L'Occitane CADE Youth Concentrate

I've been using this stuff for a while and an say I really like it. If you do not like the woodsy, juniper scent then by all means stay away. I enjoy the aroma though. As mentioned a little goes a long, long way so while it isn't the cheapest product out there it does last seemingly forever. I do not use it everyday, but when I do I like to use it around my eyes, forehead and neck. You can't complain about the packaging, especially at this price point, as it is in a heavy duty glass tub with a nice satin chrome-like lid. Looks very classy on the countertop.

This product works as advertised for me, and some more. While it is one of the priciest out there, a tiny bit goes a long way so there is lots of value to be obtained from this product. I will most likely by this again.

I'm almost through a tub of this. It's a decent product, but I will not be repurchasing. My main complaint is that it has zero moisturizing properties. It leaves my skin toned and smelling great, but that's not the main criteria for a nighttime product, particularly in a dry, cold Chicago winter.

Price: This isn't cheap, but not out of line for a luxury moisturizer.

Quality: Torn on this one. As a toning cream, quality seems very high with a good core of natural ingredients, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt here.

Moisturizing: A big, fat zero. At what I feel should be it's primary function, it fails miserably. Just to get my money's worth out of the jar, I've found myself topping it off with a layer of pure shea butter.

Scent: If you like the CADE scent, which I do, this is an accurate representation. I give it full points.

Efficacy: mid levels. It succeeds as a toner but fails as a moisturizer

Packaging: 10. Nice smoked glass jar with a metal lid. High quality as I would expect for the price.

For someone in a highly humid climate and/or very oily skin this might be perfect. For me, it didn't pass the bar.

Does this really take away fine lines? Are the results permanent?

If you have sensitive skin, as I do, beware of this product since it contains alcohol. I tried it for few days and on every day got the same result.

When I just first applied it I had a very pleasant sensation but after about forty minutes my skin would dry quite aggressively. At first I couldn't understand why because the moisturizer felt really good when first applied.

It was until few days later that by chance I read the ingredients that it contained when I realized that they use alcohol as preservative.

At that price you can now get first rate organic products.

L'occitane needs to catch up because I think this is a high quality product ruin by the alcohol.

I specifically came to the review section to make sure that there was a review of this product. If there wasn't, I intended to remedy that fact immediately. I'm glad there was a review, and that it seems to generally run parallel with my views of the Cade Youth Concentrate.

Up until about a year ago, I never used a lotion on my face, unless it was wintertime and my face was all dried out, or I'd gotten a sunburn and my skin was peeling.

Sure, I'd seen the million commercials about products that firm and tone your skin while getting rid of wrinkles. Bleh, it passed through one ear and out the other.

Well, as I began getting big into colognes again ( I had a huge collection years ago, and did again before that ******* Gustav ) I was often in stores where I came in close proximity to all these new high end men's lotions and soaps and such. The first one I tried was the Anthony Logistics Oil Free Lotion ( which, I still use, as it is a spectacular product, as well )

Then, a sample of a L'Occitane product arrived in the mail concurrent with the opening of their store in the Mall of Louisiana brought me in to see them. I went there looking for shaving products and colognes, and bought a few things, but when I left, they tossed a few samples of the Youth Concentrate into my bag. When I got home, I tossed them in a drawer and forgot about them.

Then, about a month later, I had shaved earlier in the day with a new shaving cream and my face was feeling somewhat dry. I was out of the Anthony Logistics and hadn't made it by Sephora to get more so I started digging around to see what I could use. I happened upon the YC samples and tore one open and started applying to my face and neck.

For guys who are used to pretty smelling lotions that your significant other uses, or light, clean fragrances like the Anthony Logistics, this is a shock, and a pleasing one. It smells of warm aromatic cedar and juniper. Its woody and masculine and just smells great......like a man's lotion should smell. Thats not the best part, though, because while it smells good, it actually WORKS.

This stuff is literally amazing. I've never used a lotion that makes my skin feel as refreshed, energized, hydrated, and just all around damn good. I've always heard folks say that a lotion can do wonders for your skin, make wrinkles go away, etc. and thought it was BS, but this one actually can. Now, I'm only 29,so its not like my face looks like a topographical map of the Rockies, but I have a few little lines here and there. After using this stuff for about a month, you can actually see a difference. The lines are faded or gone. Your skin is more taut and just looks healthier. One thing I especially use the Youth Concentrate for is under my eyes when I have dark circles and bags under my eyes. As cheesy as it sounds, it gives them a lift and makes them look better.....and like I wasn't out commiting countless acts of debauchery the night before.

There are a few things that I might call negatives, if I wasn't so enamored with this product, but I do feel the need to mention them. First off, is the price. I only gave it a 3 for price because you pay $32 for only 1.7 oz.( 50ml ). That is alot for not much. Now, they will tell you that you only need to use a pea-sized drop to cover your entire face, but I don't find that to be true. I need to use more just to cover my entire face, but I often use it on both my face and neck......and rarely, but sometimes, my hands and elbows, too. Now, I don't use it every day. Several times a week, but I still see the great results. If I could afford to, I would use it every day, but for now, I'll just enjoy it when I can. Secondly, there is definitely a scent variation between jars. This probably isn't that big of a deal to most, but it is one thing that I have noticed. I don't dislike it, but I don't care as much for the scent of the jar I have right now as much as I have some of the others, especially the last jar I had, but thats just something that comes along with using natural ingredients. There's gonna be some variation. I have found that some of the variation fades as the product is exposed to air over the following weeks of use.

Those are my only two negatives, though, the price and the slight differences in scent. Of course, I hate how quickly it runs out and I wish they sold it in a larger jar, but even the small jar lasts me a few months or more.

Of course I use an aftershave balm like Turmpers Skinfood or something to help seal and heal my face after a shave, but I've also found that using the Youth Concentrate after a close shave makes your skin feel super refreshed and really soft. It gives you a nice taut feeling and, of course, the smell is great. Combine it with the L'Occitane Cade Aftershave ( which smells nearly the same ) and you've got it made.

So, basically if you've never used this stuff, go get it. I normally would never recommend a blind buy on a facial product or lotion, or anything like that, but this stuff is worth it. It is absolutely THE BEST.

Jester

I'm a big L'Occitane fan, so I'll try and not be too biased. There, I got that out of the way right off.

Sometime last year, L'Occitane had a 25% off sale, and I decided to go whole hog and spend about $100. I had plenty of shave soap, and I have 3 of their colognes, and the CADE ASB, and CADE styptic pencil, so I decided I would get a whole bunch of bath gel, the CADE Juniper Bark Scrub, and this little jar of goodness for $38.

The packaging for this "Youth Concentrate" says that it is supposed to provide moisture for immediate comfort, while also fighting the aging process by reducing fine lines and wrinkles. It is a fairly little glass jar, 1.7 ounces, but it was filled up to the brim with this white, fairly dense cream.

The smell is your typical CADE -- a strong scent of juniper wood. Not the berries so much, but the wood. It is also a dry wood scent, not a moist, freshly cut wood. Think more like aged cedar chest instead of fresh hamster shavings. It is also a rather "warm" scent, it is not chilly and austere. For what it's worth, since I had no clue what "CADE" meant, and considering that I am a botanical geographer, I should know what it means, I had to do some research. Cade is another name for the Prickly Juniper/Cade Juniper, native to the Meditteranean, and Cade comes from the French name: genévrier cade. For those interested in taxonomy, it is Juniperus oxycedrus.

Wikipedia states: Cade oil is the essential oil obtained through destructive distillation of the wood of this shrub. It is a dark, aromatic oil with a strong smoky smell which is used in some cosmetics and (traditional) skin treatment drugs, as well as incense.

The cream is thick, so I've always been very light with the application. Just a dab on each cheek, a dab on the forehead, and a couple dabs on the chin and neck, and a quick massage throughout the face. It is fairly heavy and feels like a lotion on first application, even a little bit tacky or greasy. The good thing is that either my face is so devoid of moisture or the product is easily absorbed, because it does feel sheer and unnoticeable after 15 minutes or so. As it is, though, I do prefer to put it on my face at night after I've showered and used the CADE Juniper Bark scrub. I have rubbed some in before going to work just because I enjoy the fragrance and is very light. Some days, I just don't feel like putting any fragrance on, and this suits me.

As to results: I have rosacea and a pretty ruddy complexion, always have. I also sunburn/get red in the face fairly easily in the sun. I have noticed a lightening in my face which is nice. Also, while I wouldn't say I'm loaded with fine lines and wrinkles at 27, I do notice some wrinkling on my forehead (I probably squint my face too much at students in my class who say weird things). The wrinkles have pretty much nearly vanished. I can't say that it's all from this creme alone since I'm 27 and not 47, I'm sure having some youth left in me probably helps this along.

In any case, though, I think it is a good product. I have had the jar for 6 months, and I'm still at a little over half of a jar. A tiny bit goes a long, long way with this, so the $38 could easily last a year, I'm sure. I don't think I'll be looking to refill until Christmastime, and I got this jar in early November.

All in all, it's a relatively simple, unobtrusive way to soften the face, brighten the complexion, and take care of some lines. The smell is inoffensive (the CADE ASB has a different smell because it has that Shea butter base, the "old lady" smell that people refer to with CADE, to me, is when there's Shea butter in there. It smells just like the Shea butter hand cream.) If you buy the other CADE products (Youth Concentrate, Anti Fatigue Gel, Juniper Bark Scrub), you'll notice the smell is distinctively woody and without some of the powdery, floral aspects you find in the CADE products with Shea butter.

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