Almay Kinetin Skin Smoothing Foundation
Written: Jun 12 '02 (Updated Jun 12 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good texture, contains sunscreen, not oily or dry
Cons: Bad scent, controversial ingredient
The Bottom Line: I can tentatively recommend it because it's not a terrible product
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| tiasmom's Full Review: Almay Kinetin Skin Smoothing Foundation |
Lots of cosmetics companies are coming out with tiny try-it sized packages that let you test products like foundation without having to touch makeup that 100 other people touched. This is a hygienic alternative to the regular makeup testers and lets you see whether the makeup is something you would be interested in purchasing in a full sized bottle. I’ve purchased several of these trial sized bottles and have ended up buying the full size in some cases. This is one time when I’m relieved I was able to try the makeup first. It’s not that I think it’s terrible, but it’s just not something I would want to spend $10 on. Actually $10 is on the low end of the price list for this. I can get it for that price but have seen it cost even more than that online.
Description
Almay Hypo-Allergenic Kinetin Skin Smoothing Foundation is part of Almay’s Kinetin line of skincare products. The SPF 15 foundation contains kinetin. This ingredient is billed as an anti-aging ingredient found in green plants. Almay claims it is formulated with 100% botanical kinetin derived from green leafy plants. The ingredient Titanium Dioxide, FDA approved to block UVA and UVB rays (not all of them do) makes up the SPF 15 in the foundation.
Here is a list of claims taken from the packaging:
Luminous, line-smoothing coverage for smoother, younger looking skin
Smoothes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles with lightweight coverage and a luminous finish
Evens skin tone and improves skin clarity
Skin feels firmer and more resilient with continued use
Helps skin appear younger
Ingredients: Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide 7.15 %, Zinc Oxide 2.1%
Other Ingredients: Water, Cyclomethicone, Propylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Boron Nitride, Polyglyceryl-4, Isostearate, Cetyl Dimethicone Copolyol, Nylon-12, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Magnesium Sulfate, Dimethicone Copolyol, Kinetin, Methicone, Laureth-7, Tribehenin, Gingko Biloba, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Green Tea Extract, Centaurea Cyanus Flower Extract, Grapeseed Extract, Silica, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Polyglyceryl-6, Polyricinoleate, Aluminum Stearate, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Licorice Root Extract, Chamomile Roman Extract, Clary Extract, Geranium Bourbon Extract, Rosa Damascena Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, SD Alcohol 40-B, Tetrasodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. May contain: Iron Oxides, Mica.
This is a decent foundation with several good qualities but I just can’t get past the scent. Although they claim it is fragrance free, it’s far from it. It just doesn’t contain any added fragrance to mask the scent. I feel it has a strong, weird chemical scent, which tends to linger for a while. Fortunately it does disappear eventually though. While it would not prevent me from using the foundation if the price were a little lower, it would prevent me from paying what I consider to be several dollars more than I’d prefer.
Other Features
There are 10 shades from Pale (01) to Caramel (10). There are lots of good neutral shades to choose from and the color goes on true, not overly light or dark in comparison to its appearance in the tube. My trial sizes are in Sand (05), a medium beige tone that is a good match for my skin tone.
It’s a creamy, gel-like formula with a light texture that is neither heavy nor chalky. It blends in very well and disappears into the skin. The coverage is medium. There is no greasy feel and no drying either. Also, it is: Oil Free * Non-Irritating * Non-Comedogenic * Dermatologist and Allergy Tested * Suitable for Sensitive Skin. Oddly, even though these claims are made, the back of the tube still has the standard warnings about not using it if a rash or irritation appears. I’ll write more about the kinetin ingredient, and what has been said about it later. I’m not so sure it is as non-irritating as Almay claims.
The full size bottles come with an applicator attached to the screw top cap. It’s just a small sponge on a stick and I have no idea why it is included. You’d still have to touch it to your skin so I can’t see how it would eliminate many germs. And you certainly can’t use it to rub the makeup in, only to apply it one dot at a time. Also, the full sized bottle is glass.
More on Kinetin
This information is my summary of what Paula Begoun, author of Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me has to say about kinetin in a recent newsletter.
It seems Almay is not the only company to launch products containing this ingredient. The Body Shop has a line called Skin ReLeaf as well. While Almay makes claims about rejuvenating the skin, The Body Shop is promoting theirs with the skin’s overall health in mind.
The first time the ingredient was used in a product called Kinerase Lotion 53, priced at $77 for 1.8 once. This lotion was not associated with Almay. After that, a department store line called Osmotics put out a version for $78 per 1.7 ounce. Now that it’s in the mass market the price has come down considerably.
Paula Begoun calls the ingredient a “hyped skin-care ingredient” along the lines of Vitamin A, Beta Glucan, Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Copper, CoEnzyme Q-10 and Mushroom Extracts. But it’s more controversial because of the potential risk to the skin the others don’t have. The risks are not being discussed by the cosmetic companies, obviously, but essentially the consumer is being used as a guinea pig.
Kinetin’s scientific name is N6-furfuryladenine. It is a plant hormone responsible for cell division. As a "natural" skin-care ingredient it is primarily being promoted as having been clinically proven to reduce the signs of aging, improve sun damage, reduce the appearance of capillaries, and other benefits. But while there is plenty of research on the kinetin’s effects when it comes to plants, in test tubes and on flies, there is no published research regarding the ingredient applied topically on human or animal skin. She suggests you check Pub Med’s database. Though The Body Shop, Almay and Osmotics claims there have been clinical studies on kinetin (specifically 2 of them) neither has been published. The company who sponsored the research was Senetek, the licensing company for kinetin.
According to MedFaq.com, an internet source that evaluates the legitimacy of medical research, the data is less convincing than Senetek claims. The two studies paid for by Senetek were both done by Dr. Jerry L. McCullough, professor of dermatology, University of California, Irvine. According to MedFaq, "The first study was well-designed-there was a control group and [it was done] double-blind.... After 24 weeks, a good response was noted in 30% of the subjects treated with kinetin... [but] there was no statistically significant difference between the people taking kinetin and the people just getting the placebo." Another study was then performed that did not use a placebo control group, but in which everyone was using a product that contained some amount of kinetin. Not surprisingly, in this protocol the results for skin were much better. "Essentially all of the subjects reported improvement after 24 weeks..." regardless of how much kinetin the product contained. As MedFaq states, "This outcome could also have a variety of causes unrelated to kinetin: It could reflect an improvement over time, a change across seasons, the subjects' enthusiasm, or it could have been caused by the cream or lotion the kinetin is in. In the first study, all of the subjects followed 'a standard skin care regimen consisting of a gentle-skin cleanser and daily use of sunscreen.' If that regimen was followed in the second experiment, it too might explain the improvement."
Aside from the claims that kinetin improves skin, which may or may not be true, there is published research that kinetin may cause problems for skin cells. According to Dr. Suresh I. S. Rattan, PhD, DSc, Associate Professor of Biogerontology at the Universit of Aarhus, Denmark, who has researched kinetin extensively in test tubes, he has said, "Topically no one knows how or if N6-furfuryladenine is being taken up or used by the cell... [but] We are curious about negative effects... In cell cultures when a concentration of, say, 250 micromolars of N6-furfuryladenine was used, we got good results, but when we used 500 micromolars of N6-furfuryladenine, the cells started dying." In other studies Rattan conducted where flies were fed kinetin they sometimes lived but they also died if the dose was just varied slightly.
Paula Begoun feels that even if kinetin were proven to have benefits, there probably isn’t enough in any product to have any sort of impact at all, but admits that is only a guess. She admits that it is a strong antioxidant. And since oxidative damage to the skin is a theory as to why skin wrinkles and ages, it could improve the skin in some ways. But she goes on to say that there are many other antioxidants like Vitamin C, A, green tea, grape extract, etc, that don’t have any potential risks.
Bottom Line
Almay Skin Smoothing Foundation is a decent, though smelly, foundation. There is a good choice of shades and it goes on evenly. The fact that it has SPF 15 is a good thing and I haven’t had any problems with greasiness, drying or irritation. If you don’t mind the fact that not a lot is known about the chemical kinetin, you may want to try it, especially if you feel it could help fine lines and wrinkles. I honestly can’t say whether it will or not since I don’t have many lines to begin with and didn’t use it for a long period of time. I used up two trial sized tubes. The tubes are available in many places where Almay is sold, but you may have to look around. Kinetin is more difficult to find in trial sizes than their other foundations. If you find it, the price listed on the packaging is $1.72. It’s a good way to test out makeup and see if you are satisfied.
I’m going to pass on this makeup in the future, but only because I can find makeup that costs the same or cheaper that I am more satisfied with. This wouldn’t prevent me from not recommending it to others though, because a makeup has to be pretty bad before I do that. But overall, it’s a decent product.
Recommended:
Yes
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tiasmom
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