KATE SOMERVILLEKateCeuticals Firming Serum | Advanced Anti-Aging Plumping & Firming Treatment | 1 Fl Oz

This is my first experience with the high-end line from celebrity aesthetician Kate Sommerville, trying this serum and the moisturizer from the same line. Best known for her eponymous ExfoliKate Intensive peeling serum, this new serum is part of Sommerville's new anti-aging facial line. The serum boasts about its use of peptides, Hyaluronic Acid, Nasturtium Flower, Vitamin E, and myrrh extract. It promises to "increase skin firmness, diminish fine lines & deep wrinkles and improve skin radiance " in "just two weeks." The review title here is a spoiler for how they can promise such a transformation without any potentially reactive ingredients like Vitamin C, Retinol, etc.This doesn't leave you feeling sticky, and does contain Hyaluronic Acid, which in fact does help hydrate skin, but it also leaves your skin with a preternaturally smooth and that's because Dimethicone, a.k.a. silicone, is at the top of the full ingredient list (2nd highest after water). A list that is more than a little bit buried on the company website's product page (have to drill down several links to find the full list).Silicone is often used in makeup primers to fill in fine lines, and could definitely help explain the improvement in skin texture and fine lines "96%" of users see, according to Sommerville's own website…Cause those wrinkles are basically caulked over with silicone.Silicone itself is non-comedogenic, but it can cause breakouts simply because it's hard to remove completely and seals dirt and oil in pores. Definitely needs a double washing to completely remove, which also removes its "benefits." If you're putting this on your skin twice daily as advised with this serum, you're definitely getting long-term silicone buildup, which can lead both to breakouts and pilling of the product on your skin.Silicone isn't fixing any skincare problem, it's just spackling over them, and while that can be fine if you understand that's what you're doing, for a temporary makeup fix in a primer, for instance. But it is super misleading in a very expensive serum--which honestly is a very weird place to find this ingredient at all. Not only that, but Kate Sommerville advises using this serum under her Total Repair cream, which contains even more silicone, two times a day (!!). Honestly, I've never seen a line so reliant on the ingredient, and it is hugely disappointing.

This Kateceuticals Firming Serum is a white, silky dimethicone based serum that absorbs well and has a light, pleasing orange scent. It agrees perfectly with my mature, sensitive and dry skin and hasn’t caused any irritation despite having peppermint oil that can irritate my skin at times. While I get quick plumping from a good hyaluronic acid serum, many serums take weeks or months to see a difference. This serum is supposed to give results in just two weeks and that’s accurate based on my experience. After one day, my skin felt noticeably softer and more hydrated. After 2 weeks, my skin feels amazing and looks more youthful.In particular, my skin feels velvety soft and looks noticeably smoother and firmer even in my worst problem areas. While I had some light feathering above my mouth in my 50’s, I’ve noticed the area is getting more wrinkly and my skin there doesn’t have the same elasticity it had not that long ago. Also, while I’ve had marionette lines forming at the sides of my mouth, they’ve been getting more pronounced and my skin is getting saggy. While this serum hasn’t magically erased my lines and tightened up all my skin, I see a real difference in those areas as my lines are less visible and my skin looks more taut. So I’m super happy with the results, even if just temporary. Love it. 5 stars.

This arrives in a nice, protective box. And, you will also notice that the cap stays really firmly in-place. All of this basically guarantees a smooth trip to your home. Nice!Now, the pump system here is grand because it ensures that the serum remains free from contamination. Love that!This emerges as a somewhat opaque pearl color; however, it instantly goes on clear. And it disperses very easily and effortlessly across skin. Moreover, it absorbs super fast, leaving behind smooth, nourished, gorgeous skin.When you layer moisturizer over this, the product does not pill or ball up. In fact, a good moisturizer only enhances this product. I love that this "works well" with other products. That's refreshing!I have noticed that though this is effective, I have had no negative reactions at all. And, that's fairly remarkable. And, my skin looks smooth, nourished, and taut. Wow!This is easily worth the price. I am very, very impressed!

The skincare market is flooded with new products on the daily and I think companies feel pressure to provide instant gratification to impatient consumers eager to move on to the next big thing. These days, quite a few luxury creams and serums contain silicones because they create an immediate illusion of a refined texture and dewy glow. Silicones are frequently used in foundation primers to smooth the skin but they have no long term benefits. After water, dimethicone (the most common type of silicone used in cosmetics) is the second ingredient listed in this serum.As expected, this feels lovely going on. It's a thin gel-like liquid that absorbs well creating that "glass skin" appearance. It contains both essential oil compounds (citral, linalool and limonene), plus a host of botanical extracts (including orange peel, grapefruit, peppermint, ginger and bergamot) that combine to give it a refreshing, tart citrus scent. Active ingredients include glycerin, ceramides, sodium hyaluronate and peptides, so I'm sure there are benefits to long term use. Unfortunately for me, dimethicone causes milia on my skin so I opted not to continue using this.If you don't like using silicones or object to essential oils, this might not be for you.

i’ve tried kate somerville products before and some of their stuff is pretty good. the prices are on the high end but i think some of the products are def worth the price. this one i’m not sure? i don’t have enough wrinkles for it but i am starting to show signs of aging now that i’m older, so i think it’s helping in that regard, but i dunno if it’s worth the almost $100 price tag. ymmv and people with more aging concerns may feel differently but for me it was just ok. it absorbs well and doesn’t leave a tacky or greasy finish. it isn’t irritating to my slightly sensitive either and i didn’t get any break outs. i would stick to day use with this more than pm use, just because of the silicone in it. i generally don’t like using products with silicone in them in my evening routine and see it more as a day time use thing because it doesn’t really do anything other than smooth your skin out and maybe help with some make up like in some primers. i think this is targeted towards an older crowd tho so maybe i’m not the person for this product. i did enjoy the wrinkle warrior serum tho and that’s one i bought with my own money because i’ve heard good things about it. so i recommend trying that one before this one (that one also has silicones and is better for day time use as well).