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The Lipstick Page Forums Beauty & Fashion Blog
Beauty Notes: A Drop of Rain in the Desert

Posted by Dain, Monday, January 21, 2008 5:29 AM (Eastern)

Among all the cheats in the luxury industry, nothing raises my ire quite like the expensive face cream. Acne and anti-aging products are the money-spinners in the skincare industry, because everybody really wants perfect skin. I can empathize with this, skincare is certainly more important than the eyeshadow that comes after it: pigments are just warpaint, skin is your face. But the way the skincare industry would have it, a woman should live in persistent fear of being less than perfection. When you are young, we must make ferocious battle with acne, doomed to social seppuku should we fail. Even as acne and adolescence abate (for many of us, but not all) in our mid-20s, these insecurities are fueled directly into concerns anti-aging. Now that we've graduated from pizza face, do we really want to descend into hagdom? Ehh... utterly ridiculous. There's not very much that will seriously alter genetics and if people like Stephen Hawking think that time travel is impossible, then there is no way that a paste of chemicals from the tar pits of the Estée Lauder kingdom would fare any better. Most anti-aging creams work, because aging skin is generally dehydrated and dull, and a good moisturizer gives the appearance of plump, flexible, and radiant skin.

"Aging gracefully" may be a pernicious phrase, but one of these women is doing so, the other is not. Here's a hint: it's the one that can look at you in the face.

Now, it may turn out that your skin likes Crème de la Mer best of all. Nevermind that EL has reformulated it, it is still your wallet and your skin. But I think there is a reason why Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser and Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer are consistent bestsellers, at any price level: skincare is at its best when it is basic but good. In short, whatever you may believe, your skin is more likely to take a more sensible view.

This is all a very long introduction. I just wanted to list some of the good moisturizers I have found in my testings. They are all simple and gentle hydrators that absorb well, with minimal fragrance. I've ordered them from lightest to heaviest, so you may judge for yourself which is best suited to your skin type.

I would especially recommend Complex 15 to someone with oily skin who is worried about irritating acne, or very combination skin that needs hydration on the one hand, and a product that won't aggravate oil on the other. It is also excellent for young, normal skin that tends toward shine. Complex 15 hydrates well, but it is very lightweight. It has the emollient squalane, which may clog some pores but the probability is slim. No fragrance, mineral oil, parabens.

Better Botanicals Dandelion Moisturizer is an old favorite of mine, with lightweight, non-occlusive sunflower oil and plenty of botanically infused waters and essential oils. It has a beautiful silky texture and the smell of a lovely floral sandalwood. My skin has become drier since then, so I have moved onto more emollient pastures, but it is excellent for normal, combination, and slightly dry skin.

Malin + Goetz Vitamin E Face Moisturizer has the richness of the aforementioned Kiehl's with a much more absorptive, light-on-the-skin texture (it is oil free), though the high level of humectants (glycerin, sodium PCA, hyaluronic acid) give it a slightly sticky feel at first (it sinks in very quickly, however). It is very nourishing on skin that is dehydrated and has lost its suppleness, with chamomile and allantoin to soothe, so I would recommend it for more mature skin from slightly oily to dry.

For normal to dry skin, I highly recommend the buttery smooth Jurlique Calendula Cream, a similar texture to Fresh Rice Face Cream, but without so much expense and better absorption. It is a beautiful product with the reparative properties of high concentrations of calendula extract, to absolve many a sin that the skin can commit, from acne scars to sensitivities. If only I weren't allergic!

My favorite moisturizer is Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentrée, very soothing with the best velvety texture for highest moisture yield, but it is not readily available except online. So I am testing La Roche-Posay Toleriane Riche instead, which comes in two lighter formulations as well. The "riche" has lots of squalane, shea butter, and mineral-rich thermal water. It is not as elegant, one must take some care not to apply too much, but promising thus far. It has a slightly unpleasant chemical smell that very quickly dissipates.

This is a very expensive option, but when your skin is very dry indeed, so dry you're afraid to wash it every day, Sisley Crème Reparatrice cuts through dryness like nothing else I have yet tested, with plenty of shea butter. It is very expensive, but a small sample did help me out when nothing else worked, but I seem to have dodged my used desert-dry skin this winter thanks to Jurlique Herbal Recovery Gel—I think continued use over time has really normalized my skin.

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Labels: beauty notes, better botanicals, complex 15, embryolisse, jurlique, la roche posay, malin + goetz, sisley, skin

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