Our Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed by Kelly on March 21, 2014

1 Comment

Houston was about to be hit with winter weather and I was in need of a good hydrating facial cream. Don’t laugh, it gets positively frigid here! We actually had to run the heater for a full week! Normally I don’t use a facial cream because for nine months of the year the Houston humidity keeps my skin hydrated. But at 54, with collagen loss in full force, I knew that a good facial cream would help plump up the dermal layers to appear more firm. So when TIA asked if I would test Indie Lee Squalane Facial Cream ($70), I was game. 

I had to admit, I knew nothing about the Indie Lee brand or squalane. The website states that CEO Indie Lee battled a life-threatening brain tumor and decided to craft an all-natural skin care line free of toxic additives. The squalane facial cream includes super antioxidants jojoba oil, avocado oil, palm oil, rose hip seed oil, wheat germ oil and carrot seed oil as the base. Squalane, the real star of the show, is known as Nature’s Facelift. It is the most common lipid naturally produced by human skin cells in the body, but unfortunately levels begin declining in our 20’s. Supplementing with natural sources — in this case from olives — can nourish and lubricate the skin’s surface for a softer texture. Over time using squalane can reduce wrinkles, eliminate scars, reverse UV damage, lighten freckles and erase skin pigmentation while fighting free radicals. Applied to hair it works as a conditioner to keep strands supple and strong. Indie Lee has said she can’t go a day without using this, her favorite skincare ingredient.

Not to be outdone, much benefit comes from the antioxidant oils in this product and squalane helps their delivery. Avocado oil works to increase levels of collagen production because it deeply penetrates the skin. Palm oil is loaded with vitamins A and E as is wheat germ oil which also contains fatty acids. These fatty acids are vital emollients that moisturize and plump the skin. Carrot seed oil, it is said, has a magical rejuvenating effect on skin to soften, smooth and increase cell growth rejuvenation. The website states that these “ingredients have been shown to improve cellular function, tone and skin pigmentation resulting in younger, healthier and more radiant looking skin”.

I have been using this cream for four weeks now and love it. It is a mid-weight, fragrance-free cream that looks much like a jar of mayonnaise. It is all-natural; even the preservative phenoxythanol is derived from natural sources. You can detect the oils because it slides over your skin and soaks right in without feeling greasy. My décolleté area has really reaped the benefits with several sunspots being visibly lightened. A guilty pleasure is running my fingers over it during the day to feel how soft it is. Packaged in a 1 oz. glass jar, this cream retails for $70.00. This seems extravagant to me, but with more than half the jar remaining, I will probably get close to 3 months use. For a facial cream, this product does so much more and I look forward to the last luxurious drop and the visible results that it produces. Two thumbs up for Indie Lee!