The Caudalie Limited Edition Favotites Collection
This is a multi-purpose face mist that's supposedly can be used as a makeup base, to set makeup, for toning, as a day time facial freshener, or even as an aftershave for men! That's a huge claim for an innocuous spray that looks like, umm, water. Seriously, it looks like water in a spritz bottle, although if you examine the liquid inside closely you'll see that there's a thin layer of what looks like a greenish oil floating at the surface. And indeed there are several oil ingredients in this spray (rosemary leaf oil, peppermint oil, balm mint leaf oil, and rose flower oil, see list of ingredients below) and you're supposed to shake the bottle before spraying with your eyes closed. And do keep your eyes closed for a few seconds after too, folks, because otherwise those oils will burn, especially the peppermint! That was what happened to me the few times I opened my eyes too quickly after spraying when the mists were still flying around. Ouch.
But that's about all there is to complain about this Beauty Elixir. Spraying this on the first time, I thought the minty herbal scent was a bit strong, but then it grew on me unexpectedly quickly and now I actually look forward to smelling it every morning. The spraying part is a bit tricky. At first I sprayed it straight from the front, and while my forehead, nose, lips, and chin got a nice mist, the rest of my face, i.e. the two sides, totally missed out. So now I spray once on each side just to be fair ^.^
I also tried different ways of layering this Beauty Elixir spray. I first tried it on freshly cleansed bare skin, and not only it made my skin velvety soft, it made everything else that went on after less sticky (Mameshiba Soy Milk Isoflavone Glutinous Moist Lotion) or greasy (DHC Olive Leaf Cream). In short, on bare skin it really does help with skincare absorption thereafter. Then I tried it on top of my Allie sunscreen on a few days when I was too lazy to apply makeup, and while there wasn't any touchable result as there was when it was used on bare skin, it did prolong the sunscreen's semi-matte finish late into the night, which is totally impressive since Allie by itself already keeps my face oil free until after dinner, 7-8 PM!
After that I used it to set my makeup, and oddly enough, it didn't make any difference here as if I hadn't sprayed anything on at all! By the late afternoon, my t-zones still got some oil and my makeup still turned a bit hazy as it blended with the oil and was no longer looking fresh. Do keep things in perspective though, as I've been going to school 5 days a week, and my full facial regiment (skincare, sunscreen, and makeup) is on by 8:30 AM. So late afternoon is really not bad at all, and to be fair the credit should belong to Allie, which is the sole reason I never cared for any makeup base or makeup setting sprays before. Just that right now I happen to have this Beauty Elixir here to experiment with, that's all ^.^
Which brings me to its final trial as a makeup base, spraying it over the Allie sunscreen like before, let it dry, then applied makeup on top. I figured it did prolong Allie's semi-matte finish without the makeup, so it just might work with the makeup on too. Fortunately, I was right this time around ^.^ With Beauty Elixie as an extra layer, my makeup stayed fresh for even longer than it did with just Allie as base! Totally awesome! So you bet I've been using it as a makeup base since. Actually, I even went and bought another big 3.4 fl oz. bottle from Dermstore, which is currently on sale for $28.99 at 37% off retail ^.^ A nice product for a nice price, considering the 1 fl oz. bottle I'm using already goes for $16 by itself (and I definitely wouldn't pay the 3.4 fl oz.'s $46)! Scored!
Caudalie Beauty Elixir:
AQUA (WATER), ALCOHOL*, CITRUS AURANTIUM AMARA (BITTER ORANGE) FLOWER WATER*, PARFUM (FRAGRANCE)*, ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS (ROSEMARY) LEAF OIL*, POTASSIUM ALUM, GLYCERIN*, MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL*, COMMIPHORA MYRRHA EXTRACT*, STYRAX BENZOIN RESIN EXTRACT*, MELISSA OFFICINALIS (BALM MINT) LEAF OIL*, ROSA DAMASCENA FLOWER OIL*, VITIS VINIFERA (GRAPE) FRUIT EXTRACT*, TOCOPHEROL*, CITRAL*, CITRONELLOL*, FARNESOL*, GERANIOL*, LIMONENE*, LINALOOL*. (010/018) *Origine végétale - Plant origin
***List of ingredients from Caudalie USA.
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