Even though Hylamide is gaining popularity in the Northern hemisphere, it’s still a relatively unknown brand here in Australia. It’s currently available in Priceline but the selection is not as wide. It’s not one of those brands that are quickly swept up during Priceline’s highly popular 40% skincare sales (unlike brands like, say, Bioderma and La Roche-Posay). It’s a pity because they’ve got very good stuff. I’m a fan of their affordable and very effective Low-Molecular HA serum and have purchased many bottles of it.
Since I ran out of my Vitamin C serum, I thought I’d give their C25 serum a go. It has received a lot of positive reviews and for a high-percentage Vitamin C serum under AU$50, this should have been a sure-win.
The thing is, even though my skin liked it, I didn’t.
Description:
Concentrated Booster encourages increase and decrease in skin tone appearance to create controlled functional confusion for a novel, fast-tracked approach to a radiant, healthy skin tone. Ethyl-Ascorbate Complex (25% pure Ethyl-Ascorbic Acid). Extraordinarily stable complex from the Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) family to encourage an even, smooth and glowing skin appearance.Ingredients:
Ethoxydiglycol, ethyl ascorbic acid, hydroxyphenoxy propionic acid, phenylethyl resorcinol
As far as skincare goes, this has got to be the one skincare product that has the shortest list of ingredients I’ve ever seen. Heck, even water in a pressurised can contained more ingredients! Not that I have a problem with that of course; if that very short list of ingredients is enough to give my skin positive results, I sure as heck am not complaining!
I’ve tried a good number of Vitamin C serums and all of them either came in a gel-like serum form or they feel like water. Most of them smelled like oranges, which you know is one of my favourite scents. This is different. In fact, I wouldn’t even call it a serum because despite looking like water in the bottle, it’s actually oily to the touch. It also has a rather chemical scent that, while isn’t offensive, isn’t really my cup of tea. But hey, I’ve loved beauty products with worse scents so the smell of the C25 wasn’t a dealbreaker.
The dealbreaker was, unfortunately, the oil. It’s not a dry oil and it doesn’t absorb quickly onto the skin. At least, not in my experience. Just a few drops isn’t sufficient for my skin so I find myself needing at least 1/3 of the dropper to cover all of my face, neck and decolletage (half a dropper would be even better). The problem with this is that it made my face very oily. I wouldn’t have minded it much if it was a dry oil but the product just sat on my face, making my face look like a greasy wok after a stirfry. As I prefer to use Vitamin C serums during the day (Vitamin C increases the efficiency of sunscreens), all that oiliness didn’t bode well.
On the other hand, it worked well on my skin. It perked my skin up and made it radiant. My skin was quite sallow and dull after 2 weeks of traveling, and the C25 helped to brighten it up after using this daily when I returned to Melbourne. It evened out my patchy post-travel skin tone. I didn’t experience any breakouts with the C25, even though it made my skin feel really oily.
So you see, I like and dislike it at the same time. It’s a great Vitamin C serum and is more than comparable to Vitamin C serums from high-end brands. The positive results it gave my skin was commendable. I just wish it really did feel like water instead of making my skin so damn oily. I’ve tried adding drops of this to my moisturiser to reduce the oiliness and while that helped to tone the oiliness down, I’d much prefer applying it directly on my skin instead of needing to mix it with another medium.
Will I be repurchasing this? Gosh, that’s a tough question. So far, I haven’t encountered any high-percentage Vitamin C serum that costs under AU$50 that gives me such good results (I don’t believe in DIY skincare. I’ll tell you why in a future blog post). I’d say I’d most like repurchase the C25, even if I have to suck it up with the oily texture and feeling on my skin.
Hylamide’s C25 Stabilised Vitamin C Booster retails at AU$49.99 for 30ml and is available at Priceline pharmacies. The reason I kept saying it’s under AU$50 is that Priceline sometimes does sales on Hylamide products so I usually get mine at at least 20% off.
What I like about it: High-percentage Vitamin C, brightens my skin and gives it a lovely radiance. Evens out my skin tone.
What I do not like about it: It’s very oily on the skin (not a dry oil). A few drops aren’t sufficient for the skin so the more product I need and use, the oily my skin becomes. I wouldn’t mind the oiliness as much if I used it during the evenings but Vitamin C serums are best used during the day, so the oiliness can be a bit of an inconvenience.
I’ve been using this product for almost 5 months now and it’s really added the boost I was looking for to tackle one especially tough hyperpigmentation spot that nothing else would fade. I agree that the formula is a bit strange seeing that it’s more of an oil but after about 10 minutes my face isn’t tacky and I can add my sunscreen without any issues. I love this whole line of products and use the hyaluronic acid serum during the winter months.
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Deciem does good products and Hylamide’s a good line from them. I’ve only ever used Vitamin C that comes in a gel-like serum or what looks like water, but this one’s different all right. If it was a dry oil, I would have given this two enthusiastic thumbs up. But seeing as it does give my skin good results, I’ll suck it up and keep going with it. 😛
It sounds like a tough trade! I’m having a similar dilemma right now with a rosacea treatment. I love it, but my skin doesn’t. Yes, it FINALLY gets rid of the redness and inflammation… but the side effect is making my skin dry and tight all the time. ugh. -_- So I love the effect, especially since my blood vessels aren’t so inflamed (and bonus: I’m getting fewer sinus infections now that the swelling in my face is reduced!) but the dryness, oy. I layer on moisturizer after moisturizer now. -_-
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Oh dear that sounds like a toughie! I don’t like the Vitamin C serum oiliness but my skin loves the results. You love your rosacea treatment but the skin doesn’t. Oh boy! Would adding a facial oil e.g. Kiehls’ Midnight Recovery Concentrate to your skincare routine help with the dryness?
Tine, I am confused. I thought you were using this as part of your simplified upcoming summer daytime skin routine (as mentioned 2posts ago). Did something change your mind? I just forked out $120 for vitamin C serum by Aspect Dr, so won’t be in market for new vitamin c serum yet
Sharp eye, Catherine! Yes I was and I’m still using it. You see, while I don’t like the oily texture and residue on my skin, I’m sticking to it because it gives my skin good results. It’s what I call “sucking it up for the sake of the skin” 😛
I am glad to read that you find significant results! because this thing seems to work so well for me that I got confused lol. I did not have much expectation to be honest. This is the first Vit C product I’ve ever used; and the source that convinced me to try Vit C said the main function of Vit C is its anti-oxidization properties, so just damage prevention. However, I have been noticing a huge difference after using this for just two WEEKS. I still cannot believe this one product did so much difference (in such short period of time) but I didn’t really change anything else. My skin is less oily, feels more hydrated, redness almost disappeared completely, skin texture improved, brightened —- maybe I am dreaming but I think my pores got a little bit smaller?? Applying foundation is a serious pleasure — I could just slap on product without worrying about anything and it will stay fresh the whole day…. I feel I start sounding like commercials haha. I wouldn’t believe myself if I had not try it. Not many bloggers reviewed this product so it is nice to know I’m probably not dreaming lol.
Now the unusual texture. It definitely threw me off when I first start using it. but it doesn’t bother me anymore. It is interesting to read that you find the product oily. I didn’t find the product oily — I wouldn’t even call this product an oil product. The product initially gives a oily feel to the touch, then quickly turn into this weird texture that gives more grip (i.e. creates friction) when rubbing it onto skin with my hands, and eventually disappears/being absorbed into skin. At this point my skin feels really weird, it doesn’t feel dry or tight, nor feel hydrated or moisturized (which make sense, since it doesn’t contain water or oil). Three days ago, I discovered that the weird texture would be completely gone if I followup this product with something that have real oil in it. For example, a water lotion (in the Japanese sense; for reference the one I use is Koh Gen Do Oriental Plants Lotion II, a very oily and therefore moisturizing water solution) or a facial oil (or both in my case lol)
I am so sorry about the long comment…. but I got really excited seeing your post. I have only seen such dramatic results (in such short time too) in TV commercials. I have starting to take progress picture every couple of days — to compare once I finish this bottle. But yeah I am still very confused why my skin improved so much.
Are you still blogging?
Indeed, I haven’t seen her writing for a long while. Really missed reading her posts. Paris says that she is taking a break and so I am patiently waiting for her to come back again 🙂
I really love Vitamin C booster!
We are missing your posts!! Keep up the great work with the blog.
xoxo
I have been noticing a huge difference after using this for just 2 weeks! It’s awesome!
BTW, we miss your posts!
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hai babe, vitamin c very important to our life im use vit c shaklee for 4 years n feel my body more energy n immune more strong.
Great post! I’m just curious what camera + lens you use to take your photos? They’re so clear!
Great product vitamin c booster…
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Through scientific research, vitamin c serum has been shown to produce better skin. I would use it during the night as I don’t want to have an oily face during the day.
From my experience, my skin improved the most when I started taking alpha lipoic acid 2000mg per day. My skin tone improved and I no longer had outbreaks of small spots on my forehead.
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I love this booster and the slight sugary sweet smell it has. It doesn’t really contain any oils though the texture can put some off. The trick with this product is to gently work it into your skin for a few minutes. I am someone who has combination skin that used to get very oil after a few hours of having makeup on. I apply this serum in the morning over Niod’s Re:Pigment and top it up with a primer from Peter Thomas Roth. Works like a charm! My skin doesn’t turn into an oily mess through the day with this combo of products.