little white truths

This cream was sent to me for review, along with a matching eye cream and night cream. Since I managed to squeeze in my review of the eye cream this morning (see here) and I have a spare moment while the kids are at the park, I thought I may as well make hay while the sun shines and keep going! 

In brief, I don't mind this product but it's not effective enough for my skin - plus I can't use it every day because it dries me out by day three or four. Still, it's not a bad introduction to retinol if you're in the market for a retinol product, and it's not expensive so you could certainly do a lot worse.

Neutrogena claims/product details:

Verdict

This is fine as an everyday moisturiser and it's not expensive, but I haven't seen the kinds of results I would expect from a retinol product and I don't feel that it generally meets its claims.

It's a lightweight cream with a fruity/sweet scent that's not overpowering - although note that it has a faint chemical smell beneath the sweetness that lingers for a while on the skin. 

The opaque packaging is designed well because it protects the contents and I like that the product has a pump you can twist to close.

The cream spreads well and doesn't feel heavy, although I personally don't find it moisturising enough for my dry/sensitive skin and I need to use a hydrating serum underneath to keep my skin feeling comfortable.

Also, although I feel that some product is being absorbed, some sits on top of the skin and leaves behind a sticky/tacky residue that I don't love. This may mean it's a good primer to use underneath makeup, but I'd prefer something that doesn't leave a film.

As mentioned above, I find I can use this for three or four days running before my skin starts to feel dry and look ashy. This often happens to me with retinol products, so what I've been doing is using it for three days, then using something else for a day or two, then returning to this product. 

So if you have dry/sensitive skin like I do, you may also find that this is a little too much for you to use every day, but it also mightn't irritate you too much (I've certainly used much more irritating retinol products). You may also be able to build up to daily applications over time, although unfortunately my skin hasn't yet adjusted so I personally can't do this.

As for claims, it does have a slight brightening and plumping effect - at least temporarily - but this may partly be the residue I'm seeing. I also haven't noticed any impact on skintone or wrinkles over time, although this could be because I can't use it every day.

As a final note: I'm glad the product has sun protection, but I would prefer something with a higher SPF than 15. I use a dedicated sunscreen anyway, but my view on SPF is: include a good dose or don't include it at all.

All in all, this isn't a bad product but it's not effective on my skin.