BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Fusion Serum is designed to be a part of your daily beauty ritual to give you glowy, healthy looking skin. The formula claims to unleash your skin’s vitality and radiant luminosity with essential minerals and hydration to reveal softer, more supple skin. It also promises to diminish the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and uneven skin texture to promote a youthful look.
Here’s the lowdown from my perspective:
I Believe Niacinamide is Responsible for Half of the Results Here
Niacinamide is an amazing ingredient. According to Bissett et. al., niacinamide does it all: reduces fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness, and skin sallowness (yellowing), and increases elasticity. Further, according to a 2005 study by Draelos et. al., niacinamide may help alleviate some of the symptoms of rosacea by increasing hydration and barrier function of the stratum corneum (uppermost layer of the skin), and may have some anti-tumor characteristics as well. And finally, in a 1995 study by Takozaki et. al., it was reported that a 4% topical niacinamide treatment applied twice daily may help to treat acne by reducing inflammation with similar efficacy to 1% clindamycin gel.
So many of the wrinkle-fighting, age spot-reducing, skin-brightening effects of BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Fusion Serum are attributable to the niacinamide.
Ascorbyl Glucoside is Responsible for the Other Half of the Results, In My Opinion
Ascorbyl glucoside has greater stability than L-ascorbic acid, which tends to break down in heat, light, in the presence of oxygen, and in certain pH levels. (Hence why your vitamin C cream turns dark yellow or brown after a few uses)!
According to the research by the manufacturer of ascorbyl glucoside, Hayashibara International, ascorbyl glucoside has excellent stability in heat, light, and in the presence of oxygen and metal ions when compared to other forms of vitamin C. This means, according to Hayashibara International researchers, that ascorbyl glucoside lasts over twice as long as other forms of vitamin C, and thereby delivers the effects of vitamin C to the skin for a longer period of time.
Once absorbed into the skin, ascorbyl glucoside is broken down into L-ascorbic acid and glucose by the enzyme alpha-glucosidase. Because ascorbyl glucoside is broken down into L-ascorbic acid, it has many of the same functions as L-ascorbic acid: Exhibiting high antioxidant activity, acting as a coenzyme for enzymes involved in collagen synthesis (namely prolyl and lysyl hydroxylase), and inhibiting the synthesis of melanin. Although Hayashibara International maintains that this breakdown process leaves a high concentration of vitamin C in the skin, a competitor maintains that ascorbyl glucoside use maintains vitamin C at only a low level.
Even so, the amount of ascorbyl glucoside in BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Fusion Serum is enough that I believe it is responsible for some of the age spot-fighting and skin-firming potential of this serum.
I’m Not a Huge Believer in “Long-Life Herb” for Anything Other than Soothing and Mild Antioxidant Protection
Here’s my issue with BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Fusion Serum: the marketing. It’s not the “long life herb”, the California poppy, or even the ginger in this product that are producing the brightening results. The marketing seems to be meant to appeal to a younger demographic that is increasingly interested in natural, organic ingredients that “they can pronounce,” but these ingredients don’t produce the results that concentrated vitamin B3 (niacinamide) and vitamin C (ascorbyl glucoside) do. So they seem to be somewhat cleverly hiding effective ingredients behind the guise of “herbs” and “plant extracts” — but apply these herbs and plant extracts at 100% concentration directly to your skin, and you’re not going to get much other than a bit of soothing effects, a relatively small bit of antioxidant protection, and a high potential for allergy. Apply them in the small concentrations they’re found in BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Fusion Serum, and you get a tiny bit of soothing and antioxidant protection, and a low potential for allergy.
Not my style.
Personal Use and Opinions
BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Fusion Serum is a light-to-medium weight, cloudy-white serum that quickly goes clear as it absorbs into the skin. It has a faint, pretty flowery essence to it when you apply it, and for a minute or so after it is applied. It dries with a bit of a sticky/tacky finish that I did not like.
BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Fusion Serum does have impressive packaging: The packaging is very modern in color and finish and should appeal well to their target demographic, which I imagine is women under 40-45 years old. It is also quite heavy packaging, which is indicative of quality to a consumer, but I am surprised that they would take this on, given that it must be quite expensive to ship these bottles all over the country! Nonetheless, the packaging is beautiful and gets a thumbs-up.
I didn’t really notice a difference with BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Fusion Serum because I already use niacinamide and vitamin C in high concentration in my skin care regimen.
Bottom Line
Initially, I’m turned off by BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Fusion Serum because it claims its turnaround ingredients are the all-natural “long life herb”, the California poppy, and the ginger inside. Meanwhile, it’s really the super high concentration of niacinamide (vitamin B3) and ascorbyl glucoside (vitamin C) that do the heavy lifting and that I love in this product.
So my feelings are mixed. Marketing aside, it’s a great, relatively inexpensive source of vitamin B3 and vitamin C that should improve mild hyperpigmentation, fine lines, and early signs of aging when used twice-daily on a regular basis. So that’s awesome. But on the other hand, it’s my opinion not to get too excited about the “long life herb”, the California poppy, and the ginger inside.
Ingredients in BareMinerals Skinlongevity Vital Power Fusion Serum
Water (Aqua/Eau), Propanediol, PEG-6, Niacinamide, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Glycerin, PEG/PPG-17/4 Dimethyl Ether, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Squalane, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, PEG-400, Potassium Hydroxide, Isostearic Acid, Carbomer, Alcohol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Lauryl Betaine, Behenyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Citrate, Beheneth-20, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Tocopherol, Batyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Metaphosphate, Citric Acid, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Metabisulfite, Peucedanum Japonicum Leaf/Stem Extract, Eschscholtzia Californica Leaf Cell Extract, Saccharomyces Ferment Lysate Filtrate, Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Zingiber Aromaticus Extract, Fragrance (Parfum), Limonene, Linalool, Geraniol, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492).
Read more at http://www.bareescentuals.com/SKINLONGEVITY-Vital-Power-Infusion/US78855,en_US,pd.html#wmyGjHQSq4cmxlYH.99