Algenist Skincare review

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Algae + Science = Breakthrough Anti-Aging Skincare

Algenist Skincare collection photos: we heart this

If you’ve been anywhere near a Sephora lately, you have surely noticed beauty’s most buzzed about brand, biotechnology turned cosmetics company, Algenist. Their story starts seven years ago when biotech scientists were studying microalgae for renewable energy solutions (algae can convert the sun’s energy into usable chemical energy).

The scientists unexpectedly discovered a compound, alguronic acid, which regenerated the algae cell, and protected it from the harsh environment. The thought was, if this compound protects these microalgae in the harshest of environments, what could it do for our skin? One scientist started putting it on his scarred skin and saw results good enough to forgo the energy research and form a cosmetics company!

Algenist Concentrated Reconstructing Serum and Targeted Age Correcting Serum

The company, dubbed Algenist, includes that miracle ingredient, alguronic acid in all their products. Joining this force of nature are other powerful agents that improve the skin like vitamin C and niacinamide (vit B3), which has been clinically proven to soften skin, treat hyperpigmentation, and eliminate acne.

Algenist has made bold claims that alguronic acid, when applied to the skin, shows the same cell regenerative properties and has superior anti-aging benefits compared to the most effective ingredients known today, like hyaluronic acid or retinol.

Closer look of Concentrated Restructuring Serum and the Regenerative Anti-Aging Lotion

The wht review team had the chance to check out five products from this spanking new, carefully crafted line. I was lucky enough to test two products, the Concentrated Restructuring Serum and the Regenerative Anti-Aging Lotion. Both products are beautifully packaged in heavy glass bottles that are minimalist and very scientific looking yet totally luxurious as well.

Collage image of Concentrated Reconstructing Serum

The Concentrated Reconstructing Serum ($95) comes with a plastic pipet straight out of a science lab to apply just the right amount of product. It spreads perfectly and I can feel it going to work instantly. I actually believe I watched it tighten up my under eye bags one morning!

It actually is quite moisturizing for a serum, too. I let it go to work for about five minutes before applying the moisturizer, and there have been times during my testing period that I’ve forgotten to follow up with my moisturizer. It’s so hydrating – and with my skin that never happens to me!

The scent is light and pretty – just a little “islandly” – could be the green tea, orange, lemon, apple or bamboo extracts that are included! My face glows all day long and I’ve been using it every morning and evening for three weeks.

Closer look of Concentrated Restructuring Serum and the Regenerative Anti-Aging Lotion

The Regenerative Anti-Aging Lotion ($75) feels lightweight and just one pump depresses the perfect amount for one side of my face.

This light, but fully moisturizing lotion gives just the right amount of hydration, especially when applied over the serum. My skin feels comfortable, but doesn’t shine from too much moisture all day.

Oh, and I am intoxicated by the scent of this lotion. It’s just a little stronger than the serum and reminds me of a Hawaiian shampoo I used when I was younger. In addition to the Alguronic Acid, other ingredients in this glass bottle include shea butter, soybean oil, and apple and watermelon extracts.

Now is where our team of reviewers comes in! Algenist is so new to the market that I’m looking forward to see more reviews from the actual skin of testers (rather than cells in a dish)! I’m on day 21 of my product testing and finding great results so far (it takes at least 28 days to see full results). I can’t wait to hear from our other testers, as well as any readers out there who have given Algenist a try. Our team had the chance to test two additional Algenist products:

Targeted Age Correcting Serum ($79) – a smooth, velvety serum that corrects and resurfaces the skin, diminishing dark spots and age spots, evening skin tone and smoothing skin texture

Overnight Restorative Cream ($90) – an intensely nourishing, restoring night cream that repairs and renews the skin overnight

Finally, it’s important to note is what Algenist does not include in their products. All are formulated without parabens, sulfates, synthetic dyes, phthalates, GMOs, and triclosan.

we heartsters and testers – share your studies and results from the use Algenist skincare. Are you glad those brainy scientists switched from fossil fuels to facial fuels?!

Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. It also contains an affiliate link, a link that gives us a small commission if you purchase the item. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.

Author

  • Mel

    Mel is a Mom, an avid makeup junkie and a junior high science teacher. Beauty and brains; just what we want in a we heart this author!

17 Comments

  1. I was introduced to Algenist with Alguronic Acid overnight restorative facial cream about a month ago and I really do love it and use it every night before bed. You all know I am serious about my skincare and found this really one really is pretty special. It is an intense workhorse and does its thing as you slumber or snore in my case, when our skin cells turnover. So when the morning comes around the mirror isn’t’ your worst enemy! The reasons I love it are for its creamy texture –though not too heavy for me, and by the morning, it makes my skin feel amazing. This product is loaded with one of my favorite ingredients, Shea Butter and also has a lot of great fruit extracts. So what’s all the hubbub about? Well, I don’t’ know for sure if it’s really what the Biotechs discovered in that the alguronic Acid, that’s extracted from a microalgae cell that works overnight to even my skin tone and fight fine lines and wrinkles – but it sure seems to be working its magic on me in a short amount of time. I noticed an increase, though slight, of firmness in my skin and my skin tone is not so uneven. I would buy this again in a NY minute, if it was not so expensive. I don’t want to think about the price tag, but will have to if I want to continue on this regimen! If this was not so pricey, I would give this five stars but because of the cost, I’m nicking off a point. Four stars from me.

    1. I’m so glad to hear, @irene, that the overnight cream is not too heavy. That was my big question about that product. I’ve been amazed at how light the serum and moisturizer are together, and I thought this would be a heavier version of those. So, it’s great to hear it’s not. I also don’t know if it’s those little algae working miracles or not, but the results are pretty stunning. I agree the pricetag is rough to take. I’m going to have to decide on just one when I run out, and that’ll be tough! Thanks for a great review!

  2. Algae, cool! Great review of a line I’m very curious about, @melinda . I love that a scientist walked away from energy research to start a skincare company! Can’t wait to read what the other testers think of Algenist, too.

  3. First, a correction – I wrote originally that the pipet in the serum was plastic, but it’s glass. That just makes it that much more scientific and cool! (and probably increases the efficacy of the product, too).

    It’s been over 28 days now and I’m really impressed with my results of using the serum and moisturizer together. I feel like my skin looks and feels as good as it possibly can. I feel so lucky to have tested these two together and can now see why companies promote using exclusively their line together (I once had an esthetician tell me that companies make their products to go together and you can’t mix two different companies lines because there are counteractive ingredients between them sometimes – since she didn’t try and sell me anything after, I think I believe her!).

    The biggest thing I look for in facial products is the proper amount of moisture – not too much or too little. This delivers perfectly, whether I just use the moisturizer or the serum also. My face without a doubt looks tighter and brighter, too – pores are minimized – and that’s my second most important test. A few months back I was complaining on here about my HG moisturizer being discontinued – which may be why my wonderful WHT fairies allowed me to test this =^). I can now say I’ll be ok since finding this product! It does everything (and more, according to my husband who’s been testing it a little too) than my old moisturizer. Now, when these run out, unfortunately I probably won’t be able to buy more than one of them. I will probably go with the moisturizer since that’s my biggest need, but it’ll be interesting to see if I still get as great of results without using the serum. I did read that the serum has the highest concentration of alguronic acid of all their products. So, if that’s the key ingredient, maybe the serum is the most important product. I will update that quest when the time comes…but it’ll probably be awhile. I still have about half of the serum left after a month (16 mL out of 30 to be exact!…notice the tick marks on the bottles!) and well over half (47 mL out of 60) of the lotion.

    The price is definitely high, but it works so well that I just can’t take a star off – I will budget at least one product in! 5 enthusiastic stars from me!

  4. I was lucky enough to test the serum. Oh, my is this stuff good. First of all I must say that I generally love serums but serums generally don’t love me. The powerful ingredients in them usually do a number on my sensitive and acne prone skin. But this was certainly not so with the Algenist serum. It performs like a dream! I totally agree that it is amazingly moisturizing. You can get away without using a moisturizer with this product. It is amazing! Overall, my skin just looks so much more put together. I am noticing a generally more even and healthful appearance in my skin tone and texture. I suspect that the longer that I use it the better the results will be. I would totally buy this again if I were not a graduate student who is poor. So sadly, I must give it only 4 stars! But please if you have the cash consider this amazing serum. It is so gentle and yet provides amazingly good results!!

    1. @kellie76, I’m so glad to hear this worked well on your sensitive and acne-prone skin! My skin used to be both, but the last few years with age I guess, it isn’t so much of either – either that or I’m just finally using the right products. But I also had no trouble with any sensitivity or acne, so thanks for pointing those issues out. And, I totally agree that I wish it were less expensive, too. It really doesn’t fit into my budget either, but I’m going to try hard to fit it in anyways!

  5. I got to try the Regenerative Anti-Aging Lotion and I’m in love!
    Perhaps because I’m not using a serum with this lotion, and perhaps because of the harsh New England fall/winter weather I find it a little less moisturizing. I need about 3 pumps to adequately moisturize without the use of another moisturizer or sunscreen. I find the scent to be a little less tropical and a little more reminiscent of oat bran, but in a good way!
    My skin looks smoother and brighter, which is no small feat with the change of seasons! I can imagine the Regenerative Anti-Aging Lotion being a PERFECT summer moisturizer because it’s so light.
    My only complaint- why oh why do companies still package products featuring Vit C in clear or light bottles? Vit C needs to be protected from light or it becomes pretty much useless. For this reason I’ve kept my bottle in it’s original packaging (box and all!) and I keep it in my bathroom that doesn’t have a window. If the bottle were light locked this lotion would be pretty much perfect, but I have to give it only 4 stars because of the bottle. Still, great stuff! Just protect it well.

    1. Youguys are all such great testers! I totally forgot that vit C is supposed to be stored in dark bottles – good catch @mandaleem! I’m surprised these brainy scientists overlooked that…hey, maybe the algae protect the vit C too, from degrading in the light haha! I’m glad to hear it was a good product for you too, Amanda. I’m not surprised that it’s not quite strong enough for the harsh winter – so far, on the days I’ve worn the moisturizer alone, I havn’t gotten dry, but I won’t be shocked if I do when it gets a bit harsher around here. And the scent as oat bran is funny! I don’t smell that – but the “tropical” familiarity I mentioned is Awapuhi (spelling?) shampoo I used as a kid – brought me right back – I loved that scent!

  6. @melinda Great Review of this line. I was so excited about the Algenist: Targeted Age Correcting Serum when it arrived. I have friends who are head over heals for this cosmetics line. Most of you know skincare is my favorite thing in the wide world of beauty.

    Before opening the box, I carefully looked at the ingredients to see what all of the buzz was about. The third ingredient was dimethicone, my nemesis ingredient. I want to my skin to like dimethicone and respond to it in a positive way. But, it rebels every single time. I take my role as tester very seriously and hoped this formulation would be different. Sadly, I had a bad reaction to this product because of my sensitivity to dimethicone.

    Two Stars

    1. I’m so sorry to hear about the bad reaction, Holly! It’s a shame the dimethicone is in there, for your skin’s sake. I believe the FDA considers it safe, but at least you know exactly what you have to avoid and that’s huge (coming from the mom of a 2 year-old that just had to have her blood drawn for an allergy test – totally hellacious, but hopefully we’ll now also know what to avoid!).

    2. @melinda – Good luck with the allergy tests. I hope are able to detect what is irratating you. In my case, I did not know how sick I was until I got better and it took awhile to figure it out.

  7. I got to test the Targeted Age Correcting Serum. I can’t tell you how super excited I was to get to try out this serum. Serums are one of my favorite skincare products. I have been using this serum for about a month now morning and night and have seen a definite difference in my facial tone. My skin is smoother and not as dry as it usually is in the winter time. This serum goes on really light, but leaves my skin feeling plump and moisturized. Fine lines seem less noticeable. I haven’t had any issues using this. Absolutely no breakouts and my skin can be pretty sensitive. I would hands down buy this product again. 5 stars from me!

    1. Yay, @tiffany! I’m so glad to hear the Age Serum was a winner, too! I was really curious about that one, since it apparently has more ingredients for brightening dark spots than the Restructuring Serum I tried. I’m still trying to get rid of my melasma in the upper lip area – it’s better since testing this, but not completely gone yet. Very glad to hear this is working well for you.

  8. Due to traveling, I’m late to the party, but I definitely have to chime in with my praise for the Targeted Age Correcting Serum! I’m not a huge skincare nut, but this baby is great. It goes on really smooth, no stickiness at all which is a giant pet peeve of mine for nighttime products. It was almost powdery and very smooth. It took about a week, but I noticed that my skin seems brighter! I don’t have enough lines (yet) to see a difference in them, but my skin tone in general seemed to perk up VERY nicely. I have a couple of recent dark scars just under my chin (darn bug bites) and it seemed like the scar was fading a bit also!

    I also love the packaging; pumps are my favorite, especially when they dispense JUST enough product so that I don’t over-use it and waste my money.

    I’m a huge fan of this, even with the hefty price tag. Doing my beauty math, I’ve only gone through about half a bottle so a full one should last about another month. Given 60 days of use from a $79 bottle, we’re looking at about a $1.30-something a day for better skin. That’s still pretty steep for most, but something I could make work if the benefits are worth it – and they totally are! 5 stars from me!

  9. I had to warm up to the Regenerative Anti-Aging Lotion. At first I was using it in the day, morning before I applied makeup. And I wasn’t really loving it. I have oily skin and it made me feel and look a bit slick after use. Which is the main reason I’m prone to skipping moisturizers. But when I started using it at night instead of my nightly serum, it was like night and day. I could care less if I go to bed looking slick, especially when I wake up to such lovely results! It eventually soaks in and my skin had been looking really nice. Hydrated and looking like I’m getting proper rest (even when I’m not!)

    So, not for days for me and my oily skin. But at night? Me and Regenerative Anti-Aging Lotion are getting along fabulously! 4 stars.

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