbs up. My skin feels amazing. For actual visible results, we have six more days to wait. I’ll see you back here then and we’ll compare todays pics to those. (If they are here I won’t accidentally delete them). Personally I can’t wait. Perhaps I can get used to breaking glass in the bathroom.

Super Serums

Oh this year the serums were many and many of them were good. However i tried to pick the best of each category I tend to use. (Retinol, Vitamin C, Collagen and HA) So lets see who made the cut as the best of 2022, shall we?

1- Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum

this is designed to target fine lines and wrinkles and boy does it. This serum was simply fabulous on the skin and my fine lines were plumped into much smaller fine lines with each use. it is something you have to consistently use though or the effects fade once you are done. It is recommended that if you are using the serum you should go for the under eye micro needle patches and I will second that. I think (from what I read) that the micro darts are a more intense version of the serum and both are fantastic items if fine lines are your issues. I highly recommend both.

2- Farmacy’s Filling Good

Okay this smells like honey but in a light way not a heavy sticky way, it melts into the skin like a dream and it makes my skin feel fantastic with many of my fine lines plumped out. One pump and the face is covered. Do you need any more reasons to go for this serum? I think not. It is fabulous and may be the best thing I have tried from Farmacy.

3- Ole Henriksen’s Truth Serum

This is one of the best Vitamin C serums I used this year. It brightens and it doesn’t make my skin sun sensitive so i can use it in the night and in the morning. It is quite honestly just fabulous.

4: Kiehl’s Retinol Fast Release Wrinkle Reducing Night Serum

This is listed for night time use and they mean it. If used in the day it can make you sun sensitive. it was fabulous at night thought and I didn’t have any issues with it when i used it. It comes in two parts that you mix together in the bottle so you know it is fresh and hasn’t lost potency. It has no scent really which is strange because Kiehl’s products always seem to have the same scent to me. This doesn’t have it. It is a great retinol though and I will certainly be picking it up again.

And those my darlings are the top five serums I tried out this year. As you can probably tell, plumping and fine line removal is kind of my key goal. But there was some brightening and lightening and over all, these are my skin’s favorite serums from this year.

First use of the Beekman 1802 Collagen Booster

Recently I tried the Beekman 1802 Quarterly box. It is $65 per quarter and one of the most beautiful subscription boxes I have ever received. However it is a brand box which means that everything in it comes from the brand. I personally like that as it gives me a chance to try a multitude of items from the Beekman 1802 brand. The draw back is that the beautiful subscription box is only worth it if I like the items from the box. The next quarterly box goes out in November so I want to try out as many of the products that came in the box as I can before I have another box arriving.

At this point I have liked enough of the products I’ve tried in the box to be fine with receiving the November box but most of the items I tried were more body care than facial skincare. Aside from the sunscreen, this is the first of the facial skincare items I’ve tried. So what is this Collagen Booster with Electric Daisy and peptide firming serum…

Naturally lift and tighten skin with Collagen Booster. This power packed serum is formulated with a fast-acting trio of peptides, electric daisy, and encapsulated CoQ10 bubbles to boost collagen production and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, revealing a firmer, more youthful complexion. Apply 1-2 drops on clean, dry skin right after cleansing as part of your morning routine. Use it alone or with the moisturizer of your choice.

Okay all of that is something I would love to have happen on my face. I could use fine lines and wrinkles to fade away as much as possible and I would love to have firmer more youthful looking skin. While I will break down ingredients after a month of use, and trust me I will be looking into the electric daisies, this is a first use post. Because lets face it if you try it and don’t like it then you aren’t going to wear it long enough to see any results.

First of all, this is a really cute bottle. There is just something about all of the softened rounded edges and the frosted glass of the bottle that is aesthetically appealing to me. The serum looks soft and friendly, glowing yellow behind the frosted glass. The rounded bottles also fit well in the hands without slipping which is nice as well. The hand naturally cups the bottle so it feels more stable. The dropper is nice as it takes the drops I need out without exposing the rest of the product to the air. And the tiny cute little dropper does pull up the correct proportion of product with each squeeze.

I was worried that the dropper (while adorable) was not going to be able to reach the product and that there would be issues as the product level dropped. However the bottom is thick glass and the dropper has a slight angle to it so I think that I may be able to get every last drop of product from the bottle. That will be something i will watch as the product level drops. Because adorable should never interfere with product usage. In skincare pretty is nice but use is what counts.

So how was my first use. It was interesting. The serum is clear with a few yellow dots in it and it is somewhat viscus. There is no scent to it so if you are scent sensitive then this is not going to trigger anything. I sniffed it as much as possible and while I got serum on my nose, I still didn’t smell anything.

the serum applied easily and smoothly. I did let it dry down before I applied my moisturizer. This is a serum that you need to follow with a moisturizer. It is not a serum you want to wear alone. It makes the skin slightly sticky. A moisturizer over it takes away the stickiness completely. there is no stickiness poking through. As the brand recommends you either add it to a moisturizer or wear it under a moisturizer, I don’t think the stickiness is a problem. I would have issue if it were something you could wear on it’s own, but it clearly isn’t. Just follow with a moisturizer and there is no issue.

Over all I have to say this was a really good first use test for me. There was no scent that I don’t like, or at all really, it felt good against the skin and at this point I am just left hoping that it performs like it says it will. I will keep my fingers crossed and remain hopefully optimistic for the performance of the Collagen Booster from Beekman 1802.

Thirty Days of the Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum

Depology very kindly gifted this Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum for the purpose of review. As always my thoughts and opinions are my own.

For the past thirty days I have been using the Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum. The initial post for this serum covers a lot of the basics, the feel the look the scent and to be honest, not a lot of that changed. The serum has no scent to it. It is clear, and it is a surprisingly thick liquid. There is a viscosity to it when it comes out of the dropper so it is thicker than water even though it has the appearance of it.

The link above will take you to my previous post detailing the feel of using the serum. the use remained consistent throughout. I had no irritation or problems from the Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum and quite frankly I am not surprised. A look at the full ingredients list has no items on it that would irritate my skin.

Full Ingredients List: Water, Butylene Glycol, Matrixyl 3000, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Codium Tomentosum Extract, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Cereus Grandiflorus (Cactus) Extract, Polyglyceryl-6 Caprylate, Trehalose, Hydroxyacetophenone, 1 ,2-Hexanediol, Coconut Oil, Rosehip Seed Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Allantoin, Stearic Acid, Xanthan Gum.
Depology

While ingredients like Aloe coconut oil, and sunflower oil help to soften the skin, items like grapefruit seed extract and cactus help with brightening. Hyaluronic acid helps with plumping the skin and eliminating the fine lines and wrinkles as does the matrixyl 3000 that the Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum is named for. Many of the other ingredients are humectants (helping to dray moisture into the skin) or stabilizers. all in all it is a pretty good list of ingredients.

And it cause me no trouble. I used this Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum twice a day for the past thirty days. It absorbed well and left my skin feeling soft and hydrated. It was best if I dried my skin post face wash because if the skin was damp the serum tended to be a little foamy. The foam was minimal and mostly irrelevant, but it made me think I hadn’t washed all of the soap off of my face, which made me want to rinse my face which would have made applying the serum pointless.

This foamy-ness happens with a lot of serums so it is sort of expected,. I think it is one of the stabilizers just reacting with water. It isn’t anything to worry about. And it is easily avoidable if it bothers you. I washed my face, patted it dry and then brushed my teeth. But the time I was finished brushing my teeth my skin was dry enough not to cause the serum to foam.

the big question of course is how did my skin look after thirty days of use. Let’s zoom in and take a look.

There is a slight reduction in the wrinkles at the corner of my eyes but the change is more noticeable when you look at the under eye. the wrinkles there are not as deeply set as they were at the beginning of the month.

And then we have the line on my forehead. This is the line I refer to as my stress crack. They are slightly different photos and I apologize. when I took the second one I had to zoom in a little closer because the line wasn’t quite as pronounced as it was before the trial, hence the different angles. Hopefully it isn’t too disorienting.

In general it takes thirty days to show any actual results. Today actually marks the thirty days of use and as you can see I am starting to show some definite signs of improvement in the most prominent of my wrinkles. As with all skincare use needs to be continued if the effects are going to last. I feel certain that as there is some improvement at the thirty day mark, continued use of the Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum would show greater effects the longer I used it. Skincare isn’t magic though so to continue to see the results I would have to continuously use the serum. As with all skincare consistency is the biggest key to getting results. and I think a consistent use of the Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum would show some pretty good results.

First use of the Depology Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting Serum

Depology recently sent a box of products to me to try out for the purpose of review including Depology’s Matrixyl Collagen Boosting Serum. while these were gifted to me, as always my opinion is my own. As Depology is a brand that focuses on anti aging skincare I am thrilled to be able to test out some of their products. They are a Korean Skincare brand and according to their mission statement…

Years of experience in the fast-paced Korean beauty industry has made us highly ambitious to be as innovative as possible and continuously discover new ways to contribute to the ever-evolving world of beauty and skincare. Our hope is that we can help people feel comfortable and confident in their skin using effective and non-invasive skincare solutions.

I am all for non-invasive treatments. And since I just finished the serum I was trying, it seemed like the perfect time to roll in the serum they sent me to begin it’s trial. *I’ll be adding in some of the other products as we go on so that I can not only try out the products, but get a feel for the brand itself as these are the first items I have tried from them.

While this is a first use post, it is mostly to record my first impressions and a little bit about the brand. The biggest benefit to the first use posts, especially with things like an anti-aging serum, is that I can put up the photos of my skin before I start testing the product. I find it much easier to not lose the before pictures if they are posted with the first use. I also know that no matter where I save them by the time the month long trial has gone through I will have forgotten where I actually put the photos if I don’t.

So let’s first look at what I should be expecting from the Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Boosting serum, shall we?

A supercharged serum formulated to hydrate the skin, counter the visible signs of aging and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Apply after cleansing and toning the skin every morning and night. Optimal to use before the application of micro-dart patches, to boost effects of the patches.
Depology’s Matrixyl Collagen Boosting Serum

Now Depology did send over some of the Mirco Dart Patches which I am very much looking forward to trying, but I want to get a feel for the serum on it’s own before I start having it work in conjunction with something else. That way I know what item did what and if they have some sort of Wonder Twins Activate kind of powers.

my bare skin before the start of this trial

As you can see from the photo, the serum is clear. It is slightly thicker than water. It has a certain viscosity to it when dispensed from the dropper. I worried that the viscosity might cause it to be a little sticky. When applied there is a slight stickiness, but as soon as it dries down and is absorbed the stickiness is gone and the skin just feels smooth.

The absorption takes about thirty seconds. So it is really quick. Which I appreciate especially in the morning. This is a twice a day serum, and while I don’t mind taking more time in the evenings, the mornings can get pretty rushed. So no delays to wait while serum absorbs is a good thing.

There is no scent to the serum. I don’t know why I expected there to be, but there isn’t. Which means it doesn’t compete with any of the other products in the skincare line up. Many of which do have scents at this time. In general I don’t mind scent in my skin care, but I prefer to keep them light. Having no scent is actually a bonus sometimes.

the line on my forehead that helps me measure efficacy

So as I move forward with this serum the things I will be looking out for are a reduction of the fine lines and wrinkles. As you can see, there are many on which this serum can work. I will also look at an over all reduction of the signs of aging. For me that means better skin tone, plumper firmer skin and that sort of thing. some of that may show on the photos. I am guessing that a lot of it is going to be something that is more noticeable by touch but there could be some in the photos, which is why I have taken both over all pictures as well as close ups.

The products themselves look really interesting and I can hardly wait to give them a try. While thee is the newness aspect of course, I am really hoping that they show some effect. I always root for any kind of skincare to be effective actually. I hate to see them fail. And this serum has a pretty good ingredients list to get it started.

Water, Butylene Glycol, Matrixyl 3000, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Codium Tomentosum Extract, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Cereus Grandiflorus (Cactus) Extract, Polyglyceryl-6 Caprylate, Trehalose, Hydroxyacetophenone, 1 ,2-Hexanediol, Coconut Oil, Rosehip Seed Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Allantoin, Stearic Acid, Xanthan Gum.

Matrixyl 3000 is a considered a “synthetic peptide.” that basically tells the skin to start replacing collagen that is lost. For a more detailed and scientific version this article from MiamiMD can break down all of the details for you in a much more concise way. I just know it is used in some anti-aging skincare items. I came across it with Timeless Skincare a while back and my skin really responded well to it. Thee are some other favorites for me in the ingredient list as well. Aloe is always my friend and you know I love hyaluronic acid. Grapefruit seen extract tends to help brighten the skin and fade age spots so I am pleased to see it here.

I can’t say that I’ve ever had cactus extract in my skincare so i will have to take a deeper look into that as well as see how it works with my skin. Most of what I have found about cactus extract involves preventing hair loss and reducing sebum. I’m guessing it is for it’s sebum reduction properties it is used here. But I suppose if I start sporting a full beard we will know why. I am also pleased to see coconut oil, rosehip oil and sunflower seed oil, all of which my skin has responded to positively in the past.

Over all it is is an ingredients list i can get behind and I can’t wait to see what a month of solid use of Depology’s Matrixyl Collagen Boosting Serum looks like. And once I get a feel for it on my skin, I will start to incorporate the micro dart patches to see how the products work together. So stay tuned and let the testing of the Depology’s Matrixyl Collagen Boosting Serum begin.

First Use Dime Eyelash Boost Serum

I love long silky lashes but I will be honest, I am not a fan of false eye lashes. I have pretty decent eyelashes to start with, but when I try to add in false eye lashes, I inevitably end up ripping out my own eye lashes and then, I don’t have decent lashes of my own any more.

Which sort of defeats the whole point.

The last time I gave in and used false lashes for a while, I love the way they look, hated losing my lashes and tried a lash boost serum. It was the Grande Cosmetics Lash Enhancing serum and it was fantastic. I have also used the Dermelect XL Lash Volumizer, which I think made my lashes really healthy. I thas been a while since I’ve used a lash enhancing serum though. However i am always willing to extend my lashes, as long as I keep them healthy.

This Dime Eyelash Boost Serum came in a recent Boxy Charm. I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of the brand before. According to the brand…

Apply nightly to the base of the upper and lower eyelashes. Continue using to aid the condition and appearance of your lashes.

Apply every other day if a mild tingling sensation occurs. As Eyelash Boost gets low, shake the bottle to ensure the product is on the application wand before use.
Caution: For external use only. Avoid direct contact with the eye. If irritation occurs, rinse with cool water and discontinue use. Consult with your physician if you are pregnant or nursing, being treated for any eye-related disorder, or actively undergoing cancer treatment. Keep out of reach of children.
Dime

I admit when it comes to my eyes I am kind of picky so I went through the ingredients list with a dine toothed comb. I found nothing I was allergic to on the list and then I tested it of night on the inside of my arm. There was no adverse reaction so I decided to go ahead and try it out. (I also made sure to use it in the bathroom near a sink so that if any burning occurred I could rinse out my eyes fast.

I like long lashes, but I’m not going to make myself blind to get them.

bare eyelashes at the start of the trial

The tube is heavy feeling in the hand. I know it is probably a marketing ploy but the heavier tube did feel more luxe in the hand. I also like the sleek black tube with the gold lettering. It is an attractive looking product. The wand is a very fine point brush. There is no real scent to the product. I applied the product on the base of my lashes and then brushed it along the actual lashes themselves, as directed.

There was no stinging or burning sensations. No tingling of any kind. It simply felt wet. I sealed the tube up and then left the bathroom. It took about five minutes for the Dime Serum to dry down on my lashes. I did go a bit heavy handed on this first application since I wanted to see if i would have any problems. For me, since i routinely wear a silk sleep mask to bed, the dry time of the product is important.

After five minutes my lashes were dry and felt a bit stiff. I brushed them with my finger and the stiffness faded. I think it was just the consequence of having something dry on the lashes. A quickly brush over the lashes with my finger and the stiffness wasn’t an issue. (and by brush I mostly mean I ran the side of my finger over my lashes by holding my finger in front of my eyes and blinking).

Clearly I am not going to see results in just one use, but i wanted to try the serum out and see how it would effect me before committing to a month long trial. Plus I find that if I post the before and first use pictures here there is less of a likelihood I will accidentally erase them and lose them. Since there were no ill effects then i will be trying the Dime Lash Boosting Serum for the next thirty days. At the end of March I’ll post again and we’ll see what sort of results my lashes show. But for a first use, this product performed pretty well. I’m actually kind of excited about this trial. When I used the Grande Lashes, it was because I had damaged my own lashes and needed to regrow them. Now my lashes are healthy, so it is all about keeping them healthy and seeing how long they can grow. And while repair is sometimes necessary, this is just plain fun.

Dropping the Purple Cabbage

They say that looks aren’t everything. Yet they are often what draws you in. This Serumkind Purple Cabbage Drop Serum is no excerption. Just look at it. The slim glass bottle, squared off instead of simply round, but with the corners rounded off. The purple serum that almost glows in the light. Through the serum you can make out the thin glass dropper.

It is a thing of beauty. And it is clear that someone spent some time thinking about the design. And it is a lovely design. It also matches the other products from the Serumkind line. I went on their website and they have a Youth Glow Serum that looks like orange, yellow and red dots glowing in the tube. All of the serums look sleek and beautiful in the packaging.

But as beautiful as it looks, it is ultimately what is inside that counts. So what is inside this $49 serum? Let’s look at the product page shall we?

“Soothe and replenish with purple cabbage.”

Purple cabbage from Jeju Island contains beta-glucan which helps bring radiance and breathes live into dull and malnourished skin. The high concentration of anthocyanin and lysine provides anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits.
Serumkind

INGREDIENTS: BRASSICA OLERACEA CAPITATA (CABBAGE) LEAF EXTRACT, GLYCERIN, AQUA/WATER/EAU, METHYLPROPANEDIOL, METHYL GLUCETH-20, BETAINE, HYDROXYETHYL ACRYLATE/SODIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE COPOLYMER, C12-14 PARETH-12, COCCINIA INDICA FRUIT EXTRACT, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, ECLIPTA PROSTRATA EXTRACT, TREHALOSE, XANTHAN GUM, MELIA AZADIRACHTA LEAF EXTRACT, MELIA AZADIRACHTA FLOWER EXTRACT, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE, BETA-GLUCAN, ALOE BARBADENSIS FLOWER EXTRACT, SOLANUM MELONGENA (EGGPLANT) FRUIT EXTRACT, OCIMUM SANCTUM LEAF EXTRACT, CORALLINA OFFICINALIS EXTRACT, CURCUMA LONGA (TURMERIC) ROOT EXTRACT, FRAGRANCE/PARFUM

※ Purple Cabbage Drop contains a very small amount (0.04%) of allergen-free fragrance to cover the raw material(Red Cabbage Extract) scent which can be unpleasant to some customers.

First off, I am very pleased to see that the ingredient the serum is named for is actually listed first. That’s right cabbage comes first. There is also a small, and admittedly childish part of me that finds it amusing that they dimmed the cabbage scent with allergen-free fragrance to cover the scent of cabbage. One of my favorite summer time meals is a spring roll salad which has both purple and Napa cabbage in it so I am familiar with the scent. Like most of the brassicas thee can be a somewhat sulfurous scent associated with them that is also associated with breaking wind. It is slight in the uncooked cabbage but I am childishly amused that they saw fit to remove it.

The scent of the purple cabbage drops is that of purple cabbage with the sulfurous bits removed. It is an oddly pleasant and fresh scent. Perhaps some of that is due to the added fragrance though. If so, it still seems like a natural and fresh scent. I was quite pleasantly surprised. The serum is thick and somewhat viscous when dispensed onto the hand. While it absorbed well onto the skin of the face, my hands felt somewhat sticky after applying the serum so I always washed my hands immediately after putting the serum to my face. Since I apply moisturizer over my serums and stickiness left by the serum on my face was neutralized.

In the past month of use the biggest issue I have had with this serum has been the pretty, pretty bottle. Or more precisely the long thin dropper in the pretty, pretty bottle. The thinness of the dropper stem, while delightful to look at, it too thin to adequately get the serum out of the bottle. And it is a problem that grows with each use.

At first the dropper picked up enough serum with each draw from the bottle for one use. This quickly ceased to be the case (as in less than a week). It was then a two or three dip procedure with the dropper to get enough serum out to apply it. The serum is simply too thick for the dropper.

the air bubbles now trapped in the serum

As the product level dropped it became harder to pick up the product. And each use of the serum and dropper combo introduced more air into the serum so that often you are getting more air bubbles than serum. I am concerned that mixing so much air with the serum is going to cause the serum to spoil more rapidly.

One thing I did find is that if you take the dropper out of the bottle completely, pinch the dropper shut making sure that all air is expelled from the dropper, then put it back in the tube, it will draw the product in. But it you squeeze it at all while it is in the bottle of product, it will just push more air into the product.

It is usable, it just requires a bit of thinking. And to be honest, I don’t do my best thinking in the morning. I tend to put on the coffee, then apply my skincare, which means I’m a bit slow. Even after I figured out that I needed to remove the dropper, expel all the air and then reinsert the dropper to get the serum, odds are I would have already stared stupidly at the air bubbles and lack of serum dispensed before I remembered. which just made it somewhat aggravating to use.

It did not help that in the past month I’ve been using this serum, I can’t point to a single beneficial thing on my face that I can attribute to this serum. My dark spots are the same shade. My skin does not look any brighter. The redness that might have been calmed, wasn’t and most of the nourishing seemed to come from the moisturizer I applied after. I tried leaving it off for a few days and thee was no noticeable difference. I wanted to like this serum. Partially i wanted to like it because it just looks stunning on my skincare shelf and because I could easily picture other items from the brand lined up with it. And in part I just like the thought of purple cabbage being used as skincare.

And if it had some impressive results then I would put up with the minor annoyance of the dropper. And the fact that it tries to make me think before I have had my coffee. But the results are minimal and the pretty bottle isn’t enough to triumph over the annoyance. Without distinctive results, to me this serum simply isn’t worth repurchasing. I will use it until it is gone, but I will not repurchase the Purple Cabbage Drops from Serumkind and I will have to think long and hard about whether or not I want to try another serum from the brand. Pretty may draw me in, but it isn’t enough to get me to stay.