Dermo-pharmacist Colette Haydon formulates many cult skincare products for well-known beauty companies, but now she’s going it alone. Here’s the lowdown on the rather good-looking Lixir…
From the millennial pink packaging to the pollution fighting , multi-functioning nature of the formulations, just one look at new brand Lixir and you know that it’s pretty much bang on the money in the current skincare market. There’s a reason for that. Founder Dr Colette Haydon is already a skincare innovator, but chances are you haven’t heard of her, since she works behind the scenes to create some of the most technologically advanced, forward thinking skincare in the beauty industry, formerly for other well known brands (REN, HealGel...this list goes on). Until now.
Lixir is her solo venture into skincare, and while we haven’t been road-testing it for long, we have good feels about this one. First off, the range is based around targeted, troubleshooting molecules, to be alternated, combined and strategically applied as required. Think three night ‘switch’ treatments, based on 1 per cent retinol and two different acid solutions, that can be used as a ten minute mask, blended into your moisturiser or spot-applied wherever needed. Secondly, Colette is pretty no-nonsense for a skincare brand boss. There’s no fairy dust, unicorn spit or “science fiction” (her words) here- think less is more and not too many active ingredients at a time, thanks very much. There’s a degree of letting the skin do its business with the help of selective reparative ingredients that carry “messages” from the epidermis into deeper layers of the skin. She doesn’t really see the need for multiple skincare steps, fussy primers or overnight masks over your usual creams, for instance, and this possibly explains why her hero products come as a trio but have you covered for most of the time. Good things come in threes and all that…
The Lixir shopping list
Vitamin C Paste , £32 for 50ml
A morning Berocca for your face, essentially. Vitamin C is one the most researched and provenly potent beneficial skincare ingredients out there, and this blast mask goes big on the L ascorbic acid to clear away the cobwebs of oxidized sebum (byeeeee blackheads ) and damaging free-radicals that provoke all sorts of havoc: think pigmentation , slowed collagen synthesis and weakened elastin. Apply a pea sized amount over face, neck and chest, put the kettle on and grab a piece of toast for 15 minutes then flannel off with warm water. Your skin should look brighter and be smooth and primed for makeup and moisturiser, not to mention the long-term skin gains of regular Vitamin C treatment.
Universal Emulsion , £29 for 50ml or £45 for 100ml
Marketed as a day moisturiser, night cream and serum in one (the three theme continues), this water based hydrator binds moisture to the skin while keeping the likes of pollution molecules out (as much as possible in these smoggy times). The emulsification technique used in the cream’s production furnishes it with a natural SPF 10, yet there are no UV filters going on here, hence why you can also use it at bedtime. It’s light, easily absorbed and won’t turn you into a grease monkey. Lovely stuff.
ElectroGel™ Cleanser , £25 for 100ml
I’m about to give you a chemistry lesson in cleansing so steel yourself. This may look like your average unassuming cream cleanser, but Colette has upped the ante by using negatively charged molecules, designed to attract makeup, sweat, and general grime, which apparently on the whole has a positive charge. Otherwise it’s got antioxidant herbal goodness going on in the form of rosemary and sage, alongside calming chamomile. As you might be expecting by now, it’s also multifunctional- leave it on for three minutes and you have yourself a purifying mask. It seems Collette is as resourceful as she is knowledgeable.
The Lixir range is available at VictoriaHealth.com and launches at Liberty next week
Follow Lixir on Instagram @lixirskin and Anna @annyhunter