BRANDS I LOVE : BEAUTY STAT AND SOME OF THE BEST VITAMIN C FACIAL SKINCARE PRODUCTS
Well, wasn’t that a kinda sorta a normalish week!
I went back to work in the City every day. I got caught up on my healthcare with a couple of in-person doctor’s appointments. And just reveled in doing as many normal things as I could — including popping into the newly reopened Junior’s Cheesecake for, well, a cupcake. It felt good to be able to do that again — and it tasted like heaven.
And, it all felt as normal as normal can feel right now in New York City. The City is transformed — literally and figuratively. The twin storms of Covid and the Black Lives Matter social justice movement have made a permanent mark on everything around me.
It’s still surreal to see nearly every New Yorker on a subway car wearing a mask. I was always impressed by the Japanese on my trips to Tokyo. Not only did it make sense, it made me feel like the Japanese really care about each other — in a way that we Americans don’t.
It was empowering to see signs, messages of unity, and demands for social justice everywhere I turned this week. Something clearly shifted in NYC and in America over the course of the last four weeks.
We’re no longer living the fantasy that America is a place where everyone is equal. That’s not true; it’s never been true. Not now, not at our founding. The truth is, it was always little more than an aspiration penned into our founding documents.
And it’s time that we as a people recognize that fact and act so that the written words of the Constitution are, one day, reality for all.
I could go on and on about this, dedicate an entire blog to social injustice in the US, but I really just wanna talk about skin care right now!
The skincare stuff starts here.
While I love talking about skin care, I want to talk about Vitamin C every chance I get. One of my favorite Vitamin C facial serums is the Universal C Skin Refiner from the New York-based indie brand, BeautyStat.
In fact, I included the BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner in my article about the best Vitamin C products of 2019 titled, The Year’s Best Vitamin C Serums with The Ordinary, Clinique, Beauty Stat & More! You can catch it here!
**WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF BEAUTY STAT AND ONE OF THE BEST VITAMIN C PRODUCTS ANYWHERE ON EARTH ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.**
BeautyStat Cosmetics is a bold, science-driven brand founded in New York by cosmetic chemist and industry veteran, Ron Robinson. But the BeautyStat brand itself is not exactly new to the scene; you may, in fact, find it familiar. BeautyStat began as a beauty blog more than ten years ago!
Over the past decade, beauty junkies like me have come to rely on BeautyStat’s product info, brand insights, and ingredient introspection with articles like How Well Do You Know Your Cleanser? and Graydon, Fullmoon Serum, How to Achieve Radiant Skin.
So when I heard that BeautyStat’s influencer-driven blog was introducing its own skincare brand with a single Vitamin C product, I was naturally intrigued — and inspired. One day, I hope to do the same!
Getting it right is everything, particularly after BeautyStat’s 100s, maybe 1000s, of product reviews. In fact, that’s my own fear. After critiquing the world’s best and worst skin care, my own Skincarma Skincare™ would be open to just as much scrutiny.
And, well, BeautyStat nailed it with their brilliantly formulated Universal C Skin Refiner. Not only was it among my top Vitamin C picks of 2019, but Universal C was recently declared by Allure magazine one of “the best 27 vitamin C-spiked serums, face masks, and moisturizers that are sure to leave your skin happy and bright.”
Geez, Allure, just 27?
Universal C Skin Refiner
I could literally spend the rest of my life testing, reviewing, and posting about Vitamin C products and be perfectly happy. (But you’d get bored and find a more interesting skincare blog to read — like that BeautyStat Blog!)
That’s the thing though — I’m never bored with Vitamin C. It’s not sexy; and skin care isn’t really supposed to be sexy. That’s the nonsense spun by big beauty brand marketers. Now, we’re all accustomed to expecting the next big unheard of thing that will lead us like sheep to the fountain of youth. Take snail slime, for example. Apparently, there are a lot of snails swimming in that fountain!
That Vitamin C only recently came into play as a skincare essential has everything to do with the fact that it’s so difficult to formulate just right — especially at high, active levels.
A poorly formulated Vitamin C serum that oxidizes can actually become pro-oxidant.
That means that rather than functioning as a protective anti-oxidant in the skin, the molecules will damage the skin by disrupting normal skin cell functions on par with stress, pollution and other environmental aggressors.
From an Oregon State University report, “The oxidation of vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is brought about by the loss of two hydrogen atoms as the vitamin is converted to dehydroascorbic acid.” And that’s doesn’t sound so good for the skin, does it?
You can tell if your Vitamin C serum has oxidized because it will shift in color from the time you opened it. So, as a first rule of thumb, make a mental note of how the product appears the first time you use it. (Try taking a picture so you know for sure!) If it oxidizes, cut your losses and toss it into the bin.
Over the last year, formula innovation has accelerated and you’re suddenly seeing Vitamin C products formulated at levels of fifteen percent, twenty percent — even twenty-five percent of the vitamin.
What does Vitamin C do for skin?
There’s an excellent article on the remarkable benefits of Vitamin C for the skin from the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team titled, What is Vitamin C and How Does it Benefit Skin?
Vitamin C is one of the most exciting, research-proven ingredients you can apply to skin (1). This water-soluble antioxidant is a natural component of healthy skin. When we’re young, vitamin C levels in skin’s outermost two layers (epidermis and dermis) are abundant, but as we age, these levels naturally deplete. Unprotected sun exposure (UV damage) and pollution can accelerate this decline, leading to skin looking and feeling dull, uneven, and less firm than it once was (2).
Luckily, there are topical skin care solutions that can help mitigate this damage, so skin looks and feels healthier and younger longer.
Vitamin C Benefits for Skin
Vitamin C’s benefits for skin are vast, including its ability to even out skin tone and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (3). While this powerhouse ingredient is well-known for its skin-brightening benefits, research also shows it can shield skin from the visible impacts of environmental stressors, including free radical damage (4). This synergy of mitigating problems both before and after they occur makes vitamin C a force to be reckoned with.
There are two ways to look at a Vitamin C formula — water-based and water-less.
Unlike many Vitamin C facial skincare products on the market, including another of the best Vitamin C face serums, the Clinique Fresh Pressed, BeautyStat’s Universal C Skin Refiner is not a water-based serum; rather, it’s a richly-textured, waterless lotion — what’s called a “suspension”. Another popular Vitamin C serum that’s a suspension is the Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%.
Formulated with 20% L-Ascorbic Acid, the most potent form of Vitamin C, and an encapsulated delivery system, the silky Universal C Skin Refiner formula contains an active ingredient called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG).
I had no idea what that was either. So I googled it…
EGCG is the most important component of green tea! It happens to perfectly sync up with Vitamin C for reliable, potent antioxidant protection that prevents skin damage.
With just seven ingredients, the Universal C Skin Refiner has a very tight ingredient list, accounting for the fact that the vitamin doesn’t play well with other actives. Overload it and the mixture collapses — like a soggy cake made with too many wet berries and fruits. That would never happen at Junior’s!
The first ingredient in BeautyStat’s Universal C is Cyclopentasiloxane, an innocuous, lightweight silicone that forms the formula base and protects the Vitamin C by effectively preventing oxidation. Plant-derived Squalane, a bio-available substance recognized by the skin, helps to nourish and moisturize the outer skin layers.
And, the addition of the alpha-hydroxy Tartaric Acid helps to balance skin’s pH as it enhances absorption of the other actives. Tartaric Acid is one of the six AHAs and is found in many plants, including grapes and tamarinds. It’s also one of the main component acids in wine.
The fact that Universal C is packaged in an airtight pump makes it top shelf — one of the best Vitamin C products I’ve come across. It’s heartening to know that the beauty editors at Allure, Cosmo, Glamour and Just Bobbi agree with me. In fact, Bobbi Brown and her editorial team named it one of “the 9 Best Beauty Products of 2019,” along with Then I Met You’s Living Cleansing Balm, also a personal fave.
So, about that innovative BeautyStat delivery system? Ron and his team patented it! You won’t find it in any other Vitamin C product anywhere. There are two patents, in fact: #9,901,532 and #9,901,533.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner for $80 here.
**WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF BEAUTY STAT AND ONE OF THE BEST VITAMIN C PRODUCTS ANYWHERE ON EARTH ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.**
Universal C Eye Perfector
Sure, the BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner is one of my all-time fave Vitamin C serums. I love everything about the formula — from the silky, creamy texture to the potency of the Vitamin C itself. For me, it’s the perfect formula.
So imagine my glee when I unboxed BeautyStat’s new Universal C Eye Perfector! It’s fast become one of my favorite Vitamin C eye creams — I reach for it every night.
The Universal C Eye Perfector contains a 5% concentration of power brightener L-Ascorbic Acid, just the perfect amount for the delicate skin in the eye area. No need to overdue it around the eyes. Anything too strong has the potential to irritate the skin.
Like its Vitamin C sister for the face, Universal C Eye Perfector is formulated with BeautyStat’s patented, proprietary delivery system technology to get the brightening active as deep into the skin surface as is likely possible.
But I’m excited to say that Beauty Stat didn’t rest on its delivery system laurels for their breakthrough eye formula.
They infused the Universal C Eye Perfector with CBD as well — in what I believe is the first dedicated CBD product for the eye area. But don’t quote me; I don’t know everything that’s going on in the world of skincare. Plus, I’ve been stuck in this Brooklyn apartment for 3 months!
Why CBD?
Cannabidiol (CBD) has anti-inflammatory and skin-soothing properties that help to alleviate puffiness and irritation.
I wrote an article recently about the efficacy of CBD in skincare and the unique benefits of CBD moisturizers and CBD serums, titled “CBD Skincare and the Best CBD Serums for Face From Paula's Choice, Balm Labs, Josie Maran & More!” which you can read here.
In the piece, I included insightful information about the benefits of cannabidiol in skin from the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team:
“Cannabidiol has been shown to offer numerous benefits related to calming skin. Skin has specific receptor sites for cannabinoids (referred to as its endocannabinoid system). It seems CBD can “talk” to these receptor sites on skin, sending unique signals to stop firing the wrong messages, which in turn leads to healthier, better-looking skin. This benefit makes cannabidiol an intriguing ingredient for interrupting the progression of damage within skin’s uppermost layers that can lead to visible problems; however, more research needs to be done to gain a greater understanding of how CBD works on skin.
Research has also shown, though isn’t entirely clear on how this works, that CBD seems to visibly reduce oily skin. It’s also a very good antioxidant, on par with vitamins C and E.”
There’s also a nice amount of soothing antioxidant Green Tea Extract and Hyaluronic Acid for moisture retention.
The all-natural formula has a nice light, putty-like texture that smooths on and stays put so it doesn’t migrate into the eyes. There’s a slight tint to it that helps to instantly erase dark circles. It’s such good stuff!
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the BeautyStat Universal C Eye Perfector for $65 here.
Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream
Kindly excuse the ensuing rant…
I am no fan of products in jars! I make the point every time I review a moisturizer in a jar. Again, the moment you open the lid and expose the formula to light, air and bacteria, it begins to degrade. Just like driving a new car off the lot!
If a product is going to be housed in a jar, it had better damn well make sense — and you better be sure to use it up quickly. So, as counterintuitive as it sounds, when a product comes in a jar, less is more.
BeautyStat’s Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream comes in a relatively stingy one-ounce jar — and that’s exactly how I like it.
But the smaller, leaner size isn’t the only thing that’s noteworthy about the Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream.
The first time you remove the lid, you know something’s different. To put it rather inelegantly, it looks like a thick blend of yogurt and bacon fat. I know, I know, skin care is supposed to be sexy. And there’s nothing sexy about that, is there? The thing is, the formula is so thick that it’s highly unlikely to dispense well through the tiny hole in a more protective tube. So I get it.
Okay, so Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream has a unique texture and appearance. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that one of the reasons it looks like a deliciously opaque, gelatinous goop is due to its blend of inherently goopy ingredients.
First, a bit of trivia: in its natural form, Hyaluronic Acid is a gelatinous goop! But Pro-Bio Moisture Boost also contains a high level of humectant Glycerin, Dimethicone, ceramides and Cetearyl Olivate — an oily, waxy ester that combines Cetearyl Alcohol and fatty acids found in olive oil. All good goopy stuff for skin, right?!
But perhaps the formula headliner is its bio-fermented active, Bifida Ferment Lysate. Fermentation in skin care is hot right now — and for good reason.
Ferments are not only super nourishing for the skin, but they actually break down other actives in the formula into smaller molecules that can better penetrate skin’s protective outer barrier.
Rated by Paula Begoun and team as one of the “best” ingredients for the skin, Bifida Ferment Lysate is “a probiotic ingredient derived from a specific type of yeast obtained by the fermentation of Bifida bacteria. Research on human skin explants (cross-sections of intact human skin) has shown this ingredient can help reactive skin become less sensitive to environmental aggressors via strengthening its microbiome. Doing so encourages skin to visibly repair itself and begin looking healthier.”
BeautyStat’s Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream is packed with nutritive goodness for the skin that keeps it plump, hydrated and nourished. Just be sure to use it up quickly! And next time you’re in the market for a new car, consider leasing one.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the BeautyStat Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream for $50 here.
That’s it guys! I hope you’re finding some peace among the chaos, and some normality among the abnormality. I invite you to enter the exclusive SKINCARMA x BEAUTYSTAT GIVEAWAY for a chance to win the entire BeautyStat collection, including two of my favorite Vitamin C products ever. See just below…
🖤 SKINCARMA
SKINCARMA….
GIVEAWAY!
Enter to win the entire BeautyStat collection — including my Vitamin C faves, the Universal C Skin Refiner and Universal C Eye Perfector as well as the Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream. ($195 value)
Share why you want to win in the comments below. Then, return to the Skincarma IG page and comment “Done”. Giveaway ends Sunday 07/05/2020.
*WATCH MY VIDEO REVIEW OF BEAUTY STAT AND ONE OF THE BEST VITAMIN C PRODUCTS ANYWHERE ON EARTH ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.**
Be sure to check out BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner Vitamin C Serum on AMAZON.COM.
Be sure to check our BeautyStat Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream Moisturizer on AMAZON.COM.
The Ingredient List of the BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner:
aox|sb|buff, Isocetyl Stearate emo 0-1, Squalane 
sii|emo 0 1, Polysilicone-11, Petrolatum emo, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (Pure Egcg Green Tea) aox|so|amic|emo|h, Tartaric Acid buff|exfThe Ingredient List of the BeautyStat Universal C Eye Perfector:
aox|sb|buff, Mica col, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter emo|vc, Silica vc, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891) col 0 0, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil emo, Cannabis Sativa Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract aox, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract aox|so|amic|emo|h, Tartaric Acid buff|exf, Linoleic Acid sii|emo|surf, Hydroxyapatite abrasive/scrub, Cholesterol sii|emo|emu|vc 0 0, Squalane sii|emo 0 1, Creatine, Caffeine aox|perf, Magnolia Grandiflora Bark Extract aox|amic, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Glabridin sb, Ormenis Multicaulis Oil (Moroccan Chamomile), Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate emo|emu|surf 0 2, Salvia Sclarea (Clary Sage) Oil, Hordeum Vulgare Extract emo, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491) col 0 0, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil emo|hThe Ingredient List of the BeautyStat Universal Pro-Bio Moisture Boost Cream:
Water, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Cetearyl Olivate, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Sorbitan Olivate, Polysilicone-11, Ceramide 2, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Sterols, Ganoderma Lucidum Extract (Asian Mushroom Extract), Linoleic Acid, Lactose, Milk Protein, Sodium Hyaluronate, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Betula Alba Bark (White Birch) Extract, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Laureth-7, Sodium Citrate, Tocopheryl Acetate(Vitamin E), Sorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Propanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Hydroxide, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Benzoate.
