Dahliana seabuckthorn berry creme review

I first mentioned Dahliana seabuckthorn crème in my spring routine post. My routine has somewhat changed and I will do an update on it very soon.

Initially I was using seabuckthorn crème as a daytime moisturiser, but now it is a night treatment in my routine. I first introduced this crème in to my skincare rotation mid February. So at this point, I have been using it somewhere between a month, and a month and half.

The product comes in a heavy plastic jar, which does look simple and elegant. The crème itself has a pale yellow colour and light consistency. It smells deliciously fruity and citrusy. Very fresh, and the scent disappears quickly enough after application, which is my general preference with face products.

I really love how the formula feels on my skin, it is hydrating and not at all heavy. It doesn't feel like I have a layer of product sitting on my face. It seems to slightly even out my skin tone and my pores appear less noticeable after use. On the box it mentions that sensitive skin types may experience slight flushing and tingling during initial use, and to use less frequently until skin becomes accustomed to the product. And indeed I did experience those effects, it normally goes away after about 15 minutes. However after over a month of getting used to it, I still can not use this crème more frequently than every other day (actually every other night, since I no longer use it during the day).

I always take the anti-ageing label on products with a grain of salt, what I am personally looking for, is for a product to help maintain the look and feel of well hydrated skin, as dehydrated skin always makes you look older (of course hydration comes from within, but topical products do help). I also want my skincare to provide a glow, without making me look shiny and not to exaggerate the look of my pores (it is surprising how many moisturisers do just that). Generally I believe in pro-aging, i.e. in maintenance and prevention rather than reversal. And I feel that this is a great product in that respect, it almost ticks all the boxes. When it comes to performance I absolutely love it, it really does deliver on the promises.

But there are some issues that I do have with it. First of all due to the active ingredients, for best results. you need to use this creme up within 3 months of opening. It says so on the Dahliana website, but not on the box or the jar. They also mention in their general Q&A area, that all jar products should be used within 4 months of opening, but the pump serums are ok until expiration, which is a year after you receive them. Since I bought this from a third party, and not directly from Dahliana, I don't really have any way of knowing when this product expires, as there is no expiration on the packaging.

And my last concern is about the Grape fruit oil in the product (just as a side note the full ingredient list for the products is not available online). Grapefruit essential oil has a low risk of phototoxicity, and is considered safe to use in that respect if it is used in a concentration of 4% or below, for products that will be left on the skin (anything above that level and skin must not be exposed to sunlight or sunbed rays for 12 hours).

When I contacted Dahliana with regards to the method of extraction of their grapefruit oil, and my concerns over it being phototoxic, I received a very prompt reply (within 30 minutes), which left me a little baffled. First I was assured that they used only the smallest amount of grapefruit oil in their products, that made me feel pleased, but the next sentence sort of threw me. They pointed out that they use cold pressed oils, and that cold pressed oils do not have problems with photo toxicity. Well that is simply not true, essential oils that contain certain types of furanocoumarins are photo toxic (bergapten happens to be one of the phototoxic FCs, and is a component of grapefruit oil), FCs are generally found in expressed (cold-pressed) citrus fruit oils, but not in distilled citrus fruit oils.

I was also directed to a post about citrus oils and phototoxicity, which I was already familiar with, and advised to always wear daily SPF when outside. I will address my personal SPF policy in an upcoming post, but when I wear SPF, I do not have a moisturiser underneath, as my skin just doesn't like it when I try to layer a lot of different products. I was inclined to believe their statement about the low levels of grapefruit, but followed by a sentence that made no sense and after looking at the ingredients list a little closer, I am not so sure. Grapefruit oil is listed number 8, and there are 14 further ingredients that follow after, that are supposed to be listed in diminishing quantity (and seabuckthorn is listed 10th). Assuming that grapefruit oil is at 4% level, that would mean that the other ingredients are even less than that (which yes is entirely possible), since I have no access to their formula I just decided to veer on the side of caution and use it only at night.


I purchased the Seabuckthorn Berry Crème when a beautiful world were having their Pink Friday  flash sale, and I also had a ten pound voucher, so I paid £19 instead of the usual £54. With my every other nightly use, it is not very likely that I will use it all up in the 3-4 months period that is recommended, however I do feel that results that this product gives are very good, and I would not hesitate to purchase it again, if it was on offer, but I can't really justify getting it full price every 3 months. I only need about a pea sized amount for my entire face (I couldn't use it on my neck, which seems to be super sensitive to most products), and after more than a month, the jar still looks barely touched. I am normally not that bothered about products in a jar, but if it would help with prolonging the freshness of this crème, I would rather it came in an airless pump container. It uses phenoxyethanol as a preservative (as I have mentioned before, I don't completely avoid this ingredient, but I do try not to use too many products that have it).

Have you guys tried Dahliana? What are your thoughts?