Review: Vivant Skincare Skin Fitness System

Did you ever get a customized skincare routine proposal? A while ago I was approached by Vivant Skincare and they asked me whether I would be interested in the Vivant Skincare Skin Fitness System. I was not sure, if it would be possible to stick to the products from Vivant Skincare for the recommended 30 days, but I tried my best and here is my thorough review for the products I received.

Vivant’s history as a leading skin care brand goes back more than 50 years and is based on the formulations of researcher, cosmetic surgeon and dermatologist James E. Fulton, M.D., Ph.D., the co-developer of Vitamin A acid, known as Retin-A®. Vivant Skincare offers solutions for each and every skin concern, be it acne, hyperpigmentation, aging and even more. They have different series of cleansers, toners, correctors, hydrators, body care, masks and eye and lip treatments. I’m sure that there is a product suited for everybody within their product range. When they approached me and I agreed on reviewing their products and asked them for specific product suggestions. After a couple of days I received an email by the director of Vivant Skincare, Susan. She is the daughter of James E. Fulton and she gave me a very detailed explanations on which products she would advice me and what she will send to me. She also stated that she found my page through reddit, and you could see in her email that she was familiar with Korean skincare routines. She even send me her personal email and cell phone number in case of any questions, which speaks for a good customer service and availablity.

One of the key ingredients of the Vivant Skincare Skin Fitness System is mandelic acid. Susan stated the following when she emailed me about the products:

“One of [my father’s] discoveries was that Mandelic Acid, derived from bitter almonds, is a different kind of AHA; an exciting new 3 in 1 skin care therapy, effective in treating photo-aging, irregular pigmentation and acne.  Developed for skin too sensitive for glycolics and benzoyl peroxide, it is perfect for sensitive skin that has a tendency to break out or is prone to hyperpigmentation from over exfoliation.  I am sending you a Mandelic Wash and a toner, it would be a perfect AHA for you to try.  If the toner is too much for your dry skin back off and try it one day on, one day off.  The Cleansing Milk I am enclosing can be used one day on, one day off if the mandelic wash is too drying.  I am also going to send you a Vivant Rejuv RX with peptides. […] I would like you to eventually start to use the Derm-A-Renew serum from the Vivant line but only after your skin has acclimated.  “

So, the Vivant Skincare Skin Fitness System consists of 4 main products: a cleanser, a toner, a corrector, and a hydrator. In contrast to most toners known from asian beauty routines the toner here is meant to prepare the surface of the skin for better penetration of the skin by the Vivant Skincare serums. The Vivant Skincare Skin Fitness System comes with an insert which describes how to use the products. Within 4 weeks the skin is adjusted to the routine by slowly increasing the steps from week to week.

I received a total of 7 products: The Vivant Skincare Cleansing Milk, the Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Wash, the 3% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Toner, the Day Treatment Lotion, the 8% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Serum, the Rejuv RX Peptide Concentrate, and the Derm-A-Renew Gentle Peptide and Vitamin A. I used the products like this for more than 30 days, but after the first 30 days I made some adjustments, which I will describe at the end of this review:

First of all the packaging of the Vivant Skincare products is designed in a simple, neat, and clean way. It reminds of typical products you would receive in a pharmacy. The serums come in brown glass bottles with included pipettes attached to the lids. The small bottles contain 1 oz (~29.6 ml). The other products (cleansers, lotion, and toner) come in white plastic bottles. You can press the lids down on one side to reveal the opening. All in all the packaging design is convenient to use. Unfortunately, the caps of the plastic bottles may leak if you carry them around. This happened to me two times with the Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Wash. The other products however never leaked out, so it may be that it was only a problem with this bottle. Since I’m already speaking of the cleanser I will start of with their performances aswell.

Vivant Skincare Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Wash and Vivant Skincare Cleansing Milk

I received two different cleansers, the The Vivant Skincare Cleansing Milk and the Vivant Skincare Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Wash. The Madelic Acid 3-in1 Wash is a gel-type cleanser. It is a clear, light-pink gel which lathers up into a bit of foam. It is not a rich or dense foam though. The gel cleanser has a pH of 3 when mixed with water. It has a light bitter scent of almonds. It is not only a facial wash, but can be used on the body, too. And even more, it can be used as shampoo for fighting dandruff and acne.  You can check the full ingredients list >>here<<, and as you can see the list is very short, which I like, and contains mainly safe ingredients, too. The key ingredients are Mandelic Acid, Green Tea Extract, Grape Extract, Kiwi Fruit Extract, and Honey Extract:

Madelic Acid: As we learned before the Mandelic Acid acts as a mild chemical exfoliant and is used as natural antibacterial to suppress pigmentation, treat inflammatory, cystic acne and rejuvenate photo-aged skin.

Camellia Sinensis (Japanese Green Tea) Leaf Extract: It is rich in Vitamin E and C and also known as powerful anti-oxidant with anti-inflammatory and astringent properties. It helps to maintain the collagen formation and healthy skin.

Kiwi Fruit Extract: This extract is high in omega-3. Kiwi has excellent antioxidant properties to rejuvenate tired skin and slow the aging process. It helps to diminish the appearance of fine lines and dark eye circles, making the skin appear more radiant.

Honey Extract: Honey is a natural humectant with long-lasting hydration. It contains enzymes with anti-bacterial properties to clarify the skin and has been used for centuries as beautifying ingredient.

Grape Seed Extract: Grape Seed Extracts is a potent antioxidant that shuts down free radical activity.

The Vivant Skincare Cleansing Milk is a lotion-type cleanser. It has a milky consistency and a nice, sweet scent. I prefer this scent over the scent of the Mandelic Acid 3-1 Wash. The Cleansing Milk has a pH of 4. The full ingredients can be looked up >>here<<. As with the above cleanser the ingredients list is very short and neat. The key ingredients are Grape Seed Extract and Glycerin.

Glycerin: Glycerin or Glycerol is a humectant present in all lipids. Glycerin combined with other emollients or oils is part of most moisturizers and in this way makes the skin soft and moisturized.

Both cleansers perform good on cleansing the skin from basic makeup, but they are weak when used on color makeup. Therefore, I would advise you to get rid of your makeup first by using any proper makeup remover. Below you can see that both cleansers are weak when cleansing lip products and eyeshadow. Eyeliner, BB cream and water-soluble mascara were removed by both cleansers.

Next products of my Vivant Skincare Routine are the 3% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Toner and the Day Treatment Lotion. Let’s take a closer look at these:

Vivant Skincare 3% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Toner and Vivant Skincare Day Treatment Lotion

As I already said before the 3% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Toner is not designed as moisturizing toner, but is an astingent toner. You will already see from the ingrdients list. The ingrdients list is short but it contains SD Alcohol in 2nd place. So, I know that many are wary when they hear that alcohol is inlcuded in a specific product. I shared an interesting article on this topic on facebook recently. Usually, SD Alcohol is used to thin down a product, which makes sense for heavier creams for example. The 3% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Toner is a clear, watery solution. The toner has a strong alcohol scent. The key ingredients are Witch Hazel and Mandelic Acid.

Witch Hazel: Witch Hazel has antioxidant properties. It acts as astringent and anti-inflammatory.

Actually, I’m not sure why they used SD Alcohol here, since this is a toner and not a cream. The toner clears the remaining makeup from the skin, when used, but it also dries out the skin as far as I experienced. The toner might be suited better for oily skin, or skin with acne problems. Nevertheless, I used the toner 1-2 times a day during 30 days, but after that I changed to my regularly used toners for adjusting the pH.

The Vivant Skincare Day Treatment Lotion is a daily SPF moisturizer. It has SPF 15. The moisturizer is a thick, white-colored cream. It is similar to many of the heavy sunscreens, which I usually avoid using. But what I liked about this lotion is that it can be mixed with loose powder or mineral makeup for creating a tinted moisturizer. The moisturizer has a scent, but it is similar to the scent of pharmacy creams, not any perfumed scent. I did not like the scent too much. The full ingredients are listed >>here<<, and the key ingredients are Aloe Leaf Juice and Zinc Peptides.

The ingredients list contains some minor irritants and acne triggers. Octinoxate, Octisalate, and Titanium Dioxide are used as sunscreens.

Part of my Vivant Skincare Skin Fitness Systems were the Rejuv RX Peptide Concentrate during the day and 8% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Serum at nights. After three weeks I replaced the Mandelic Acid Serum with the Derm-A-Renew Gentle Peptide and Vitamin A.

Vivant Skincare 8% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Serum

The first serum to use during the Vivant Skincare Skin Fitness System is the Vivant Skincare 8% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Serum. At the beginning it is used every night. Later it is replaced by the Derm-A-Renew Gentle Peptide and Vitamin A. The Vivant Skincare 8% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Serum is an alcohol free and mild serum to treat acne, discoloration, and age spots. It also targets the appearance of fine lines. It is a clear water like serum. It has a bitter scent of almonds, too. The serum is very light and absorbs fast into the skin. I discovered that my skin feels smoother after using it for a week already. The full ingredients list is again quite short and contains safe ingredients. The key ingredients are mandelic acid, urea, lactid acid, and niacinamide:

Lactic Acid: Lactid Acid is an AHA (Alpha hydroxyl acid) aswell. It is derived from sour milk that hydrates the skin by sloughing off old dead skin cells. It has whitening properties and is an astringent.

Urea: Urea binds moisture to the skin and keeps skin smooth and supple. It promotes re-hydrationand has anti-inflammatory properties aswell.

Niacinamide: Niacinamide is a water-soluble form of Vitamin B, which has a firming effect with anti-inflammatory properties.

Vivant Skincare Rejuv RX Peptide Concentrate

The Vivant Skincare Rejuv RX Peptide Concentrate is a serum which enhances firmness and elasticity. It also relieves rednesses. The ingredients contain some minor irritants, but other than that it is short like all the products from Vivant Skincare I tried. The key ingredients are Oligopeptides, Lactid Acid, Urea, and Niacinamide. The downside is that this serum contains SD alcohol. Like with the toner I do not think that it is necessary to have SD Alcohol here. The serum is clear and watery, like the mandelic acid serum, but instead of the bitter scent this one smells of alcohol. It also doesn’t feel really moisturizing. After 30 days I stopped using this regularly, and I didn’t see any differences for my skin. By now I do not use this anymore, but instead I’m using the Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin C Serum instead during day time.

Vivant Skincare Derm-A-Renew Gentle Peptide and Vitamin A

The last product I added to my Vivant Skincare Skin Fitness System is the Vivant Skincare Derm-A-Renew combines peptides and vitamin A for improving the skintone and texture. It is a milky, light yellow product. It is still fluid enough to be taken out with the pipette. It has a mild, nice scent and applies easily without being greasy. The ingredients list contains some minor irritants and it also contains a red labelled ingredient, BHT, a preservative. The Vitamin A derivate used here is Retinyl Propionate. Apart from this it contains Oligopeptides, Lactid Acid and Niacinamide.

Retinyl Propionate: Retinyl Propionate is a synthetic ester of retinol and propionic acid. While retinyl palmitate is an earlier form of retinol, it does not have the same effects as retinol. Instead, retinyl palmitate can be effective in boosting collagen fiber production in your skin, which can help you look younger. It does not have the same exfoliating effects as retinol however.

From the three serums this is my favorite since I like how it applies and how it smells. It feels like a nice boost to the skin, but does not feel too aggressive or drying.

My final thought on the Vivant Skincare Skin Fitness System is quite positive. First of all I like the customer service and the option of getting a personalized skincare routine kit. Therefore I think that it is great for people starting a skincare routine. I also had a couple of products within my customized Vivant Skincare Routine which I really liked, but of course there were also some products which I liked less. From the two cleansers I preferred the Cleansing Milk because it was less drying and had a nicer scent than the Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Wash. Both of the cleansers are great if you are looking for low pH cleansers. The Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Wash contains 8 oz (236.6 ml) and retails for 31 US$. The Cleansing Milk comes with the same amount and retails for 29.50 US$. The Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Toner was far too drying for my skin, even if only used occasionally. Sine it has the purpose to balance the pH and get rid of any excess sebum you can replace it with another pH adjusting toner with the same properties, maybe one without alcohol. 4 oz (119.3 ml) retail for 44 US$ which is also quite expensive compared to the ingredients contained here. I really appreciate the idea of a Day Treatment Lotion with SPF and I wish that more moisturizer would consider to add this to their formulation. The scent and the thickness of the moisturizer were not my cup of tea really, so I switched to my regular moisturizers and sunscreens. This adds an additional step to the routine, but I don’t mind that specifically. The Day Treatment Lotion contains 4 oz (119.3 ml) and retails for 33 US$. I do like the 8% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Serum and Derm-A-Renew Gentle Peptide and Vitamin A! I like the key ingredients used in booth serums and I like how they make the skin feel. The Rejuv RX Peptide Concentrate on the other hand was again too drying for me, probably because of the alcohol. It was not so bad as the toner, but still from the three serums I would choose this to opt out. The downside for the serums is that they are really expensive. The Rejuv-RX retails for 106 US$ and is the most expensive out of the three serums. The 8% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Serum retails for 50 US$ and the Derm-A-Renew Gentle Peptide and Vitamin A retails for 87 US$.  The Vivant Skincare Skin Fitness System including the Mandelic Acid Wash, Toner, Day Treatment Lotion and the 8% Mandelic Acid 3-in-1 Serum can be obtained in a Kit for 130 US$. I’m really thankful that Vivant Skincare has offered me their skincare products to review and I hope that my experiences with the products will help you in case you want to go for any of the products.

Did anybody try products from Vivant skincare before? Or did you ever get a customized skincare routine and how were your experiences?

Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.vivantskincare.com/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.