sciote peptide+ defense firming youth creme

Our Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed by TIA Community Member on May 31, 2014

1 Comment

by Phyllis

I'm in my late 50s, and it takes a lot for me to go “wow” about a product. Maybe it’s a function of being near-sighted most of my life, but frankly, I rarely actually SEE changes in my skin. I can feel differences, especially if the cream is hydrating, but to produce change I can really see (with my blind eyes) is exceptional. That’s exactly what happened with the Sciote Peptide+Defense Firming Youth Creme ($95 in the shop). After less than a week of use, I swear I could see that the skin on my face was plumper and healthier. Dare I say it actually… GLOWED?!

The first impression I had of Sciote’s creme was “spare,” but spare in an elegant, minimalist sort of way. The creme is more like a serum than a lotion — light and thin. There was no discernible odor to me, but it wasn’t that funky lack of smell that consciously-unscented products sometimes have. Sciote’s crème goes on like silk: smooth, light, and, once on, unnoticeable. It does well under makeup and over any other products you might be using. I used the recommended two to three pumps twice a day.

The ingredients, though, are anything but spare. Sciote advertises this as having bee propolis, royal bee jelly (towards the top half of ingredients) and a proprietary peptide blend. I counted 45 separate ingredients on the ingredient list, including just about any ingredient I had ever heard of for hydrating, tightening, and lightening. Sunflower oil, coconut oil, coconut butter and squalane (an emollient I had heard of but hadn’t tried before) were in the top ten. The next ten included glycolic acid (one of those alpha hydroxyl acids I’ve been hearing about forever), MSM (a plumping agent), more oils, as well as green tea, eyebright, licorice and vitamin C (natural skin lighteners). But that’s not all: further down the list are evening primrose oil, borage, rose hip, calendula, macadamia nut oil and aloe vera. It would be easier to list what is NOT in this product, quite frankly. I checked most of the ingredients with the Environmental Protection Group (EPG) database and only one registered more than zero (2-4), and that was the glycolic acid, a much-recommended product for skin hydration.

Packaging for this product is just what the experts recommend, as well. The product comes in an opaque, silver bottle with a pump, so there is no contamination when applying it. I’ve used the pump for about a month and have not had any problems. The only concern I do have is that because the bottle is opaque, I can’t tell how much of the product is left. At $90 for 1.7 ounces, this product is a little pricey for me, but I am so impressed with its effects, I am adding it to my wish list for when my current bottle runs out.