Promising a personalised approach to skincare, BIO-EXTRACTS is the latest in bespoke beauty, based around biotechnology (or, in other words, plant extracts).
Offering a simple system to find just the right products for your skin type, you first select a face cream according to your needs: you may want to target uneven skin tone, for instance, or perhaps it’s clogged pores which are your nemesis. The online site is easy to use. Select your skin concern from a wide choice of ‘issues’, and you will be led to a range of creams, designed to suit a variety of complaints.
My slightly dry and tired complexion meant I was led to the brand’s Normal Intense Moisture Cream, £27. This is the base product. It is light and fluffy and sinks in quickly to give skin a nice moisturised glow. The British brand also uses aromatherapy to give all of its products subtle scents, and this has a gentle floral aroma, which is fresh and uplifting. I also love the oxygen-free packaging – you extract the cream by pumping the inner lid, so it is not exposed to the air (this means it is also uber-hygienic, too, – as there is no dipping of fingers into pots – so it is ideal for germaphobes)
The cream gives long-lasting moisture and uses what the brand calls an advanced ‘BIO-EXTRACTS Multi-Lamellar System®‘ to deliver the active ingredients to the skin (they mimic the actual structure of its outer layers).
Rich and velvety, it is actually impressive used on its own, as it has been designed to act like a hydration ‘patch’ on the skin, restoring hydration and protecting the skin from external irritants.
But the brand’s USP takes skincare one step further, so doesn’t rest on a single cream, no matter how good it is. Its regime also includes ‘booster’ serum products, which come in genius syringe-like applicators for a shot of active plant extracts to give an intense dose of goodness.
You can mix and match (there are three base creams and nine boosters), and you can use the products by themselves (the intense boosters can be used as first-step serums) or in conjunction with each other.
I have been using the cream mixed with a shot of each of my booster products – Glow Boost and Firming Boost – ‘prescribed’ online, according to my skin condition. Start off, by pumping out your desired amount of cream into the palm of your hand and then simply add a shot of serum and gently blend – the result is a bespoke moisturiser for your skin.
The Glow Boost, £19.50, meanwhile, is such a little gem. Ideal for those concerned about pigmentation, uneven skin tone
or lack of radiance, it adds a touch of illumination by improving skin colour and texture. Wu-Zhu-Yu fruit extract provides oxygenation to the skin to give a healthy glow and you are left with a revitalised and luminous appearance. On particular tired days, I’ve been using a few shots as a serum before adding the cream with a blended shot of the Firming Boost and they all seem to work perfectly together to give the desired effect – peachy coloured, youthful, radiant skin.
Best of all, is the versatility of the serum ‘shots’ – they can be used on targeted areas of the face. So, if you have particularly bad lines around the eyes, use the Anti-Wrinkle Boost around this area. If you have red cheeks, add a dose of Redness Relief… and so on. For a multi-tasking effect, add your boosters to the cream and apply in one swoosh.
I also love the well-thought out modern approach to the brand. It not only uses highly purified ingredients, which are natural and vegan-friendly, but it has a ‘clean’ ethos with intelligent packaging blended with a no-nonsense approach to beauty. The result is a targeted, specific line that works for you, you, and you, too.
*This review is based on press samples
