Antipodes Skincare Reviews

~ stashy

This week I’m focusing on skincare! 🙂 I’ve got 4 Antipodes skincare products to review first –  I’ve been using these for the past 6 weeks so I’ve formed solid opinions about them.
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L to R:
• Joyous Protein-Rich Night Replenish Serum
• Apostle Skin-Brightening & Tone-Correcting Serum (this is a sample size)
• Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream
• Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream
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As you may recall, I scored the 3 full sized products at Winners back in January for C$16.99 each! It was the score of a lifetime, really. And the Apostle Serum was from a giveaway I won from Caryl Almelor! 🙂  Antipodes is an organic skincare brand from New Zealand with premium plant-based ingredients that are housed in elegant recyclable packaging.

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I don’t typically stick to one skincare brand for my skincare routine – as much as some people would like to have you believe, products from a particular brand doesn’t “work better” with other products from the same line. It’s silly talk! Just like you don’t wear makeup only from one brand – use whatever works for you.

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I was really impressed that each item was individually shrink wrapped and the expiry dates were stamped on the boxes and the jar labeling.

Also, I don’t usually start a bunch of new skincare products all at once, just in case if I react to something, I can pinpoint the cause quickly. So I did stagger these products and the introduction process took about 10 days in total. For reference, I have normal / combination skin that isn’t overly dry or overly oily, and my skin is sensitive and can get dehydrated especially my cheeks and under eye area. Here are my thoughts on each, in the order in which I started using them:

Antipodes Joyous Protein-Rich Night Replenish Serum (C$53 for 30ml)
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Antipodes says:

SLEEP DEEPLY IN NATURES NURTURE: HELP RESTORE ELASTIN, DELIVER NATURAL RADIANCE, PURIFY & PROTECT
A silky night serum that helps rescue dry, damaged skin. Himalayan goji berry boasts up to 19 amino acids to help optimise your skin’s appearance. Red raspberry seed oil blends with New Zealand blackcurrant, a rich source of essential fats like gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). South Pacific hibiscus flower freshens your complexion, whileberry fragrance imparts pure joy. Suited to normal and ultra-dry skin conditions.

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I say:
This is an oil based serum that provides a lot of moisture to the skin. I think I experienced a little bit of skin congestion when I first started using this as I got bumps on my forehead for the first week. I only used it 3 times the first week to get acclimated to it. The texture is slightly heavier compared to the previous oil serum I used, the Saje Elixir Serum and similarly, it does leave the skin shiny. The most noticeable thing about this oil serum is the smell – it’s not a bad smell per se but it does smell like steamed kale and broccoli. o_O I was expecting something sweet smelling since the base oil is blackcurrant fruit oil. The smell dissipates (or my nose gets desensitized to it). But I love the effects of this serum – my skin looked bright and deeply hydrated whenever I used this. I use this only in the evenings as my night serum – I mix the Paula’s Choice Resist C15 Super Booster into it. I also really like the apothecary style glass bottle with the angled dropper.

Antipodes Apostle Skin-Brightening & Tone-Correcting Serum (C$71.50 for 30ml)
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Antipodes says:

DELIVER THE ULTIMATE FRESH-FACED BEAUTY EVERYDAY
A water-based serum to help target pigmentation, brighten your skin and restore even tone. Waiwera mineral-blessed water helps restore essential moisture while delivering antioxidant-rich Vinanza Performance Plus® to help reduce the effects of over production of melanin causing pigmentation. Vinanza Oxifend® defends skin cells from oxidative stress helping reduce skin redness. Kiwifruit exfoliating enzyme renews your skin for true fresh-faced beauty.

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I say:
I tried this as my day serum since it is water-based and not greasy. But, it made my skin feel really tight and dry. The appearance of the serum isn’t too appealing either – it’s brown and looks lumpy no matter of much I shake the bottle. The serum didn’t do much for my skin except to make it feel dehydrated so I stopped using this after about a week. It also had a slight acidic kind of smell, like vinegar. Interestingly, this is also the most expensive product of the ones I have from Antipodes.

Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream (C$54 for 30ml)
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Antipodes says:

SCIENTIFICALLY SHOWN TO STIMULATE SYNTHESIS OF COLLAGEN PRODUCTION IN HUMAN SKIN CELLS BY UP TO 82%*
A luscious yet light eye cream for a cooling and soothing sensory experience. Ultra-rich Vitamin C from the seed of New Zealand kiwifruit works superbly to help rescue damaged tissue. Containing carrot seed oil, aloe gel and 100% pure avocado oil.

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The eye cream on the left, and the day cream (details below) on right – both unused at this point.

I say:
This jar of eye cream is a massive 30ml container! I don’t recall ever seeing this much product in an eye cream. I was excited to try this and in my mind, I thought this would be a very rich nighttime product. It turned out to be a very lightweight silky eye cream better suited for the daytime so I ended up using it in the mornings instead. In fact, I think this is actually too lightweight as an eye cream for me. It’s quite watery and doesn’t provide long lasting hydration to my eye area. I noticed that my concealers were looking more dry and I have more noticeable fine lines under my eye area. I’m actually considering using this jar up as face cream going forward. There’s no scent to this. I know this is well reviewed online and I could see this being a good eye cream for people who don’t need a lot of hydration. Both this and the Vanilla Pod Cream are housed in hefty tinted glass jars that feel very upscale.

Antipodes Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream (C$55 for 60ml)
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Antipodes says:

A LIGHT BUT INTENSIVE HYDRATING CREAM THAT FEELS BEAUTIFULLY FRESH AND ALIVE ON YOUR FACE
Revolutionary antioxidant Vinanza Grape® from award-winning Marlborough sauvignon blanc grape seeds keeps your skin healthy and engerised. An incredibly nutritious cream featuring native New Zealand manuka honey, a powerful antibacterial agent to assist in keeping skin completely clean and free of blemishes.

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Reversed order of previous group shot, after 6 weeks of use.

I say:
This is a lovely face cream. I was worried it would be too rich for daytime as its second ingredient is shea butter. But, whatever magic they did with this cream, it does not feel greasy and did not cause break-through shine during the day. The cream provides a great base for foundation to apply on top – no pilling or breaking down with various foundations I tried. I had no issues with break-outs or sensitivity to this cream at all. The smells of this is a soft creamy vanilla and shea that isn’t offensive or lingering. The only small nit I could see is that it’s in a jar packaging which isn’t ideal but the thicker formula would not work in a tube format.  I now get all the hype around this cream! I would say this cream is suitable for dry, normal and combination skin, but not for oily skin types.

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Skincare swatches are weird. But I guess you can see the texture of the products. The day cream is thick but not heavy, and the eye cream is like a gel cream.

My favourite item out of the 4 is definitely the Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream and I would consider repurchasing it, even at full price.  My second favourite is the Joyous Night Serum, followed by the Kiwi Seed Eye Cream. My least favourite and the dud of the bunch was the Apostle Serum.  In Canada, Antipodes is available on well.ca.

Have you tried Antipodes skincare? What skincare are you currently using that you love?

53 thoughts on “Antipodes Skincare Reviews”

  3. How interesting, I never knew you could get Antipodes on Well.ca…I always thought it was one of those brands that was hard to get your hands on in North America.
    Yikes, sorry that serum didn’t work for you! The formula of that looks…interesting. Awesome that the day cream worked great for you, though (I was intrigued once I heard ‘vanilla’ in the name, lol).
    I have to get better at branching out into different skincare brands like you, because there’s so much good stuff out there. It’s not so much that I don’t think skincare from different lines won’t work well together, but I’m moreso afraid of my skin freaking out!

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    1. I didn’t know well.ca sold Antipodes until I was looking up comparable prices! I think it is a fairly recent thing that they started carrying the brand because when Antipodes exploded all on YouTube, I couldn’t find a single Canadian source.
      If there’s one product I recommend to try, it’s the Vanilla Pod day cream! I think it would be suitable for your skin type too. 🙂
      I really really miss both the Shiseido eye cream and the Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery eye cream… I’m going to go running back to both of those before the year end, I’m certain of it! 😛

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    1. Yeah I was NOT expecting that serum to look like that! 😮 I suspect that Vanilla Pod day cream will last me at least 5 months! By the way, I placed an order for that Schmidt’s deodorant, I got the Ylang-Ylang and Calendula scent!

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  6. Great reviews! I’ve been wanting to try their skincare stuff for a while! Rather strange seeing a 30ml sized eye cream! Too bad that one didn’t work out for you! It doesn’t sound like I would like it either, I much prefer thicker eye creams rather than lightweight ones! The day cream sounds lovely though!

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    1. Yes, I prefer thicker eye creams too. I think the cream cream would make a nice lightweight moisturizer for the whole face, just not the eye area, for me.
      The day cream is definitely worth checking out! 🙂

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    1. I haven’t come across these again since getting them early this year but you never know – keep an eye open for these! Yes, the Vanilla Pod day cream is the stand out product for me.

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  8. Never tried this line! Not sure how well it would work for me since I naturally have drier skin but always awesome to read about something new! Not sure I’d like the smell of boiled broccoli but it can’t be any worse than Nair! Haha 😉

    Amazing what you can find at Winners! It’s a great way to try a new line without having to pay the full retail price!

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    1. Haha yes, at least broccoli is NATURAL. I think that serum would be nice for dry skin types actually. 🙂
      Yes, Winners was full of awesome deals earlier this year. I’ve really reduced the number of times I visit now though – too tempting!

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  9. I’ve never heard of this brand but this is really interesting. I love vinegar so I might like the smell too LOL.. But I’m more interested on the Hydrating Day Cream, seemed like a great product.

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  12. Antipodes has a new line made from Manuka honey, a skin-brightening range of eye and day creams. Not sure yet if they are widely available but based on their website: http://www.antipodesnature.us/ it’s already available. I did a blogpost on this & can safely say I enjoy it as much as the vanilla pod day cream. I have accumulated a few faves from his brand, but I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the apostle serum. I’ve only heard good things about that one, but haven’t tried it myself. x

    Caryl
    http://carylalmelor.com/antipodes-introduces-manuka-honey-skin-brightening-duo/

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    1. It’s too bad the Apostle serum didn’t work for me! I was so excited for that item. I don’t doubt that many people like it – I guess our skin are all different! I’m not giving up on the serum yet, I’m going to mix it with an oil as a night treatment to use it up.
      The Manuka honey based line sounds great – I’ll have to look into whether that’s available here yet. Might have to add that to my to-try list. Thanks for the heads up, off to check out your post!

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    1. Haha I was thinking, Chanelle must know all about this brand. Isn’t it funny this is right in your own backyard and you don’t know it’s homegrown? Have you tried anything from it? I just imagine it’s so inexpensive there… but likely it’s not!

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  15. Oh that vanilla pod day cream is just divine. I am currently trying a different antipodes moisturiser, but I miss my vanilla.
    The brown serum doesn’t look or sound that appealing, but Joyous might be next on my antipodes to try list. I can also really recommend the cheaper Divine Face Oil with antipodes and rosehip oil.
    xo Anne – Doves & Roses

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    1. Yes I remember you liked the Divine Face oil, and I love rosehip oil so that sounds like a good fit for me!
      Which Antipodes moisturizer are you using?

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  17. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Antipodes Skincare Stashy, a nice open and honest blog.

    The Apostle Skin-Brightening Serum is one of our top sellers, it is a shame it didn’t work for you, as we recommend it for sensitive skin. Our beauty expert advises you keep using it, it maybe reacting with a chemical based skincare? We would love to know if you continue to try it and how it goes. #lovethearoha

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    1. I do intend to give the Apostle serum another chance. Since my skin is combination, I think the serum will be better served on my t-zone where I’ve been focusing on getting a more even skin tone. I will use the Joyous serum on my cheek area where it’s drier. It’ll be similar to the new concept of “multi-masking” but this will be “multi-serum-ing” 😛
      Thanks so much for your comment! What wonderful customer service! 🙂

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