No7 Lift & Luminate Day Cream for skin with dark spots

How to apply

Questions and answers

What the research says

• The tetrapeptide PKEK exerts skin whitening effects by reducing UVB-stimulated mRNA expression of pigmentation-inducing mediators like POMC and tyrosinase, and significantly fades facial pigment spots when combined with sodium ascorbyl phosphate.

  Experimental Dermatology, 2012

• Combining oral and topical astaxanthin in 30 healthy females improved skin wrinkles, age spots, elasticity, texture, and moisture, while 6 mg daily oral supplementation in 36 healthy males improved crow's feet wrinkles, elasticity, and transepidermal water loss.

  Acta Biochimica Polonica, 2012

• Twice-daily application of a novel topical antioxidant formulation safe, well-tolerated, and effective in improving overall skin quality, fine lines, wrinkles, radiance, and hyperpigmentation in 32 healthy female subjects over 12 weeks.

  Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2023

• A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.

  Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017

• Astaxanthin-loaded polyhydroxybutyrate microbeads achieved 98.1% encapsulation efficiency with sustained release, reduced degradation by 2-fold compared to unencapsulated astaxanthin, and showed no cytotoxicity or skin irritation in human cells and tests.

  International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2024

• A combination cream of stimu-tex AS and saccharide isomerate reduced erythema, increased skin capacitance, and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to placebo in 20 subjects after fractional CO2 laser procedure without causing serious adverse events.

  Lasers in Medical Science, 2025

• A skin barrier restoring cream with shea butter, silkflo, and vitamin E increased type I procollagen synthesis, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, decreased reactive oxygen species generation, and promoted hyaluronic acid production in H2O2-stimulated human keratinocyte cells compared to untreated cells.

  International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2025

• Topical application of 5% vitamin C cream significantly improved global clinical scores, increased skin microrelief density, and induced elastic tissue repair in photoaged skin compared to excipient control in healthy female volunteers.

  Experimental Dermatology, 2003

• Ascorbic acid 2-glucoside gel significantly reduced gingival melanin pigmentation after 4 weeks compared to placebo in 73 subjects with symmetric pigmentation.

  Journal of Periodontology, 2009

• Topical application of VC-IP cream twice daily for 8 weeks reduces periorbital wrinkles in female subjects compared to a placebo cream.

  Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022

• A multi-modal methodology combining MALDI-MSI, in vivo RCM, echography, and histology revealed age-related decreases in extracellular matrix and epidermal-dermal junction proteins and undulation depth, while a blend of palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 improved subepidermal low-echogenic band thickness, density, and extracellular matrix structure compared to placebo.

  Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2015

• Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7, acetyl hexapeptide-8, palmitoyl tripeptide-1, and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-10 significantly increased type III collagen levels in human dermal fibroblasts following UV exposure, with their combination demonstrating a greater effect in vitro and enhancing type I, III, and IV collagen levels in ex vivo skin tissues compared to individual components.

  International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2026

• Oral astaxanthin supplementation significantly restored moisture content and improved elasticity but did not significantly decrease wrinkle depth compared to placebo in humans.

  Nutrients, 2021

• Astaxanthin prevents UV-induced cutaneous inflammation, abnormal keratinization, wrinkling, and pigmentation in human skin even when applied postirradiation.

  Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2019

• Astaxanthin-betaine ionic liquid liposomes exhibit improved stability, skin permeability, and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects by regulating the TGF-β1/smad2/smad3 pathway compared to free astaxanthin.

  ACS Applied Bio Materials, 2025

Why other sunscreens fit skin with dark spots better

• Topical application of tocopherol succinate ethosomal gel decreased erythema, melanin, and sebum levels while improving moisture content and skin elasticity in 34 human women.

  Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024

Ingredients

Water, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Shea Butter, Butylene Glycol, Cetearyl Glucoside, C18-36 Acid Glycol Ester, Dimethicone, Mica, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Vp Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Cyclohexasiloxane, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline, Xanthan Gum, Methylparaben, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Dimethiconol, Parfum, Ethylparaben, Dipropylene Glycol, Tetrasodium Edta, Citric Acid, T-Butyl Alcohol, Lupinus Albus Seed Extract, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Astaxanthin Powder, Bht, Polyglucuronic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Simethicone, Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Biotin, Ci 77891 Titanium Dioxide

Behind this fit score

Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.