New Look & New Fomula For Estee Lauder’s #1 Repair Serum

So many brands’ cult classic skincare products get makeovers in terms of appearance and formula. Sometimes it’s an improvement but there are also reformulations which don’t quite get the thumbs up from loyal users of the product. Well I can’t speak for whether Estee Lauder Synchronised Recovery Complex II is a marked improvement over its predecessor as I have only ever used samples of the product.

This is probably the most famous of all the beauty brands’ night repair serums. The previous ANR had 20 patents while Version II has 25+ patents. By now most of you would have read all about Estee Lauder being among the first to understand Catabolysis (I don’t know why but the word reminded me of Capybara, the giant hamster) which is a natural purification process that occurs at night. It helps skin eliminate internal debris that builds up each night and can cause damage and accelerate premature aging if not removed.

Spot the difference between Version II and its predecessor? Both have the same rubbery pipettes but Version II has a more gilded and golden look to the cap and the Estee Lauder logo isn’t on the front of the Version II bottle but the brand name is bigger and bolder on Version II.

The previous version and Version II look the same in terms of consistency and colour but in actual fact, Version II is slightly thinner in consistency which I suppose makes it absorb faster into skin? My skin felt just as smooth when I used ANR II. I didn’t detect much of a difference between the effects of ANR and ANR II but then again, I haven’t used the entire bottle. I had 15ml worth of samples which lasted 2 weeks.

Even without using moisturiser at night, my skin felt very smooth and hydrated with ANR II. This is due to the presence of Hyaluronic Acid in ANR II. My skin was feeling softer and skin tone looked quite good while I was using ANR II for the 2 weeks. I guess it did help with skin repair but then so did other brands’ night repair serums which I’ve tried and reviewed such as Lancome’s Advanced Genefique. It’d come down to price if I were to purchase a night repair serum. They’ve all given me more or less the same results of smoother, softer and more luminous skin. At the end of the day, it all depends on the individual and what works best for them. My aunt lived in the US for many years and while she was there, she used ANR which didn’t do much for her skin. So the best thing is just to try out any night repair serum first for at least a week and see what happens.