Even when essences have been on the market for a while, not many brands produce them, actually they are kind of exclusive to medium to luxury ones and still you would need to know where to find them, but still many people wouldn’t know what they are, how to use it and most important they are not meant to replace any other product.
As I’m preparing a proper guide about essences with the complete information I started trying different types and brands to see which ones recommend or not and where to find them. I know a girl in Korea or Japan would know perfectly how to use this product but in this Occident we are still a bit clueless and sometimes the misinformation that some “beauty gurus” or “influencers” give end up confusing people.
The essence is a formula with less concentration than a serum,a reason why most of them are almost like water, BUT don’t cheat yourself they might look like a toner but the function is completely different, never ever replace one for the other.
At the beginning essences were mostly vitamins and any other ingredient that would help to hydrate the skin helping to avoid wrinkles and lines, today we have so many different types with more components but still never replace your serum, the essence has to be applied after the toner and before the serum. as it works in a cellular level probably is harder to notice how it works, I normally like to explain it like the essence is the primer and the serum the foundation, you can use only the foundation but clearly you will get a better finish using a primer before.
And talking about brands that offer essences we have one that always worked for me and is Thalgo, i always recommend this brand because they products are powerful but very gentle specially if you have acne, rosacea, eczema, etc and we just don’t want to mess with the pH or the skin natural oils.
Thalgo has two products of this type and today I will talk about the Lumiere Marine, Clarifying Water Essence.
INGREDIENTS
Aqua (Water). Glycereth-26. PEG/PPG/Polybutylene Glycol-8/5/3 Glycerin. PEG-8 Dimethicone. Hydroxyethyl Urea. Butylene Glycol. Fomes Officinalis (Mushroom) Extract. Ribose. Diglycerin. Maris Aqua (Sea Water). Phenoxyethanol . PPG-26-Buteth-26. Pentylene Glycol. PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil. Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid. Undaria Pinnatifida Extract. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice. Macrocystis Pyrifera Extract. Sodium Polyglutamate. Hydrolyzed Yeast Extract. Chlorphenesin . Balanites Roxburghii Seed Oil. Parfum (Fragrance). Glycerin. Niacinamide. Adenosine. Ethylhexylglycerin. Propanediol.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS
- Brown Algae Extract: Effectively treats dark spots for a more uniform and naturally luminous complexion.
- White Agaric Extract & Hyaluronic Acid: Immeditely smoothes and refines skin texture
SKIN TYPE
All Types
MAIN FOCUS
Pigmentation / Brightening
MY EXPERIENCE
I use essence twice a day: on my morning routine I prefer not using serums as I consider it a waste and don’t like to feel my face too cakey with the moisturiser and the SPF on top, so in this part the essence is a big ally as the texture is far lighter.
During the night I do all the steps: Double cleanse, toner, essence, serum, eye cream and night cream.
Since I started using these essence i noticed an improvement on my skin pigmentation, I have issues with blemishes and patches that get even worst in the summer, I do have a bit of rosacea on my cheeks too so is really hard to keep all my face with a uniform colour adding to this my problems with hormonal acne that leaves also few marks. Since I started using this product I noticed the improvement on the colour of my skin, it looks more uniform, there is no redness, I can noticed a bit more glow and I don’t have wrinkles or fine lines but i noticed that my skin looks younger, also the acne was reduced and my pores around the nose look better.
The texture is almost water very light, you don’t need to apply a lot of product so a bottle will last a good while, in my case doesn’t really require massage actually I have to be fast because my skin absorbs it in seconds.
If you have similar issues like mine or just want to improve the glow on your skin I totally recommend it because it really improve the skincare routine
Thalgo, Lumiere Marine, Clarifying Water Essence is available in 125 ml and cost £31 (non affiliate link)
I hope you enjoyed the post and feel free to ask me anything
Evelin x
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