“I tried Fresh's buzzy new elixir serum that promises glowy, plump skin. Here are my honest thoughts.”

Oh hi you! Yes, you. We know how intrigued you are to hear all about the brand new serum by Fresh.  

The Tea Elixir Skin Resilience Activating Serum. 

Leveraging 15 years of research into the benefits of tea on the skin, Fresh has developed a breakthrough skincare innovation, their newest Tea Elixir Serum, to address skin resilience.

It sounds incredible right? When I heard the name, I got ~so excited~ as my skin is dry and sensitive, so it seemed like the ultimate serum for me to spend some quality time with, getting to know, so I can give y’all my honest thoughts. 

According to their studies, this potent serum claims to do it all in just a few drops:

• Boosts resilience by 62 per cent
• Reduces the look of fine lines and wrinkles by 41 per cent
• Smoothes texture and improves visible glow by 75 per cent
• Improves bounce by 58 per cent

As humans, we're deal with everyday life stressors (lack of sleep, the food we eat, stress, etc), and they've been found to slow down our skin's bioenergetic systems – basically, making our skin less resilient. 

This can lead to our skin getting spicy – think rough texture, dullness, enlarged pores, fine lines and los of elasticity. So, Fresh have discovered the science of a particular plant-derived ingredient, and captured its resilient properties for our skin's benefit.

Let’s break down the ingredients you need to know first in this new serum.

Image: Supplied.

Adaptive Phytocompound Tea (APT) Technology

This fancy name is the revolutionary ingredient captured from the Mauritius tea plant. The remote Island of Mauritius has grown this plant for over a century, and it turns out, the island's adverse growing conditions for tea (like the volcanic soil and tropical climate) mean the plant's resilient properties are kind of a very big deal. And very much worth extracting for antioxidant protection of our skin.

The exclusive Adaptive Phytocompound Tea Technology has been scientifically proven to help boost skin’s resilience to life stressors that leads to signs of ageing. Antioxidants are quite a huge help to our skin when it encounters environmental stressors.

Niacinamide

Also known as Vitamin B3, it's the bread-and-butter ingredient we know and love to improve redness, improve skin tone and radiance. It also aims to help strengthen skin’s barrier, and is a crowd favourite for addressing pore size. 

5kDA hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic Acid and beauty lovers go way back. It helps counter the dehydration of our skin, and making us feel plump and juicy. 

Ceramide III

The dreamiest ingredient when it comes to strengthening the skin’s barrier. Ceramides are lipids that are naturally found in the skin already. As we get older, the production of our own ceramides in the skin begins to deplete. 

Ocean kelp

This ingredient helps to refine skin’s texture and helps to hydrate simultaneously!

Where in my routine should I use it?

Great question! I introduced the Tea Elixir Serum in my routine after cleansing (and after an essence/toner step if that's your jam!), and placed before the moisturiser step. If skin is a little damp before application, serums are said to absorb better into the skin. 

Also! You can *absolutely* use this product daily, morning and night. It layers beautifully with other serums too (if you're an 8-step kinda gal) and I haven't found it to pill at all.

First impressions?

Ooh yes. Very positive introductions on our first date, before a dreamy 8 weeks together (how long I wanted to trial before committing!). I loved that it's a milky, creamy texture that just felt so luxe. 

It absorbs pretty quickly into the skin, and leaves a lovely fresh, hydrated glow. The bottle is gorgeous, luxe-feeling, heavy-weighted, and comes with a cute dropper (which I personally prefer to a pump). 

Image: Supplied.

Final thoughts! Feels! How did I actually find it?

Now. The nitty gritty. I will say first, its scent does sit a little on the strong side, and with my sensitive skin, I went with trialling it for 8 weeks every second day rather than daily (just in case). This wasn’t a huge worry, my skin can get spicy when gorgeous serums have even the slightest smell.

But, I'm SO glad to report that even with this cautious start over 2 months, my skin has honestly become more bright, even textured, soft, bouncy and glowy: EXACTLY what I wanted from it. It is also a really beautiful serum to use underneath makeup, as the perfect skin prep focuses on hydration and glow. Check, check.

Before (left) and after 8 weeks of consistent use (right). Image: Supplied.

I love that the big hero is improving skin’s resilience – skin that is able to function at its fullest potential. But how do you actually know if your skin's got those resilient vibes going on? Answer: it's hydrated and happy on an even keel, and serving that glow-from-within with consistency.

The Tea Elixir Skin Resilience Activating Serum is a really lovely serum, and it's perfect for beauties with very dry to oily skin types, that are looking for a lightweight, creamy serum that priorities plumping, hydrating and soothing skin. 

This is a truly universal serum that leaves you with smoother texture, visible glow and restored bounce, plus addresses the appearance of fine lines. I'm all about it, and can confirm its earned its official spot in my skincare routine!

Boost skin’s visible resilience to everyday life stressors with Fresh's Tea Elixir Serum, for smoother texture, visible glow, restored bounce, and reduced look of wrinkles. Shop online or in-store at Sephora.

Feature Image: Supplied.