Gigi's Beauty Stash

Holika Holika Lifting & Moisturizing Collagen 3 Second Starter Serum Review

Holika Holika Lifting & Moisturizing Collagen 3 Second Starter Serum Review

 

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Hey, pretty people!

 

 

I am finally posting the review of the Lifting & Moisturizing Collagen 3 Second Starter Serum by Holika Holika.

I haven’t really tried many products by them, only a couple of masks and the Vita Complex serum (review here!), but I must admit I had an overall pleasant experience with them.

This was my very first time trying a collagen serum, and I didn’t really know much about the formula.

 

To be completely honest, the price to quantity ratio is what wrapped me in at first. I mean, this serum holds 5 times the formula your regular serum does!

However, is it really worth it? Is this serum heaven-sent or just a cheap and simple drugstore skincare item?

Let’s find out!

 

 

GENERAL SPECIFICS

  • 15$ | £12.50 | 11.75€
  • 150ml | 5.07 fl. Oz.
  • Cruelty-free
  • Two other options available (Vita Complex and hyaluronic acid)

You can find the full list of ingredients on beautybay.com.

 

 

PACKAGING

If you have already read my Vita Complex review, you’ll know how I feel about this packaging; to resume it in one word: huge!

If you’re used to your average serum that holds about 30ml of formula, let me tell you: you will have your hands full with this collagen.

 

THE BOTTLE

The clear plastic bottle is covered in a frosted baby pink sticker that has funny glossy bubble designs all over it. Also, you will find the name of both product and brand, and a few infos about the formula (they’re in Korean, though). The bottle has a small white sticker with all those descriptions in english, so don’t worry!

I quite enjoy the texture the glossy writings and designs give the product, even if I find the font chosen to be slightly childish. On the other hand, I find the color selection – pink and white – to be absolutely perfect.

 

THE APPLICATOR

The clear plastic cap comes right off, almost too easily, and we finally can get up close and personal with this white applicator.

It’s definitely different from your regular dropper, and I find it to be slightly annoying to use at times. It does not always pump out the formula properly, and it could spritz it out more violently than what you need.

Besides this detail, I must admit I quite like this packaging and its aesthetics, overall.

 

 

FORMULA

This serum has been my first experience with collagen, and I have a couple of things I’d like to talk about when it comes to its formulation.

 

 

Fragrance

I must admit I am quite the fan of skincare/makeup products enriched with fragrances, and thankfully this product did not disappoint me. It offers a soft and almost faint smell of fresh flowers, that disappears as soon as you massage it into the skin.

It is not too heavy, which is great if you aren’t a fan of fragrances; in fact, I think it enriches the formula and almost makes it feel like it’s higher quality.

 

Consistency

I don’t really know why, but I expected this serum to be almost gel-like; when I firstly pumped it out, however, I was acquainted with quite the liquid formulation. Its consistency is super lightweight, and reminds me of a formula that is something in-between a liquid and a gel. That being said, it remains much more liquid than what you would expect.

This lightweight feeling is quite pleasant however, and feels great if you plan on putting more serums on your complexion, especially considering how quickly is absorbs.

 

 

PERFORMANCE

Much like with the Vita Complex serum, there were a few things that made me kind of skeptical about this formula. What if I waste my money and end up not seeing a difference? What if this formula is too heavy for me?

Let’s break this 3 Second Starter claims down and see how it went!

 

Strengthening the skin’s texture, structure and appearance

It may seem a bit odd, but I was able to see a difference in my skin’s firmness the day after trying this serum. Sure, it wasn’t a dramatic change, but my skin was definitely slightly firmer.

After a couple of days of applying this formula day and night, I was finally able to notice a tangible difference; it did take a couple of days and much consistency, but I was able to reap a few interesting benefits!

 

Skin is softened

This is definitely the truest claim, at least for me; also, it’s the one that manifested the quickest on my skin.

My skin became much softer right after applying the serum, and after a couple of days my texture was almost completely gone; applying it day and night is the way to go, for much faster results.

Skin is smoother to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines

To be honest, I didn’t really notice a difference in this department.

If we’re talking about texture, I can’t help but admit this product worked wonderfully for me; when it comes to fine lines, however, I can’t say I was able to reap all the benefits.

 

Maximise hydration

Absolutely! I was fairly impressed by how hydrating this serum is, and how it made my skin look perfectly moisturized and conditioned right away.

The greatest feature about it is that it does provide a whole lot of moisture without being heavy; it is ideal for all skin types, and won’t make your skin oiler.

 

 

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Alright, here we are at last!

All in all, would I recommend the Lifting & Moisturizing Collagen 3 Second Starter Serum by Holika Holika? Absolutely!

I had a wonderful time using this serum, and it has become a regular step of my skincare routine. It may sound weird, since I mentioned I have a combo-to-oily skintype, but there’s actually a lot to love about this formula!

It is a great help when it comes to fighting texture and promoting much softer skin, and you can start seeing (and feeling) results after just a couple of uses; also, it absorbs immediately, leaving the complexion ready for the other steps of your skincare routine.

 

LIGHTWEIGHT

Another detail I really appreciated is how lightweight it is. I have several steps in my routine, and frankly do not enjoy the feeling of something particularly heavy on the skin. This product is perfect for that.

Lastly, allow me to talk about the feature I enjoyed the most about this 3 Second Starter Collagen serum; its hydrating power. I have used this product day and night for more than two months now, and I can proudly say it did not make my skin oiler than usual.

 

THE DOWNSIDE

Now, what did I not really like about this serum? The applicator, for one.

Just like I said with Vita Complex, I feel like this applicator pumps out the formula too violently. I wouldn’t exactly have preferred a dropper one, but I would have wanted something more efficient.

Another detail that kind of bugged me was that this formula did not seem to smooth out my fine lines. I loved the effect it had on my texture, but did not see any tangible difference in my under-eye area.

Besides this points, I still think this product is quite amazing; also, I can confidently say it’s a new staple in my skincare kit!

 

 

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Gigi

View Comments

  • do we apply the toner after the 3 second starter serum? and can we use our serum after that? i use the isntree bifida ampoule
    thank you i love your blog!

    • Hi, thank you so much for reading!

      I do recommend applying the toner before the serum; using your serum after is optimal, too.

      PS I love that serum you're using!

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