L'Oréal Skin Perfection Serum

This product was on my radar for a long time before I bought it and I read nothing but great reviews about it. Naturally, I expected a lot from it, but I must say I was sorely disappointed. The serums contains LR 2412 (sodium tetrahydrojasmonate), an ingredient it shares with Lancome Visionnaire and Vichy Idealia Life Serum, which is supposed to harnesses jasmine's ability to self-regenerate. Personally, I don't buy the marketing ploys and I rather put my trust into the honest reviews of the beauty blogger community. The serum promises to correct and improve visible skin quality by tackling problems such as large pores, red marks and uneven texture, however, in my experience it just doesn't deliver.

Texture: I actually like the texture of this serum. It's a light silky lotion that isn't runny and feels light on the skin. It sinks in fast and the skin is dry to the touch due to the high content of silicones, so the finish it leaves is akin to using a very light primer. Due to that I find it's a nice base for make up. The serum has a golden and pink pearl in it, which looks nice, but doesn't show up on the skin. It's hydrating enough on its own for combination skin and personally I don't feel like I need an additional moisturiser, though I do apply it. One thing that does bother me is that when I want to apply a moisturiser on top, I have to do it before it dries, otherwise the serum layer starts to flake.

Performance: Honestly, I saw no positive long term results whatsoever. In fact, my skin looked a lot worse than usual. I don't consider my skin's condition as being bad, but the longer I was using this the worse it got. It didn't happen overnight, but with everyday use my skin gradually got less smooth, my forehead became very bumpy and there were even some spots in places where I don't usually get them. I stopped using it for a few weeks and during that period I tried to fix my skin, which I did with L'Occitane products and my skin looked ok again. I still decided to give this another go, but again it gradually started to get worse, so I just stopped using it.

Scent: The scent is quite fresh and green. It reminds me a bit of satsuma or orange peels.

Packaging: Yes, the packaging is pretty. I'm not a massive fan of pink, but the pink ombre effect looks very cool. The glass bottle with a pump feels well made and looks great on a vanity. The pump works great as well.

Price and availability: I got mine for 15.99 € in Müller.

I just was not impressed by this serum. Though the texture is nice, it is just not working for me and it only makes my skin worse. The high alcohol content doesn't help the case either. My research also led me to a discovery that Lancome's Visionnaire and Vichy's Idealia Life Serum not only look similar, but also have similar ingredients (Vichy's doesn't have alcohol, though. So it's the best out of the three). I had a much better experience with the L'Occitane Sublime Essence Skin Perfector that I was trying during the "break period". 

My fellow Slovene Bloger Sanja (Sparkle with Laughter), however, had the completely opposite experience (her review is here), so I guess I'm one of those whose skin just doesn't like this. 

Have a great day!