High-End Beauty: Vintner's Daughter Active Botanical Serum review

Skincare junkies who are on a spending ban, look away now. Today's review features a seriously amazing facial serum complete with a hefty price tag. But damn is it good.  

This unassuming black glass bottle of oily greatness arrived in the UK from sunny California late last year to much fanfare, and it caused quite the stir amongst beauty bloggers and consumers alike. In addition, many green beauty bloggers have been singing its praises for it's cruelty-free, all natural and organic content with no fillers, silicones, petrochemicals etc - hooray! It's already received Caroline Hirons' seal of approval and Into The Gloss quickly dubbed it 'the face oil to end all face oils". So when my press sample arrived in the post, I was more than excited to try it out as I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.

So is it worth the hype?

Yes, oh yes indeedy.

Vintner's Daughter Active Botanical Serum is "a luxurious multi-correctional infusion of 22 of the world's most active organic and wildcrafted botanicals" which basically translates to being a hella good serum to the likes of you and me. Key ingredients include Grapeseed Oil, Hazelnut Oil, Avocado Oil, Carrot Seed Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Rosehip Seed Oil, as well as some more interesting ones like Tamanu Oil, Rose Absolute Oil, Tumeric Root Oil, Nettle, Dandelion and Frankincense Oil plus ten others (full list on their website here).

It's ingredients have been chosen to help reduce the signs of ageing, stimulate cell turnover, strengthen collagen and protect against free-radical damage to name but a few of its many claims. In a nutshell, it's an anti-ageing powerhouse serum and as I'm closer to 30 than I am 20 (insert some sobbing for my misspent youth here), I was eager to give it a go immediately.

How To Use

Vintner's Daughter advocate using their 'Press and Push Technique' (as above) to reap the full benefits of the serum which is how I've been applying. This method is quite different to how I usually apply serum as I tend to massage them gently into my skin rather than 'pressing' but I've found this technique to be quite effective.

I started off using this as my main evening facial serum every night but soon realised that the formula was much too rich for my oily/combination skin. It didn't break it out, but I felt like it was nearing that stage so I cut back on the usage.  Although it's suitable for all skin types, I would say that dry and more mature skin could use this daily, whereas oilier types may find using it just 1-2 times a week works better for them, which is what I did instead. The serum has a strong floral-meets-herbal natural scent to it but I quite liked it.

How It Feels & My Overall Thoughts

This serum feels simply heavenly on the skin - applying it is like having a pampering facial. Seriously, it absorbs and sinks in so easily and feels much more hydrating and plumping than similar products I've tried in the past. Waking up the next morning, my skin looked more glowy and healthier, plus it was super smooth and much softer than usual. I can't really comment yet on it's anti-aging benefits, but a serum that delivers noticeable glowy results is definitely a winner in my book.

It's expensive, there's no ignoring that and to be perfectly honest I would struggle to repurchase this without some personal sacrifices, but a little does go a long way. So if you have the cash to splash, it certainly seems like a worthy purchase for those looking to invest in some good clean skincare.

Vintner's Daughter Active Botanical Serum* (30ml, £150) is available in the UK from Naturisimo and Cult Beauty.

Have you tried this? 

What's the most you would ever spend on a skincare product?

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