Vichy Laboratoires – Idealia Skincare Line

Disclaimer: This post features item(s) received at no cost for reviewing purposes, but the opinions are mine and, as always, honest. Read the full disclosure here.

Vichy is a company that does not need much introduction. This French company keeps developing clinically tested and proven skincare regimens, custom-tailored for different skin types and ages, all based on mineral rich Vichy Thermal Spa Water.

Idealia Face Care line is formulated for the first signs of aging – fine lines, dull skin and visible pores. This is the perfect skincare line to use in your early 30’s. I check all of the boxes – I started noticing all of these early signs a few years ago. Vichy Canada kindly sent me a few of the product from this line to test and review.

Vichy has 8 products in their Idealia line, that make for a simple, yet effective, facial routine. You will find day and night creams, a serum, an eye cream, a night peeling,  and two BB creams in the line, and I was happy to try three of the products: Idealia Night Peeling, Idealia Day Care Moisturizing Cream and Idealia Eyes.

I’ve been testing the peeling and day cream for 5 weeks, and the eye cream for 4 weeks.

Idealia Night Peeling comes in a gorgeous tinted glass bottle, that has some weight to it, and although it’s tall I had no issued with it flipping over. The liquid inside is clear and has a beautiful floral scent, I think it’s peony that feels so fresh and natural, I just adore it. I usually don’t love scented products, but this scent doesn’t bother me at all.

As you may already know I use acids on the regular basis. However, I do make sure I don’t overuse. Sometimes strong acid peels, although they provide immediate and visible results, can be irritating and prove to be just too much for my skin, so I do gravitate towards more gentle acid toners and peels that require a more regular use. This Night Peel falls in the second category. This peeling toner is formulated with Glycolic acid and Hepes to gently remove dead skin cells, and should be suitable for sensitive skin. My skin is not sensitive, so if yours is, please patch test first.

As I use acids already, I incorporated this toner in my evening routine daily, but if you are just starting I recommend you first start using it every other day and then more often as you get used to it. The toner is easy to use – apply to a cotton pad and wipe over your face. The bottle is designed in a clever way, and doesn’t dispense too much product at once (which was my fear), so you can decide how much you need.

I mostly don’t feel and burning or tingling, except at times when I had dry skin patches or irritation (winter weather does that to my skin). I find this peeling to be more gentle than most such products I’ve tried, but it effectively removes dead skin and my face is simply glowing in the morning. Over the 5 weeks of consistent use it evened out my complexion and helped clear out my pores by removing the dead cells from the surface, making my clay and mud masks more effective at extracting dirt. For me, this product is a definite winner, and I recommend it for anyone wanting to start with gentle acid peels.

Ingredients: Aqua, Alcohol Denat., Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Glycolic Acid, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, BHT, Bis-PEG-18-Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, PPG-26-Buteth-26, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, CI 17200, Potassium Sorbate, Sorbitol, Saccharomyces/Xylinum/Black Tea Ferment, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Sodium Citrate, Phenoxyethanol, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Xanthan Gum, Panthenol, Biotin, Parfum

Idealia Day Care Moisturizing Cream is an age preventive moisturizer formulated for normal to combination skin. My skin is dry/combination, so this seemed as a suitable moisturizer for it. The cream is rich in antioxidants to smooth fine lines, refine pores and boost glow.

The cream comes in the classic Vichy glass jar, with a mirrored top. At first I hoped to use this as a mirror for quick skincare applications, but the slimming and minimizing effect of the mirror makes me a bit dizzy, so for me it’s only decorative, as I’m sure it was intended to be anyways. The packaging is beautiful, and looks great on my night stand.

The cream shares the same fresh floral fragrance with the night peeling. This is a lightweight cream that I was afraid would not be moisturizing enough for my dry cheeks that get very dry in the winter, but I was wrong. The cream has a light consistency that sinks right into skin and has an immediate hydrating effect, but it’s more rich than I thought at first. My skin feels protected from the cold air, and looks glowing, but not at all greasy.

I didn’t notice much effect of this cream on my lines, but it does help with my overall skin appearance. My skin definitely looks more even after using this cream with the peeling. I’ve been using it every morning, and sometimes in the evenings, too, because it absorbs really well and it’s great for layering oils afterwards in the evening. It keeps my skin moisturized for about 6h, so I believe it would be a great cream for my skin in the summer. I love that it doesn’t make my T-zone shiny, and it didn’t cause any breakouts.

Most 50 ml moisturizers can last about 3 months for me, but this one will last about 2 months. This is because I love how moisturizing it is, so I apply a bit more for sure, and I used it at night a few times, too. I still believe you’ll use this jar up a bit faster than usual, though.

Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Hydrogenated polyisobutene, Hydroxypropyl Tetrahydropyrantriol, Alcohol Denat, Propylene Glycol, Synthetic wax, Nylon-12, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid, Methyldihydrojasmonate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Polyacrylate, Adenosine, Disodium EDTA, Propylene carbonate, Synthetic fluorphlogopite, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Phenoxyethanol, CI 15985, CI 77891, Parfum.

Idealia Eyes is formulated with caffeine and licorice root extract to brighten, reduce dark circles and smooth fine lines for eyes that look well rested. Since my under eye area is where I’ve noticed the most signs of aging, I was really excited to try this eye cream, especially with such great claims.

The eye cream comes in a standard tube, but the applicator is really different. It has a flat silicone tip, which helps a lot with application. It’s also quite gentle on the skin, but I found that I still need to tap in the cream gently with my finger after spreading it with the applicator. The cream has a faint scent that I can barely notice.

The cream has medium thickness, but sinks in quite fast, instantly illuminating the eye area (I assume this is the effect of mica). It leaves my skin smooth and soft, but there is no greasiness at all. I noticed that if I applied too much it would dry to a powdery residue in  some areas a few times, so be careful with the amount. My concealer applies nicely over it, and I love that I can start applying my makeup right after the eye cream, since it absorbs so fast.

After using the cream twice a day for 4 weeks, I noticed a significant decrease in my under-eye puffiness, although this effect wasn’t even listed as something the cream helps with. It also helped a bit with my dark circles, but I don’t have them too pronounced yet. However, I didn’t notice any effect on my fine lines. The effects of the cream are more temporary for me (except how well it worked on puffiness), so after 4 weeks I started using it only in the mornings, because it works so well under makeup, and switched to a different eye cream in the evenings.

Ingredients: Aqua/Water​,​ Dimethicone​,​ Glycerin​,​ Isononyl Isononanoate​,​ Alcohol Denat.,​ Niacinamide​,​ Butyrospermum Parkii Butter/Shea Butter​,​ Cetyl Alcohol​,​ PEG-100 Stearate​,​ Glyceryl Stearate​,​ Ascorbyl Glucoside​,​ Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163)​,​ Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891 CI 77491,​ CI77492),​ Iron Oxides (CI 77499)​,​ Stearic Acid​,​ Mica​,​ Carbomer​,​ Glycyrrhiza Glabra Extract/Licorice Root Extract,​ Triethanolamine​,​ Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer​,​ Caffeine​,​ Silica​,​ Sodium Citrate​,​ Palmitic Acid​,​ Phenoxyethanol​,​ Ammonium Polyacryldimethyltauramide/Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate​,​ Tocopheryl Acetate​,​ Disodium EDTA​,​ Paeonia Suffruticosa Extract/Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract,​ Citric Acid​,​ Capryloyl Salicylic Acid​,​ Hydroxypalmitoyl Sphinganine,​ Eperua Falcata Bark Extract,​ Xanthan Gum​,​ Dextrin​,​ Oxothiazolidinecarboxylic Acid,​ Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate.

All of the products in the Vichy Idealia line are, of course, made with Vichy Mineralizing Thermal Water, charged in 15 minerals, the highest diversity of minerals among all French thermal waters. I think all the products worked well, but the peeling would be my favorite, since the results were just amazing. The eye cream would be my list favorite out of the products I’ve tried, but it still worked OK. From what I’ve seen the peeling can easily last 3-4 months, the day cream about 2 months, and the eye cream about 3 months.

All these products are available for purchase on vichy.ca and many retail locations (I usually buy mine at Shoppers Drug Mart). Here are the retail prices:

• Idealia Night Peeling – $39.95/ 100 ml
• Idealia Day Care Moisturizing Cream – $45/ 50 ml
• Idealia Eyes – $39.95/ 15 ml

You can browse the full Idealia Face Care line to find your perfect ritual.

Have you tried any products from the Vichy Idealia line? Does any of these attract your attention? Can you recommend any other Vichy products for me to try?