About a month ago, I registered for a Bzzz Agent social media review. The project was to test out two of the several products for menopausal and post-menopausal women. They must not have had that many women volunteering because I was accepted almost immediately, lol!
Frankly, I always thought that skincare for mature women made sense. Our skin changes so drastically as we age with collagen and elastin among others starting to decrease production within our bodies in our 30s! And now even with the large population of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, so many skincare products are targeting 20 and 30-somethings.
Well, Vichy has recently introduced their collection for menopausal and post-menopausal women. Yay! I was sent a serum and a day cream to try out.
Vichy Neovadiol Meno 5 Bi-Serum
What’s In It and What Does It Do?
A “bi-serum” is a combination of water and oil that must be shaken to combine before using. Vichy Neovadiol Meno 5 Serum contains a core of 5 ingredients to help restore hydration, radiance, firming, even skintone, and smooth wrinkles that occur as a result of decreased collagen production and drier skin due to less oil. The five ingredients include:
- Proxylane – Originally derived from sugar, Proxylane is known to provide firmness to the skin and reduce the look of wrinkles.
- Cassia Extract – Known to plump and firm the skin.
- Vitamins B3-C-E – Helps prevent oxidative damage.
- Omegas 6-9 – Replenishes moisture on dry skin and creates a protective lipid barrier.
- Vichy Volcanic Water – Strengthens the skin moisture barrier and protect it from exposome factors such as pollution.
For me, a couple of the key ingredients – Proxylane, Cassia Extract – were new to me. There are lots of other well-known hydrating and firming ingredients in the formula:
AQUA/WATER • ISOPROPYL ISOSTEARATE • DICAPRYLYL ETHER • NIACINAMIDE • PROPYLENE GLYCOL • GLYCOLIC ACID • SQUALANE • ALCOHOL DENAT • .GLYCERIN • DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL • SODIUM HYDROXIDE • TOCOPHEROL • HAEMATOCOCCUS PLUVIALIS EXTRACT • PRUNUS ARMENIACA KERNEL OIL / APRICOT KERNEL OIL • ADENOSINE • ASCORBYL GLUCOSIDE • ISOPROPYL LAUROYL SARCOSINATE • HYDROXYACETOPHENONE • HYDROXYPROPYL TETRAHYDROPYRANTRIOL • CAPRYLOYL SALICYLIC ACID • CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE • CASSIA ANGUSTIFOLIA SEED POLYSACCHARIDE • PARFUM / FRAGRANCE
One ingredient I want to mention is that there is denatured alcohol in the product to help other ingredients dissolve and make the product lightweight and easy to sink into skin. There are plenty of other hydrating ingredients such as squalane, propylene glycol, glycerin, apricot oils etc., but if your skin can’t handle even a small amount of alcohol, skip it.
Results
What was interesting to me is that Vichy published the results of a small scale study (100 respondents), they conducted with peri and post-menopausal women broken down into groups as to what stage of menopause they were in. The results showed that peri-menopausal women (age 45-54) had modest results in reduction of dark spots and radiance but not so much in the reduction of wrinkles, perhaps because they didn’t have as noticeable wrinkles. The post-menopausal women (age 54-65) didn’t show a reduction in dark spots or wrinkles but showed a modest change in firmness. Nevertheless, they all felt that skin felt nourished, smoother, and they thought their dark spots looked better. Hmmm.
Clinical Results on Peri-menopausal Women*:
Firmness visibly improved by +13%
Radiance improved by +14%
Appearance of wrinkles reduced by -8%
Clinical Results on Post-menopausal Women**:
Appearance of dark spots reduced by -22%
Appearance of wrinkles reduced by -12%
Firmness visibly improved by +6%
Consumer Evaluation Results on Post-menopausal Women**:
96% agree skin feels nourished
98% agree skin looks smoother
79% agree skin feels firmer
92% agree skin tone appears more even
*2-month clinical study with 52 subjects aged 45-55 years old
**2-month clinical study with 53 subjects aged 54-65 years old
My Experience
My experience with the Vichy serum has been generally positive, though I must admit that I haven’t been using it religiously. First, it has a very light floral fragrance that fades. I can smell it on my hands when applying but not on my skin. The formula itself is lightweight and sinks into my skin on contact. It’s very easy to apply it twice a day along with other serums.
In terms of results, I’m not exactly sure of the results in all of the measures. It definitely adds hydration and nourishment to my skin, and my skin does feel smoother and firmer. There’s been no effect on dark spots. Since my wrinkles are around my eyes and I don’t apply the Vichy serum around my eyes, I can’t say about that.
I will continue using it till I use up the bottle, and then I’ll make up my mind about repurchasing it. The directions say to use the product for 8 weeks.
Other Product Info
The bottle (that’s very heavy plastic that feels almost like glass) contains 30 ml/1.01 fl.oz. and is priced at $39. This product and all of Vichy’s products are made in France. Vichy Neovadial Meno 5 Bi-Serum is widely available on the Vichy USA website, at CVS, Walgreens, Ulta, Dermstore.com, Lovelyskin.com, (where you can get 20% off on Vichy products with code CPP2023) Skinstore.com, Amazon, and more.
Read more: Menopausal Facial Skincare from VichyI was going to write about the second Vichy menopause product I tried – the day cream -, but this review is long enough. I’ll write about it soon!
I can’t remember the last time I was accepted for a testing program. This sounds interesting and I like the brand. I’m afraid though that the fragrance would bother me.
I think you would be able to smell the fragrance when you applied Vichy Meno 5 Serum, unfortunately, though it fades on the face right away.
Hmmm… I will wait to see your final verdict before I give this a try.
Yes, a good idea!
I wonder if this is largely marketing hype, and can’t wait to see what you ultimately think about it.
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Vichy does seem to be a research oriented French pharmacy brand, so I hope it’s not just hype. I think Vichy’s goal was to make this collection with ingredients that would stimulate collagen production and deeply hydrate skin. I like the serum so far, but I’ve always liked bi-phasic serms and toners.