Wow, never in a million years did I think I’d be thrilled about receiving Lavelier’s Coralline Collagen Collection at the age of thirty. But, hey life happened and here I am needing to improve my skin care routine- earlier than expected. When I turned thirty I was sure I’d finally get a peace of mind. I just knew I’d have control over my life by now. Nope! Shortly after turning thirty, uncontrollable skin creases and eye baggage decided to appear and disrupt my young flawless skin. 

Hello, Lavelier Skin Care

The brand Lavelier is a premium skincare line with prices ranging from $25- $3,000. On the brand’s website, Lavelier states their mission: “to provide our customers with top of the line skincare products that help them to enhance their natural beauty and achieve confidence. We believe that health, wellness and the environment are interconnected and that it is up to all of us to care for our world and one another. Self-love and confidence can inspire and be the stepping stone to even greater achievement.”  

Well, that’s exactly what I’m looking for. The commentary from everyone, concerned about me “looking tired” is starting to weigh heavy on my self-esteem. This aging happened so fast. A week into joining the thirty club I awakened to wrinkles on my cheek. Then I noticed dark discoloration around my eyes and plump bags under my eyes. Well, correction; myself and several intrusive co-workers noticed the issues with my eyes. I’ll be honest, I’ve been panicking ever since. I’m only thirty- years old. Do I really have to start dealing with wrinkles? 

What Causes Aging Skin? 

Sadly, aging is inevitable. Aging is a natural process that will happen at a different rate for each and every person. Many factors can go into aging, but I’ll only disclose the top two that happen completely out of our control. First, there’s collagen. Collagen is a protein that determines the aging process of our skin. We all have collagen in our skin, but the more we have the more youthful are skin will appear. To maintain our collagen many things are recommended such as: diets, supplements, or staying away from harmful UV rays. But, no matter what we do losing collagen is inevitable. Did you know that in our mid 20’s our bodies start to produce less collagen? Less collagen means our skin becomes more delicate and will start to wrinkle. 

Secondly, there’s the calcium component of skin. Calcium is great for our bone health – we’ve heard this all of our lives in many commercials. But, did you know calcium is also important for skincare? Calcium is very important to skin for these reasons:

• The production of skin cell replacement
• Protection from harmful UV rays 
• Clearing of skin blemishes
• Moisture & revitalization

The Coralline Collagen Collection products contain both key components calcium and collagen, and that’s why I’m thrilled to try things out. Let’s get started. 

Coralline Collagen Collection

Lavelier has several skin care collections to accommodate all skin care needs. I received the Coralline Collagen Collection which is dedicated to fighting early aging skin. In this collection Lavelier has added collagen to their coralline base and created a total of four products. I was lucky enough to receive all four of them, which are: Collagen Firming Complex ($1,000), Coralline Collagen Firming Neck Cream ($1,000), Coraline Collagen Boosting Masque ($1,500), and Rapid Eye Collagen Contour ($1,000). That’s a total of $4,500 worth of skin care products. After discovering the price of these items my excitement peaked. But, before I applied anything to my skin I had to figure out who or what was Coralline!?  

What is Coralline?

After further research I learned that Coralline is the grand ingredient to all Lavelier skin products. The proper term of the ingredient used in the Lavelier products is corallina officinalis and according to the Encyclopedia of Life, it’s a chalky red seaweed that lives in the sea. Coralline can be found growing near the shores of the sea, also known as the littoral zone. 

Corallina officinalis is much more than a pretty coral seaweed; it is also an anti-aging warrior. Various seaweed species are known to be plentiful in vitamins and minerals that promote healthy skin. However, corallina officinalis differentiates from the others, due to it being rich in calcium. The abundance in calcium found in this coral seaweed gives it anti-inflammatory, rejuvenating and firming capabilities. Lavelier has found a fascinating ingredient for skin care under the sea. I hope it lives up to my expectations. 

Here’s my review.

The Packaging:

The packaging is very minimal. Yet, there’s still bedazzlement that subtly states you’ll never find me in your neighborhood drug store. Every product in the collection came in a sleek matte black colored container with accents of chrome. I noticed the containers close very securely, which is good for storage and shelf-life purposes.  

My Expectations:

For the most part my skin is fairly clear, with a few blemishes. Still, I have a few skin concerns. First these occasional cheek wrinkles I awaken with throughout the week. I struggle with dry skin too. And lastly (but most importantly) my tired eyes. I cannot rid my eyes from this discoloration and baggage– no matter how much sleep I get the night before.

Rapid Eye Collagen Contour

Therefore, I couldn’t wait to dive into the Rapid Eye Collagen Contour. This product promises immediate results to tired eyes. The directions instruct to apply on clean skin and weekly. I did as it instructed and thoroughly cleansed my face. I first fell in love the applicator tip. It made the application more precise, and safe around this sensitive area so near to my eyes. 

Instantly upon application there’s a feeling of firming and tingles. Most of that feeling was probably due to these main ingredients found in the Rapid Eye Collagen:

• Collagen amino acids – the ingredient that replaces the missing collagen 
• Hexapeptide-8 – according to Lavelier, has been nicknamed “nature’s Botox,” and relaxes facial muscle.  Pardon me while I again try not to panic about being only thirty and needing a form of Botox around my eyes. 

Results:

To be honest, initially I wasn’t impressed. My eyes still seemed to have a weary appearance underneath. I took another glance at the box and noticed it states, “targets under eye creases to help promote a plumper, firmer look.” Well I wanted to get rid of all plumpness. But, to be fair, it did do everything it said it would. There were no creases in sight- just a plump pillow under my bottom lashes. Here’s my before and after. 

The only other issue I had with the Rapid Eye Collagen Contour was a crusty residue left on the area it was applied. I had just washed my face and not applied any moisturizer yet. My dry skin was left even drier. This Rapid Eye Collagen Contour does not moisturize at all, you will need a moisturizing partner. 

Collagen Firming Complex Serum

I decided to use the Collagen Firming Complex Serum on top as a moisturizer. This serum is for daily usage. It has a silk texture and did a great job with moisturizing. The most notable ingredients are:

• Hyaluronic Acid – provides moisture retention
• Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil- a natural oil that serves as a skin barrier and conditioner 

Results:

My skin instantly became exceptionally smooth after application. That serum is light in weight, so it doesn’t leave your skin feeling heavy or with an oily appearance. This moisture remained all day as well, which is a big plus in my books. I used a quarter size amount as shown and massaged it in my entire face with fingers.  

Coralline Collagen Firming Neck Cream

Luckily, I have not experienced any sight of wrinkles in my neck yet (and let’s hope I’m not speaking too soon.) But, I have noticed creases. The Coralline Collagen Firming Neck Cream is plentiful in three vital vitamins; vitamins A, E an C. 

Results:

The texture is similar to a lotion, however lighter in weight. I used a dime sized portion and massaged it in with my fingers. This cream has a powerful feeling. It quickly gave me a sense of my pores opening and breathing. I ended up using this product daily for seven days. Unfortunately, I did not notice a huge result within firming. But, like I said before I don’t have many wrinkles or signs of aging on my neck at this time. The cream served as a great moisturizer, though. And, I will say that out of all the products this product has the best smell. 

Coralline Collagen Boosting Masque

Later that day my tired eyes were still screaming for help …

I’m well aware that my eye concerns are probably not an easy fix. So the night of day one, I applied the Coralline Collagen Boosting Masque. This masque is on the higher end of the price list with a price point of $1,500. Yikes, I’m not even sure if I’m worthy of using this.

The mask comes with an applicator tool, which again I adored. I cleansed my face and applied the masque. The masque texture has a thick clay consistency. The applicator tool made is easy to thoroughly spread without wasting too much product on my fingers. I was able to use two scoops to evenly spread along my entire face. The directions state that the masque should be left on for 10 minutes. 

Results:

I’ve never used a skin masque that actually worked in 10 short minutes. However, this one did! Lavelier, this Coralline Collagen Boosting Masque is amazing. The mask has a hard clay texture and you can feel the mask hardening even more on your face. I was worried about the removal process, but the washing off process ended up being a breeze. The mask glided of easily with water and left my skin feeling even more smooth than the serum. How is that possible?

I can only blame it on these powerful ingredients inside the masque: 

• Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E)- brings antioxidants and fights off the aging components in skin
• Kaolin – detoxifies the skin and rids all dirt from your pores
• Soluble Collagen- there to pick up the slack from your weakening elasticity in skin and supplement the collagen

These three dominant ingredients along with the majestic seaweed base of all Lavelier products corallina officinalis, created the ultimate dream team for a face masque. I had a radiant glow after using this masque that made me regret doing the masque at night. I really wanted to show off my skin at work to those annoying co-workers. However, this product instructs you to only use once a week. So even though I was tempted, I didn’t use the masque again the next morning. I only used the firming serum and firming neck cream. 

But, guess what? I noticed an improvement under eyes that next morning.

My Conclusion

Throughout the rest of the week I used the Coralline Collagen Firming Neck Cream and Coralline Collagen Firming Serum every morning. By day five I started receiving my long-overdue skin compliments at work. There was definitely, striking enhancements in the texture and appearance of my skin. 

These products gave my skin the natural dewy look- that I’ve longed for. If you’re not familiar with the dewy look. It’s basically the opposite of matte. Dewy skin is radiance topped off with moisture that provides the ultimate skin glow (not the oily glow). No makeup should be needed to achieve this natural glow, but plenty of makeup products for this exists. So, I appreciate these Lavelier products and their natural ingredients that pulled this dewy-natural perfection out of my skin. I feel safe with Lavelier products, and no longer need to buy the expensive highlighter products or worry about wrinkles. 

Okay, finally the overdue moment of truth …

I know this is what you’re waiting on. Here’s my moment of truth to the big question floating in your head: “Are these products worth the price?” I have to say yes, because I was impressed with the results of every product. Well, every product except the Rapid Eye Collagen Contour. It just wasn’t rapid enough for me- at that price. 

Nonetheless, considering the research that I did on the marine and quality botanical ingredients used in these products, the pricing of these items seem fair (remember: coralline officinalis is grown deep in the sea.) If you are seriously losing control of your aging skin and noticing more wrinkles, creases, dryness and luster in your skin daily. The Lavelier Coralline Collagen Boosting Collection is a great investment and opportunity to gain control again. 

Tiana Rogers – Beauty & Lifestyle Freelancer and Content Enthusiast – tianarogers.com