FaceWorkshops Club Forum: YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum Review (February 2012)

The FWC Members have tested the YSL serum on 13th February 2012 to have luminous and plump skin for Valentine’s Day. Please read their comments below.

FaceWorkshops Trial Review:
Silky, fine textured serum leaves skin feeling more soft, smooth, tight.  Next day – luminous, bright and “more alive”. Perfume and alcohol in the formulation not great for sensitive and dry skin! Best for normal and combination skin types.

FaceWorkshops Expert Rating **** (4 out of 5 stars)

Claims – Luminosity > Wrinkle Reduction > Plumping.

- A great pre-party serum with an instant illuminating WOW effect and a potentially promising anti-ageing ingredient – but we are still waiting for the scientific evidence.  L’Oreal have launched a rhamnose-based serum previously (Vichy LiftActiv Serum 10 Youth Enhancing (£29.50/30 ml), but this is the first skincare launch of the prestige YSL brand (known previously for make-up only) – and hence can the serum can command a higher price tag (£60/30 ml).

• AESTHETICS: As always with prestige skincare, the texture of the YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum is luxurious and refined. However, I would prefer less fragrance – that is to say that this is the least fragranced product from the skincare line.
• INGREDIENTS/EFFICACY:  The serum contains Rhamnose (hydrating and potentially anti-ageing through cell signaling – to be proven in a clinical study) and Glycerin (short and medium-term hydration) and Hyaluronic Acid (long-term hydration). I am not happy with the high content of alcohol and would not recommend the product for dehydrated/stressed or sensitive skin types.

Background

The Marketing: Creating Big Expectations

Forever Youth Liberator from Yves Saint Laurent had already racked up more than 5,000 pre-orders! Source http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/fashion/beauty/4065572/Sugar-serum-is-key-to-anti-ageing-but-read-this-with-a-pinch-of-salt.html

The Technology

• YSL, owned by L’Oreal, based this serum on Glycanactif ie. use of synthetic complex sugars, glycans (poly or oligo saccharides) in skincare.
• In the human body, glycans are major constituents of the skin and play a decisive role in skin metabolism, cell signaling and skin architecture.
• Glycanactif works through cell signalling – glycans cluster around the outside of cells and send signals to prompt the cells to modify their function. As glycan levels reduce with ageing and Glycanactif binds to glycan receptors on the cell surface and stimulates new glycan synthesis that could reverse the signs of skin ageing. Source http://magazine.loreal-finance.com/media/videos/347/video.webm

The Science

• L’Oreal joined forces with Max Planck Institute in Berlin to build on their basic research. Peter Seeberger, a specialist in glycan chemistry from MPI, told Sunday Times that “the research has shown clear benefit in terms of biochemical changes to skin in human studies” but I have not been able to find any published study so far.
• Lois Rogers in his Sunday Times article also claims that details of further research were revealed at the European Society for Dermatological Research in 2011 but once again I cannot find a direct reference to this presentation.
• Richard Gallo, Professor of Dermatology at the University of California, is quoted to say that “these study results are surprisingly good but we don’t know if these molecules are really getting into the skin or how the beneficial effect works”. Chris Griffiths, Professor of Dermatology at Manchester University said that “the effect on skin would be measurable only after years of use”.
• There is some serious research into glycans in human body but in my mind, the benefits of skincare application are unclear.
• “We really are just scratching the surface here,’ says Professor Seeberger. ‘In the future, we hope to be able to identify more of the glycans that are involved in the ageing process and to be able to use this knowledge to make even more significant changes to things like wrinkles and pigmentation. We believe that glycans have a very important role to play in ageing skin, but they’re just one piece of a very complex puzzle..”
  Source http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jan/17/yves-saint-laurent-skin-cream-science

The Results

In the absence of a clinical study, we have claims made by YSL available.

Subjective Assessment supplied by the manufacturer:

• 88 % agree skin looks more luminous (44 agree and 6 disagree)
• 72 % agree fine lines appear less visible (36 agree and 14 disagree)
• 72 % agree skin feels more plumped (36 agree and 14 disagree)

This is based on self-assessment of 50 women, a fairly small sample size. In my view, this is nothing out of the ordinary compared to other good quality skincare.

Ingredients

water, denaturated alcohol, glycerin, rhamnose, butylene glycol, …..some sodium hyaluronate, etc.

Rhamnose

(it is a simple sugar but can be a polysaccharide component too)

• L’Oréal has used Rhamnose in Vichy LiftActiv Derm Source anti-ageing line, which incorporates Rhamnose at 5%. The brand launched a high potency serum with 10% Rhamnose later in 2011.
• In 2010, after 10 years of research and collaboration with the University of Cleveland, researchers identified that papillary fibroblasts in upper dermis alter and disappear gradually with age, while the reticular fibroblasts in the inner dermis skin layers are preserved. The compound selected, yet to be patented, is Rhamnose. Source http://www.sustainabledevelopment.loreal.com/pdf/downloads/2010-interactive-pdf.pdf
• Rhamnose, from the Uncaria flower (nicknamed cat claw) is said to actively regenerate skin, making it feel plumper and more elastic by stimulating cells into producing collagen.
• L’Oreal claim that the molecule is small enough to penetrate the stratum corneum and conducted clinical trials involving 400 women aged 50 to 70.
• Full results have not been published because L’Oréal is waiting for patents to be granted but Julie McManus, the head of scientific affairs at L’Oreal, said that they “have found a compound which can produce an effect on this very important group of cells.” Source http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8306768/Chemical-from-tropical-flower-latest-weapon-against-wrinkles.html
• (Vichy LiftActiv with Rhamnose 5% Night immediately improves hydration, radiance, softness, comfort and suppleness, with improved firmness and elasticity in four hours. Visible wrinkle reduction starts after two weeks; and after eight weeks, a reduction of up to 20 percent* of key facial wrinkles can be seen. *Objective measurements on 49 people. ) Source http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Groundbreaking+Vichy+Research+Leads+to+an+Anti-Aging+Innovation%3A…-a0265587203