PATYKA Huile Absolue – Easily A Holy Grail Material

Oh, my goodness. Where to start.

Before I go in, let me just say that I felt extremely lucky and floored to be one of the first few people who can try PATYKA’s products and it has been a blast so far. This luxury organic Parisian brand (ECOCERT) is truly a breath of fresh air to the local mainstream market. With gorgeous boxes and nifty packaging, down to the formulations, they’re a complete package. I am really excited about their presence in Indonesia and I hope they continue to be.

If you’re a skincare junkie, especially if you appreciate niche (and cleaner) brands, PATYKA is worth the attention. They have quite a broad range of products to suit different skin types. There’s something that bounds to catch your attention. Albeit, they’re not the most accessible before but now we can get them at C&F online website (C&F is the company that brings PATYKA in). I am also still begging them to start carrying the products in more retail brick-and-mortar stores so more people can play around with the testers.

Out of everything I’ve tried, there is one hero product that is worth the reps and I need to share to you firsthand.
That is PATYKA Huile Absolue* and I absolutely adore it!

PATYKA Huile Absolue is a skin booster serum, in the form of oil, consists of multiple plant-based oils and extracts. It can be used on the face, body, and hair. This is quite a pricey oil at IDR 880,000 / 49 € / USD 70. But, we’re getting 50 ml instead of the usual 30 ml. At this point, I’ve never used it anywhere else but my face. This oil is already getting a lot of mileage on my face alone.

Ingredients: Squalane, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil*, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil*, Simmondsia Chinesis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Parfum (Fragrance)*, Geraniol**, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil*, Tocopherol, Limonene**, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Citronellol**, Hypericum Perforatum (St. John’s Wort) Extract*, Linalool**, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Citrus Reticulata (Tangerine) Peel Oil.

*Ingredients from Organic Farming
**Made using organic ingredients

100% of the total ingredients are from natural origin

59,4% of the total ingredients are from Organic Farming

I notice it has a fragrance (natural). From what I can read in the box, it is a combination of Geranium, Santal and Neroli essential oils. PATYKA Huile Absolue lends this energizing scent but not too heavy or herbal. I personally enjoy the scent, a lot. It definitely doesn’t scream “perfume”, if you know what I mean. I received quite a few feedback from my followers who bought this oil and said they love the scent too.

Looking at its ingredient list, I have a feeling this can work on a lot of people. The main ingredient is vegetal Squalane. Not to be confused with Squalene (with an e). Squalane is the hydrogenated version of Squalene. Essentially, Squalane is a part of Squalene. Squalane is created to make the molecules more stable. This protects the lipid against oxidation, prevents it to go rancid at a faster rate hence, providing a longer shelf life. Cosmetics brand usually will opt for Squalane because of its stability. The controversy here is that both are still commonly sourced from deep-sea shark livers. Sad, I know. However, technology has allowed manufacturers to produce them from plants such as Olive, Rice Bran, Wheat Germ, Amaranth Seed, etc.

I’ll provide few links here for you to read:

• https://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Article/2014/04/25/Squalane-versus-squalene-are-you-aware-of-what-you-may-be-paying-for
• http://www.skinactives.com/blog/?p=516
• https://www.truthinaging.com/review/what-is-it-squalane
• http://beautyhuile.blogspot.co.id/2012/05/squalane-vs-squalene.html

Clearly, PATYKA Huile Absolue uses the plant-based Squalane. – Gosh, I hope I don’t confuse you now.

There are so many benefits of this oil alone. Actually, our own skin produces this naturally but it decreases after we hit 23-25 years old. Hey, we do age. No need to freak out. What makes Squalane great is that it mimics skin’s own lipids with making it compatible with many skin types. Squalane is an excellent moisturizer. It replenishes surface skin lipids, making the skin soft and smooth. It also improves suppleness and skin’s elasticity. This antioxidant prevents UV damage (and the formation of age spots) and increases cell turnover. It permeates/absorbs into the skin quickly. As the main carrier oil, this is a plus point.

Then it has Rosa Canina, or as we know as Rosehip Oil. Ah, this needs no introduction. A favorite for many, including myself. It’s present in my first love Trilogy Rosehip Oil Antioxidant+ and many other face/beauty oils. Its regenerative quality with essential fatty acids is famously prized among face oil lovers.

Not just that, other oils also serve more goodness too. Loads of antioxidants. Sesame Seed Oil is high in linoleic and palmitic acid, making it a great anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. Jojoba Oil is another all-rounder moisturizer. Olive Oil is nourishing on the skin. Sunflower Seed Oil possesses high vitamin E and a good source of beta-carotene. St. John’s Wort Extract rejuvenates and stimulates the skin.

In short, gorgeous oils here.

The only minor concern is Wheat Germ Oil which has a higher comedogenic rate, despite its wonderful benefits (vitamin E, tocopherols, anti-inflammatory). But since it’s quite at the bottom, it should be fairly safe. However, if you’re known to have reactions to it, best to steer clear.

Taken from the website:

Huile Absolue stimulates cell regeneration and gives skin unique radiance. It is a skin booster which can be used as a skincare treatment when urgent TLC is required or as an everyday serum for the face, body and hair.

Based on my experience, it does all of the above. A booster and maintains the (face) skin’s overall health.

For me, PATYKA Huile Absolue definitely falls into an everyday face oil. Night and day. It makes my skin soft and keeps it moisturized. Dewy finish comes with it. That’s for sure. Slips in effortlessly into my skincare routine, no matter what the situation is. Whether I have normal or crappy skin day. I’ve tried and used this on many different occasions and I find that it never does anything bad. It’s just very friendly. My skin adores Huile Absolue, through and through. It is one of those, look-good-feel-good products.

It creates a smoother canvas underneath makeup. Hides dryness and brings extra radiance. It’s balancing my combination-dehydrated skin and it doesn’t make my skin overly oily at the end of the day, except when I’m sweating. For those of you who think wearing face oil for daytime is too much, this is not true, at least for me. It’s just a matter of finding the right type of oil with the right type of viscosity that will suit your skin and day-to-day activities.

I can’t say what it does to the body and hair. But, one of my followers (thank you, Dhany!) told me that she’s currently on bottle number 2! She uses this oil on her body and finds that her old scar marks on her knees and calves are fading away. It’s supposedly good for softening the stretch marks too.

Consistency-wise, Huile Absolue is a slightly less viscous than Leahlani Champagne Serum. It’s no surprise that I love using this in the morning so shifting to Huile Absolue with a lighter feel is very much welcomed. Now, I know some of you will ask for a comparison. Truth is, I love them both! They work on my skin and I’m very happy about that. Another truth is, I don’t like to compare products, mainly because I believe each product has its own merits and should be appreciated the way it is. It’s only fair. I don’t need to emphasize that products work differently on different skins (and situations).

Patyka Huile Absolue is one of my key staples for prepping my skin to its best for the wedding day. There’s a time where I’d use this religiously every night (for daytime, I switched in between) for almost a month and my skin couldn’t have been more thankful for it. Because of that, I decided to use this on the wedding day before I get my makeup done in the morning. I was confident in how my skin looks and it’s the best feeling! – of course, the credit goes to ALL of the efforts I had been doing throughout the prep.

The bright yellow color.

Regardless of the “serum” name, PATYKA Huile Absolue sits in the face oil realm for me. Therefore, I still apply a water-based serum underneath first then sealing it in with this oil (in lieu of conventional moisturizer). If you need extra moisture/protection, feel free to layer an additional moisturizer/cream on top. Mixing the two together seems a little tricky though as one pump of oil is already a lot and it’s not an easy feat trying to pump less. One pump is more than enough for the whole face and neck. Then I bring whatever is left to the decolletage, arms, and elbows.

My recent favorite thing to do is actually mixing more oils into PATYKA Huile Absolue. It’s a great vessel for carrying more nutrients. The ones I love to add into are Trilogy No.15 Limited Edition Beauty Oil and Odacité Pa+G. Before you ask whether it’s too much, let me make my case. Both oils are lightweight. Odacité Pa+G is meant to be mixed because of its potency. Trilogy No.15 (which I will review soon, hopefully) is actually too lightweight for my own liking, it’s giving nowhere enough moisture to my skin. Hence, adding them into PATYKA Huile Absolue give me the extra benefits sans heaviness. WIN.

Instead of Avène Eau Thermale, I’ve been loving Caudalie Grape Water to be mixed with the oil (all oils basically) and I think I would like to stick with Caudalie from now on. The difference may be marginal but I feel I’m adding extra benefits instead of just water 😀

Without a doubt, PATYKA Huile Absolue is one of the best skincare products I’ve used in 2017 and one of my holy grails for face oil. What excites me the most is how such a product (and the whole brand) is accessible to us, Indonesians. We all know how often we feel left out by not having a wide range of selection in terms of beauty products. Skin care. Ugh, I used to be frustrated hence scouring from overseas. So, whenever I see a potential brand entering the Indonesian market (whether it’s imported or local), the doors are always open! Hopefully, you can relate to my excitement here.

I usually deter from making recommendations, but I’ll make an exception once in a while. If you love face oils or just starting to jump on the face oil bandwagon, if it’s within your budget, you need to check out Huile Absolue. In fact, while you’re at it, I implore you to check PATYKA’s whole line up!

Disclosure: I received this as a PR sample. All opinions, good and bad, are mine as always. I’m not under obligation to review or write anything about it but I love it so much that I feel obligated to share it with YOU ;)