[INSTITUT ESTHEDERM] - Cellular Concentrate Fundamental Serum

The last product from the Skinvestment's Beauty Date x MTL is the Institut Esthederm's Cellular Concentrate Fundamental Serum. This is my last product to review! I can't believe how long it has taken me to get to it. But I wanted to take my time to use this product and review it. So let's get on with the review shall we?

Institut Esthederm is a French brand that was founded by the French pharmacist and biologist, Jean-Noel Thorel in the 1970s. Yes, the same founder for Bioderma, who also sponsored the event with their Sensibio H2O micellar water (pink bottle). I bought the blue one with my own money and quite liked it! But I digress.

The brand started with sun care products but has developed into other anti-aging products with various patents as its philosophy is to advance in aesthetics through biology. The brand kindly sent the cellular water line for us to try. Which uses their patented cellular water formula to optimize cellular metabolism and skincare effectiveness.

This is usually what happens with trying to take a shot of that silver bottle

The product I decided to take home was the Cellular Concentrate Fundamental Serum, which is marketed as a universal cell re-programming serum that will boost the effectiveness of face creams. It is to provide radiance, improve elasticity, strength and firmness to the skin. It sounds very interesting but I wanted to see how it will perform on my skin.
The serum comes in a 30mL airless pump plastic container that has a silver coating. It looks pretty and slick, but damn it it makes it SO hard to photograph clearly! It took me multiple attempts in order to get a clear shot! (Seriously, I took photos in multiple settings and locations. The first two, which i really like, was taken when it is freaking -38C with windchill outside. The snow acted as a natural backdrop and it FINALLY made it possible to photograph everything clearly.) The downside to this packaging is that I don't know how much product is left. So I can't plan to get a back up product ready if I run out. Luckily I always have some backup ready to go.

The serum is a milky white gel that has a very faint fragrance to it. But honestly, if you don't sniff really hard, you can't even smell it. The serum spreads very easily, and sinks in quite quickly. The application feels a bit smoother than the Urang essence and made my skin feel a bit dewier.

After using it for over a month, my thoughts on this serum is... Meh... Honestly... Just meh... -_- It is really nice to apply and have no discernible scent. It hydrates the skin but I feel like it doesn't do as much as I needed it to be. My skin is combination but dehydrated. So I tend to have flaky skin when comes winter time. We have gotten a lot of snow in Cowtown in the past month, and it has been harsh on my skin. I was really hoping this serum would help hydrate the skin and help my cream absorb. But no, I found quite a bit of flaky skin, which tells me that this serum is not providing sufficient hydration to my skin.

I do appreciate Institut Esthederm's generosity to send full sized products to try. But it just isn't providing me enough hydration that I need for the my skin. Maybe it will be better for the summer where my skin doesn't require as much hydration. Plus, I can't seem to find this serum on their Canadian website anymore, so there's a chance this is discontinued.

**I received this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion**