One of the latest brands I’ve discovered this December, which has been completely new to me is IREN – a Japanese beauty brand which as part of their partnership with fashion, beauty and lifestyle platform, Lone Design Club, I’ve been giving a whirl during the run-up to Christmas.
I’ll refer to it as ‘J Beauty’, but just so you all know I mean Japanese beauty in case! The brand, IRÉN Skin, was founded as a modern re-envisioning of J-beauty, taking traditional Japanese skincare rituals and integrating them with scientifically clean and customisable solutions. J Beauty always looks the part, if you ask me, always colourful yet modern, playful yet premium, and fun, yet professional.
IREN definitely adheres to this. The packaging is cute and smart, and the products look lovely to use before even reading up on each one..
One of the missions behind the brand was to formulate personalised solutions for every possible skin concern, as lets face it, no one has the exact same skin, right?
On each product, they make a focus on ingredients in a simplified way, which don’t become too complication or over peoples heads! The brand have also created unique QR codes filled with information that can be scanned so that people can see an “online dictionary” for the ingredients. This is so the brand are totally transparent about the ingredients, so that the customer has full control in regards to what they are using on their skin.
So what makes IREN a little different to other modern skincare brands out there?
Bear with me here, as I’ve taken this particular set of information from the IREN website because they can describe the process a lot clearer and better than I. But basically, they use what they like people to imagine as the magical ‘ingredient’ in formulas. Unlike traditional skincare products that barely penetrate the skin, their patented Ziplock Encapsulation™ technology compacts each active ingredient into nanometric (particles that are even smaller than our pores!) molecules for enhanced absorption by the epidermis. So with this, the ingredients seep down to the lower layers of the skin, which means they work at a deeper level rather just sitting on the skin.
The encapsulation works together with the prolonged-release effect, which preserves the ingredients’ freshness until they are released at deeper skin layers. OK are you still with me? Let’s look at some lovely products from IREN I’ve been trying out…
Skin Reboot
This Skin reboot serum from IREN comes in a pretty pink colour tube packaging, and is designed to resolve your wrinkly woes! It’s a trusty antioxidant serum which restores and repairs your skin to a healthy state and shields it from free radicals, stress, UV damage, and environmental attacks.
It’s super easy to apply, and I’ve personally found it a good one for dabbing lightly around the eye area to reduce the appearance of eye bags, dark circles and puffy eyes.
The reason it’s this pretty pink colour is because the key ingredient is no other than antioxidant beetroot! Along with this, you get 4% Caffeine, Astaxanthin, and Niacinamide packed in (which I’ve found to be key for bumpy break out skin too), and together they work to boost and regenerate the skin.
However it’s the caffeine that works brilliants to reduce the appearance of dark circles and puffy eyes, and adding that refreshed look to the complexion. Plus, this formula works together with 6 powerful antioxidants to safeguard your skin from free radicals, UV damage, air pollution and blue light exposure (I feel like this is something we all need these days), while revitalising its healing speed, skin cell renewal, and skin structure.
Keep Calm Soothing Serum
Now this Keep Calm soothing serum is just a beautiful addition to anyone’s self-care regime. Perfect for those with sensitive skin that needs soothing, and also for when you need that extra TLC for your skin during the cold weather.
This soothing serum uses Avocado Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate (which is said to be great for soothing rosacea and eczema prone-skin), Cucumber Extract, Aloe Vera Extract, and Oat Kernel Extract to operate a unique Heal + Hydrate system to reduce skin sensitivity and redness, repairing your skin’s natural moisture barrier simultaneously to ultimately provide a gentle, serene touch to your daily skincare regime.
Any redness from angry breakouts, the cold, central heating or just all round sensitive skin can be cooled and soothed instantly. It also leaves a fresh glow to the skin, too! Here’s a key ingredient break down too:
Avocado Extract: A rich source of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Folate, loaded with anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant properties. Reduces skin sensitivity, redness and infection, which heals and strengthens the skin.
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate: Derived from Licorice Root Extract, it has excellent anti-inflammatory and soothing properties that helps reduce skin redness and sensitivity. Clinically supported to be effective in treating rosacea and eczema.
Cucumber Extract: Composed of 95% water and contains amino acids to help soothe and soften inflamed skin.
Aloe Vera Extract: Contains an antiseptic that allows protection against bacteria, promoting moisturizing and anti-inflammatory properties. It also boosts skin cell reproduction by eight times, to fight skin inflammation and heal sun damaged skin.
Oat Kernel Extract: Contains skin-repairing omega-3 and 6 fatty acids that targets dry, irritated, and inflamed skin.
Quench Up Serum
The ideal serum to quench your skin’s thirst! I have dry skin and this hydrating serum has been wonderful at providing instant and intense hydration, to regain a plump and dewy complexion. It’s super easy to apply, absorbing quickly and providing a huge hydration boost quickly, along with leaving skin feeling ad looking fresh and nourished.
If you want to just use this alone on your dry skin without finishing with a moisturiser, it’s totally fine to do so, as it’s pretty much all you need to use on it’s own. However if you wish to layer a hydrating moisturiser on top, you can do because the formula is so lightweight.
So this particular serum is power-packed with 12 moisturising ingredients to deliver 12 times the moisture for soothing dehydrated skin. The key ingredients include a clever blend of Blueberry Extract, Hyaluronic Acid (the hero ingredients for hydrating the skin!), and 4% NMF Solution, which acts on 2 levels to provide an immediate supply of hydration to the skin barrier and long-term improvement of your skin’s water management.
Each serum comes in a super cute little tube, and retails at £30 each. They honestly last so long though as you only need a small amount when applied to the skin!
You can shop the IREN products here.
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