Unboxing Beauty

Sisley Paris Sisleÿa L’Intégral Anti-Âge Cream  I received this lovely and herbaceous cream from RAN (Rakuten Affiliate Network) when they released a Bloomingdale’s box ~ I was one of the 25 lucky ladies who received it.    This was  the crème de la crème of the box and quite honestly, the most  expensive skincare item I have ever owned.  For a 50 mL jar, the price tag comes in at … $525.00.    I have been using this cream now for 6 weeks and stopped using it last week, to make room for other creams that I have lined up.  I do feel that I have a good feel on this cream to give a review on it and my thoughts about it.  I will repeat part of my original review here

 Sisley Paris is made in France and is known for their use of botanical ingredients, using plants and essential oils to produce high-end skincare.    This cream is their “normal” anti-aging facial cream, as they do produce an Anti-Age Extra Rich for dry skin.  Looking at the ingredient list, which the second ingredient is shea butter, I was very concerned how this cream would work on my oily skin.  

 Sisleÿa L’Integral Anti-Age contains stimulating active ingredients (Phytostimuline, Rhatany extract and Lady’s Mantle extract), regenerating and restructuring active ingredients (Ursolic Acid, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, amino acids, Soy peptide extract and White Willow leaf extract), Lindera extract for cellular rhythm*, Persian Acacia extract for cellular energy* and a Yeast and Soy protein complex for cellular longevity*.  * In vitro test

• Apple pip extracts (Phytostimulines and Ursolic Acid): regenerate and stimulate the skin
• Rhatany extract and Lady’s Mantle extract: help to stimulate and smooth the skin texture
• Cocktail of vitamins, minerals, trace elements and amino acids: to revitalize
• White Willow leaf extract: antioxidant*, anti-collagenase* and anti-elastase*
• Adenosine: anti-wrinkle
• Lindera extract: cellular rhythm
• Persian Acacia extract: cellular energy
• Yeast and Soy protein complex: cellular longevity
• Shea butter: protects and repairs
• Glycerin of vegetable origin: hydrates and softens

* In vitro test

This cream is very rich and has a buttery texture with a cream color.  I first noticed the scent, which is very herbal with lavender and it is very pleasant ~ it is not overpowering.  I started to use this on my neck and cheeks, during the night as I thought this would be too rich for the day.  When I didn’t experience any adverse reaction and I was also impressed how quickly this cream was absorbed into my skin, I decided to use this as a day cream. 

Despite the rich moisturizing ingredients, the acne triggers at cosDNA were not extreme.   I have been using this cream as a day cream for a couple of weeks now all over my face, and I have not experienced any blemishes or rashes from using this cream.  It is very rich, so I only need a little bit, but it does absorb quickly without leaving a greasy or oily film.  I am very surprised by this, because of the shea butter, rhus succedanea wax and sunflower seed oil in this product.  I do have an initial high sheen but that disappears quickly as the product absorbs into my face.

Now, I am in the middle of winter here in the Northeast and it is very dry.  This probably helps my skin absorb heavier creams without feeling like an oil slick.  I am not sure I would want to use this cream in the hot, muggy summer months here, but for now, I will continue to use this product.   According to Sisley, this cream will help reduce lines and wrinkles, pump up your skin and moisturize your face.  Over time, it should firm, tone and revitalize your skin and is regenerated.   I will review this cream fully in a few months and let you know how it worked for me. 

Updated Review

With new photos!!  It has now been a month since I wrote that original review.  Let’s see what has transpired!

So, I have used this for 6 weeks, as I mentioned earlier.  I stopped about a week ago, as not only did the weather here turn to much warmer temperatures and I had some other creams I wanted to try before heading into my Spring/Summer routine.   I have oily skin, but this product did not cause a rash of blemishes or issues and whereas it is a very rich, heavy cream, it does absorb quickly and really does smooth, soften and plump up my skin.   It smells divine ~ a very lavender herbal scent, but for those who are sensitive to scents, this will disappear once the cream absorbs into your skin.   As you can see by the above photo, I didn’t have to use a lot of it ~ it is that rich and a little goes a long way.  If I had drier skin, I might have used more, but a little dab on my forehead and both cheeks was all I needed.  I did avoid my chin and nose area as those are my hot spots for blemishes.

Sisleÿa  is very emolliating product, provides moisture and I also feel it seals in moisture as well.   I did have to stop using this once the weather became warmer, as even though my face was not shiny greasy using this product, it was on the oily side.  As you can see below with my skin analyzer test, it raised both my oil (lipid) and my moisture (water) readings by 16%.  I do need to use more hydrating, lighter products underneath this cream, but it does lock in the moisture pretty well, in my opinion.

Description: Sisley Paris Sisleÿa L’Intégral Anti-Âge is a complete anti-aging product that takes into account genetic and environmental aging, as well as behavioral aging. The results are spectacular on wrinkles, firmness, radiance, density and hydration.  A major factor of aging is linked to personal lifestyle. Everyday stress, life’s hardships and various excesses deregulate the biological life cycle of cells. This behavioral dimension, the third dimension of aging, affects the face even more than genetic or environmental aging.

Sisleÿa L’Integral Anti-Age fights against the visible signs associated with the three types of aging to provide a truly complete anti-aging solution. A major factor of aging is linked to personal lifestyle. Everyday stress, life’s hardships and various excesses deregulate the biological life cycle of cells. This behavioral dimension, the third dimension of aging, affects the face even more than genetic or environmental aging.

Ingredients: water, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, coco-caprylate/caprate, squalane, glycerin, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, isostearyl isostearate, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, rhus succedanea fruit wax, sucrose stearate, butylene glycol, cetearyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, panthenol, tocopheryl acetate, hydrolyzed soy protein, tocopherol, lindera strychnifolia root extract, adenosine, alchemilla vulgaris (Lady’s Mantle) extract, salix alba (willow) leaf extract,  albizia julibrissin (Persian silk tree) bark extract, algae extract, equisetum arvense extract,  pyrus malus (apple) seed extract, krameria triandra (rhatany) root extract, hydrolyzed yeast protein,  lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil, thymus mastichina (sweet marjoram) flower oil, hexyldecanol, carbomer, ceteareth-33, ethylhexylglycerin, disodium EDTA, pentylene glycol, sodium hydroxide, hydrogenated soybean,  citric acid, brassica campetris (rapeseed) sterols, phenoxyethanol, sorbic acid,  sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, BHT, linalool, limonene, geraniol  cosDNA.com analysis

Final Thoughts

I do think this is a standard, nice herbal based facial cream ~ I love the ingredient list with all of its amazing botanicals, but for some people, this might be trigger city!  There are some comedogenic ingredients in here ~ dimethicone, algae, some of the oils, like sesame seed and corn ~ if you are interested in finding out what ingredients can cause blemishes, this is a nice site to view ~ Beneficial Botanicals Comedogenic Ratings.    The fragrance might be also upsetting for some people as it is a lavender-herbal scent, but for me, that is a major positive attribute.   I found that this cream did a nice job keeping my face moisturized during the colder winter months without turning my face into a ball of oil, but it is now too much for me to use during the warmer months.   My face did feel soft and smooth when I used this cream. 

HOWEVER.. it is so not worth the $525.00 price tag.  That is just silly.  I am sorry ~  the ingredient list is nice but I still have hyper-pigmentation, my wrinkles are still on my face and I do not have the skin of a 20 year old.  For 500+ dollars, I expect this to do a lot more than a cream that costs me $40.00.  If this cream was under $60.00, I would recommend it for the herbal botanicals, the scent and the relaxing pleasant experience of using a lovely smoothing cream.   If you have the money to spend $525.00  on a face cream, then I would say, give it a try.  It is a nice cream.   But don’t expect miracles. 

 

[ descriptions in blog post from bloomingdales.com   Product was received for review purposes.  All opinions are my own and are unbiased ]