Dermatologist Review of Vivite

Vivité® skin care was launched by Allergan Inc. , of Irvine, California in 2007. Allergan, the manufacturer of Botox®, has had a revolutionary impact on cosmetic dermatology over the past ten years. Allergan is currently a huge player in the cosmetic arena and markets/distributes several well known prescription cosmetic products including Botox for lines/furrows, Juvederm® for facial rejuvenation and Latisse™ for eyelash enhancement. Allergan also has a growing non-prescription cosmeceutical skin care product offering. Allergan’s current physician dispensed offering includes M.D. Forté®, Prevage MD®, Clinique Medical and Vivité. Vivité is the latest independent cosmeceutical product offering from Allergan and it has been very well received. Vivité is formulated and manufactured in the United States.

Vivité traces its lineage to the long lived and very successful M.D. Forté line that Allergan acquired from Herald Pharmacal several years ago. Both M.D. Forté and Vivité product lines showcase high concentration partially buffered glycolic acid formulations that are generally well tolerated due to novel glycolic buffering technology. The research and development behind both M.D. Forté and Vivité was conducted to a significant extent by Joseph A. Lewis II. Mr. Lewis is a pioneer in AHA research and technology and an acknowledged cosmeceutical industry expert. Mr. Lewis is former Co-CEO of Herald where he developed M.D. Forté and is also a former Director of Research and Development at Allergan. Mr. Lewis’s current company, Pharma Cosmetix Research, LLC owns the trademark on GLX Technology® found in Vivité.

Vivité differs from M.D. Forté in several ways. Technology-wise, Vivité formulations incorporate several innovative and natural ingredients as well as GLX Technology that successfully combines these ingredients with buffered glycolic acid compound in a stable way. Vivité offers updated and upscale packaging with a pleasing aesthetic color palate of lavender and ivory with mat silver caps. The Vivité offering is more focused than M.D. Forté and contains only a handful of key products. This focus on just a few optimized products may help make designing a proper regimen less confusing to consumers and their skin care professionals.

On the tech side, Vivité contains peptides that are designed to help tighten the skin and superoxide dismutase, a known potent antioxidant. Vivité’s Exfoliating Facial Cleanser contains microbeads that work to mechanically augment the exfoliating effects of 15% glycolic compound. Vivité Revitalizing Eye Cream contains ‘interference pearls’ that help diffuse light and brighten under-eye circles. These tech innovations are not uncommon overall but it is novel to see them incorporated into glycolic acid formulations.

On the natural front, Vivité contains a dozen natural extracts that help define the line as separate from MD Forté. The extracts range from green tea to chamomile to licorice root and expand the complexity and potential therapeutic impact of the formulations.

Vivité is a unique offering because it fuses proven glycolic acid formulations with potent antioxidants and active natural extracts in a way designed to make the sum of these innovations greater than any of its component parts. The backbone that allows this fusion to occur in an effective way is proprietary GLX Technology.

Vivité currently offers three cleansers – exfoliating glycolic, glycolic and non-glycolic, one daytime SPF 30 moisturizer, two night face creams – glycolic and non-glycolic, an antioxidant serum and Vibrance Therapy, a product designed to help with dyschromia/hyperpigmentation Non-glycolic Vivité Replenish products (Facial Cleanser and Hydrating Cream) are equivalent to M.D. Forté Replenish products. Vivité has plans to expand the Replenish line going forward. Vivité has very pleasant modern and consistent packaging and branding. As with M.D. Forté, face creams are packaged in jars and the remainder of the line in tubes and acryl pumps. The Vivité product line is compact which makes selecting products easy.

Vivité is a fine effort from Allergan to build on M.D. Forté in a new and meaningful way. M.D. Forté is a great product line in its own right and Vivité is being positioned by Allergan as an upgrade experience. Vivité has a nice range of products currently and a complementary in office glycolic acid peeling system is in the works. Vivité is an excellent choice for those looking for the ‘next level’ in glycolic acid based skin care.