I was interested in trying out Caudalie’s Brightening Heroes Collection after trying out the serum included in the set and experiencing great benefits, and realizing consequently that the set was the same cost as the (same size) serum with inclusion of other products.
While it was equally parts enjoyable and unfortunate to realize this in retrospect, trying out the other products featured in the collection was a pleasure, as they all provided excellent benefits with daily use.
Designed to treat signs of dull and dry skin, I noticed a visible difference with respect to hydration, brightening, overall evenness in tone following use, and a firmer yet softer complexion with use of all of the products.
Additionally, all of the included products are gluten-free, vegan, cruelty-free, and free of any parabens and sulfates.
They are also designed to treat more advanced signs of sun damage and aging, such as hyperpigmentation, loss of elasticity, and sun spots.
This review will cover the main product features of the entire collection, some ingredients in the formulations and benefits with corresponding topical use, positives and negatives to bear in mind prior to purchase, more concise reviews on the included products in the set, and a final verdict, to help you make a more informed purchasing choice prior to any point of sale.
If you’re comparison shopping and looking for other products that brighten the skin, make sure to check out our reviews on Tree Of Life’s Retinol Serum here and Thayers Witch Hazel toner here.
The Main Features
Caudalie’s Brightening Heroes Collection is a set featuring three popular products (a serum, glycolic essence and overnight renewal cream), designed to brighten the skin and treat signs of sun damage, pigmentation, sun spots, and aging concerns.
The set offers great value and is priced at the value of the serum alone, and the featured products offer advanced retroactive anti-aging benefits and can treat signs of existing sun damage on the skin.
The set is a great item as an introductory set for those new to the brand seeking to try out some popular products, makes an excellent gifting option for recipients who enjoy skincare (and is not overtly marketed as anti-aging on the packaging or design), and also makes a great item for fans of the brand or serum looking to try new products at a better value.
I found with continual daily topical use benefits included a brighter and more radiant complexion, decreased redness and breakouts, less irritation, more evenness in tone, increased hydration, and firmer yet smoother looking skin. Overall, the aesthetic was more clear and youthful.
If you’re looking to treat more advanced signs of aging and pigmentation or sun damage, I would definitely recommend trying out this set, as it offers value, and the benefits seem to really outweigh use in comparison to the vast majority of Vitamin C formulations on the market and in the category.
Ingredients and Benefits
Here is a look at some key ingredients in the product formulations and corresponding benefits with ongoing daily topical use:
Patented Viniferine
Caudalie employs a proprietary ingredient of Viniferine, which helps brighten out the skin and cannot be found in any other product or formulation, here is a look at some other key benefits with daily topical use:
- Helps fade sun spots, dark spots, discoloration and signs of sun damage
- Helps treat acne scarring
- Helps to even out skin tone and promote balance
- Helps restore radiance with
- Regulates the enzyme responsible for the overproduction of melanin
- Helps to illuminate and hydrate the skin
Olive Squalane
- Works in tandem with other ingredients in the formulation to helps restore radiance in sallow or dull skin, creates a smooth and soft glow
- Balances oil production, making it suitable for different skin types, including combination and oily types
- For dry skin, helps restore depleted hydration and provides moisture
- Helps to repair uneven skin, lines and wrinkles, and dry skin
- Feels incredibly nourishing and soothing upon application, and following treatment
- Powerful anti-aging benefits: helps minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and over time sun spots and hyper-pigmentation
- Restoring radiance, glow, and promoting a brighter and more even skin tone
- Helps fight and prevent any bacteria on the skin, anti-acne benefits and reductions in blemishes
- Helps improve the appearance of uneven skin, while restoring smoothness of texture
- Helps protect the skin from sun damage
- Helps improve the appearance of sun damage such as dark spots and pigmentation
- Helps protect the skin, forming a suitable barrier against environmental damage, and helps restore depleted hydration
- Anti-inflammatory benefits: relieves skin irritation, redness, and breakouts (has anti-inflammatory properties)
Glycolic Acid
- Acts similarly to a chemical peel for the skin, but is a much safer alternative
- Is an AHA found in sugar cane (a natural ingredient)
- Contains small molecules that are able to penetrate the skin easily, but on a deeper level
- Provides deep exfoliation benefits, detoxifies the skin and eliminates dead skin from the surface layers
- Dissolves dead skin cells, removing whiteheads, breakouts and blackheads
- Provides suitable anti-acne benefits, treats dead skin cells, cystic acne, sebum, and acne scarring
- Helps in decreasing the appearance of large pores, and minimizes the appearance of pore size in general
- Expedites collagen production, cellular turnover and elasticity in the skin
- Anti-aging benefits: reduces signs of fine lines, wrinkles, sun spots and pigmentation
- Restores healthy and natural PH balance to the skin
- Brightens skin and helps restore radiance in dull or sallow skin
- Works very quickly to provide benefits and results to the skin, in comparison to other ingredients and formulations
- Evens out texture of the skin and plumps the skin to create a more youthful aesthetic
- Helps other products absorb better following use (i.e. creams, serums)
- Must always be used in conjunction with a suitable sun protective product or SPF
The Included Products/Regimen
1 oz/ 30 mL Vinoperfect Radiance Serum
Out of all of the included products in the set, this was definitely my favorite, and it glides on to the skin easily, delivering a smooth and soft glow, free of any greasy or sticky texture. It has a soft texture that feels lovely, and a soft pleasant scent.
For Caudalie, the serum is a cult-favorite and has a loyal following, with fans claiming it treats advanced signs of aging and sun damage, outperforming similar products and Vitamin C treatments by leaps and bounds. The product is formulated with grapevine sap (claimed to be over 60 times more effective than Vitamin C treatments), which helps to restore radiance to dull and sallow skin, and improve and even out the texture of the overall complexion as well.
As an advanced anti-aging treatment for both prevention and retroactive concerns, the serum is designed to treat signs of dark spots, pigmentation, wrinkles, fine lines, and loss of elasticity.
While using this serum, I found my skin felt very soft, appeared more radiant, and was great for use in the evening, as I woke up with a more even and glowing complexion. I noticed a visible decrease in acne marks, redness, and my entire complexion seemed to be “glowing,” smooth, soft, and was definitely visibly more youthful, in terms of an overall aesthetic. There was also a noticeable decrease in pore size.
While I cannot necessarily speak to results with respect to reversing more complex or advanced signs of sun damage and age spots, other reviewers swear by the cream and claim that over time with continual daily topical use they have noticed visible improvements (with respect to pigmentation, dark spots, deep set lines, and damage accumulated over time from the sun and environment).
While this serum can certainly be used as a preventative treatment or topical brightening option, it’s ideal and recommended if you’re seeking an advanced anti-aging treatment. If you’re looking to address signs of sun damage and treat signs of hyperpigmentation, deeper set lines, and dark spots, I would definitely recommend trying out this product.
Because the cost of the serum alone is the same as the entire set, it’s advisable to invest in the entire collection, even if you’d want to use the other products as gifting options.
0.5 oz/ 15 mL Vinoperfect Overnight Renewal Cream
Designed as a night cream, this anti-aging formulation is also designed to treat signs of dullness, loss of firmness and elasticity, and smoothen out the skin.
Additional benefits include treating signs of sun damage, sun spots, pigmentation, redness on the skin, and pore size. I definitely enjoyed using this cream and felt my skin looked and felt incredibly refreshed, soft, smooth, and more radiant. Waking up after using the cream, my skin was clearer and visibly smoother, and overall seemed more youthful and even in texture.
Using this cream felt very luxurious as it was rich but still quite lightweight, and never felt greasy or sticky following application. It glided on to the skin easily, and had a pleasant but very light scent.
I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a night cream with anti-aging benefits thats hydrating on the skin but doesn’t feel greasy in texture and provides excellent benefits like restored radiance, especially if you’re experiencing sallow or dull skin. It’s also great to mix with a serum and an ideal treatment for those looking to brighten up the complexion and minimize the appearance of pore size.
1.69 oz/ 50 mL Vinoperfect Glycolic Brightening Essence
From the manufacturer, this product “instantly brightens with this effective yet gentle concentrated essence, which combines two powerhouse ingredients: glycolic acid to eliminate dead skin cells and Caudalie’s exclusive 100 percent organic grape water to soothe and hydrate. White peony extract enhances luminosity, revealing a new, fresh layer underneath dull skin. By adding this simple step to your regimen, your skincare will work better, faster, and stronger.”
Designed to be safe enough for sensitive skin, this brightening essence treatment sweeps away debris and dead skin cells to reveal fresher, softer, and younger looking skin.
I found this product was safe enough to use even with very sensitive skin, and my skin looked incredibly soft, nourished, and hydrated. My skin looked smooth, more radiant, refreshed, and youthful following use. I found this was even more effective than the SK-II essence product that is sold at a higher cost, and was slightly gentler on the skin.
I would definitely recommend this product if you’re looking for a go-to treatment essence that leaves the skin refreshed, smooth, and more radiant.
Positives and Negatives
While I did not experience many negatives with the use of the set and felt the entire collection provided great benefits with use as well as value and longevity, here are some key pros and cons to bear in mind prior to purchase:
Pros
- Products are all formulated with clean ingredients and free of any parabens, sulfates, harsh chemical additives, or dyes
- Vegan and cruelty-free company: products are not tested on any animals and no animal product is used in any product formulation or during any company manufacturing processes, including beeswax
- All products are gluten-free, for those with allergies or sensitivities to that ingredient
- Excellent value in comparison to retail, at under $80, the set values for $115 as sold as separate pieces
- All products included in the set are designed to treat signs of hyperpigmentation, dull skin, and dark spots
- For those with sallow skin, all of the included products help restore glow and promote radiance and a more youthful aesthetic
- Anti-aging benefits: all of the included products help treat signs of sun damage, loss of firmness and elasticity, promote collagen production, and treat signs of fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots on the skin
- All of the included products are suitable for those with any skin type, including dry, normal, combination, and oily
- Barring any irritation to an ingredient in the formulation, the products are safe for those with sensitive skin and topical conditions, and did not cause any redness, breakouts, reaction, or irritation to my sensitive and acne-prone skin type
- Products help in reducing acne, new breakout formations, and acne scarring
- Great item as an introductory product for those new to the brand, seeking to try out some bestselling skincare items and most popular products
- Great item as a gift for the holiday season, for a recipient who enjoys skincare
- Great item if you’re a fan of the serum or other products, as the set is priced at the cost of the serum alone (with the addition of the other products included)
- All products have a very subtle yet clean scent, devoid of any harsh perfume or chemical odor
Cons
- With the use of the essence product, it’s very important to spot test prior to use, and as with any product containing glycolic acid, SPF use the following day is a must (also, while this should be safe and suitable for sensitive skin, some will always be sensitive to this ingredient, so again, spot testing is a must)
- While the set does offer great value and longevity even with continual daily topical use, many would still not consider it cheap for the product category, however it is important to bear in mind the formulations are very high quality ingredients and the items will last for several months even with continual daily topical use
Money-Back Guarantee
Especially considering one of the items contains a glycolic ingredient, the return policy in this case may be a highly important factor for you if you do have sensitivities.
The manufacturer, Caudalie, has a strong return and exchange policy that honors full refunds upon dissatisfaction or allergy, and this policy favors the consumer, both new and returning. If you are dissatisfied with the use of the products, or if they do not work for your skin to provide suitable skincare, brightening or anti-aging benefits, or you experience any product allergy or reaction to the formulations, you may elect to return the set at any time.
In this case, you will receive a full refund equal to the entire purchase price of the item.
The Final Verdict
If you’re seeking an introductory item that offers longevity and value from a great line (that is both vegan and gluten-free), seeking products with brightening benefits to address signs of aging, pigmentation, and sun damage, or seeking a gifting option this year for a recipient who enjoys skincare, I would highly recommend this set.
It’s also a great product if you’re already a fan of the serum, as it is sold at the same retail value with other included products. All included products are safe and effective for the skin and suitable for varying skin types, including those with sensitive skin, barring any specific allergies to ingredients contained in the product formulations.
If you’re looking for skincare products that are equally parts effective and clean, and provide benefits quickly and work well together in tandem, I would recommend this set free of any reservations.
Highly recommended!
