In every beauty lovers life comes the time when they really, really want to try a product, but simply can´t justify the spending. I have several pieces like that sitting on my Pinterest board, staring at me whenever I log in, reproachful, mournful, whispering antiaging promises I am not sure they are willing to keep.
And like the candle you save for a special occasion, you wait for the perfect opportunity to treat yourself. Yet that opportunity never comes, and you are left dreaming about what-ifs. What if I had started using it years ago and now looked like Giselle Bündchen, not like your average mama with too many sweets and too little sleep?
Enough of that! I thought as the offer for the Cult Beauty Spring Goodie Bag came in. I am going to buy one thing from my list. One thing that is expensive enough to single-handedly qualify me for a gift with purchase.
And my pick? The Zelens Power D Treatment Drops.
What Zelens claims
A high potency concentrate rich in provitamin D and bio-mimetic lipids structurally similar to those found in the skin, fortified with a proprietary botanical complex containing powerful plant sterols (precursors of Vitamin D). Formulated to deliver multiple skincare benefits, this unprecedented, lipid-replenishing treatment helps to restore the skin’s natural barrier and build skin’s resilience. Protects skin against environmental aggressors and strengthens skin’s resistance to stressed conditions. Leaves skin replumped, supple, protected and healthy-looking.
Vitamin D is involved in differentiation and regulation of growth of keratinocytes, enhances expression of proteins involved in barrier function, and demonstrates protective effect against microbial attack, environmental aggressors and stressed conditions.
Benefits
- Replenishes lipids and fortifies skin barrier function
- Helps build skin’s resilience
- Protects skin against environmental aggressors and stressed conditions
Facts
Prize and size
One frosted glass dropper bottle contains 30 ml and retails for 110 GBP or 128 € on Cult Beauty here. Eyewatering expensive, but a little goes a very long way. After three months of using it maybe a quarter of the product is gone, so it should easily last you a whole year.
Texture and smell
If like me you do not know what to expect from Treatment Drops, let me enlighten you. Oilier than a usual serum, but more watery than a facial oil they sit happily in the middle. The scent is slightly medicinal, herbal, but barely noticeable. It smells effective, if you know what I mean.
Application and effects
Three drops on my face in the evenings before my serum or in the morning when I feel like skipping the moisturizer, either works fine for me. If pushed, I would settle for evenings only, as the glow it adds to my face can be a tad too much throughout daytime on my combination skin.
Favorable ingredients
- Provitamin D (7-Dehydrocholesterol): Precursor of Vitamin D3, is present in the skin and activated through sunlight, strengthens skins barrier, protects against bacteria and rebuilds natural lipid barrier to keep in moisture
- Phospholipids: Part of cellular membrane, helps rebuilding skins barrier
- Sterol Complex: Moisturizing, repairing
- Sphingolipids: More lipids, moisturizing and repairing
- Omega-3 And Omega-6: Essential fatty acids, again repairing and moisturizing
- Soybean Sterols: Repairing and moisturizing
- Glycolipids: Strengthening lipid barrier, helps retaining moisture
- Proprietary Botanical Complex: Botanical precursors of Vitamin D3
- Tripeptide: Peptide, stimulating collagen production
- Chondroitin Sulfate: building block of connective tissue
- Hyaluronic Acid (low molecular weight): Hydrating
- Yeast: Antioxidant, repairing
- Vitamin E: Antioxidant
- Corn Oil: Rich in Omega 6, repairing and moisturizing
- Geranium Oil: Balances sebum production, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant
Unfavorable Ingredients
Essential oils which can be potentially troublesome for very sensitive skin.
Does it live up to its claims?
Yes.
It is jam-packed with ingredients aiming to repair and defend skins strength, to moisturize and to fight free radicals. And there is not one filler ingredient. Everything inside this bottle serves a purpose.
I use it preferably after my retinol and it helps to calm and soothe the skin, leaving me with barely any dehydration or irritation. I can clearly see a difference here, because I struggled with both a lot after starting my prescription.
Would I repurchase?
Yes.
Of course, me being me I will try to find something with a similar list of ingredients for a fraction of the price, but until then the effects are too good to be missed in my routine.
Who do I recommend it to?
Anyone not completely taken aback by the price. And of course anyone with skin that is a little off balance. If your skin is already in top condition you can of course skip it.
But whether it be acne, harsh treatments or just your lifestyle taking a toll on your skin, that one is a great to have at hand.