Slowing signs of age: Vichy's new launch, Slow Âge |Smugnificent

Skincare products were always as equally interesting to me as makeup and as the years go by and I get older the balance tilts more in favour of skincare. And not only because good skin equals good makeup as many say, which is absolutely true to be honest. But most importantly because although makeup can be absolutely fun, artistic and amazing, skincare is actually an investment for your future. And the choices you make now about your skincare affect how your skin will look not only in a few months but also in the years to come. So although I was always into skincare, recently I am becoming more and more invested in my routine and I am finding products that suit my needs and prevent skin damage.

Vichy is a major player in the skincare game since many decades. It is a brand known for the variety of quality products for different skin needs at a reasonable price. Now Vichy is coming out with a new day cream, Slow Âge, focusing on slowing down signs of ageing. Coolbrandz launched a new campaign in Switzerland together with Vichy for the launching of Slow Âge so I received a testing version of the product and I have been using it since almost 3 weeks every morning.

Our skin is the first line of protection for our body and it is being attacked constantly. Internal factors like stress, diet, tiredness, bad sleep, hormones controlled by our emotions weaken our skin and its ability to stay youthful and hydrated. They also make it more difficult to resist to environmental harmful factors like pollution, smoke and sun exposure. I am certainly guilty of suffering from most of these issues. My crazy rhythms affect my skin tremendously and throughout all my life my skin problems were (and still are) strongly stress and tiredness related. 

 
So Vichy suggests to adopt a new philosophy, Slow Living, taking things slower and more laid back. In this spirit they are combining active ingredients which are being tested in anti-ageing research in a new day cream. Extract of Scutellaria Baicalensis (or more commonly known as Baicalin) root has been studied for its anti-oxidant properties. The plant originates from China and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years while much more recently it has been used in western pharmacology too. Among the known properties of the plant is its resistance to environmental factors like UV rays and extreme temperatures. Another ingredient is the probiotic bifidus; probiotics in skincare are a relatively new trend and it is a step up from the theory that eating them might also lead to healthier skin to adding them directly in our skincare. While the results are not yet proven, this is certainly an interesting approach. Last but not least, Vichy has added its known thermal water. And of course lets not forget UVA and UVB protection.

I cannot say a lot about the actual packaging of the product as I received it in a testing packaging. From the promo photos, I see that it comes in a bottle with a pump, similar to the tester packaging but a bit different in shape. I certainly love a pump and I wish more face creams came in a packaging like that. To my knowledge the original product will contain 50ml so pretty standard for a day cream. The cream is lightweight, has a slightly pinkish hue and it is easy to absorb although it contains SPF 25. After applying it the skin feels very hydrated and looks quite glowy. I think this is suitable for all skin types and it will definitely work well with drier skin. If your skin is too oily although the cream doesn't feel heavy I think it might have a too dewy finish so maybe you will want to combine it with a more matte foundation. 

 

I have said many times that I don't feel that a person can easily judge skincare before using it long term and I usually prefer to fully review a product after I use it up completely. With preventing skincare this is an even stronger issue. I am happy with how the cream feels on my face and I was a nice addition to my routine but since I am using already a very full and strong range of skincare products it is not always easy to judge how the addition of a new cream improves your skin or not. Well unless it causes any bad reaction something that you can see quickly and fortunately this was not the case here. Anyway I am a strong believer that one cream or one product alone cannot make wonders to your skin and you need to built up a full care based on your needs. I will keep using Slow

Âge (with a bit of extra SPF boost especially in the warm months) since I am pleased with it and hopefully I will be able to see more results long-term. Although I don't know if Vichy is planning to launch Slow Âge only as a day cream, for me it is clear that you don't want to go to bed putting on SPF. That can easily cause your skin to break out. So keep that in mind and always remember to cleanse properly your skin each night even if you  don't have make up on so that you cleanse that SPF (sweat, pollution etc) off before you apply your night-time skincare.

Overall I find Slow Âge a very interesting new release. It reacted nicely with my skin and the rest of my care products and it felt like a nice addition to my routine. I love that it comes with a pump and it has a nice consistency and pleasant light scent. The SPF is always a bonus although I am a strong supporter of separate SPF specialised products. I think normal to drier skin will enjoy more this cream but it is appropriate for all skin types except from the very oily ones. It is suitable for all women from 25 years and older and keep in mind that prevention works million times better than reversing the signs of ageing. It is always a good thing to see nice, reasonably priced (I guess as it is from Vichy) skincare products on the market. Let me know what you think about preventive skincare, SPF use and don't forget to leave for favourite day cream in the comments below!