Our skin looked instantly more plump and hydrated after the first use of the Vichy 89 serum. The more we then used the serum, during our six-week Vichy 89 serum review period, the longer this lasted and the healthier our skin looked. As the smart mirror results prove.
Notably, the Vichy serum significantly improved the appearance of our wrinkles, red spots, dark spots, roughness/texture, and dark circles. By some of the biggest jumps, we’ve ever seen with any other product.
The serum played well with all the other skincare products in our routine, and it didn’t once cause pilling. Nor did it irritate our sensitive skin.
However, we did experience a few days of breakouts. This surprised us because there isn’t anything in the serum that we’ve had problems with before. Nor are there any red flags in the ingredient list that would suggest it causes breakouts.
It can be common for your skin to experience something known as purging when you add a new product. This is largely a good thing because it means your skin is getting rid of all the congestion and gunk, and it’s usually in response to using a peel or exfoliant.
The Vichy Mineral 89 serum does contain citric acid in very small amounts and citric acid is used to exfoliate the skin and get rid of dead cells. The benefit of this ingredient is that it smooths the skin and helps other ingredients penetrate deeper into the skin. This may explain the breakout. Plus, once the spots cleared, our skin looked better than it did before.
The formula is lightweight and absorbs quickly and its relatively minimal formula – free from parabens, fragrances, and alcohol – makes it a great option for those with sensitive or reactive skin.
With regular use, we’d be surprised if you didn’t see a noticeable improvement in the look and feel of your skin, making Vichy Mineral 89 a must-have in your skincare arsenal.
| Boots | £26 |
| Lookfantastic | £27.50 |
In our Vichy Mineral 89 serum review, we discover why the product has gained such a cult following
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How we tested Vichy Mineral 89 Serum
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Vichy Mineral 89 Serum Before and After
Vichy Mineral 89 Serum review video
Vichy Laboratories is an OG in the skincare world.
For more than 90 years, the brand has been at the forefront of innovation in the beauty industry thanks to its science-based, dermatologically tested formulas.
The entire range was built on the discovery of an ingredient called Vichy Thermal Mineralizing Water, by Dr. Propser Haller in 1931.
A man who would later go on to launch the first-ever serum into pharmacies and high-street stores and was a pioneer of the idea behind skincare routines for different skin types.
Vichy Mineralizing Thermal Water is still the brand’s flagship ingredient and one of its most iconic, bestselling products is the Vichy Mineral 89.
Like with all Vichy products, the Mineral 89 Serum is made with natural ingredients and is designed to suit all skin types.
It’s not cheap, at £26, but it’s cheaper than many other brands that promise the same benefits.
Plus it’s the only serum that’s been approved by the British Skin Foundation.
To see if the Vichy Mineral 89 lives up to the hype and the brand’s long-standing reputation, we’ve spent the past six weeks using it morning and night for our Vichy Mineral 89 serum review.
Buy now from Boots
There are four products in the Vichy Mineral 89 range these include:
Every product in the Mineral 89 range is suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin, and they work particularly well if your skin barrier has become damaged.
mamabella | mamabella The Vichy Mineral 89 serum gets its name from the fact it contains 89% Vichy Mineralizing Thermal Water
What is Vichy Mineral 89 Serum? The Vichy Mineral 89 serum gets its name from the fact it contains 89% Vichy Mineralizing Thermal Water – the highest concentration in any product in the Vichy range. The water comes from the volcanoes of Auvergne and contains 15 minerals. It then sits alongside the highest concentration of hyaluronic acid in any Vichy product. This formula has been designed to hydrate, nourish and protect the skin from pollution, stress, and other external stressors.
Vichy Mineral 89 Serum price: £26 (50ml); £35 (75ml)
How to use Vichy Mineral 89 Serum: Vichy recommends applying two pumps of the Mineral 89 serum to freshly cleansed skin.
When to use Vichy Mineral 89 Serum: AM and PM daily.
Who should use Vichy Mineral 89 Serum? Suitable for all skin types.
Where to buy: Boots | Cult Beauty | Sephora
Vichy Mineral 89 Serum alternatives: While there are cheaper hyaluronic acid serums on the market – and some, including the Cos de Baha Hyaluronic Acid and The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Serum perform better than the Vichy Mineral 89 – there isn’t a direct alternative because no other products contain Vichy Mineralizing Thermal Water.
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For our Vichy Mineral 89 Serum review, we added it to our regular skincare routine in place of our usual serum for six weeks. The rest of the products remained the same and are used every day. This meant that should we have a reaction or similar, then it’s likely to have been caused by the Vichy serum.
We applied two pumps morning and night to freshly cleansed, damp skin before any other serum or moisturiser. In the morning, we followed with the Face & Base Gel Priming Moisturiser, and Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Watery Gel SPF 50. At night, we applied the Vichy serum before the F&B moisturiser.
At the start of the review, we scanned our skin using our smart mirror. We then repeated this scan after the six-week trial had ended. We also made notes of any irritation or breakouts we experienced throughout the review period.
FURTHER READING: How we test skincare to see if it lives up to its claims
mamabella The formula is lightweight and absorbs quickly and its relatively minimal formula – free from parabens, fragrances, and alcohol – makes it a great option for those with sensitive or reactive skin
The Vichy Mineral 89 serum contains very few ingredients, relatively speaking, than a large majority of the skincare product we test and review.
The most abundant ingredient is the Vichy Mineralizing Thermal Water. This makes up the large bulk of this product. It’s then joined by just 10 other ingredients, seven of which are humectants.
Humectants help attract and hold moisture in the skin, sort of like a sponge. Many humectants found in the best toners, serums, and moisturisers are what’s known as skin-identical, this is because they mimic the humectants found naturally in the skin to help boost their impact and reduce the chances of irritation. This is what makes the Vichy serum great for sensitive skin.
The main humectants and moisturising ingredients found in the Vichy serum include:
Humectants on their own don’t necessarily help hydrate the skin. They can only draw moisture that’s already there. If we continue the sponge analogy, if you put a sponge on a dry surface, it wouldn’t have anything to absorb.
When paired with the Mineralizing Water in the Vichy serum, however, these humectants draw that water into the skin and hold it there to maintain hydration.
Vichy recommends applying two pumps of the Mineral 89 serum to freshly cleansed skin.
The best results we’ve seen are when we’ve applied this serum to freshly cleansed skin while it’s still damp. Applying any humectant to damp skin helps provide even more moisture for it to absorb and draw into the skin.
This serum does have a tendency to foam slightly if you rub it into damp skin so we advise that you pat it into the skin and then let it absorb, taking all the goodness and moisture deep into the skin.
Vichy recently launched the Vichy Mineral 89 72HR Moisture Boosting Cream designed to complement the serum and enhances its results.
It doesn’t have to be used with the serum – it works as a standalone moisturiser – but Vichy claims the Moisture Cream will help lock in the hydration created by the serum if you use the two together. In our experience, the cream definitely lives up to these claims.
In a recent hydration test, the cream boosted the hydration levels of our skin by 8.3 points, or 21.8%. This is well above average.
mamabella | mamabella The smart mirror analysis on the left was taken at the start of our Vichy Mineral 89 Serum review, the analysis on the left was taken six weeks later
The before and after readings from our smart mirror above, and the table below shows the condition of our skin before our Vichy Mineral 89 Serum review, and six weeks later.
The smart mirror measures seven skin concerns and marks them out of 100. The higher the number, the better the score. This also means that the total score our skin can get is 700.
As you can see, there was a noticeable improvement in the majority of skin concerns, including the appearance of wrinkles, red spots, roughness, and even our dark circles. The appearance of our pores seemingly got worse, while our dark spots and fine lines didn’t change.
| Before | After | Difference | |
| Dark Spots | 62 | 62 | 0 |
| Wrinkles | 74 | 88 | +14 |
| Red Spots | 70 | 75 | +5 |
| Pores | 87 | 79 | -8 |
| Fine Lines | 60 | 60 | 0 |
| Roughness | 69 | 74 | +5 |
| Dark Circles | 80 | 86 | +6 |
| Total | 502 | 524 | +24 |
The wrinkles score is particularly notable because it’s very rare we see such a huge increase, let alone for a skin concern that is notoriously difficult to address. We also think that this wrinkle score is the best it’s ever been since we bought this smart mirror. Similarly, the improvement in texture, or roughness, is fantastic.
A lot of serums we use, particularly those with hyaluronic acid and glycerin, make our skin look smooth and plump straight after use but the effect doesn’t last that long. These smart mirror results show that not only does the Vichy 89 serum make us look younger, but the effect is also much longer lasting.
The improvement in red spots is then a testament to just how suitable the Vichy 89 serum is for sensitive skin – if it wasn’t suitable, our skin would look much redder.
The only disappointment is the fact the appearance of our pores looked worse six weeks after using the Vichy Mineral 89 serum, rather than better. Quite significantly worse.
Given that the Vichy serum doesn’t promise to shrink the appearance of pores and the fact overall roughness is improved, we feel this is a minor complaint but is worth noting.
@victoria_woolly_web One of the most requested products of this entire series so far (behind the La Roche Posay Cicaplast which is coming ASAP) has been the @vichylaboratoires Mineral 89 and it did not disappoint. Applied to damp skin, this felt more gel-like in texture than a runny serum, which is common with HA products, and it was really cooling and calming. Big fan. While this is the biggest percentage point increase, it’s not the biggest percentage increase. That title went to COSRX Snail Mucin, but Vichy is still flying high on the leaderboard (linked in bio!) I’ve tagged some of the people who requested this, but couldn’t get to everyone so if you requested this, please know I’m super grateful 🙏 #mamabella #bestmoisturizer❤️ #hydration #moisturiser_for_dryskin #bestmoisturizerforthisseason #serum #vichylaboratoires #vichymineral89 #mineral89 #haserum #hyaluronicacid #hydratingserum ♬ CUFF IT – Beyoncé
Our skin looked instantly more plump and hydrated after the first use of the Vichy 89 serum. The more we then used the serum, during our six-week Vichy 89 serum review period, the longer this lasted and the healthier our skin looked. As the smart mirror results prove.
Notably, the Vichy serum significantly improved the appearance of our wrinkles, red spots, dark spots, roughness/texture, and dark circles. By some of the biggest jumps, we’ve ever seen with any other product.
The serum played well with all the other skincare products in our routine, and it didn’t once cause pilling. Nor did it irritate our sensitive skin.
However, we did experience a few days of breakouts. This surprised us because there isn’t anything in the serum that we’ve had problems with before. Nor are there any red flags in the ingredient list that would suggest it causes breakouts.
mamabella | mamabella With regular use, we’d be surprised if you didn’t see a noticeable improvement in the look and feel of your skin, making Vichy Mineral 89 serum a must-have in your skincare arsenal
It can be common for your skin to experience something known as purging when you add a new product. This is largely a good thing because it means your skin is getting rid of all the congestion and gunk, and it’s usually in response to using a peel or exfoliant.
The Vichy Mineral 89 serum does contain citric acid in very small amounts and citric acid is used to exfoliate the skin and get rid of dead cells. The benefit of this ingredient is that it smooths the skin and helps other ingredients penetrate deeper into the skin. This may explain the breakout. Plus, once the spots cleared, our skin looked better than it did before.
The formula is lightweight and absorbs quickly and its relatively minimal formula – free from parabens, fragrances, and alcohol – makes it a great option for those with sensitive or reactive skin.
With regular use, we’d be surprised if you didn’t see a noticeable improvement in the look and feel of your skin, making Vichy Mineral 89 a must-have in your skincare arsenal.
Buy now from Boots
The following list of ingredients is taken from the INCI Decoder website. You can hover over each ingredient to find out more about it.
The numbers next to each ingredient represent its Irritation Rating (the number to the left of the comma), and then Comedogenic Rating (to the right of the comma).
Both ratings are scored out of five and the higher the number, the higher the chance of it causing irritation, or comedones (spots). Green means it has a low rating so is less likely to cause problems. Yellow and red numbers represent high ratings and are more likely to cause problems.
sii|h 0 0, Butylene Glycol h|solv 0 1, Methyl Gluceth-20 
h, Carbomer vc 0 1, Sodium Hyaluronate sii|h 0 0, Phenoxyethanol pres, Caprylyl Glycol h|emo, Citric Acid buff, Biosaccharide Gum-1 so|hHover the mouse / tap over an ingredient for short explanation. Read more on INCIDecoder.
Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget
