REVIEW: LANCÔME VISIONNAIRE CRESCENDO DUAL-PHASE PEEL

Hello, and welcome to my first sponsored Beauty post in ages. I used to write many more sponsored beauty reviews when I first started blogging because as a newbie blogger it was oh-so-exciting to receive free products for testing purposes. But then I realized that I really didn’t like straying from my tried and true skincare regimen. I know what works for my skin, and most of the products I was testing just weren’t that impressive or worth cheating on my favorite creams and serums for. But last month I received a wonderful Lancôme Voxbox from Influenster, which included the Visionnaire Crescendo Dual-Phase Peel, a product I eagerly tested and am reviewing today.

Inside the Influenster Lancôme skincare Voxbox: Visionnaire Crescendo, Bienfait UV, and Matte Shaker High-Pigment Liquid Lipstick in Pink Power

First of all, let me say that Lancôme is one of my favorite skincare brands. The Bienfait UV sunscreen (included in the Voxbox) was the first non-drugstore cosmetic product I ever used. My mom gave me a bottle of it when I was 15, and I have been wearing sunscreen on my face every day since then. I’m so grateful, because I really believe sun protection is one of the biggest reasons why people tell me I look younger than my true age. You should especially wear sunscreen if you’re using a peeling product, and this one is one of my faves, so hooray for that.

So what is Visionnaire Crescendo? It is a leave-on nighttime liquid (it’s runny and not thick like a serum) peel that comes with two different formulations (Phase 1 and Phase 2) in a dual-pump canister. I used the Phase 1 formulation of 5% bioacids such as fruit acids and quinoa husk extract for 14 days, then Phase 2 (formulated with 10% derma-acids, including 0.5% salicylic acid and 9.5% pure glycolic acid) for the next 14 days as directed.

And what is it supposed to do? Phase 1 is supposed to reduce the appearance of pores, improve skin’s texture, and radiance, while Phase 2 should improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots.

According to Lancôme:
After 1 night of using Phase 1: Skin feels smoother and is more radiant (I didn’t notice a difference)
After 3 nights of using Phase 1: Skin tone appears more even and fine lines are visibly reduced (I think I noticed some smoothness, but nothing crazy)
After 14 nights of Phase 1: Pores appear reduced (Yes, my pores were definitely less noticeable!)
After 28 nights of Phase 2: Wrinkles and dark spots are visibly reduced (Hmmm, not sure)

What it did for me: I honestly didn’t notice any difference until about 11 days into Phase 1. My skin had a smoother and more even texture and my pores were not nearly as visible as before. I wish I could amplify the results, because I did notice an improvement in unevenness and my pores, but the results were not super dramatic.

Phase 2 was less impressive for me. I definitely noticed the peeling effect because my skin got really dry and flaky. I’m not sure if this was part of the healthy exfoliation process, but I didn’t really like it because my face started feeling very crackly…like how it does on cold winter mornings. I had to use extra moisturizer, and am sad to report no changes in dark spots, which is always my biggest hope when using a peel.

I always gauge effects of new products by the comments I receive from others. Eddie complimented my bare face a lot and said my skin looked really good and smooth, but he says sweet words to me all the time, so it’s hard to say whether we can give Visionnaire Crescendo all the credit.

Overall, I probably would not shell out $75 for this product, but I’m currently continuing on another cycle of it. You can continue applying the Phase 1 and 2 formulas in 14-day intervals. The whole regimen is based on interval training…hence the clever hashtag #skintervals. I just started another 14-day course of Phase 1, hoping to see a stronger degree of change. It is definitely maintaining the effects on my pores. I will probably use Phase 2 every other day to avoid overdryness.

I would definitely spend $39 on Bienfait UV. It absorbs quickly and it’s not greasy, and most importantly, there’s no ghastly white film like with the Shiseido one.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have tried this product or anything similar!

I received this product for free from Influenster for testing purposes.