Tan-Luxe was founded by Marc Elrick in Glasgow and it’s a brand focused on combining skin care with tanning ingredients that are good for the skin and that can also help have that special glow tan all year round. This particular serum is meant to provide a gradual while delivering some skin care ingredients at the same time, hence the hyaluronic acid. I had a travel size I got from my Lookfantastic advent calendar.

Understanding hyaluronic acid

This serum combines high weight hyaluronic acid with low molecular weight sodium hyaluronate. Chemically, hyaluronic acid is a molecule composed mostly of sugars (polysaccharide), which is normally found in the body’s connective tissue and skin. Basically, hyaluronic acid keeps tissues hydrated and protects them from stretch marks / wrinkles. One gram of hyaluronic acid can hold about six liters of water. In other words, the skin contains 50% hyaluronic acid because it is the largest organ of the human body and here we find most of the water molecules.

Hyaluronic acid plays an essential role in maintaining the skin’s hydrolytic barrier and helps synthesize elastin and collagen in tissues. Basically, hyaluronic acid is an anionic, unsulfated glycosaminoglycan that makes up most of the connective tissue in the eyes, eyelids, but is also found in other areas. Compared to other acids present in the human body, hyaluronic acid is differentiated by the fact that it is unsulfated, ie it is formed in the plasma membrane of a cell and if it finds a suitable environment it can grow to very large molecular sizes.

Hyaluronic acid is considered a “smart” substance because it adjusts its absorption rate depending on the season, age, sex or moisture level to which the body is exposed. In other words, the amount of hyaluronic acid suffers strong oscillations if we usually go to the pool every day, or on the contrary we have a sedentary lifestyle. In addition, hyaluronic acid acts as a lubricant, retaining large amounts of water, up to 100 times more than its own volume, maintaining an optimal level of tissue hydration that other substances in the body fail to provide.

Packaging:

The serum comes in a bottle with a dropper like most serums do. It would be all nice and good, but unfortunately there was some product on the bottom of the bottle that I wasn’t able to get out, at least for one use. But other than that, it’s a simple, clean packaging.

Texture:

The serum has a thick consistency and it looks white. It doesn’t have a smell. It felt a little bit sticky after application, but I use a moisturizer anyway so it didn’t bother me.

Ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Dihydroxyacetone, Hydrolyzed Soybean Fiber, Hyaluronic Acid, Beta Vulgaris (Beet) Root Extract, Brassica Oleracea Acephala Leaf Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Salvia Hispanica Seed Oil, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Juice, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E Acetate), Ascorbic Acid, Retinyl Acetate, Erythrulose, Cyclopentasiloxane, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone, PVM/MA Copolymer, Laureth-7, Laureth-23, Laureth-4, Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Parfum (Fragrance), Limonene, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Salicylate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Triethylene Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, CI 17200 (D&C Red No. 33)

The first ingredients are water and glycerin (for that moisturizing feeling), hydrolyzed soybean fiber (it’s a collagen booster), hyaluronic acid and beet root extract (it has brightening properties). It also contains 4% DHA (for tanning) and natural extracts with antioxidant properties (chia seed oil, raspberry seed oil, avocado oil, kale extract, blueberry extract, cocoa seed and coconut oil).

Coconut oil, the soybean fiber, and Laureth-23 and Laureth-4 can have some pore-clogging effects, but I didn’t noticed any issues. It is soemthing that should be considered for those who have oily skin. There is also some fragrance in there, but it’s at the bottom of the list, so Iit should be a very small percentage.

Price and accessibility:

I haven’t seen Tan-Luxe products here in stores, so the only option to get them would be to order them from a foreign site. This serum retails for 35 UK pounds on their website, so it’s not exactly affordable. While I like the ingredients list, hyaluronic acid serums are now available from all kinds of brands and there are plenty of more affordable options out there.

My overall opinion:

I must say I wasn’t crazy about this serum. It feels very sticky and that’s one of the reasons why I used in only at night. I didn’t want to risk having it “behave” badly under makeup. The recommended dosage is 4-6 drops for a use, but I would just fill the dropper and use it all at once. I noticed the plumping and moisturizing effect that all hyaluronic acid products have, but like I said, this is something that you can obtain by using various other serums.

Also, I didn’t noticed any gradual tanning effect to be honest, so if this is why this serum is more expensive, it’s not worth it. I don’t think gradual tanning can be achieved for the face, considering that I cleanse daily and exfoliate once or twice a week. If there was a slight tanning effect it would go away due to the other face products I use. So while this is not a bad serum, it wasn’t something remarkable to make me want to buy it on my own and use it constantly.