I hope everyone on the East Coast is keeping safe from Sandy! When I was young, hurricane days were oddly something I looked forward to – my parents would both be home and we would eat all those canned foods that we never usually ate, and sit in a room together with lit candles as we told stories. It was such a pleasant departure from the hustle of every day life. Today I got a break from school/work, and my boyfriend and I have spent all day watching a movie marathon (thank you Netflix!). I finally got some time to attend to my tumblr!
Lately I’ve been trying out more clean brands and Juice Beauty is one I always heard of but never really paid attention to. From a branding point of view, they’re definitely the less cool sister to other mainstream brands like Ren and Jurlique, but upon investigating their ingredient lists, I was surprised to see how much cleaner and more innovative they are than the aforementioned brands. They’ve reformulated most products to not use phenoxyethanol, and in general their products are just more natural.
One product stood out to me, and that was the Stem Cellular Repair Eye Treatment. At $45 for .5 oz, it is right in line with similar offerings from Ren, Jurlique, and most other mid-high range lines. What made it stand out was that besides being clean, and natural, there was a clear focus on technology, namely, fruit stem cells.
The main active in this serum is a proprietary blend of fruit stem cells and fat soluble Vitamin C which are said to reduce damage and fight dark circles and fine lines around the eyes. The rest of the ingredients are grouped into antioxidant rich juices and plant oils which are hydrating and improve skin. My eyes don’t have many issues, which I am thankful for, but I do have the hereditary dark circles and want a product more for preventative purposes so this seemed perfect.
The full ingredients list is:
Juice Beauty proprietary blend of fruit stem cells: apple buds, grape buds & lemon bark. Ingredients: Organic juices of pyrus malus (organic apple juice)*, vitis vinifera (organic white grape juice)*, citrus medica limonum (organic lemon juice)*, aloe barbadensis (organic aloe leaf juice)*, vegetable glycerin, octyl palmitate, caprylic/capric triglyceride, glyceryl stearate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (Vitamin C), stearic acid, cetearyl alcohol, malus sylvestris (apple buds), vitis vinifera (grape buds) & citrus limonum (lemon bark), organic plant oils of helianthus annuus (organic sunflower seed oil)*, butyrospermum parkii (organic shea butter)*, simmondsia chinensis (organic jojoba seed oil)*, organic essential fatty acids of oenothera biennis (organic evening primrose oil)*, linum usitatissimum (organic linseed oil)*, borago officinalis (organic borage seed oil)*, xanthan gum, panthenol (Vitamin B5), allantoin, tocopherol (Vitamin E), sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, ethylhexylglycerin, citrus aurantium (orange blossom) pure essential oils
Overall I thought it was fairly clean, although those with sensitivities to citrus oils and extracts may need to think twice since lemon bark stem cells, lemon bark extract, and lemon juice rank pretty high on the list. The list provides a lot of wonderful botanicals such as Jojoba seed oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Borage Seed Oil, and the fruit juices. What will make the difference to a buyer between buying and not buying this product will ultimately be personal belief in the power of fruit stem cells. There are many scientists who say that stem cells only have power over similar cells, as such only animal stem cells can have any impact on our skin on a cellular level.
Personally, I’ve seen decent results. Thanks to the rich plant oils and Organic shea butter, I felt like this product was very hydrating and made me under eye area feel moisturized and silky. Some products often dry out my under eye area which only makes the finest of lines even more pronounced, which I really do not like. I’m not sure if it is the magic of stem cells or the overall wonderful formulation but I do see some brightening in my skin. It could be due to the Vitamin C which is known to brighten skin but I’d like to believe that the stem cells made some difference. Overall, I felt this was a very comfortable eye serum that moisturized, didn’t sting, didn’t dry out, and didn’t make my eye feel “stretched” like how some firming eye treatments can do.
My only issue, ever so minor, is the applicator. At first I liked it since I read that our fingers can often be too rough or pull the sensitive skin under the eye area but this applicator was a little bit heavy handed since the serum deposits at the very top, so product often winds up in the lashes! I’ve since then learned to squeeze out beforehand and dab it onto my under eye area using my fingers, and then using the applicator to smooth it out.
When it comes to natural eye products, what are your favorites? Have you had any experiences with botanical stem cells? Let me know!
Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair Eye Treatment ($45 from Juice Beauty)
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