Azelique Age Refining Treatment Serum

Pricing/Packaging:

 

~30-40$ for 30ml (1fl.oz) of product in opaque pump dispenser bottle (very well made packaging). I found it on IHERB.com

Ingredients:

 

Water, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Alcohol, Propanediol, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Glyceryl Stearate citrate, Potassium Azeloyl Diglycinate, Glyceryl Stearate, Potassium Sorbate, Carrageenan, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Glycolic Acid, Sodium Hyaluranate, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Caffeine, Tocopheryl (Vit E) Acetate, Calcium Ascorbate (Vit C), Retinyl (Vit A) Palmitate, Ubiquinone (CoQ10), Pichia/Resveratrol Ferment Extract, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Euterpe Oleracea (Acai Berry) Fruit Extract, Vaccinium Myrtillus (Bilberry) Extract, Rosa Canina (Rose hips) Fruit Extract, Epilobium Angustifolium (Canadia Willowherb) Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance.

Excellent (very beneficial ingredients, proven research)

Good (moderately beneficial ingredients, not extensive research available or just not quite outstanding properties)

OK (mostly thickeners, emulsifiers, mild preservatives, pH adjusters, all that is necessary formulation wise, but not a skincare per se) 

Bad (anything that shouldn't be in skincare, irritants and fragrance)

Ingredients Discussion:

 

Though I didn't know anything about this brand before, I took a plunge and purchased one of the products from IHERB website (also because there was a nice discount). Well, I was very pleasantly surprised. This treatment is really packed full with skin beneficial ingredients: water-binding/skin-identical (glycerin, safflower, grape seed and pomegranate seed oils), antioxidants (caffeine, vitamins E and C, co-enzyme Q10, green tea, olive leaf, acai berry, bilberry and rose hip extracts) and cell-communicating (vitamin A and several type of peptides). There is also a small amount of glycolic acid in here (I am not sure it can actually do a lot of exfoliation, but even a little bit, to improve skin texture, is great). Just those ingredients can make this serum an extraordinary good anti-aging product. But on top of that, there is another ingredient. It is actually more like a star ingredient. In fact, all of this companies' products are based on it. It is azelaic acid, which has antioxidant properties and also can lighten hyper-pigmentation by suppressing melanin production (the brown pigment in the skin). 
The two ingredients I am not so happy about are fragrance (luckily the last on the list) and witch hazel (there are a lot of debate around that one, but I personally try to avoid it), which can bring on some irritation. But even they can't bring down this product. Excellent composition.

If you are interested in other products with azelaic acid, I've tried another one before (reviewed here).

Consumer Thoughts: 

 

This product is marketed as a serum, but it is more of a moisturizer and has a light lotion formula. I was using it in the fall and winter as my night time moisturizer, and occasionally, when my skin was very dry, under my  sunscreen in the morning. So if you have oily skin, try it out in the colder time of the year as "all in one" product. Someone with dry skin can probably use it even in the warm weather, or as an actual serum underneath other products (however I find it a bit too emollient for that).
The product did leave very slight film on the skin, but nothing too uncomfortable. Also the scent here is very mild.
I can't tell I really saw hyper-pigmentation reduction from this particular product, just because I did use it in conjunction with retinol and salycilic acid (which are amazing at eliminating those spots). But I noticed that my skin looked fresher in the mornings when I was using this treatment the night before. I do like this product and will consider repurchasing it next winter. However, price wise it is not an extremely cheap option (but in this case you do get your money's worth).

Verdict:

 

Highly recommended. This product has a potential to deliver results it claims. Very well done anti-aging treatment.

4,5-5 out of 5.