Monday 12 September 2011

Lancome Visionnaire [LR 2412 4%] Advanced Skin Corrector

I recently had the opportunity to trial Lancome's Visionnaire [LR 2412 4%] Advanced Skin Corrector as part of the Beauty Heaven trial team. The second the serum arrived I knew I had one classy product in my hands and that I was in for a real treat as the packaging is just amazing. It was housed in a shiny silver box and inside was a gorgeous jewel like teal bottle that looks amazing on the vanity - but you shouldn't judge a beauty product by its packaging as it's whats inside that counts.





From the company: LR 2412, the 1st molecule of our Research Laboratories designed to “self-propel” throughout all of skin’s layers, it reprograms the skin to “auto-correction” mode.

Wrinkles erased, unevenness and redness reduced, pores tightened: a very beautiful skin, even before make-up.


Ingredients: Aqua, Cyclohexasiloxane, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, Dipropylene glycol, Pentaerythrityl tetraethylhexanoate, Polysilicone-11, Dimethicone, Bis-PEG/PPG-16/16 PEG/PPG-16/16 Dimethicone Polymethyl Methacrylate, CI 77891, Mica, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, Adenosine, Dimethiconol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Disodium EDTA, Citronellol, Inulin Lauryl Carbamate, Parfum, sodium tetrahydrojasmonate, ammonium polyacrldimethtyltauramide/ammonium polyacryloydimethyl taurate, hydoxyethylellulose, argilla/magnesium aluminium silicate, tetrahydrojasmonic acid, Citronellol, Inulin Lauryl Carbamate, Parfum/Fragrance.

I have tried to research just what LR 2412 but have struggled to find anything, likely because it is a proprietary secret. Marta, from Truth in Aging has studied the ingredient list and suggests that LR 2412 might actually be adenosine -  a anti-inflammatory molecule also responsible for energy transfer in cells. The other ingredient of interest is jasmonic acid. Jasmonic acid is a plant hormone produced in response to plant stress - when a plant is attacked by an insect, this hormone is released making the plant material indigestible to the insect and, therefore, undesirable to eat. It is also controls plant growth and development having the ability to slow down growth. I suspect, though could be wrong, that the inclusion of this ingredient would be with the aim to slow down cell turnover, which, in my books, is a good thing in the anti-ageing quest (I have previously written about slowing down cell turnover here).

The serum also contains a few silicones which act like a makeup primer on the skin, leaving it feeling silky soft as well as hyaluronic acid which is a humectant - a substance that attracts and binds water. This would be great for plumping out fine lines that are due to dehydration. Mica provides light reflecting particles to even out the skin tone.

My review: The bottle has a pump dispenser, which is perfect for dispensing as well as for maintaining the hygiene of the product. I used 3 pumps to do my whole face though I might have been a tad excessive - you probably could get away with two. But even with the amount I used it still absorbed instantly into my skin.

The serum contains light reflecting particles that are evident when you first pump it out - it has a pearlescent look to it. It was tough to photograph the pearlescence as the flash drown out the reflectivity but you can kind of get the idea in the second picture.






Immediately after applying the serum my skin felt satin soft and not at all greasy - matte even - which is quite surprising for my oily skin. This is most likely due to the silicones in the product. I applied the serum twice a day either straight after showering in the morning or after washing my face in the evening, then gave it a couple of minutes to sink in whilst I brushed my teeth before I applied my moisturiser.

The serum left my skin looking amazing. The light reflecting, illuminating particles really did an excellent job of hiding my skin concerns which are redness on the cheeks and around the nose, some pigmentation issues on my forehead and noticeable pores on my nose. I am pretty sure it is the light reflecting particles that are hiding these concerns.

Long term - though I have been using this for about a month it is still too soon to say whether it has had any effect on my pigmentation. There definitely doesn't seem as harsh line between the pigmented and non-pigmented skin on my forehead but the pigmentation has not been removed completely. When I am wearing the serum, though, it is definitely much much less noticeable thanks to the light reflecting particles. It claims to help wrinkles and they do seem less - well the fine lines seem to be be plumped out a bit, I suspect thanks to the hyaluronic acid. When wearing the serum my pores are less noticeable but upon rinsing it off they are much the same. I personally don't believe that the size of your pores can be changed so wasn't expecting them to miraculously shrink, though the light reflecting particles definitely make them less noticeable.

Would I buy this again? Possibly. I love the way it leaves my skin looking; however, I would like to keep using it for longer to see whether it actually has a permanent effect on my pigmentation before i make a decision. I would also probably use this as a day serum rather than a day and night serum, mostly because, with the light reflecting illuminating particles, it is more of a makeup product for me.

This will be available for sale in Australia from 18th September and costs $165 for 50ml or $115 for 30ml.

All opinions stated in this blog are my own. I have no affiliation with Lancome and received no remuneration for my comments. This product was provided to my to trial as part of Beauty Heaven's trial team.