Hi. Am enjoying your very intelligent blog. Wondering about your opinion of Pur-lisse. I’ve enjoyed using some of their samples. Would be curious to know if you’ve used these products at all. Thanks! edie

Thank you! 

My roommate in college was also a big skincare junkie and I remember using some of her Pur-lisse products. I used their cleanser, moisturizer, and brightening serum. Their line kind of remind me of a cross between La Roche & Caudalie. I didn’t really notice a lot of improvement in my skin but I didn’t have bad reactions either (except I don’t really think the Brightening Serum was that effective, and its active ingredient Arbutin is not available in high concentrations – probably because it has side effects). 

I don’t really use pur-lisse because their formula isn’t that clean, for example their main preservative is phenoxyethanol which has been shown in many studies to be just as bad as parabens, and most of their cream/lotion products contain silicones such as Dimethicone which kind of act like saran wrap on your skin (thus helping it appear temporarily smoother and refined, at the cost of long term skin health). There are also other chemicals used as well as a reliance on aromatic but sensitizing oils such as Bergamot, Orange, Lime, etc. If you look at their SPF30 sunscreen, the actives are primarily a chemical filter which some research has shown can be just as bad as the actual UV rays for your skin in the long term since no one is sure what they fully convert the UV rays into once absorbed.

If you’re looking for a ‘clean’ line, this isn’t it. But if you just want something that’s an alternative to La roche and maybe other companies that trade around the natural ingredients image without having a totally clean formulation such as Caudalie, then give them a try, they are probably on par.


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2 Comments

  1. October 6, 2015 / 2:46 pm

    So gald you touched on Caudalie a bit here but wanted to clarify, do you mean Caudalie isn’t a clean formulation or is one? I’m just starting to discover the green beauty world and have so far gravitated towards likes like Tata Harper and Lumi which are super green but also effective but still wondering about Caudalie and how “green” it is!

    • October 8, 2015 / 1:47 am

      Caudalie is similar to Ren/Origins – they’re greenwashed meaning they will use the ‘natural’ marketing moniker but contain synthetics.

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