March 3, 2011

Is Vitacreme B12 the most overhyped product in Japan? Damn Straight It Is!

A famous Japanese actress made Vitacreme B12 one of the most hyped up skincare products I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. The claims of renewed skin cells, diminishing age lines and existing wrinkles, and just generally making skin look amazing are just a few of the urban legends that surround this moisturizer or at least in my experience they are urban legends.

I’ve been using the cream on and off for a few years and recently had an e-mail from a reader asking me if I had ever tried it.

Damn straight I have and no it doesn’t jump rope and chew gum at the same time.

Here’s the deal according to the Muse!

I’m not a chemist or a scientist, my thoughts and impressions are based on using the product for about…mm 3 or 4 years now. For some reason I’m a glutton for punishment and continue to buy it when I run out.

Supposedly Vitamin B12 has deep penetrating capabilities and not only will it moisturize your skin but also helps to regenerate it.

The product is made and was discovered in Sweden but became extremely popular in Asia particularly Japan after a Japanese Actress spoke about it in an interview. Yeah, we know how that goes. A celeb says it’s good and we jump on the bandwagon right away, been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

Vitacreme B12 itself proclaims that it will do all of the following amazing tricks:

  • Stimulates renewal of skin cells
  • Hydrates and softens skin tissues
  • Rejuvenates and improves skin elasticity and firmness
  • Revitalizes and diminishes age lines and existing wrinkles
  • Helps to prevent premature wrinkles
  • Repairs and rebalances the skin’s natural defense system
  • Relieves and soothes chapped skin
  • Smoothes or attenuates new or old scars
  • Helps prevent peeling after a sunburn

I’m trying to think back how long ago it was that I actually purchased my first tube and I think it might have been my first visit and stay in Thailand that I was originally introduced to the cream. It cost me around $25-$30 and I remember being quite excited about how amazing it was going to make my skin.

The cream comes in a toothpaste style tube and actually kinda looks like toothpaste when you squeeze it out as it’s pink in color. It has a fragrance that’s been described as overpowering but I find it very pleasant. I think the scent is best described as fresh and floral but a little medicine-y as well if that makes sense.

It’s funny as to read the instructions the cream sounds like a really serious affair. They suggest using it only once a day only and proceeding to work up to twice a day (AM and PM). It almost sounds like it might be TOO strong to use twice daily that you have to gradually work into it. Bull. Sorry but personally I thought it was extremely gentle! It absorbs easily, hydrates my dry skin very nicely, and feels gentle enough to use twice daily without any issues. According to the instructions you should stop it if irritation occurs but I never experienced any issues and have been using it happily for years now with a hiccup. Of course, my skin is super dry sans any sensitives so if you’re sensitive to be aware should you try it.

So was it a miracle? Is your skin glowing now? Are you wrinkle free?

Honestly, aside from being a great day cream and a nice night cream my skin has never seen any other wow aspiring results and this is after using the product religiously for several months and now years later when I use it on and off again I still see no dramatic results or differences.

Results will vary I guess…

From ravings I heard most folks don’t have my skin type that have seen incredible results. They seem to have acne problems, acne scarring, etc…and have seen great results thanks to Vitacreme B12. I personally don’t have these issues. Mostly I was hopeful it would hydrate and ease dullness and perhaps be a great aid in the fight against aging skin. I can’t speak for the aging part but I will say it hydrates well but my dullness, well, it’s still sticking around.

Have I seen some incredible glow from Vitacreme B12?

Naaa…

Doubt I ever will.

Probably one of the most overhyped products I’ve tried in my makeup life.

Anyone ever try it?

What amazing results did you see?

Which not so amazing ones did you experience?

Do share some of your funniest experiments with overhyped beauty products!

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

    • the Muse

      you prob see better results geo as at least you’re consuming the supplement ;D ha!

  • Nunuiviet

    How funny I read about this cream in a French beauty blog like a few days ago.it’s become very popular in japan because miss japan ( which year is it already?) used it and beauty magazines and gossip spread the word then it reached other parts of Asia such as south Korea, hong kong, china, Taiwan etc… But muse you who have tried it already should be more qualified to talk about it . Maybe you’re right some products work wonders for some people and for some others don’t do a single thing…

    • Nunuiviet

      Oh I tried the whitening serum from paul and Joe and there were a lot of good reviews about it, like a woman said that it had made her skin face two shades whiter than her skin neck etc… I tried the serum and did not see any results plus I found it too comedogenic.

      • the Muse

        aww nunu those claims are always too GRAND for me. Two shades whiter? seriously that’s way too grand ;D!

        • reeder

          I’ve actually gone through a full bottle now and it has helped to fade my acne scars. Freckles are a bit less pigmented. My face and my neck still mostly match in color and I don’t use serum down my neck.

          I’d buy it again because I enjoy the consistency, bottle, and I think it has reasonable results.

          Fading your skin in before/afters takes basically some better lighting 😉

    • the Muse

      sadly nada here after a few years of use Nunu. I seriously think it’s overhyped as hell :D!

  • anna

    I’ve been wanting to try this cause I’ve got issues with acne and acne scarring… where do you get yours from muse?

    • the Muse

      Hi Anna I used to get it from a friend in Japan but I found a small beauty shop in Flushing that carries it. Are you in NY?

      • anna

        Darn… no I’m not I’m in LA. I’ve been looking at ebay but I’m a bit weary of purchasing it off ebay cause I don’t know if its fake or not. How much do they go for in Japan? I can try asking my friends cousin to get it for me.

        • the Muse

          oh gosh anna you should be able to snag some somewhere in Orange County or SF if you get there! ;-D CA has some larger Asian communities with various shops ;-D Imomoko is a good shop to get it from, I think she charges around $35. Japan it’s around $25-$30.

          • anna

            I’ve searched the Asian beauty shops near me but I could never find it, but I never really thought to go to the OC… dunno why but I didn’t. Thanks Muse!

          • the Muse

            my pleasure anna ;-D I find CA has some great shops when it comes to Asian beauty ;-D I bet you’ll find it!!!!!!!!! Plus the OC isn’t too far off from LA area.

          • Maria

            I’m not trying to be nosy. But I don’t know why people never thought of sasa.com cuz if wanna try for the first time it got the best price $22

          • the Muse

            maria it always seem OOS on Sasa but yup good place to buy just the damn shipping takes ages :-/

  • Audris

    Overhyped is SO RIGHT. I tried it out last year after reading all the hype about it. It didn’t work miracles on my oily/normal combination skin. It works ok as a light cream, although it doesn’t sink in fast enough for my liking. I tried it on rough areas of my feet where they peel slightly. Nope, no miracles there too.

    Passed the rest of the tube to my mum who has eczema on her hands. Nope, didn’t work too.

    • the Muse

      LOL Audris ;-D I used it for a good 7 months daily, am and pm, NO results ;-D it absorbs fairly fast for me and I actually still buy and use it on and off b/c I like the texture and formula, it’s a great lightweight moisturizer, but as far as miracles? NO freaking way!

  • sugar sugar

    i have constantly tried overhyped products that just weren’t worth the money… 🙁 one of the recent and most over-hyped product IMO is the bb cream. :p when it first came out i was sooo excited to try it! imagine my horror when i saw a gray cast on my face LOL! xD
    when raves about vitacreme b12 came out i waited to see how people would react and sure enough it got mixed reviews. :/

  • Karrie

    I have always wanted to try this. And after reading your review, I think I will pass. I guess I was hoping this was a mircle cream.

  • Quinctia

    If, and only if, B12 did ALL of those things it’s hyped up to do, you’d still have to ingest it to see those effects. Your skin is made to keep things out of the rest of your body, after all. So you’re not going to regenerate or nourish the deeper tissue by rubbing something on the outside.

    If it’s a good moisturizing cream, that’ll at least cover the softness and soothing parts! Maybe the sunburn stuff, too, but I swear by slathering on Noxema as a cream if you’ve got a sunburn. 😀

  • Jen

    I wanted to try this cream for awhile, but when i saw how expensive it was.. I didn’t purchase it. Way too expensive and way over hyped. I’d crush my B vitamins and apply it topically on my skin for results.. LOL =p

  • Tina

    Darling Muse, just a quick note on this: It was formulated in Switzerland, not Sweden 🙂 I live in Sweden and had never heard of it before and googled it.

    Intersting product though. Well, I guess we just need to realise that there are no miracle cures, but this sounds well worth trying at least.

    • the Muse

      thanks tina, I get a rush things sometimes and def make mistakes 😉

  • regina

    well the egyptian magic cream never really worked for me it just kinda sat there heavy on my skin and it doesnt absorb very well leaving me with a greasy feeling in the morning. it promised a lot of good stuff but none of it happened to me…i guess im not the right skin type either?

  • jamie

    lol ur so funny muse. i have tried this on and off too and i feel that i does slightly improve my skin if i stick to it for a couple of days. but this stuff feels really weird on my skin… its greasy and yet doesnt moisturize my skin at all… i only use it as a night cream and maybe just a night “serum” because it would be too rich + not moisturizing enough if i use it as a cream. i still need to follow up with a hydrating cream like my holy grail darphin cream! hhee

    and also this could’ve caused some breakouts, i’m not exactly sure lol

    • the Muse

      hehe jamie glad you think so chica! it’s pretty moisturizing for me but my skin is so dry lately I could pour olive oil on it and still feel tight :D! I wish it did everything it claims to do!

  • vee

    Omg and I was gonna buy this, thinking it’ll give me nice skin! haha. Muse, this is random but have you ever ordered things off Sasa? I’m hesitant on whether or not to shop there! o;

  • Shannon

    There was so much hype about this product that I ended up grabbing it on ebay (doesn’t look like there are any fakes of this product on ebay (yet??? lol) and some other beauty bloggers seemed to have grabbed it off ebay as well so I’m not too too worried). The scent really is strong! I don’t hate it or anything, it actually smells really good, but I was surprised how strong the scent was compared to all the other skincare products i’ve used that i think tend to emphasize the lack of scents or at least lesser scented.

    i was also surprised, when i first opened it, that it’s PINK. XD

    i have oily skin, and while this absorbs nicely, I seem to have negative reaction to it. D: I can’t tell but it seemed like the few times i tried to use it (and only use a little bit) I may have started to break out a little. but this was also during the period when Tide was causing havok on my face and I had the most painful time trying to figure out what it was.

    the one noticeable thing is, even though i don’t use it near my eyes, it causes the inner corner (ie where most people put the highlight to bring light to their eyes) itches like crazy! i’ve had similar symptom from BE’s regular mineral fdnt (the one with bismuth). Does this thing have Bismuth? i think it also made the skin there weak or something because immediately the next day the inner corner of my eyes stung because the skin there cracked a little. :\

    i’m gonna give this a few more try once my skin completely calmed down (now that i’ve switched away from Tide), but so far not too happy!