Review: LIXIR Universal Emulsion 💥💦

I love a good moisturiser! And boy, do I LOVE this one! I bought it on a whim last year before a holiday to Europe because it’s packaged in a light plastic tube rather than a jar. It was a bit risky I admit, buying a new skincare product before a holiday, not knowing if it will work well with my skin… but that’s who I am – a reckless, risk taker LOL 😂 😝 I just had a good feeling about it, you know?! And I wasn’t wrong which is the best part! This cream is everything that I love in a fabulous moisturiser. Read on to find out more!

LIXIR is a pretty new skincare brand on the block, developed by British Doctor, Colette Haydon (in demo-pharmacy, how interesting!). They don’t have a huge selection of skincare products on offer just yet, but you can see that there’s a lot of thought behind the 8 products currently available. I believe that the ‘Universal Emulsion‘ was the first product they developed. There’s a couple of things that I love about the brand’s ethos. Firstly, they want to create products that are multi-functional. They don’t believe in needing 12 different products in your skincare routine, with every part of the face needing a seperate product. Simplicity. Simplicity when it comes to actives as well – one or two well chosen actives is all you need. Overloading your skin at one time, is not good. The other parts of their ethos that I love, is that ingredients work or they don’t (scientifically speaking) and their efficiency is not based on whether they are natural or not. Boom! That is SO true! Good ingredients are labelled as such, when they are safe, effective and formulated correctly. Bad ingredients  harmful or ineffective. There is a misconception that natural products should contain many botanical extracts, which actually often have little effect. We focus on pure molecules with published clinical results.

Its creationIt is all about water, the ultimate anti-aging active, seemingly simple yet so difficult to retain in the skin. Water makes your skin comfortable and helps to transport biological messengers that your skin cells need, day and night.There is no such thing as a cream which is good for a bit of your skin and not the other – Universal Emulsion is for the face, eye contour, lips, neck, décolleté, arms and hands. We wanted it light yet intensely moisturising for both day and night.We used an unusual emulsification technique to obtain an SPF 10 without any added sunscreens – so ideal as an urban day cream and primer. Never has an emulsion scored a meaningful SPF (clinically tested) without harmful added sunscreen ingredients – therefore it is also ideal for night and as your serum base when combined with our Night Switch molecules.What it doesIsolates the skin to shield it from UV and pollution which generate free radicals, keeping them OUT, rather than dealing with them once IN the skin. Provides natural UV protection with no added sunscreens. Delivers molecular water to the skin and boosts its ability to retain it.How your skin feelsDewy but not oily; velvety, smooth, firm, compact and plump when you touch. Wrinkles appear instantly less visible when you look.How you feelIt glides on your skin – a few minutes to get you ready to face the world, and to relax at night, with Rose and Ylang Ylang.IngredientsAqua (Water), Oleyl Erucate, Glycerin, Squalane, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Phosphate, Arginine, Myristyl Myristate, Phenoxyethanol, Oryzanol, Carbomer, Safflower Oil/Palm Oil Aminopropanediol Esters, Benzoic Acid, Glyceryl Laurate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Xanthan Gum, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Dehydroacetic Acid, Rosa Damascena Flower Extract, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Farnesol, Geraniol, Linalool.

Why do I love this moisturiser so much? It’s texture! It is soooooooo emollient, it does not feel like a traditional face cream. The best way I can think to describe it, is that it feels as light as a facial lotion but is just as moisturising as a facial cream. It has a lot of slip to it at the same time – think of a cream that glides onto the skin like a facial oil, that isn’t oily lol

The reason it has so much slip, is thanks to all the super hydrators (humectants, emollients and oils) in the formula. Emollients provide ‘cushioning’ between cells and soften the skin, which is why they feel so nice 👌😊😂 Glycerin pulls moisture from the air into the skin, which is fabulous! I’ve spoken about squalene quite a bit on the blog, but listen to this!

The above is taken from: https://www.futurederm.com/spotlight-on-squalene-a-natural-moisturizer-found-in-skin-2/.

How amazing is that?!? In the busy world that we live in (and most of us live in cities) we need all the UV and anti-oxidant protection that we can get. Squalene is the bomb because it’s naturally found in the skin (in sebum – but this part is non-oily or comedogenic, so think of it as the awesome part of sebum!) and as such, it’s a compound that your skin can naturally absorb readily. It helps to also reinforce your skins natural protective barrier.

It’s quite amazing that with all the oils contained within this moisturiser, the texture of the cream is so light and non-greasy. It contains Evening Primrose Oil, Safflower Oil, Ylang Ylang and Geranium Oil. I’d like to think that the Shea Butter, just seals in all of that goodness, stopping moisture from evaporating from the skin!

As I’ve said before, the cream is super light. I find that the more you use the better though – I started with using a hazelnut sized amount as the directions suggest. But, if you use a little more, I find my skin is more hydrated and happy. I warm the product up in my palms (as LIXIR suggest in their Youtube video, but I find the video a bit weird – the girl basically applies the cream like a hand cream and then applies it to her face LOL 🙄🤗 but ok! I know that in the product description LIXIR says it is also great for your hands, but I’d rather apply the product to my face and lots of it!) and massage it into my skin. Skin is left so super soft and the cream absorbs into the skin wonderfully. Even once absorbed, it feels so good and comfortable. Supple. And it looks it! This is the emollients and oils. I wouldn’t say it leave skin looking shiny, even though LIXIR says it leaves a dewy finish on skin – to be skin is just bouncy and moisturised. What it should be!

I find that with traditionally textured creams (like the Go-To Very Useful Face Cream as an example) skin is left feeling moisturised (if not a little heavy…) and the cream sits on top of the skin and then it’s like it ‘disappears’. Yes, hydrators do get absorbed into the skin and we know this because even once the cream has absorbed and you can’t feel it on the skin anymore, your skin isn’t parched- but it’s also not plump and super hydrated as the hours wears on. And I think this is where creams like the Universal Emulsion come in with a more modern texture and finish. Now this is just a personal preference of mine. The Go-To Very Useful Face Cream is a good moisturiser and does what it promises, it’s just not my favourite texture or consistency. That is all 😊

Because the Universal Emulsion isn’t greasy, makeup sits wonderfully on top. It has a slight herbal scent (thank you rose and yang yang oil!) but it won’t knock you out lol This scent now reminds me of holidays ever time I wear it, which is kind of wonderful! 🌸🥰✈️🌻 LIXIR suggest using the Universal Emulsion as an eye cream also. You can generally always use a facial moisturiser as an eye cream if you so wish, but the texture of this cream really suits the eye contours. It’s also nice when the producer says it is also designed for this purpose. My eye area is really demanding and I say demanding because the skin is thin, I have bad dark circles and some fine lines *le sigh…. it’s an area I pay a lot of attention to because it needs it. I’m maybe a bit paranoid about it 😂 I do prefer richer textures of eye creams for night time, but for the day, I like the Universal Emulsion for this purpose. Generally and usually, I like eye care specific products because I think eye creams need specific ingredients for a protective punch, but a trick I have been using (kinda like out of ELIXIR’s books actually…) is to use my daily vitamin C serum around the eye area also and then, use the Universal Emulsion as my eye area hydrator. I always use a vitamin C serum in the mornings as part of my daily routine, so that is a must!

It’s not my go-to moisturiser for night time, only because I prefer richer textures for this purpose. I use either a retinol/tretinoin product at night, or acids, so I also want a moisturiser that soothes skin a bit more. Wanting to use a richer moisturiser in texture at night is probably just psychological conditioning at this point, but it’s true and a preference lol I need a double dose of heavy duty moisturises to make it to the morning… The Universal Emulsion would do the job though, and I wouldn’t hesitate using it at night if I really needed to reduce the number of products I was using (for travel or other reasons). It’s nice that the product gives you options! 😉 Oh – the Universal Emulsion also does not break me out and I have acne prone skin.

So all in all? I love it! And I think you will too! I originally bought the moisturiser via Cult Beauty, where it retails for 29 Pounds for the 50ml version, or 45 pounds for 100ml. Yep, there’s two sizes which is awesome! I will be getting the 100ml tube next time around 😊 Australian Beauties can now pick up the Universal Emulsion at Sephora, where it sells for $55 for 50ml and $83 for 100ml.  The other product that interests me from LIXIR is Good Day Skin Shaker – a hydrator slash blurring serum, pick me up thing lol I can’t wait until Sephora stocks it here!

Will you be checking out this moisturiser Beauties? I has become a little bit of a cult product and I can totally see why. I am hooked! I can’t wait to see what other products they release…

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

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