If you’re a fan of NIVEA’s skin care, particularly their Coenzyme Q10 offerings, you’ll be glad to know they’ve just launched their most Q10-a-licious product yet – NIVEA Q10 Plus anti-wrinkle replenishing serum pearls (R229).

A good antioxidant, we know that Q10 occurs naturally in our skin, plays a role in how our cells produce ATP (cellular energy) and that our reserves deplete as we age.

NIVEA ran a study that proved topical Q10 can encourage your skin to produce more fibroblasts, the cells that produce collagen. I also found a Japanese study that saw a reduction of wrinkles in skin that used a 1% Q10 serum for five months. While it’s not as proven or ‘sterk‘ as something like retinol, it is promising stuff at an affordable price tag without risk in regards to skin irritation if you don’t use it carefully. Also, there’s nothing stopping you from using it in tandem with other anti-agers. For example, you could consider it a daytime antioxidant serum underneath a moisturiser with sunscreen and then apply your ‘hard guns’ anti-agers before bed or on ‘in door’ days. (That’s pretty much how I tend to roll.)

Anyway, it’s unclear what percentage of Q10 exists in NIVEA’s new serum but it’s packaged in little ‘pearls’ that burst open when pushed through the pump bottle’s nozzle to ensure a ‘fresh dose’ of Q10 that then mixes with the hydrating component of the serum, a glycerine-based gel that contains skin plumping hyaluronic acid and creatine, the latter being something that helps boost our skin’s ‘energy’ supply so it can function well when it comes to doing things like regenerate.

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I really, really liked that this is packaged in an airless pump to protect its actives from oxidation and hope to see more pumps and less jars from NIVEA going forward. I also liked that the serum literally absorbs into your skin in a flash and doesn’t fall into what I refer to as the ‘slippy serum trap’ – where the brand immediately fills the product with a zillion silicones, possibly because so many women automatically associate the word ‘serum’ with a velvety, primer-type texture. (Great if you’ve got a drier skin type but horrid if you’re oily as the moment your face greases up, the silicones lying on top of it can turn your complexion into a muddy-looking oil slick!)

From a purely ‘hydrating’ perspective, I wouldn’t advise you use NIVEA’s new serum on its own unless you’re very, very oily. I’m combination-skinned and can often get away with wearing a serum on its own as a moisturiser, but like I said, this absorbs fast and leaves zero slip in its wake. A rather nice thing because you can happily work it into any existing routine without having to worry about added weight.

Love, love

Leigh