Codage Summertime Serum: recap

I'm all about mysteries...and cosmetics: combine this and we have a fascination for trying out French skincare. It's just that one of the mysteries is that most French women stay quite beautiful even they claim to have more hedonistic lifestyles. With their pharmacies full with cosmetic beautifyers you will think that the products must be doing something right.

As for the mystery of Codage Summertime, it plays a bit of smoke-and-mirrors of what is actually in there. It's a bit like that other mysterious Esthederm brand that Lisa Elderidge is so fan of. She likes their sunblocks but they don't state nowhere what the actual factor of protection is or whether they have PA++ or not. I actually tried their No Sun sunblock, and it's not that good because I returned from the beach with some 'lovely' new pigment spots. When that happens my interest in a brand is soon over: it might be mysterious but it has to do something that claims it will do.

sorry about the grubby label: I took it on travels, etc

I disgress, Codage has been a brand not often reviewed and Summertime was so new when I bought it I just had to research it for my own curiosity, vanity and for the blog ofcourse!

Their claims:

better view on their website

I totally agree upon these elements more necessary towards summer skincare. The only thing I am quite puzzled about is the Chemistry part.

The only chemistry I wondered about during Chemistry lessons was whether I had chemistry with my oh-so-unattainable-beautiful-bad-boy in another class. but I actually have no idea if these numerics have any real value. I think the actual percentage of people who use this product and actually know it the numerics (are they called like that, see? too much dreaming) are real or fake. But they look "scientific" and that is often enough.

The actual ingredients:

 The bottle:

I have been using it somewhat regularly and sometimes not so continiously for a month:

• silicony feel to it: somewhat similar as the Korean or other Asian nightime masks
• easy to dose droplet: press out as much or as little as you'd like
• as the slippery feel stays on for more than 10 minutes, I used it as a nighttime product
• So their claim "01 moisture without oiliness"? is somewhat true: it doesn't look too oily on the skin and somewhat false: it feels oily and if you use it in the morning it might interfere with your makeup
• I like it for warmer days: oils are normally my way to go but when warmer I need something not-a-real-oil but slippery enough to get some moisture in
• Whitening/brightening: not sure because I use it with plenty other brighteners, eg vitamine C serum.
• "02 Sooth the skin from agressions?": Somewhat! the slightly silicony feel in the beginning is somewhat calming but I think that the Nude Advanced Cellular Renewal Serum does a better job at penetrating into the dermis (=skin- hey, I did pay some attention at Chemistry!) and providing the skin with soothers/anti-agers/brighteners than this serum.
• "03 protect from heath & pollution": I changed my routine to use it merely for nighttime, so I cannot really reflect on this part as the daily protector. 
• "04 Increase tanning and protect from the sun". Somewhat an oxymoron: but I understand some people like to get a real tan but a gradual one that doesn't really harm or damages their skincells a lot. I never tried it without sunblock and I wouldn't test it either because of my proneness to freckles & pigment spots. I think the slightly slippery feel has some protection factor in itself and the sunrays will take more time to penetrate into the skin.
• Minimizing pores (not a claim, but relevant for the review)? No, not really.
• Softer skin? Yes, it makes the skin feel soft the next morning
• Minimizing wrinkles? Somewhat. But they don't claim to be an anti-aging product. Thus,
• I think this product is more suitable for age-group 18-32! It protects against the fact summer & summer behaviour can wreck havock on skin and younger people can prevent or correct their sun-tastic times.

Conclusion:
I like this product, only more as a "supporting actress" instead of the "main player",  because my skin needs something more at the mature age of *-censored-by-author-*. It's on the cheaper side of skincare and I think it can be a welcome addition to people aged 18-32 as an easy way to keep their dermis young. I think I won't repurchase, but I might repurchase it as well. I'm fickle with these things.

Availability:
Colette.fr has it for € 45 but on the Codage website they have a sampling program, so you can try out this or the other products as well for less €.

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