little white truths

This is another product that I've been meaning to review for ages, so I'm glad I'm finally getting to it today.

I've now been through two 15ml tubes of this product and I've almost finished this 30ml tube, so we can definitely say that I've given it a good test run and am ready to give you my thoughts.

I've delayed giving you my thoughts, however, because it's taken me ages to firm up an opinion on it! Why? Because it's one of the few Alpha-H products I've used that hasn't stood out to me so I didn't have anything to say about it until now. Perhaps we could almost call that a review in itself.

Alpha-H claims/product details:

• A strengthening, deeply nourishing super-charged formula
• A luxurious night cream to refresh and revitalise, leaving the skin smoother and more luminous
• A unique super formulation, designed for normal to mature skin
• Skin is left soft, supple and glowing
• Argan stem cells enhance and protect the skin, while vitamin c firms and brightens for a more even-looking complexion
• Smooths the skin and restores radiance
• Optimised pH level maximises moisturisation and reduces tingling sensation on application
• Reduces the appearance of sun spots and sun damage
• Helps rebuild the structure of mature skin, resulting in plumper, more youthful skin
• Key ingredients: 5% glycolic acid, album bark, Argan stem cells, vitamin c, Matrixyl 6
• RRP $99 AUD for 50ml, but do shop around

Verdict

My understanding is that this cream has been brought in to replace the Alpha-H Liquid Gold Rejuvenating Cream (reviewed here), and I hate to say it, but I preferred the original because it did a lot more for me.

Also, the back of my tube tells me to apply this morning and evening - but the description on Alpha-H's website says that this is meant to be a night cream that you use on alternate evenings to Alpha-H's Liquid Gold. Well that's confusing. 

I must say, this isn't the first time that the bottle/tube of an Alpha-H product has told me something different than what the website tells me when it comes to how to use a product, and it's annoying. Definitely an issue that needs to be sorted.

It's a white cream with a fresh, light scent that's not overpowering and it's quite thick so it takes some work to rub in. Sometimes I feel a slight tingling when I apply it (the kind of tingling that tells you it's doing something) but most of the time I don't. The original cream definitely felt like it was doing more.

Given that my tube told me to apply this both morning and evening, that's what I've been doing - and I've been able to do this because the product doesn't feel like it's doing a hell of a lot for me so my skin hasn't told me that twice-daily applications is too much.

I do think that it's better for night use, however, for the simple reason that it's quite heavy and it leaves a tacky residue on the skin that's definitely there. I don't love the residue but I have dry skin so I can live with it: if you have normal or oily skin, you mightn't be a fan.

Worth noting is that the online reviews of this cream have been nothing short of glowing (see eg Adore Beauty), but I have to disagree. This cream hasn't done anything I expected it to do - it doesn't resurface, brighten, clarify or target things like sun damage or age spots - which is disappointing because the original product did all of those things so I'm not sure what Alpha-H has done to the formula, but for me, the change hasn't been a good one.

All this product really does is leave my skin with a protective coating - I wouldn't even say that it moisturises well, because it doesn't absorb properly - but given the huge $99 AUD price-tag, it would want to do a lot more than that for me to want to buy it. Thankfully all three of my samples were GWPs so I didn't waste my money on this.

Otherwise there's not much to say about this except that it hasn't met its claims (not for me, anyway) and I know that Alpha-H can do better than this. If you'd like an alternative, Alpha-H's Balancing Moisturiser and Gentle Exfoliant (reviewed here) is one that I personally find to be a lot more effective and it does all the things that this one should.

Not for me.