Best Pick: NIOD Survival 0

I wanted to tell you about the not-so-new product by Deciem (the company behind The Ordinary brand) — the NIOD Survival 0.

I’m not going to delve deeply into Deciem’s penchant for scientism. NIOD’s website is a pseudoscience treadmill. Science is great, but that doesn’t mean we should accept it uncritically. Deciem fully takes advantage of the inclination people have towards not questioning things that sound technical and “science-y”. Just because something is associated with science doesn’t mean it’s actually supported by science. Not only that, NIOD’s fancy terms are designed to confuse. When people give unnecessarily complicated answers and cannot explain things simply and plainly, it’s because 1) they lack the skills to break things down, 2) they don’t understand it well enough to explain, or 3) they’re creating a smokescreen to divert attention that they’re trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

So the NIOD Survival 0. It’s an antioxidant serum that provides protection from environmental aggressors and that helps to repair existing damage, which in turn, reduces the appearance photo-ageing and helps with skin elasticity, resilience, and vibrancy. “0” refers to the lack of SPF. The Survival range also comes in 10, 20, and 30 which has SPF10, SPF20, and SPF30, respectively.

The formula is packed full of actives that are considered to provide potent antioxidant protection as well as addressing inflammation and strengthening the skin’s barrier. Carotenoids, Polyphenols, Superoxide Dismutase, Astaxanthin, Squalane, and Amino Acids are amongst them. You would think the actual results of this serum would be slow to make themselves apparent. But actually, the visible results were quite prompt: visibly brighter skin that felt smooth and calm and altogether tip-top.

What I love about this serum, apart from all of the super-duper damage-repairing antioxidant-giving bits and pieces, is that it’s really gentle. Some potent serums that help with cell renewal can be quite harsh, but I used this on my face after a chemical peel, and I found it rather soothing.

It’s a great choice if high-performance anti-ageing serums are often far too strong for your skin. I’d also say that this is a ‘good for any age and skin’ type of serum — it’s light and absorbs into the skin almost within seconds so it won’t overload oilier or younger skin. You apply at night, but you can also use it in the morning if you’d prefer — just remember it offers no UV protection. I like layering a vitamin C serum with it.

At CDN/US$25 for 30ml, NIOD Survival 0 is a luxury beauty buy on a budget. The aesthetic is minimalist and clean-looking, luxurious but fuss-free. I can’t stand all its pseudoscience nonsense, but the serum itself is lovely and excellent value for money — I can’t think of a bad thing to say about it. Deciem are currently having an “Anti-Black Friday” sale on their website and in stores. Everything is 23% off (no code needed) for the entire month of November!

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