Admit it. You’ve fallen for something. Somewhere down the line, there was some skincare product that was claiming to work miracles on your skin, and you fell for it. After all, the commercials made it sound so good! There were all these “before” and “after” pictures, and they looked so realistic. The after pictures weren’t making any huge claims – the ladies still had a few small lines here and there, but, hey, you could live with that, right? That was all you were asking for — skin you could live with — that couldn’t be too much to ask, could it?

Apparently so, because when you bought it, the product did nothing to help your skin, and it may have even ended up making your skin look worse.

Or what about the old celebrity ploy? They put your favorite celebrity on the commercial, and you say, “Well, this has to work!” She (said actress) would never deceive me! She’s so nice and funny on that sitcom.” Well, they are actresses, aren’t they?

Or what about the science ploy? That’s when they put some certified dermatologist showing off all his impressive credentials on the commercial explaining to you how the product works scientifically with your skin to fight signs of ( insert preferred skin issue here.) I would say this is the one that got me, sort of.

My Skin History

Maybe I should go back in time a little. My mother aged very late in life. I grew up with a twin sister and, almost without fail, we would walk into a store, or restaurant and someone would ask if the three of us were sisters, much to my mother’s delight and my sister’s and my annoyance. However, I grew up expecting the same. My forties would be my new twenty.

Unfortunately, by some cruel joke of nature, this did not happen. As soon as I was 28, I began to notice the wrinkles in my forehead were becoming a little more of a permanent thing, and that was just the beginning.

By the time I was in my early thirties, I’d developed smile lines around my mouth and my forehead had worsened. This was so unfair; I had thought that the comments about being the same age as my mother would stop at some point, but apparently it was now I who looked older rather than she who looked younger. I definitely needed to act quickly.

Of course, I started at the closest and cheapest place: the pharmacy, but I soon learned that there was a lot more to skin care than just rubbing on some anti-aging moisturizer, there were huge stores of information about skincare. There were blogs, shows, infomercials, YouTube tutorials, in fact, women had been obsessed with skincare since time immemorial. This was big business. You had to be educated about what you bought.

Retinol and the Great Oz

That’s when I first began hearing the word “retinol.” At this time, I had blind faith in Dr. Oz. This was when he was still on the Oprah Show. He seemed genuinely passionate about his work, and was not afraid to defy conventions, a characteristic which I appreciated in all people.

And so when he mentioned the word, “retinol.” I got excited. I had been hearing a lot of “miracle” skin care ingredients being batted around, and had I been asked at the time, vitamin E would have gotten my vote for “Product Most Likely To Do Something for My Skin.” That’s when I heard the words:

“The only ingredient that actually make wrinkles disappear is Retinol” ( or something along those lines). The Great Oz had spoken. Other ingredients might moisturize skin, they might make it more radiant, but only retinol could actually remove wrinkles! Now I had some sort of insight! It would be simple! I would just find something that contained retinol and put it on my skin, and I would return to my youth!

However, the price tags were a deterrent. Here I was paying ten dollars max for my skin products, and there were companies charging up to $500 for a jar of retinol enhanced skin treatment. Of course, there were the pharmacy versions, but it didn’t take me long to find out that you, at least to some degree, get what you pay for. The search was on. I needed to find a reasonably priced retinol-containing product that actually contained some powerful retinol.

I decided I could increase my budget a little if it really worked. After all, my youth was definitely worth a little investment, but $500 was a bit steep for me. Unfortunately, I discovered that even when I doubled my skincare allowance, I wouldn’t necessarily find anything much better than the old pharmacy offered. Apparently, all retinol skincare products were not created equally. That’s when I decided to do a little more research on the subject.

I soon discovered that there was more to choosing a trustworthy skincare solution than the word “retinol” on the jar. First, it depended on the concentration of the retinol. According to experts, the retinol ingredients had to be listed as one of the first ingredients on the ingredient list. Otherwise, you probably didn’t have enough to make a difference. Plus, you had to look at the other active ingredients. Did it have any retinol boosters to enhance the efficiency of the retinol? What was the percentage of retinol in the product? How had finding a good retinol complex become so complex?

And, as if that weren’t enough to consider, there was also the fact that retinol could be, and often was, too powerful for certain skin types. Too much retinol would dry out the skin, too little would do nothing.

The Ingredients in Vivo Per Lei’s Retinol Serum

That’s when my mind turned to Vivo Per Lei. I really liked using Vivo Per Lei products because they far surpassed pharmacy grade in quality, but they were always reasonably priced and came with a few special touches, like a beautiful package or fabulous smell that made them a treat. I had used their hair care products before, and was always happy with the results. I always got a generous quantity of product, plus Vivo products were full of botanicals and natural ingredients, so I could rest assured they would never harm my sensitive skin. I thought it was likely they would have a retinol-based skin cream in their product line.

There were a few things about Vivo Per Lei Retinol Wrinkle Solution Serum that attracted me right away; mainly the fact that it was a serum. I had come to like serums because their smaller molecules allowed them to penetrate skin more easily than traditional moisturizers and they never felt greasy on my skin. The next thing I noticed was the form of retinol in the serum. Retinol is a derivative of vitamin A, and it comes in many forms in lotions and cream, all of which are of varying potency and efficacy.

The Vivo Per Lei serum contains retinol in the form of retinyl palmitate, which is vitamin A combined with palmitic acid. Palmitic acid is a saturated fatty acid and major component of palm oil. It’s absorbed by the skin, and is one of the most important vitamins for the skin’s appearance because its small molecular structure gives it the ability to penetrate the skin’s outer layers and repair the lower layers where the elastin and collagen are.

Another thing I liked about the Vivo Per Lei serum was its supporting ingredients. Besides the retinol, the Vivo Per Lei was packed with antioxidants and natural ingredients that I knew would boost the effectiveness of the retinol. It also had my old friend vitamin E, organic aloe, organic chamomile, organic green tea, and even some vitamin C palmitate. I was pretty impressed.

My Experience

But as they say, the proof was in the pudding, and I had yet to sample it. The Vivo Serum arrived in an elegant, sturdy, yet suspiciously recyclable looking box, which made sense. A company that values natural products so much would be environmentally concerned enough to use environmentally safe packaging. It also came in an attractive pump bottle, black with gold detailing, definitely vanity table display-worthy.

The texture met my expectations to a tee. The formula was thin with a slight gel-like consistency, and it had that characteristic Vivo Per Lei “I’m expensive but worth it.” scent. It absorbed into my skin instantly, but the more pressing question was; would it do anything once it got to those bottom layers?

There are two crucial moments when applying a new skincare product. The first is when you first apply it, and the next is when you really see it beginning to make a long term difference (usually in about a week or two.) My first experience with the Vivo Per Lei Serum was quite satisfying. My skin felt immediately hydrated and noticeably less tight, and I noticed my wrinkles slightly soften in my face, but would they actually begin to decrease in appearance as Dr. Oz had promised?

The Results

Obviously, we have to fast forward a bit, unless you want me to tell you about what happened when my mother came over the next week, but it’s kind of off the subject and a little bit boring, so let’s get back to the serum, shall we? The serum worked! Ok, so I didn’t look like I just had a complete facelift, but if I wanted that, I would have gotten that. However, what I did get was exactly what I was looking for. Remember how I said in the beginning that I just wanted skin I could live with? Well. that’s what I got. My deepest wrinkles still remained, but they softened a great deal, so I looked a lot happier and quite a few years younger, and it was enough. I was starting to feel human again.

I realized my wrinkles had made me feel invisible. I didn’t feel like myself anymore, I was just another older lady doing my shopping. shopping or on my way to work. Vivo Per Lei let me reclaim my identity. I began to get more respect, more smiles, and even some looks of interest, if I may be so presumptuous, and even if my mother still looked like my sister, at least she looked like my “quite a bit older sister” now.

So what’s the upshot? I would say, if you identified with any of what you just read, go get Vivo Per Lei right now. It’s not a miracle cure, but you will notice a difference, and so will everyone around you. The smell is clean and invigorating, it feels good going on your skin every morning, and you’ll feel it working to protect your skin during the day. It’s also extremely gentle. I never felt any stinging, any tightness, or saw any signs of irritation, and I would even say that applying it daily has been a pleasure. I may not be a celebrity, and I’m certainly not a doctor, and I’ve never been in an ad or commercial, but I can tell you that Vivo Per Lei Retinol Wrinkle Solution worked wonders for my skin, and it might just do the same for yours.