I got a deluxe sample of this from Sephora as part of a free set (this was back in December with code PREPKIT, for those of you who ceaselessly stalk the Sephora website), along with several other skincare products, which I will get around to trying and reviewing eventually. My skin is really finicky, and likes to break out at the slightest of changes, so I try to stagger my skincare product additions so I can keep track of what irritates my skin. This means that it usually takes me forever to be able to judge a product, since even if I think it's breaking me out, I stop using it for a couple of weeks and then try again (because it's always possible that something hormonal is going on!). Having done so with the DDF Amplifying Elixir, though, I can safely say: no bueno.
Even if it didn't irritate my skin, though, there's still plenty of problems with the Amplifying Elixir. For one thing, the texture is extremely watery, so if you're not careful, it will run through your fingers and down the sink before you can get off a good curse. On the upside, though, it does absorb quite well and doesn't leave sticky residue. Unfortunately, it smells...quite atrocious. Some reviewers describe it as being garlic and onions, but to me, it smells more like rancid Emergen-C.
As always, this is only my experience with the product, and yours may differ. This is the problem with skincare reviews––everyone's skin is different! And yet, I share mine anyways, because I'd like to think that reporting on my unhappy skin situation will perhaps save someone else from the same fate.
$70 for 1.7 oz, available from Sephora
Have you tried the Amplifying Elixir? Does it do anything for you? What do you think it smells like?
PS: Vote in the blog poll if you want more skincare posts!
image via Sephora
Even after using it, I'm still not really sure what the frack this is supposed to do; the information on Sephora is sparse, describing it as "an antiaging treatment formulated to improve hydration and boost the effectiveness of other skincare products". The third ingredient (after water and butylene glycol, a common humectant) is niacinamide, which Wikipedia says is part of the Vitamin B group and has supposedly been shown to help reduce inflammation and acne. Now, I'm no Lizzy when it comes to science (this is why you need to do guest posts, Liss!), so I have no idea how true that may be, and can only speak from my own experience with the product. Care to guess? It broke me out! But not in a familiar way: not blackheads, or whiteheads, or cysts. Rather, it gave me little bumps scattered about. According to Google, butylene glycol has been known to cause irritation, so it's entirely possible that my reaction is due to that and not the niacinamide, or perhaps to some other ingredient (it's a pretty long ingredient list, but should you wish to read it in full, it's on the Sephora product page), but regardless, something doesn't agree with my skin.Even if it didn't irritate my skin, though, there's still plenty of problems with the Amplifying Elixir. For one thing, the texture is extremely watery, so if you're not careful, it will run through your fingers and down the sink before you can get off a good curse. On the upside, though, it does absorb quite well and doesn't leave sticky residue. Unfortunately, it smells...quite atrocious. Some reviewers describe it as being garlic and onions, but to me, it smells more like rancid Emergen-C.
This, but rotten. Yum?
On top of all that, it's also crazy expensive, $70 for 1.7 oz. The fact that it doesn't work for me makes it that much easier to scoff at the price (which I would be doing anyways, because for that amount I could buy 2 Guerlain Rouge Automatique lipsticks, which are kind of my standard of "holy shit that's a lot of money").As always, this is only my experience with the product, and yours may differ. This is the problem with skincare reviews––everyone's skin is different! And yet, I share mine anyways, because I'd like to think that reporting on my unhappy skin situation will perhaps save someone else from the same fate.
$70 for 1.7 oz, available from Sephora
Have you tried the Amplifying Elixir? Does it do anything for you? What do you think it smells like?
PS: Vote in the blog poll if you want more skincare posts!
