little white truths

I received this product in October 2015's Lust Have It Women's Box (reviewed here), and I actually wound up with two of those boxes because one was my runner up prize for the beauty flatlay competition I mentioned recently.

It wasn't the best box to receive two of, but it wasn't the worst either. I'm not thrilled about having two of these creams to get through since it's not a brilliant moisturiser for my dry skin, but it's ok enough that I'll keep and use both, rather than giving one away.

Bioderma is one of those brands that's a bit hit and miss for me, and I haven't had the best experience with its products. Happily this cream is ok, although it's not one I would buy and I think Bioderma's cleansers tend to be better than its creams.

I've also just seen that Bioderma tests on animals, so while I'll use any Bioderma product that turns up in a subscription box (and there's been quite a few I've received over the years), I don't plan on buying anything from the brand because I choose to buy cruelty free.

There's what the cream looks like (you can tell it's not as thick as other creams and it's definitely light):

Verdict

It took me a while to work out how I felt about this product because it's unlike any cream I've used before and I kept noticing different things about it as the days passed.

It's a lightweight, fragrance-free moisturiser that doesn't irritate my sensitive skin. At first I thought it wouldn't be hydrating enough because it is so light, and while it's not super hydrating or great for my dry skin, it does offer enough moisture to keep my skin feeling ok.

To start with I was only using it as a night cream on alternate nights to an Alpha-H product because I don't have a spare night cream floating around at the moment. For the purposes of this review, however, for the last week I've been using it during the day as well.

What I noticed over time is that I don't love this as a day cream because it leaves a sticky film on my face that's ok if you're going to bed but not ok during the day because I can feel it on my face and I don't like that in a day cream - I want something that vanishes into the skin and hydrates it beautifully. This doesn't do that so I wouldn't recommend it for dry skin because it mightn't have enough punch for you, as it doesn't for me.

I wouldn't call it a heavy cream, but it kind of acts like one because it sits on the skin and almost feels like a barrier cream if you over-apply it. I've seen that it contains glycerine, which might explain the stickiness and how it leaves your skin feeling coated, so go easy on this one because it won't necessarily absorb as well as you might hope.

In terms of claims, I guess it meets those because it hasn't irritated my sensitive skin and I think it is soothing, although I can't speak to whether it 'increases the tolerance threshold' of my skin because I haven't noticed anything different either way.

Overall this cream is ok but it's not one I would buy because I expect my creams to work harder than this one does, and to offer more benefits like extra hydration, line-plumping and the like.