I was first drawn to BRAD Biophotonic by the chic opaque glass packaging. Then I discovered that this was no mere bottle but a breakthrough is cosmetic packaging that makes the airless pump look frumpy.  They are made from Miron glass, which blocks the spectrum of visible light, allowing only violet rays that supposedly not only protect but actually improve the performance of the ingredients inside. I made an immediate grab for BRAD’s Essential Elixir Multi-peptide (1.7oz/$95 in the shop) and found myself with a new skincare brand that I am getting to know with great excitement.

Before I go on describe my experience with Essential Elixir Multi-peptide (in a word, it’s fabulous), I just want to go back to the glass and light thing because its really interesting to appreciate the genesis of the BRAD brand. First, there is a Brad (Brad Hunter) and he used to work for big-name beauty companies. Then one day he was asked to formulate skincare for a fleet of private aircraft and had to start thinking about things that happen in the air, such as low oxygen levels. This is when he discovered the “biophotonic effects of violet light.”

Biophotonics, as Mark mentioned in his review of BRAD’s Ultra Elastin Lift  has to do with the study of photons (quantums of light) and their interactions with biological systems. Biophotons may be involved in intercellular communication, but the science still seems to be new and quite speculative. Violet light is at one end of the spectrum of visible light, between blue and the invisible ultraviolet. Miron glass blocks the complete spectrum of visible light with the exception of the violet part. This is supposed to lengthen the life and increase the potency of whatever is stored with in – the manufacturer of Miron glass demonstrates this (rather impressively) with tomatoes and chives.

Anyway, back to BRAD’s Essential Elixir Multi-peptide. This is a light serum with a strong smell of witch hazel, an antioxidant that is one of the dominant ingredients after a base of organic herbal infusions. There’s hyaluronic acid, but Essential Elixir is really about amino acids. There are more than a dozen at my count. And what is a peptide, but a chain of amino acids.

Amino acids are the proverbial building blocks of the body, accounting for the smallest molecular components of proteins. Because proteins are involved in every major process in the body, amino acids are essential to health. Of the 20 amino acids found within proteins, ten are manufactured by the body (alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine). The rest must be obtained from the diet and are thus called essential amino acids (arginine, histidine, isoleucine, lueine, lysine, methionine, phenylanine, theonine, tryptophan, and valine). Just to take one example from the essentials, arginine: it plays a pivotal role in cell division and the healing of wounds.

BRAD’s Essential Elixir promises to “restructure, purify, nourish, and re-energize.” After a slowish start (not much to report in the first couple of weeks), it began to suggest it might live up to that. And after four weeks or so, my skin looks like it has been on vacation. It is smoother and clearer and just healthy looking. It is even doing a good job on my neck.  This is an excellent product, with nothing to dislike but a touch of phenoxyethanol.

Ingredients: Biophotonic Organic Herbal Infusion, Arganic Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (Aloe Vera), Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate (VitaminC), Methylsulfonylmethane (Msm), Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel), Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, (2s)-2-Amino-5-Guanidinopentnoic Acid, Organic Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba Oil), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Ethylhexyl Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol