L'Oreal Revitalift Total Repair 10 Night Cream

What a mouthful!  You can understand why, when I toddled into Priceline a few months ago to buy this (on special, of course) I was completely confused by what was on offer and what wasn't.  In the L'Oreal range, Revitalift and Revitalift 10 are two different things.  I'm still not clear on what the difference is - but this is what I ended up with ...

This night cream claims to fight 10 signs of ageing while you sleep.  A big plus for me is that its main ingredient (after water) is glycerin - something that my skin seems to love.  After that, an ingredient I haven't passed comment on yet: dimethicone.  This is really widely found in cosmetics (and related products) and is basically a silicone.  It makes creams very smooth and also helps fill in/smooth over any fine lines.  It can also act as a protective barrier (so make sure your skin is clean before slathering it on as it will help trap gunk too!).

Personally, I've found that products containing dimethicone have a nice feel when I'm applying them to my skin.  They spread easily and tend not to feel oily.

I absolutely loved this cream.  It was easy to apply, non greasy and I didn't need too much of it.  It made my skin feel plumped up and hydrated just before bed and in the morning I still felt the same way.

For much of the time I was using this, it was in combination with the Garnier Ultralift during the day, and those two in tandem is a combination I'd be happy to return to.  My skin felt great.

I was not such a fan of the little pump container.  It worked absolutely fine but there's no way to know if you've run out of cream or the pump mechanism is simply failing because there's not enough left.  However, even though it is a cheap plastic container, it does look reasonably luxe in your bathroom.

I would definitely buy this again.  I know I'm a bit younger than the L'Oreal Revitalift target age range but I figure that pre-emptive skincare is not a bad thing.

Widely available.  RRP is around $36 but you'll be able to find it cheaper.

L'Oreal.

Source:  purchase.

Pond's Age Miracle Dual Action Eye Cream

This cream, from the relatively recently relaunched Ponds, offers 'dual action' with separate creams for eye lid and under the eye.

Initially I was very sceptical about this, especially as the two creams are very different in appearance and texture.  And while the jar is quite funky (and also quite luxe for a relatively cheap product) I could see myself running out of one cream a lot sooner than the other.

This didn't happen - I have run out of the eye lid cream and still have a little of the under eye cream left, but it's only a tiny disparity.

As for the creams themselves - I actually quite liked the pale pink eye lid cream.  It was very smooth and light, went on easily and had a nice matt, powdery feel to it.

However, the under eye cream (and let's face it, that's where most of us are worried about wrinkles!) didn't do it for me at all.  I found the cream far too heavy and often, especially in slightly cooler weather, I felt like I was dragging it across the delicate eye area.  It also had a tendency to sit in the eye crease if I accidentally used too much.

In terms of performance, I'd rate this product as maintenance rather than anything else.  I didn't notice any improvement in terms of appearance but also I haven't come out of the experience looking worse.

The main ingredient in both creams (before water even!) is cyclopentasiloxane, a silicone that appears to most commonly be used in conditioners.  But it is used in make up and, like all the silicones, has emollient properties and can fill in fine lines temporarily but seems to be there more for feel (which makes it even stranger than that the under cream felt so heavy, but there you go) and its ability to deliver other ingredients to the skin.  The lower lid cream does contain glycerin (which appears to be my skin's favourite!) but it's well down the list of ingredients.

I picked this up from Priceline with the benefit of both some SisterClub vouchers and a special SisterClub discount so it set me back all of about $15, however it is normally more expensive.

Would I buy this again?  No.

Available from Priceline.  RRP $29.99

Ponds.

Source: purchase.

Garnier UltraLift 2 in 1 Serum (Day)

This a prize that landed in my letter box.  After being underwhelmed by the Garnier BB Cream, I didn't come to this moisturiser (in the increasingly popular "+ serum" format) with high expectations.

I could not have been more wrong.  This is a fabulous day cream.  My only criticism is that it doesn't have any sun protection in it.  That, seriously, is it.  My only complaint.

The cream is very prettily presented: two spirals of cream and serum so that as you pump you get the perfect blend.  It is very lightly scented (a plus in my mind) and the cream itself is super light and quickly absorbed.  I would guess that if you had very dry, dehydrated skin this might not do the trick - but, even if you are like me (my skin is routinely dehydrated) this is great.  You don't need to use very much (though at under $20 you could afford to!) and it softens and plumpens (is that a word?!) skin.

Initially I was using this both morning and night and I did find it wasn't quite powerful enough, with a few dry patches appearing.  But swapping to a proper night cream (and, I understand, that Garnier produces a night cream version of this) solved that problem.

Its main ingredient (after water) is glycerin - something my skin always responds well to.  Next up is pentylene glycol which, interestingly, has antimicrobial properties.  I wonder if this translates well into the cream not causing breakouts in those prone to them ...

I loved this.  Something I will definitely consider buying when I am next in the market for a moisturiser.  Top marks, Garnier!

Widely available.  RRP is about $20.

Garnier.

Source: prize.