Estee Lauder Idealist Skin Refinisher Serum – Me Scared of Serums ’til I Met You…

Anti-aging products or age defying potions like serums are all the rage now aren’t they?  However, a lot of questions still surround the topic of defying age.  Does discouraging the body’s natural inclination to age the skin only increase the chances of damaging one’s self?  I and a handful of other women out there I’m sure share common questions and concerns regarding the matter of anti-aging and until yesterday, the thought of letting a serum touch my face never appealed to me.  I don’t even use night or day cream, only my L’oreal Youth Code Eye cream has entered my regimen (which I don’t even use everyday). I was over at Marionnaud yesterday at SM Mall of Asia.  Marionnaud, in case you didn’t know, is probably the closest thing we have to a Sephora store locally.  Over there I didn’t buy anything at all but simply went around swatching and slapping on  luxury products onto the back of my hand from Guerlain, MAC, and then…I approached the Estee Lauder counter and spied this, EL’s Idealist, Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher.  The name alone, “Idealist”, is my middle name.

That pretty turquoise green bottle has actually been saying “Hello” to me from the introductory advertising pages of almost every style magazine I’ve been flipping through these last two months.  The bottle color choice is quite clever and the blue green glass bottle on its own makes you want to have one. Yes, I didn’t buy it yet and for good reason.  Everyone knows Estee Lauder products are expensive, but then almost everyone also knows that their products are amazing on the face. The bottle comes with a pump applicator that doesn’t press out too much product when used with care.

What is it?

From what I’ve read, experienced, and understand is it’s kind of like a pore minimizing skin resurfacing conditioner/serum with only a couple of  “anti-aging” properties one of which is to help minimize pores over a period of at least 3 weeks and encourage evenness in your complexion.  That’s exactly what it feels like and it doesn’t weigh the skin down.  So they say that Idealist Skin Refinisher also acts as a luxury makeup base with a well-balanced blend of antioxidants that aid in encouraging skin’s natural fairness and with extended use allow a healthy glow to come through.

Estee Lauder says – ” This fast-acting serum delivers our most dramatic skin resurfacing benefits-more efficiently than ever before.  With Idealist, your skin looks and feels like your ideal skin.”

What does it do?

The serum itself is a typical whitish gel like consistency and the moment it touched my skin over at the sampling counter it turned the surface of my cheeks and my nose silky (not greasy) while helping mattify any excess shine near my nose (which is really where I get it ) and those dry protruding pores on my nose sort of “relaxed” if you will, thus becoming less rough to touch.  You know those parts in fantasy cartoons where a drop of something magical spreads and makes the entire area better…hahaha CHEEZY but that’s what it felt like, it was really hard to describe, I kept looking at my fingers and rubbing them.  There’s no sting or tingly sensation to my surprise because I’ve got sensitive skin.  The instant “smoothing” effect is a temporary benefit that lasts throughout the day but the antioxidant formula provides more benefits with use over time.From the Estee Lauder site it says…

• Pores appear 1/3 smaller-instantly.
• See a 69% reduction in the look of pores in just 4 weeks.
• Smooth it on and instantly enjoy that soft, seamless, silky feeling you love.
• See more clarity and luminosity.
• Gives skin an overall more even tone.

How do I use it?

EL: “Apply every AM on clean skin. Follow with your moisturizer.”

What does Julia say?

What my fave Cream Silk Damage Control Conditioner (blue) or Clairol Herbal Essences one does for my hair is similar to what Estee Lauder’s Idealist does for my face.  It makes it baby silky-soft by improving texture, except Idealist has a few more long term benefits as an antioxidant packed toner (mattifying), moisturizer, and base all rolled into one formula.  Note to self, it is mildly scented with a pretty smell that smells of fruit, but it didn’t break me out.

Where can I get it?

Idealist comes in 100ml, 50ml, and 30ml sizes.  As far as I know, the 50ml one goes for about Php4500 (go figure, whoa), and the 30ml one goes for about Php2700+, a little drop goes a long way so that would still last you a while if you scrimp on it.  It might be cheaper to try getting it from StrawberryNet but locally, you can get this anywhere Estee Lauder counters are present, usually at Rustan’s, Duty Free, or Marionnaud at Mall of Asia.  On my end, for the moment I just hope to be blessed with it someday.