I’m an experimenter. I love to explore and try new things. I love to try new skincare products and discover what really works for my skin!
At the beginning of January, a new-to-me brand, Pili Ani, that came my way. First, shall we just admire the gorgeous packaging of this beautiful facial cream? Wow. I left it out on my Art Deco vanity in my bedroom so I could look at it till I could put it into my rotation. So pretty.
Some Background on Pili Ani, Its Founder and All Things Pili
Pili Ani is an unusual name. I learned that Pili refers to Pili Oil, a natural oil found in the pulp of the pili tree (Canaria Ovatum). The pili tree is found in the Bicol region of the Philippines as well as in Indonesia and Malaysia. It is sometimes called the “stress tree” (I can relate to that!) because it is so strong and sturdy that it can withstand the typhoons that come through the region. Because of its strength and its usefulness as a crop, it is also regarded as the “Chosen Tree” in the Philippines. The tree is grown even more for its pili nut than for its fruit. The nut is a sweet culinary treat, but it contains nutrients that make it attractive as a natural skincare ingredient as well.
Pili Ani harvests both Pili Oil and Elemi Oil from the Philippine pili tree. Pili Oil from the pili nut is rich in essential fatty acids, amino acids and antioxidants Vitamin A, E and beta carotene that help protect skin from environmental pollutants.
Elemi Oil is sourced from sap from the bark of the tree. It is both antibacterial and has anti-aging properties – specifically, it’s a naturally active firming ingredient. The two naturally-sourced pili tree ingredients are combined with natural oat extracts to protect skin cells from environmental damage from UV rays and help heal skin and reduce discoloration and scarring.
The brand, Pili Ani, was founded by Philippine-born Rosalina S. Tan, an environmentalist inspired by the idea that “everything starts from the soil”. She began her work in organic farming. In fact, she started out with a venture to create organic fertilizer! From there, she started the Save Our Soil Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization that works to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of healthy soil in organic farming and in health and wellness. I was really impressed by this because I am a gardener, and I belong to a Horticultural Society and the Greenbelt organization here in eastern Massachusetts. I can definitely concur that healthy soil is where it all begins!
Rosalina’s lifelong interest and work in promoting organic farming in the U.S. and around the world led her to start a crusade on the behalf of the farmers in her native Philippines. She also studied the pili tree and researched the many formerly untapped benefits from its nuts and bark. Her work helped to promote agriculture in general, and in particular, sustainable farming practices among Philippine farmers. Her work also led to the discovery of skincare benefits from the pili tree which in turn led her to start, Pili Ani, a line of nutrient dense skincare products formulated with natural Pili and Elemi oils. Pili Ani was launched in Summer 2017. I remember reading about it on POPSUGAR last Fall.
My Experience with Pili Ani Youthful Glow Facial Cream
As I mentioned above, I was instantly taken by the exotic packaging of Pili Ani Youthful Glow Facial Cream. I love the curved golden top that sits on the jar like the roof of a temple. I know that some of you prefer a pump to a jar, but I have no problem using one of my million scoops to scoop a small amount of cream out of the pretty jar.
Pili Ani Facial Cream has a natural nutty scent that is very appealing. I read that Elemi Oil is also used in perfume oils and fragrances. How nice that it does double-duty in this cream! It also has a bit of a natural fragrance added, but the light scent disappears on contact.
The cream itself is rich and super-hydrating. The two key oils give the cream an amazing richness that makes it a perfect night cream for someone with dry skin like me. Yet, the cream is not greasy. It makes my parched skin feel instantly hydrated, supple and also firmed. The look of my fine lines and wrinkles is smoothed.
I am loving Pili Ani Youthful Glow Facial Cream as my night cream this winter. It couldn’t have arrived at a more opportune time. But even in summer, I know I will still enjoy using this cream to replenish the oils in my sun-parched skin. Pili Ani Youthful Glow Facial Cream is priced at $110 for 50 g/1.76 fl. oz. Yes, it is an investment, but it’s amazing how little of this rich emollient I need to cover my face and neck.
The Pili Ani skincare line is made up of 5 products in total at present:
- Intense Hydrating Facial Oil
- Beauty Elixir Facial Milk Serum
- Natural Radiance Facial Moisturizer Cream, a brightening cream that evens skintone
- Intense Hydrating Facial Cream with antioxidants and super hydration benefits
- Youthful Glow Facial Cream that I am using now.
The products can be purchased on the Pili Ani website, PiliAni.com. The brand is still quite new, so I hope we’ll see it in stores as well in the future. Meanwhile, it’s easy enough to buy on their website.
So many of us have fallen in love with Japanese and Korean skincare, perhaps the Philippines with their treasure trove of pili trees will be the next big thing in skincare! Have you heard about Pili Oil and Elemi Oil yet?
Ingredients: Water, pili oil (Canarium ovatum), Caprylic/capric triglycerides, glyceryl stearate, glycerine, beta-glucan, stearyl alcohol, glyceryl caprylate, glyceryl undecylenate, diheptyl succinate, capryloyl glycerine/sebacic acid copolymer, elemi essential oil (Canarium commune), phenoxyethanol, sodium acrylates/ beheneth-25 methacrylate crosspolymer, hydrogenated polydecene, lauryl glucoside, hypoallergenic fragrance, ethylhexylglycerin
Wow, this elegant purple sculptural packaging is so aesthetically appealing! Rich, emollient and super hydrating?! This sounds ultra-luxe and perfect for the season! I would love to try this new brand, and naturally their Intense Hydrating Facial Oil is especially intriguing– given my penchant for beauty oils. Thank you for introducing me to this brand, Allison! <3
I thought about you when I read about their lovely oil!
Waving Hi 🙋🏻☕️☕️ This was such a good read. So enjoyed it. Sounds comparable to Argan Oil. The nuts from the tree resembles Argan nuts. The packaging is beautiful. But I don’t understand why it’s so so expensive, it’s way out of my price range. Enjoy your day…….😍
Thank you, DiEtta! I found Rosalina Tan’s background and the information on the pili tree so interesting! Pili oil is similar to argan oil in that it has essential fatty acids and antioxidants like vitamin E and is good for skin and hair. Like jojoba oil, pili oil has anti-microbial properties and is good for skin including acne. Pili has a few ingredients that neither of those have yet maybe not enough differences to switch to. Pili contains more oil (70%) than any other nut known to date on earth. You are definitely right that the Pili skincare products are expensive, and truth be told, they’re out of my price range as a rule though I must admit that I did once buy a skincare product from Korean brand Sulwhasoo that cost $245 for slightly less product. Pili facial skincare is priced at the same price as Elemis, the famous UK skincare brand that’s sold at Barney’s, Space NK and Neiman-Marcus. Pili was introduced to the U.S. about 6 months ago by Rosalina Tan who was the environmentalist and agriculturalist who educated and organized Philippine farmers/growers in harvesting pili and elemi oil. As far as I can discover, Tan and her company Pili is the sole manufacturer and importer of pili oil at this time. It’s very new. Her products are manufactured in the Philippines though her American company is based in Las Vegas. I searched online, and she has a company and online store in the Philippines that sells what appear to be affordable hair, body and lipstick (but no facial skincare) made with pili and elemi oils but unfortunately, the currency is Philippine currency so it doesn’t look like the rest of us can buy those products. I guess when you’ve created the market, you can charge what you wish 😉 It will be interesting to see where she takes the business going forward.
Their packaging is incredible! I’m not familiar with this brand but it sounds like they have great products.
Pili is only about 6 months old so unless you saw it on POPSUGAR or on Bloomberg News, you wouldn’t have heard of it, Courtney. The woman who started the company actually organized growers in the Philippines to harvest pili and elemi oils. Pili oil is quite new, and I believe her company may be the sole distributor at this point. I really really love this night cream. I need to use it slowly so it will last a looooooong time!
The bottle is absolutely divine, but sadly it’s about double what I would pay for a face cream.
Both the bottle and the night cream are quite stunning. The woman environmentalist and entrepreneur who started the company also was the one who organized Philippine farmers and growers and encouraged them to harvest pili and elemi oil. From what I can tell, her company is the only one who sells pili oil. She manufactures the products in the Philippines and sends product to the US where the brand is about 6 months old. I discovered Pili has an online store that sells what looks to be more affordable hair, body and lipstick products (but no skincare), but you can only purchase in Philippine currency. Pili Facial Skincare is priced like the UK prestige brand Elemis that’s sold at Barney’s, SpaceNK and Neiman Marcus. It will be interesting to see what happens with the brand going forward. Both pili and elemi oils have an amazing number of skincare and haircare benefits so I hope we all will be able to afford to buy them someday.
Interesting post,Allison. I love the context you provided on the founder,oil and tree. With all the bad news about how palm oil use is not environmentaly sustainable, it is nice to know that an environmentalist founded the company. Hope all is well. Sarah
Thank you, Sarah, and thank you for taking the time to comment and say hi! I think you’re on vacay this week, and if so, hope you’re having fun! Pili is an interesting company that I discovered through a PR person. It showed up on Bloomberg News and on POPSUGAR so they’re getting the word out. The founder seems quite interesting. I discovered she has another Pili company based in the Philippines that sells body care, haircare and lipstick but only in Philippine currency. I’m keeping an eye on how they roll out in the US.
What fabulous packaging. That would draw me in for sure. I haven’t heard of the brand and you know I worry about fragrance in products. It sounds luxurious.
The packaging is so luxe that the brand would do so well in a luxury store. Pili Ani is only about 6 months old in the U.S., so word is just getting out about it and about pili oil. This does have a light nutty scent in the jar, but none on the skin.
The packaging gets me – I love exotic fancy packaging that looks cool on the vanity. 🙂 I also don’t mind using a little spoon to scoop product out. Great review!
Thanks, Kristi! The packaging is like something from Scheherazade. I’ve survived my entire life using mostly moisturizers in jars too 😉
That’s a gorgeous jar! Definitely rich for my blood lol
LOL! But yes, the jar is a beauty!
I like your photos, first and foremost! The depth, dimension and creativity are tops! Are you using a new camera? I haven’t heard of this line but I like the story behind.
Thank you, Kathryne! Same old camera, ahem my iPhone 7+ but this time using the Portrait setting since I wasn’t doing a typical flatly. Re: Pili Ani, I’m glad to hear any good news coming out of the Philippines these days
Can I just stare at that bottle a little longer?! LOL! What gorgeous packaging they have. Thanks for explaining the name and the sourcing of the product ingredients. It’s quite interesting to know! Sounds like a nice product for my dry skin. Maybe one day…
Isn’t the bottle amazing? Like something from 1001 Arabian Nights! And it feels so good too
it sounds nice!! Sometimes for my dry skin…well, it’s silly because I’ll like a heavier cream or oil at night, too, but then I get allergy bumps. I can’t figure out why….I’ve tried a lot of different things. Of course the bottle grabbed me and knowing it has a pleasant scent kept me.
This has an unusual consistency: it seems like it’s going to be heavy, but on the skin, it just feels emollient. That’s too bad about your allergic reaction to night creams. Have dermatologists had any insights for you?
Well, I haven’t been to one for that. I have an unusual skin disease and drs have all been stumped except for my allergy and asthma doc. I saw a derm two years ago and she took a big chunk out of my face…we need to find one tho…soonish
I feel silly since I haven’t heard of pili nuts but this product sounds great
Sounds like a good product and I love the packaging.
I love that the source is from Asia and the tree is also native to Malaysia. The cream sounds amazing, something that my skin would enjoy as well but the price is way high and definitely out of my price range. Skincare is an investment for me but this is unfortunately too big of an investment. 🙁
Yes, the Pili Ani facial skincare line is a prestige line priced like the British brand, Elemis. I need to use this most delightful cream (lightweight but supremely emollient) very slowly because I can’t run out and buy more either. I discovered that Pili has an online shop that sells body care, haircare and lipstick but only in Philippine currency 🙁 I wonder if the Malaysian skincare industry uses pili and elemi oils?
Now that is a good question, no idea if there are any local brands that uses Pili and Elimi oils.
You had my attention with oil and rich, skincare for me has to have at least one of those or else it won’t work on my dry face/ neck.
This cream is so beautiful!
I tried these and they made my skin SO soft!
Yes, super-soft! I’ve just tried the Youthful Glow but it is a winner for my dry skin
That is some elegant packaging! I would use this and keep the bottle for decoration!
It looks like a temple from southeast Asia – such a pretty jar!
What a gorgeous looking jar! Pili nuts look a lot like almonds. I went to Manila in 2016, but wish I had found the time to explore their beauty brands!
Supposedly pili nuts are sweet! I don’t know much about Philippine skincare. But it’s interesting that the founder of Pili has a Philippine-based online shop (in Philippine currency) that sells Pili haircare, body care and lipstick but the Pili Ani facial skincare is not sold along with the other ranges, but just in the US.
That is such a beautiful bottle and I love that it doesn’t feel greasy but definitely out of my current budget range.
Those bottles are amazing!!! I want to buy strictly for that reason!!! It would look so amazing sitting on the counter!
Yes, the packaging makes fabulous decor accents, but I have found I love the moisturizer inside just as much 🙂
I love their packaging! I came across the brand this summer and want to try a few different things!
The packaging is exquisite, but I have found that I love the moisturizer inside just as much! Hope you do get to try it some day
This sounds heavenly for dry skin, and I adore the packaging. Loved the little background about the stress tree, too cool!
It really is perfect for my dry skin, and I love to look at it on my vanity!