I first heard about this product when I watched
Caroline Hirons video. I trust Caroline's opinions as she says how it is and isn't that affected by being liked by others. Obviously, my interests we're peaked as I also order Avon products and I didn't hesitate on buying it as soon as possible, because Avon always has a sort of pre-sale prices that are lower then when the product is officially released. I also really wanted to try retinol products, as I haven't done that yet, and am approaching my thirties.
Avon Anew Reversalist Infinite Effects Night Treatment Cream comes in a shiny plastic tube that has two sides with a pump and transparent black plastic top. I'm not impressed by the red and black design, since it's so shiny and quite hard to read. Avon can improve on the design here. Some other lines in Anew range have much more sophisticated and luxurious feel to them.
It contains 30 ml of product (so 15 ml in each side of the cream) and the regular price is 40€. Currently it's on offer for 23.90€. As I've mentioned before I got it before it was released for the price 16.90€ and then since trying out the first bottle, I bough another one while it was still on that offer. Yes, I obviously liked it.
On the bottle you can notice the difference between side 1, which is red colored and side 2, which is black colored. It makes it easier for you to remember to switch sides.
The pump is plastic and works fine. You can actually control the amount of product that you want to get out. They advise you to use three pumps for your face, but I use two and can easily cover my whole face as well as neck.
This is night treatment that contains retinol and is as such marketed as an anti-aging product. You have two sides and you're suppose to interchange them. That means you'll use side 1 for one week and then the other week you turn it around and use side 2. On the third week you go back to side 1, on the forth week you turn to side 2 and so on.
Side 1 contains their Phytol+ formula which should nourish your skin and prepare it for the retinol formula. This side is named as an AHA side on the packaging and contains glycolic acid as the fourth ingredient on the list.
Side 2 is the one with their Super Retinol formula that should stimulate your skin to produce more collagen and elastin. If you don't know what retinol is, it's basically vitamin A which is one of the only proven ingredients that can actually make your wrinkles and small lines look smaller or less deep. It also, in general, helps your skin to heal faster and produce new cells faster. Retinol is a milder version of retinoids. You can also get retin-A which is a much stronger version.
Avon says that this product should make your facial wrinkles look smoother, your smile lines less visible, skin should look more youthful and the tone of your skin should be more evened out.
Avon has done case study on 116 women and I advise you to take a look at that Caroline's video I mentioned in the beginning. Apparently, she was very impressed with the results that these women had. You get two sides of the cream, because many Avon users said that their skin care didn't produce results after they've been using it for a while. So they created this two-sided cream which prevents your skin to get used to just one specific product. That's why you change it up every week, to prevent the cream not working anymore and to prevent that side 2 with retinol to cause you side effects like sensitivity, irritation, redness and skin peeling, that is well known to be the cause of retinol use.
Both creams have a lightweight, but firm texture to them. It doesn't feel like a regular cream, to me it seems more like a gel cream that is very lightweight on the skin, but stil emollient enough that it spreads with such ease. By that I mean that they both feel slightly greasily nourishing, but are lightweight and don't leave any white cast on the skin.
Side 1 looks just slightly firmer in texture and is more white. Side 2 seems just slightly more liquid, but still firm and it has a light yellow tint to it.
Side 1 is thicker and feels more nourishing. On the skin it leaves nourished hydrating layer that doesn't look greasy, but has just a velvet finish to it. Side 2 feels more liquid and hydrating. It leaves behind a more dewy and slightly greasy looking finish, but still nothing like heavy creams usually do. I like that side 2 feels more greasy on the skin, since it helps the skin to feel more comfortable and almost feels soothing. While side 1 feels more nourishing and slightly heavier in general.
They both have a cosmetic scent to them. It's not artificial, but is also not anything familiar. The scent is quite subtle, so it shouldn't bother you.
Side 1 contains glycolic acid in it which keeps my skin smooth and healthy looking. It also feels nicely nourishing.
Side 2 feels just as lightweight and nourishing. I have dry and flaky skin on my hands from eczema and when I was applying side 2 on my face, the cream got into those dry cracks which burnt my skin a little, since it was like applying acid on a wound. On my face, I didn't notice any tingling or burning sensation, unless I applied it over a freshly squeezed blemish (which you shouldn't be doing anyway). I also noticed that the irritation didn't come until like 5 days of using that side 2. On that fifth day I notice a slight burning irritation feel around my eyes. The first week of using retinol side I also has a bit of redness around my eyes, but keep in mind that I have in general sensitive skin and I never used retinol before. After I have been using it for the second week, I didn't notice that much of irritation anymore, just a slight burning sensation around my eyes.
I've mainly wanted to use this around my eyes, because I have a few deep set wrinkles under my eyes, which are probably my smile lines anyway, but I'm getting annoyed with them. I do also have a very slight and short smile line around my mouth, but is not a concern to me now, because it's really not noticeable yet. Obviously, I also have two short frown lines on my forehead, but those are not deep enough for me to be bothered with them either. But prevention is the key. Or I like to think so.
Now onto some visual proof. I have been taking photos of my skin every week, but decided to include just the first photos, before I started using it, and then the last photos, after about 6 weeks of using this product, as this shows the effects best. I have been using these creams in my night cream step. In the evening I cleaned my skin, applied hydrating toner and then this cream. Since I've been using this cream, I've been avoiding using acid toners and I don't feel the need to use them. Only here and there, if my skin tends to feel rough again. Sometimes I also applied facial oil over the cream and sometimes I skipped it.
The first two photos of before and after are of my face and you can't really notice any difference. Or at least I don't. I didn't notice my complexion becoming any more evened out, but I did notice that my skin in general had good skin days. Ever since I started using this cream, I don't need acid toner for smoothing my skin and I also had a lot less blemishes than usual. I can't say for sure, if it's the creams fault, I'm just sharing my observations. My skin is also a lot plumper looking and just more elastic in a way, which means it just looks healthier in general.
If we take a closer look at my eye area, you can definitely notice a difference. I was actually surprised, because I didn't feel it did much, but once I got to compare my photos, I definitely saw a difference. My small line at the outer edge of the eye is less visible as well as my small lines under the eyes. They seem to be shorter and slightly less deep. The same goes for those fine lines on the lower inner corner.
It seems like the fine lines have gotten less deep and some look shorter than they did before. I am pleasantly surprised by that and would actually say that the proof is in the photos, it seems to work.
As I've mentioned before, I already have a backup in my drawer, even though I still haven't used this one up. At first I thought that there's very little cream in this packaging, but it should last you about 2 months, if you'll be using two pumps a night.
I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with the effects. Now that I took a look at my photos in between the process of using this cream, I definitely notice a difference. My fine lines seem to get shorter and less deep. They definitely look a bit less noticeable. I also like both textures of cream. They are nourishing enough, but also lightweight. My skin has been looking plumper and healthier ever since I started to regularly use it at night, so I'm sticking with it for now.
If you have a more sensitive skin and you're trying to get into that whole retinol routine, I think this is a good product to start with. The irritation is mild (or so it was for me) and the texture is just right, not to greasy nor too lightweight. I'm actually curious about trying out some other Avon Anew skin care. They have day and night cream in Reversalist range and have also added some interesting new products in Anew Clinical range (Lift & Firm Contouring Serum with Polypeptide-x, Face Lifting Cream with Polypeptide-x, Even Texture and Tone Multi Tone Correcting Cream with DSX ).
