- sylviajast
Review: Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules Daily Youth Restoring Serum
I was lucky enough to get to try the Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Capsules Daily Youth Restoring Serum 🙂 These are apparently version ‘2.0’, even though the original capsules were super popular and had a cult following. I love any skincare products that add serious hydration to the skin – hydrating ingredients cover a multitude of sins! 😉 The new capsules utilise the power of ceramides and EA (Elizabeth Arden) has built a whole new range of products around this ‘ingredient’. I have to admit that I always thought of EA as a brand that is tailored more for mature ladies and their colour/cosmetic preferences (muted colours and rich formulas). Their skincare products have always used quite strong anti-ageing ingredients (I.e. their ‘Prevage’ line utilises a powerful antioxidant, idebenone), but the hydrating formula used in the ceramide capsules, can definitely benefit all age groups, depending on your skins needs 🙂
The ceramide serum is housed in individual caplets. The caplets are housed in a luxe gold pot. You press the lid down and it pops open. You should be able to open each capsule by twisting the neck until it tears away. Maybe I’m a weakling, but I always end up using some scissors to open the capsule (I dont want it to explode on me!). Each capsule contains a lot of of serum, even though it should last for just one application (therefore, the 60 caplets contained in the pot, should last a month if you use them morning and night). Let’s hear what EA say the capsules will do for you!
Proven to take years off the look of your skin Experience a triple-powered capsule of youth that focuses on enhancing skins’ barrier repair function, increasing moisturization within the surface of the skin and minimize the appearance of aging signs. This lightweight, silky-smooth serum helps to maintain healthy, youthful-looking skin and correct the visible signs of aging by delivering a new and improved blend of ingredients your skin needs to target skin barrier repair, moisturization, and Anti-Aging. Each capsule is biodegradable, fragrance and preservative free, designed to deliver a concentrated dose packed with even more advanced ceramide technology.The importance of skin’s lipid barrier Imagine a brick wall. After years of exposure, the mortar between the bricks starts to break down. Your skin is no different. As you age, ceramides (the mortar) aren’t produced at the same rate, resulting in a noticeable decline in ceramides by your 30’s, and an even more dramatic decline by your 40’s. Your skin begins to weaken and form wrinkles, dryness, uneven skin tone and loss of firmness.Defy skin’s decline with Ceramide Technology Our innovative Advanced Ceramide Capsules have the power to help replenish and restore the ceramides your skin loses with age. Our skin-identical Ceramide technology helps strengthen skin’s moisture barrier layer with what it needs for a youthful-looking appearance.
Revitalizes and re-texturizes the look of skin
Improves skin’s radiance visibly
Supports skin’s natural collagen for a firmer look
Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
Enhance skin hydration for a fresh and balanced feel
Smooths and softens skin noticeably
I love that every capsule is biodegradable and that the serum is fragrance free. The serum is very emollient. Almost a little oily, which I wasn’t expecting, but then I noticed one of the main ingredients of the serum is tsubaki oil (camellia japonica seed oil). Tsubaki oil is high in omega 6 and 9 – essential fatty acids that smooth and plump the skin instantly. It may also stimulate collagen production, making skin firmer over time. It’s fantastic for preventing trans-epidermal water loss, because it adds moisture to the skin, whilst also locking it in. The serum also contains a variety of ceramides of course (hence the name!), specifically 1, 3 & 6 (this seems to be a standard and solid ceramide ‘mix’). Ceramides are often described as the ‘glue’ which holds cells together and makes them strong. Ceramide 1 strengthens cells, ceramide 3 helps your skin hold moisture and ceramide 6 gently exfoliates the skin. All of these components mean that your skin can function as it should – cells turning over, the lipid barrier strong in place keeping your skin free of irritants and looking plump because it is hydrated! Lipids from olive and coconut oils add extra hydration and slip. Phytosphyingosine is an NMF (natural moisturising factor, found in the skin naturally) and a lipid – helping your skin produce more ceramides, especially if your skin has become irritated and isn’t functioning at its best. All of these ingredients are great and will results in hydrated, plump skin. Hydrated skin, functioning as it should, is always youthful, so there’s no question there that the serum lives up to it’s name.
A skincare revolution; In 1990 Elizabeth Arden started a skincare revolution, with the development of bio-engineered skin-identical ceramide technology. Now backed by 25 years of research on the vital role of ceramides in the skin, our innovative Ceramide Capsules continue to advance, delivery more of what your skin needs to stay looking young and vibrant.
Because it is so emollient however, I find that I don’t need to much of the serum at all. It can leave you looking quite shiny, especially if you use to much. I can wear it underneath makeup, but only when I apply the serum very sparingly (and then I wouldn’t use moisturiser). I usually can’t be bothered using the capsule in the morning, on top of my vitamin C serum (the vitamin C serum is a must for me). To much fluffing around, especially before work.
If your skin is very dry, dehydrated or mature, you might find that your skin just soaks up the serum in a flash and you can apply it more liberally (or use it on your chest area and neck!). As the serum contains lipids and oils, it does sit on top of the skin somewhat, which may bother some Beauties. I prefer to use it in the evenings and when my skin is feeling stressed out (i.e. from the sun). It’s great to use in the evenings because the serum is soooo emollient, it doesn’t easily ‘wipe away’ easily, so it remains on my skin throughout the night (without leaving an oily residue on the skin in the morning). In the morning, my skin is indeed hydrated. I don’t wake up with dry and ‘tight’ feeling skin, which can sometimes happen. My mum who also tried the capsules, can use them morning and night, and uses a whole capsule for each application (as directed by the instructions). One capsule lasts me for two applications though. I should add however, that my mum is in her early 60s and likes to apply all products liberally, while I am in my late 20s.
Does the product make me look 10 years younger as per EA’s claims or a teenager (so in a younger age bracket)? I’m not sure about that…. it doesn’t make lines, wrinkles or pigmentation disappear. It does make your skin look you will see a massive improvement in your skin however, especially if it is dry and isn’t functioning properly. They are a little like rescue capsules for dry/dehydrated skin!
The serum also contains retinyl palmitate, a form of retinol. Retinol is generally amazing, as it repairs ageing skin and damage (and retinols penetrate through all 5 layers of the skin, unlike retinoids!) but Retinyl Palmitate is my least favourite type of retinol. It’s not very efficient at converting into retinol in the skin and it’s bound to a a fatty acid, which means that the concentration is also generally weaker than other forms of vitamin A. It’s the third last ingredient in the ceramide serum, so I don’t believe it’s enough to make a difference in your skin. On the plus side, it means you can use the rich serum after an AHA/BHA serum (usually, combining chemical exfoliants and vitamin A is a no no). I have used the ceramide serum over the top of an exfoliating serum and I didn’t have any reaction – thank goodness, because otherwise I could have burned my skin!
The capsules are great at delivering a bucketload of hydration to the skin – especially if your skin is dry, dehydrated or irritated. I will be using the serum over the top of other serums, which do not contain rich lipids, so my skin gets more of what it needs (I alternate between an exfoliating serum and a retinol/vitamin A serum). It is a pricey product, EA being a luxe skincare brand and all. I have found the cheapest place to buy them in Aus is from Adore Beauty – $130 for 60 capsules (and you get free postage on every order). That works out to be about $2.17 per capsule. Not cheap, but if you can use one capsule for two applications, then that’s about $1 for every application.
Ingredients: Iisononyl isononanoate, isodecyl neopentanoate, isododecane, isododecane, isopropyl myristate, dimethicone, camellia japonica seed oil, divinyldimethicone/dimethicone crosspolymer, caprylic/capric triglyceride, cyclopentasiloxane, ceramide 1, ceramide 3, ceramide 6 II, cholesterol, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, crithmum maritimum extract, dimethiconol, lecithin, linoleic acid, medicago sativa (alfalfa) extract, phytosphingosine, retinyl palmitate, squalene, tocopherol.
Now that winter is also coming up soon, I plan to test the capsules in colder weather. I have a feeling, they will leave my skin feeling comfortable and hydrated. My mum is loving them, so it would make a lovely gift for anyone suffering from very dry, dehydrated skin, or if they are mature and need rich, emollient products in their life! 🙂
Have you ever tried the cermaide capsules Beauties (either the old version or the new one)? Is this a product you would use? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂
Catch ya next time,
Beauty Bee~
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