Although skin care isn’t my main area of interest or expertise, I like to think I can work my way through a press release, take out the marketing and spin it back in a way that is useful to the consumer. That’s the theory, anyway. It’s not often that I come across a product that I genuinely struggle to understand, but here we are, with Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate.
Shiseido is a brand I have all the time in the world for, despite the expense. I can really take to heart that they’re taking their products very seriously indeed and developing skin care that does actually work. It’s not hard to fill a bottle with Unicorn Tears oil and tell people it will hydrate, because it most likely will, but it’s mainly marketing and you might as well help yourself to the olive oil in your kitchen cupboard. Not so at Shiseido – they put literally years into developing products.
So, I am going to try and work my way through explaining Ultimune although I feel poorly equipped to do so. Ultimune is about strengthening skin from within so that it’s better able to withstand pollution, lack of sleep or a stressful lifestyle. We all know that skin doesn’t behave well when its missing sleep or you’re on the go and that’s because
Precursor cells, when stressed, don’t reliably turn into Langerhan cells and your Langerhans are the cells that naturally fight damage. The more you have, the better when it comes to skin. The less you have, the more prone to environmental and stress damage your complexion will be. Somehow, Shiseido has identified ingredients (Reishi and iris extracts) that promote the differentiation of precursor cells so that they more reliably turn into Langerhans. Glucan, rose water and ‘aqua in pool’ (no idea!!) also increase the soothing enzymes that enhance the Langerhans and stop them being battled by stress, giving them a chance to flourish. Further botanical (thyme, lotus germ, perilla, ginko) extracts act as a ‘compost’ for the ingredients to do their job at their best level.
That’s the theory, anyway. Japan is very ‘nature’ minded and would rather take skin care ingredients from natural sources than artificial. The original Ultimune launched in 2014 and I’m talking about the updated version from this year. The original figures show Ultimune being sold at a rate of one bottle every 15 seconds and receiving 116 beauty awards across the world.
In terms of results you may see – it’s almost certain that your hydration levels will noticeably rise within the week. You cannot physically see or feel the effects on your precursor cells, but if you know your skin acts up when you’re tired, out too much, or are generally running on empty, stress wise, then that’s when you may see results with happier skin. If you’re generally a good sleeper, have a healthy diet, don’t cane the wine and are quite relaxed, you probably don’t need Ultimune at all.
When I tested and wrote about the Shiseido Future Solutions skin care, I used every last drop of it and the tiny scrap of the day cream I still have left I am saving (not sure for what, but I can’t quite bear to finish it completely). It was just so good. I can’t, hand on heart, say that you’ll see results on Ultimune because I haven’t been through the use process myself yet, but past experience with the brand makes me feel confident that you will. I used the original Ultimune for a while back in 2014 when it launched but four and half years later, I don’t remember what made me stop. Perhaps I finished it. My original post covers the same frustrations over the complexity of marketing materials as I have this time!
Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate is for the skin fanatics – in the UK we are not as complexion minded as other cultures, preferring often a quick fix or Unicorn Tear panacea. The concept of future-proofing skin health outside of general SPF is a hard one when there are any number of less expensive products that will give you that glow right now. Anyway, the product is £69 for 30ml rising to £120 for 100ml HERE.
Non Aff HERE
Transparency Disclosure
All products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.
1 comment
This sounds like a heavy duty skincare product that’s got a strong scientific basis.
I like the emphasis on longer term results and I think budget permitting, this would be a great choice for anyone who’s serious skincare.
I do find Japanese skincare exciting as like you say, it usually offers a different perspective compared to the culture of instant results that we have in the West.
Hanna x
missbeautysaver.com