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Clear Elixir

$115.00

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Size

A little goes a long way – most customers use one bottle for 6–12 months.

A clarifying Vitamin C elixir that eases congestion and reduces buildup without harshness.
Clarity that feels gentle.
A nervous system skincare™ formula designed for sensitive women.

SKU: PRO-CLARIFYC-ELXR

Clear Elixir

Oily skin gets told to skip the oil.

So you reach for the gel, the acid, the thing that strips, and your skin answers by making more of its own. And the vitamin C you actually wanted arrives either as a serum that stings or as an oil that sits on your face all day.

This is neither. A weightless vitamin C oil that mostly disappears as you press it in, built for skin that is reactive and oily at the same time. Thirteen ingredients, no acids, nothing to activate.

At a glance

Thirteen ingredients · stable vitamin C · fragrance-free · EWG 1

HydrationLight

MinimalMaximum

ActivityGentle

CalmingActive

ScentNone added

UnscentedAromatic

What is in it

Coco-Caprylate/Caprate · Hemisqualane · Squalane · Isoamyl Laurate · Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride · Hibiscus · Vitamin C

The first seven label lines, largest first.

HeroStable vitamin C

WhenAM or PM, daily

UseFace oil

NoteNewly reformulated · no neem

The hero · vitamin C

Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate is an oil-soluble vitamin C ester, and this formula is built around it.

It stays stable in the bottle and works at the skin’s own pH, so there is nothing to mix and nothing to activate. What it gives is the look of brighter, fresher skin, and that arrives over weeks rather than days.

There is no free ascorbic acid here, which is the form that stings, and no exfoliating acid beside it. The vitamin C is the formula’s one lab-made ingredient, named in full here rather than tucked into the INCI.

The activeA stable, oil-soluble vitamin C, with no acids beside it. It is here for the look of brighter, fresher skin, and there is nothing to mix and nothing to activate.
Hibiscus, and what clear means hereSkin that congests tends to make sebum that is low in linoleic acid. Hibiscus seed oil is roughly two-thirds linoleic, which is why it is in here at a real level rather than as a garnish. It is also one of the driest-feeling seed oils there is, so it does that work without adding weight.
The baseCoco-caprylate/caprate leads, with hemisqualane, squalane, isoamyl laurate and caprylic/capric triglyceride behind it. Most of what is in the bottle. Part of it evaporates as you press it in, which is why a whole face takes a few drops and why nothing is left sitting on top. Formulated to support your skin’s moisture barrier.
The rest of itMeadowfoam for a light, silky finish. Gotu kola, a botanical with a long history of use on skin that needs comforting. Bisabolol for a calm finish, with vitamin E and rosemary extract keeping the oils fresh.
What came out, and whyThe neem was left out on purpose, and with it the pregnancy and nursing caution this page used to carry. Licorice root is out as well. The bakuchiol has moved rather than gone, and now lives in Glow Elixir and Firm Elixir. So have the heavier seed oils, the two algae-derived ingredients, the carrot and the olive blend. The short version is that a lot of this formula was asking reactive skin to tolerate things it did not need to.
Reach for it when youMake plenty of your own oil and still want a vitamin C. Want something light enough to wear under makeup. Are reactive, and wary of acids and retinoids. If dark spots are the main thing you are after, Glow Elixir is the one built around that, and this one is the lighter sister.
ScentNone added. What you may notice is the soft note of the oils, and a faint herbal edge from the rosemary extract, which is in here as an antioxidant.
Where it sits in your routineStep four. Cleanse, then an essence, then a serum, then this pressed in. Two or three drops is the whole face. Daily, and give it time.

Left out on purpose

No glycolic, lactic, or ascorbic acid. No exfoliants and no retinoids. No water, and no preservative, because there is nothing here for anything to grow in. No synthetic fragrance and no essential oils. No neem, which is new.

Full ingredient list

Coco-Caprylate/Caprate***, C13-15 Alkane (Hemisqualane)***, Squalane***, Isoamyl Laurate***, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride***, Hibiscus Sabdariffa (Hibiscus) Seed Oil*, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil**, Tocopherol (Vitamin E)**, Centella Asiatica (Gotu Kola) Extract*, Bisabolol, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract.

*Organic **Non-GMO ***ECOCERT-approved

Because we prioritize freshness and small-batch production, the list above may occasionally vary from your packaging. The ingredient list printed on your bottle always reflects the exact formula inside.

Free from

Synthetic fragrance · Essential oils · Benzyl alcohol · Exfoliating acids · Retinoids · Water · Preservatives · Parabens · Dyes

Truly fragrance-free, with no caveat. As a waterless oil it carries none of the benzyl alcohol found in our water-based butters. The vitamin C is the one lab-made ingredient, and everything else is plant-derived. Five of the thirteen ingredients are ECOCERT-approved. The faint herbal edge is the rosemary extract that keeps the oils fresh.

What you notice

Initial feelThin and fluid. The lightest thing in the range, and lighter than the version before it.
AbsorptionSinks in cleanly and fast. Part of the base evaporates as you press it in, so what is left behind is a thin film rather than a layer.
LayeringA butter or cream goes straight over the top, and it sits well under makeup.
FinishFresh and smooth. Nothing tacky and nothing heavy.
Over weeksThis is where the vitamin C shows. Skin looks brighter and clearer, arriving slowly enough that you notice it in a photograph before you notice it in the mirror.
OverallA vitamin C light enough to keep using, which is the only way a vitamin C works.

How to use it

Warm it between your palms

Press two or three drops between your palms and let the oil warm before it meets your skin. Cold oil on tired skin is a small shock, and this step removes it.

Place your hands first

Rest your palms over your face for a breath or two before you move. It is a small thing, and it is the part that lets your shoulders drop.

Press it in, slowly

Press gently over the face and neck, moving upward. No rubbing and no pulling. Let the oil sink in on its own.

Use less than you think

A weightless oil feels like less product, so it is easy to reach for more. Two or three drops is a whole face. More will not work faster.

Keep it external

External use only, and away from the eyes.

Allergens and sensitivityEvery ingredient named, and who each one matters to

I formulate for skin that reacts to almost everything, including my own. So I build for less, and I name all of it. Here is everything in the bottle, written for anyone with a specific allergy.

Vitamin CTetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate · the hero

A stable, oil-soluble form of vitamin C. There is no free ascorbic acid in this formula, which is the form that stings, and nothing here has to be mixed or activated. It is also the formula’s one lab-made ingredient, named here for full transparency.

The BaseCoco-caprylate/caprate, hemisqualane, squalane, isoamyl laurate, caprylic/capric triglyceride

The light, fast-absorbing base, and most of what is in the bottle. Part of it, the hemisqualane, evaporates rather than staying on the skin, which is what makes this the lightest oil in the range. Three of these are commonly coconut-derived, the coco-caprylate/caprate, the caprylic/capric triglyceride and the isoamyl laurate, so this is worth knowing if you are coconut-sensitive. All three are highly purified esters rather than coconut oil itself. The olive blend that used to carry the squalane is gone, so there is no olive in this formula, and the jojoba is gone with it.

HibiscusMalvaceae · the compositional ingredient

Hibiscus seed oil is in the mallow family, alongside okra and hollyhock, and it is named here for anyone who tracks that family. It is roughly two-thirds linoleic acid, and it is the ingredient the word “clear” on this bottle rests on: skin that congests tends to produce sebum low in linoleic acid. It is also the most delicate oil in the formula, which is why the vitamin E is raised to cover it.

Meadowfoam & Gotu KolaLimnanthaceae, and Apiaceae or Araliaceae

Meadowfoam is a skin-familiar oil that stays stable in the bottle. Gotu kola is classed in Apiaceae or Araliaceae depending on the source, so it sits alongside the carrot and celery family. The carrot itself is no longer in this formula.

Sunflower Seed Oil & Vitamin EBoth sunflower-derived, both non-GMO

Sunflower is an oil line in its own right here rather than only a carrier hiding inside the tocopherol, so both sit in the sunflower and ragweed (Asteraceae) family. Our vitamin E is sunflower-derived as well, and never soy.

Bisabolol & Rosemary ExtractSoothing compound, and a mint-family (Lamiaceae) antioxidant

A gentle, purified soothing compound, and a rosemary antioxidant that keeps the oils fresh. The rosemary is here as the leaf extract rather than the essential oil, which is what keeps the essential-oil-free standard intact, and it is what you may catch as a faint herbal note.

If you bought an earlier versionRead this one, even if you skip the rest

The neem is gone, the licorice root is gone, and the bakuchiol has moved. This used to be the one product in the line that contained neem, and that note is no longer on this page because it is no longer in the bottle. If you were avoiding this one because of the neem, that reason has gone. Licorice root came out as well, which matters if it was the reason you chose this one, and it takes the legume note off this page with it. The bakuchiol has not been dropped from the line, it has moved to Glow Elixir and Firm Elixir, so if it was what you came here for, that is where it now lives. Rosehip, green coffee, prickly pear, carrot, jojoba, the olive blend and both algae-derived ingredients all came out at the same time. Read the list again before you reorder, and patch test on the inner forearm for 24 hours as you would with anything new.

That is everything in the bottle. Nothing hidden, nothing implied. If a particular ingredient gives you pause, the coconut-derived esters if you are coconut-sensitive, or the sunflower if you watch the ragweed family, patch test a small area first. You know your body best.

Care and keepingHow long a bottle lasts, whether it is preserved, and keeping it clean

How long a bottle lasts

Two or three drops covers the whole face, so a bottle goes a long way. Start with less than you used before. A weightless oil spreads further and feels like less while it is doing more.

We have not printed a month figure for this version. The old one was set by the rosehip, and the rosehip is gone. The hibiscus that carries this formula sets a different one, and we are testing it before we print a number.

Whether it is preserved, and why not

No, and it does not need one. There is no water in here. A preservative exists to stop things growing in water, and with no water there is nothing to grow in.

What is in here instead is vitamin E and rosemary extract. Those are antioxidants. They slow the oils turning over time, which is a different job from preserving.

If it clouds, or the colour deepens

Two things are normal here, and neither one means the oil has gone off. If the bottle gets very cold, the squalane can cloud. It clears again as it warms and nothing about the oil has changed.

The colour also deepens a little over the life of the bottle, from pale gold toward a warmer gold. That is the vitamin C ambering with time and light, which is what this form does, and it is why we ask you to keep it out of the sun.

Storing it, and when to stop

Cool, out of direct sunlight, cap closed. A sunny windowsill and the shelf above a hot shower are the two places to avoid. Warmth in transit is nothing to worry about, since there is no water and no emulsion here, so there is nothing to melt and nothing to split.

What to watch for over a long time is the smell. Plant oils turn eventually, and when they do the scent goes sharp or flat rather than soft. If yours smells different from the bottle you opened, stop using it and tell us, and we will replace it.

Community accessIncluded free with your purchase

Your purchase includes free access to Rooted & Well™, our holistic community with monthly founder sessions, journaling prompts, meditations, and practitioner-supported resources.

Please note

Formulated for reactive, easily-overwhelmed skin. We suggest a patch test on the inner forearm, left 24 hours, before facial use.

For external use only. Keep away from the eyes, and rinse with water if it gets in.

Nervous System Skincare™ is a language for noticing. It is not a diagnosis, and it belongs alongside your doctors, never instead of them.

Indiefog products are cosmetics, made to cleanse, soften, and comfort skin. They do not treat, cure, or prevent any condition.

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