When you’re working with so many products, it’s not often you get repeats. I had until now only two exceptions: Zelens Detox Cleanser (I swear by this) and Clinique All About Eyes Rich. However, before writing this review for Perricone MD Elemental Energy; I am already on my second and third bottle of each.
I took advantage of the Perricone Replenish service which gets you 10% off and they send them out automatically every 60, 90 or 120 days (for me it was 60 days). That’s not a plug by the way, just a way I found to get money off something I regularly use and have had good experiences so far.
Perricone MD H2 Elemental Energy is a series of products that are designed to be ultra-hydrating whilst being equally lightweight. These products are the best example of this I’ve seen to date. If you don’t like rich products but suffer with dullness and dehydration (most of us do) then these are 100% worth a look.
Both the serum and the eye cream work using this H2 Energy Complex. Perricone claims the principle is based on the hydrogen molecule, the smallest molecule there is, to penetrate deeper into the skin whilst pulling the other high-impact hydrators and ingredients in with it. As sceptical I am about marketing strap-lines, I can confirm it certainly does the job in practice.
Perricone MD H2 Elemental Energy Serum
The serum is very lightweight, like thick water. It has no particular smell and you’ll wonder what you’ve spent all your money on. What I like about these products is that apart from the shiny packaging, they’re really unnotable in the ways we’re told we should care about out skincare; there’s no texture, fragrance or novel delivery. However, I really think these Perricone products can afford to be so boring because the results speak for themselves.
The serum disappears into the skin in seconds which definitely gives credence to their claim of smaller molecules delivering quicker and deeper. Skin immediately feels ‘plumped’ and is instantly more hydrated; I’ve also found this lasts most if not all of the day.
Ingredients-wise, the Elemental Energy Serum uses some sugar-based hydration such as Methyl Gluceth-20 and Saccharide Isomerate. There’s also Licorice Root Extract and Vitamin C which have well reported skin brightening properties. Allantoin helps slough off surface dead skin cells whilst large whacks of hyaluronic acid bond moisture to skin cells. There’s also a little Sea Whip in there that calms and soothes the skins surface, making this also a great product for post shaving.
Perricone MD H2 Elemental Energy De-Puffing Eye Gel
Now the Elemental Energy De-Puffing Eye Gel; I’ve been using as an eye-serum as I just don’t find it hydrating enough for the entire day. Over time however, it has increased the moisture around my eyes whereas sometimes it feels the Clinique All About Eyes Rich just acts like a barrier cream with no real long-term benefits (still feels amazing though). Using both in combination has proved to be a roaring success.
The De-Puffing Eye Gel is actually thicker than the serum and comes out as a semi-opaque emollient gel. It sinks in nicely and does leave a certain hydrating surface-smoothness which may very well be enough for you; but it isn’t for me which is why I top it up.
Looking into the ingredients, there’s around twice as many in this than there are in the serum, which definitely goes against the norm. There are many crossover ingredients but also the inclusion of Peony, Oat Kernal, Chinese Skullcap, Mistletoe, Kunai Grass and Soybean. Each has its own soothing and skin conditioning property but I like that a pharma-first brand includes so many naturally derived extracts.
I’m not going to give a full break down of the ingredients as we’d be here all day; but I will allude to the silica in there which I wasn’t aware of until after I’d fallen in love with the product. These are used to make skin smooth by filling in the lines and wrinkles so they look reduced. I think this has been added instead of managing expectations, slightly muddying the pond of what otherwise would be an excellent product. However, on my second bottle of this (third of the serum) I really, really enjoy it and with such sensitive eyes, have found this has made them appear smoother and calmer. The Eye Gel is an easy product to use, like the serum.
The Elemental Energy products are great for all skin types and most common skin concerns such as acne/blemishes, ageing concerns, dullness, dehydration and oiliness. They add water rather than oils and there are few-to-no skin concerns that won’t benefit from added water; bearing in mind that the water in your skin is only roughly 80% from the water you drink and the other 20% needs to come externally.
The whole Perricone Elemental Energy range includes the serum at £80 and the eye gel at £60. There’s also a mask and moisturiser which I’ve yet to try.