So Biotherm quietly tweaked their cult-favorite Life Plankton Essence. No fanfare. No announcement. Just a new label and a watery consistency that has loyalists fuming.
The real tea? The old formula felt like silk sliding across your face. The new one? More like fancy tap water that evaporates before your fingers finish patting.
It’s still a “treatment lotion” — $55 for 5.1 oz. The claim is the same: 200x more Life Plankton extract than their original formula. But the texture is thinner. Way thinner.
Viscosity shift
Gone is the almost-gel slip. Now it runs off your palms if you’re not fast.
Absorption speed
Drinks into skin in 8 seconds flat — but so does water, you know?
Scent change
Still that faint, clean plankton smell, but somehow more… diluted.
Photo: Soheil Kmp / Unsplash
Same hero ingredient — Vitreoscilla filiformis ferment (fancy talk for thermal plankton grown in French springs). But the new formula feels like they cranked up the water content and dialed back the thickeners. Here’s the breakdown:
- Life Plankton Extract: Microbiome balancer — calms redness in 3 days, not 3 weeks
- Glycerin: The hydrator — but lower on the list now, so less humectant power
- Zinc Gluconate: Oil control — random in an essence, but helps if you’re shiny
- Copper/Lysine: Wound healing — makes it decent for post-extraction nights
Photo: Natasha Kendall / Unsplash
First pump: ran straight through my fingers onto the bathroom counter. Texture is watery-slick, like a thin toner. Takes 3 layers to feel like the old one layer did.
Week two surprise: fewer breakouts. The lighter formula didn’t clog my combo skin like the original sometimes did. But my dry patches? Pissed. Absolutely parched by noon.
Photo: kevin laminto / Unsplash
Measurable wins: less redness around my nose, fewer tiny bumps on my forehead. But my cheeks feel tighter by 2 PM unless I layer a thick moisturizer after. Trade-off city.
Photo: Rosa Rafael / Unsplash
It’s not bad — it’s just different. If you’re oily, this might be your new favorite. If you’re dry, go find a better lover.