PB Says: Early this month, I despatched guest writer Juan to the exclusive media launch of the L’Oreal Youth Code Pre-Essence in Malaysia. Youth Code is a range of skincare I have been watching and waiting to enter our local market and now they are here! Well, starting with Pre-Essence anyway, and I’m told the rest of the range will follow. Its got huge raves overseas and I’m curious to see how it will fare. Let’s see what Juan’s report says.
Few things that first caught my eye when L’oreal Paris launched the Youth Code Pre-Essence recently:
1. Their tagline – Have You Cracked The Code of Youth
2. The word, “Prodigious” on the box. Like, whoa…
The tagline is something they would have to creatively come up with, with the many many products in the market that promise youthful appearance of the skin, bla bla bla. So, how does one know which one they should get? Could it be the pricing? This one’s priced at RM109 per bottle. Pretty steep for a drugstore brand, don’t you think? What will make you buy it? Does the tagline appeal strong enough to you to warrant a purchase or do you need more testimony to its efficacy?
Well, at first glance, it just looks like any other anti-aging product.
At second glance, you might just take the droplet and apply the serum onto your hand.
Now, this product is branded as a pre-essence, which means that it needs to be applied before your usual serum. Apparently, it claims that from its 10-year gene research, the product helps your skin absorb the nutrients and benefits of your usual serum.
Sounds like many other serum-ey products in the market, right? But the ‘gene research’ sounded just like its more high-end sister, Lancome Genifique. But let’s not go there because unlike its sister, this one’s much less painful to the wallet ;)
Would you get a “pre-essence”, though?
I for one hate piling up products on my skin. I don’t think piling up skincare products will make the skin look any better. I guess my super oily skin would make even the usage of serum + moisturiser feels heavy enough. And to have one before the serum is something that I wouldn’t have even considered… that is, until I was told that it helps calm down even stressed skin and make open pores less visible.
The Youth Code claims outstanding results. You’ll apparently see amazing results from the first drop. In one week of twice-daily use, your skin will look younger with the texture appearing more refined and elastic, making your skin look radiant. And in 1 month, you’ve almost turned back the time!
The testimonial from famous names with beautiful skin sounded almost superficial during the launch but yes, one drop of the liquid form onto my hand felt smooth, absorbed quickly and the scent was calming.
At third glance, I realised that the pre-essence comes in a hardy glass bottle! It has been awhile since I’ve seen drugstore formula in glass bottles (heck, even luxury brands are hardly packaged in glass bottles anymore) and this one felt really good.
But prodigious? I guess it may have come from the word, prodigy? Like whoa… it made me feel that users of this product have a prodigious vocabulary – beauty with brains? Marvellous ;)
I couldn’t wait to try the product when I reached home. Used on my skin before I went to bed and walah… I immediately saw how smooth my skin looked and my large open pores appeared more refined, exactly as it had claimed. I was so impressed with the result the morning after, just from 1 application – my skin felt hydrated but not oily, I thought I looked radiant and the skin felt plumped up. I was very very happy.
Applying liquid foundation is even better, glides on so smoothly on my very soft skin and I couldn’t have been happier with this find.
Have I enticed you to give it a try? I’ve already gotten some positive comments from how I look at work, only after 3 days of usage…
To sum it up:
- Stuff comes in an excellent packaging – minimalist slender glass bottle – the bottle feels sturdy, I perceive the product as better as it is contained in glass and it feels more expensive than its retail price.
- The dropper works excellently and feels solid, dispensing just the right amount.
- The pre-essence is so fluidy, fragrance not too empowering and gets absorbed into the skin really quickly.
- Skin looks excellent only from the first usage.
However, I do remember that a product’s efficacy cannot be measured by just one application and I shall update again in another post until I’ve used it for a month. Here is the ingredient list for now.
PB Says: Doesn’t that sound simply amazing? I for one can’t wait to give it a go! Juan will update us after she has used it for a month so expect a report to come up in a week or so.
L’Oreal Youth Code Pre-Essence retails at RM109/30ml but is now available at Watsons for a promotional price of just RM88.80. A good a time as any to give it a go!
Glad you wrote this. I’ve humm-ed and haw-ed over this for months ever since it landed on our shelves. I’ve been a very faithful user of the day and night creams of Youth Code and they’ve successfully delivered the plumped skin effect which I adore. But adding another pre-serum product to it is making me hesitate a little. How did you use this? Did you layer another serum over this? Or, did you go straight to moisturiser, sunscreen, etc? And, did you use this for only days or nights or both?
Sorry for the multiple Qs :D
Hiya LeGeeque, as it is a pre-essence I layer it with a sedum after that, then a moisturizer and sunscreen. You basically maintain your usual skincare regime but just slot it the Youth Code before your regular serum/after toner.
I use it both night and day because I tried just once a day and it doesn’t give the instant benefits as how it would if applied twice a day :)
Thankies! xxx I’m still hesitant in wanting another product. Actually getting out of bed in the morning is a struggle enough without yet another product to slot in. If you were a regular toner user, it’ll mean FIVE skincare products and that’s before makeup! Nuh-uh. Too much :P
haha yeah… cleanser, toner, pre-essence, serum, moisturiser, sunblock, primer, foundation, powder. things women do to look good :)
Sounds amazing at that price, but argh! Why Alcohol Denat?! *crosses it off list* :'(
My exact sentiments!
exactly, Jenn n Isabel! first thing i did when i read the dreaded word.
Sounds really quite promising! I like the look of the bottle :D
Compare to Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate, this serum has the same core ingredient: Bifida Ferment Lysate (source: Beautypedia). Plus it has Adenosine and Sodium Hyaluronate. Seem it’s a great deal adding the price tag factor :D
Do you use this pre-essence alone or with other serums?
Last but not least, is it only available in Malaysia? I couldn’t find it on L’oreal Paris USA, only the original Youth Code serum..
opps, I forgot to ask one more question, where is it made from? Thank you :)
I did a quick check online and this product seems to be very new and for now seems to be Asia only but I’ll have to confirm this :)
It sounds like a nice serum, but not necessarily for the right reasons. What exactly is the “gene research” they talk about and what claims are they making about it in terms of the product? Are they saying that using the serum will influence the way your genes work? (à la Lancome Génifique.) That’s pretty difficult to do in the labs with high tech methods, let alone from any product you apply on your skin.
In brief, if it were possible to influence genes this way, cancer would be pretty easy to cure and we could easily treat many disease that arise from genetic defects. It’s sad that cosmetic companies can make these claims because most people (hell, even science graduates!), don’t have the relevant knowledge to call them out on it (for the record, I am a science graduate with a good background in this area).
Whilst many of these products that claim to work from the genes, might have benefits and can make skin look better, it is not going to be because they are working on your genes, but rather, from other ingredients in the product.
It’s just a point I thought people should consider before buying the product for that reason alone.
Having said all that, if it were available here and I were the target audeince, I might have considered the product, but more for the smoothing results and calming stressed skin. This was a long post, but I feel it’s an important issue to be aware of. I hope it’s helpful to some people.
By the way, I forgot to mention, I enjoyed the post!
can’t wait for the updates! :)
damn it got dimenthicone~!
I don’t think we have this in Japan *sniff* but I’d still love to know how it performs on Juan and how it compares its Lancome counterpart!
I saw its available as duty free in Korea but nowhere else! Its so strange :P
hello.hmm i found that your review is really helpful. but i have few queries.
1) im only 23 can i use this product?
2) i didnt use any other serum whatsoever, its just basic cleanse-tone-moisturize regime for me,so when i should apply this product, is it before moisturizer?
my skin is combination skin with zits appear frequently.so is it ok for me to use this product.tq ^^
I personally believe that 23 is too young to use this serum. However if you are already showing signs of aging eg lines, dry skin, loss of firmness etc then you could give it a go. This is a pre-essence and meant to be used before any other serum. I suppose you could use it before moisturizer but I don’t think it’ll be as effective without another serum. Just some thoughts.