Oskia London's City Life I-Zone Balm is designed for the delicate lip and eye areas to help defend against the damaging effects of indoor and outdoor pollution. The product contains retinol and astaxanthin—an antioxidant touted to be 6,000 times more powerful than vitamin E—to improve skin tone and texture.
The quick-absorbing anti-aging treatment works to minimize the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and sun damage for a smoother, more refined finish. Incorporating the patented Collageneer active, an ingredient derived from white lupin, is said to impart firming and plumping benefits to skin, while light-diffusing mica restores youthful luminosity. The product can be worn alone or under other makeup to protect, rejuvenate and improve skin's elasticity.
Users are instructed to apply the product to entire eye orbital, lip and upper lip zones, and any other areas needing special protection. This column will review the ingredient listing for claims substantiation and functionality.
Oil Base
The oil-based system comprises emollients and occlusive plant fats: avocado oil, sunflower oil, shea butter and modified hydrogenated vegetable oil. Sunflower seed oil is known to support stratum corneum integrity and improve hydration, while avocado oil is an excellent source of rich lipids for dry, damaged or chapped skin, and has shown faster re-epithelialization and increased collagen synthesis in animal wound models.
Shea butter is used for its unsaponifiables, i.e., triterpenes, phenols and sterols with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This ingredient also has shown benefits for atopic dermatitis.
Pigments and Fragrance
Mica, silica and titanium dioxide add color and have an opacifying effect. The formula is fragranced by orange peel oil, which notably contains the potential sensitizers limonene and linalool.
Active Ingredients
The active ingredients in the formula include vitamin A, which is known to reduce signs of aging such as lines, wrinkles and pigmentation. Vitamin E serves as an antioxidant.
Further, astaxanthin is a strong antioxidant with long-term anti-inflammatory effects on environmentally induced damage. And white lupin seed extract has been demonstrated, in combination with sunflower oil, to increase collagen type I synthesis and improve skin firmness and elasticity; as reported in subjective evaluations, whereby volunteers confirmed improved firmness and reduced sagging of the facial contour.
Conclusions
In my view, the ingredients in the formula support the claims for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, soothing conditioning for environmentally challenged skin.
Ingredients: Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Mica, Silica, Retinyl (Vitamin A) Palmitate, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Haematococcus Pluvialis Extract (Astaxanthin), Lupinus Albus (White Lupin) Seed Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil*, CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Limonene**, Linalool**.
*Organic
**Natural Component of Essential Oils
