Facial Moisturizer Choices

Being a person with caramel-coloured, relatively dry and sensitive skin, choosing the perfect moisturizer was quite the challenge, and I settled for my aims to have moist and smooth skin, nothing more. I was never a fan of big brands, just because I feel I'm paying mostly for the name and not the actual product. Besides, I couldn't afford to buy something expensive only to discover it doesn't suit my skin and have it thrown away. So 6 years ago when I started using moisturizer, I tried a few drugstore brands that were pretty good. I'll start with the first, wndong with what I'm currently experimenting on.


1. Loreal White Perfect Re-Lightening Whitening Day Mosturizing Cream

The packaging was similar to the above picture, with a white cover instead. I couldn't find a picture of the older packaging so I used this. The contents of the box was creamy pearl-white and smooth with little or no smell. When applied, it went on smoothly and absorbed quickly. On my face, I didn't like that it gave a slight grey-ish tinge, probably because of my darker skin tone.

The packaging promises a lighter skin tone; I did not notice any whitening effect whatsoever even after using the product for 2 years (in fact, I used the entire skincare routine range - cleanser, toner, moisturizer). It served my purpose though, as my skin did not flake or dry out as long as I used it, even though I spent half the time in air-conditioned rooms. It didn't cause any breakouts or redness, but I still felt my face looked a little dull.

Price: RM45.90 for a 50g tub, at Watson's or Guardian. Worth it if you ask me, as it lasted me 5-6 months when I used it once a day. The packaging is a little unhygienic, but as long as you scoop out with your finger just the amount you need each time, it should be fine. No double-dipping.

2. Loreal Future-e Moisturizing Lotion

When I flew to Canada 5 years ago, I took a new tub of the previous moisturizer with me, fearing I would never find a replacement soon. Then I ran out of it, and it would be ridiculous to ship cosmetics all the way from Malaysia when you get excellent ones in Canada itself.

So I surveyed a couple of Loreal moisturizers (they did not have the white perfect range, only tanning ones), and cames across the Future-e range that looked pretty simple and promising. It supposedly provided "Moisture + A Daily Dose of Pure Vitamin e", which I thought might be useful in healing any potential scars. Given the extremely cold and dry weather, I picked the lotion over the cream.

The product came in a bottle with a pump, and it squirts out just the right amount of beige-coloured lotion for the face. You will need more for the neck area. It had hardly any smell, but the texture of the lotion was light and absorbed into the skin quickly. Once absorbed, I didn't feel like I was having a layer of lotion, yet it didn't feel dry the entire day.

I used the lotion once a day, after I woke up and washed it off before bed, and my skin was soft and moist the whole day. I even used it throughout the summer months as I was just too comfortable with it. It has SPF 15, which is probably not enough, but for the winter months it seemed just fine.

Price: CAD 15, about RM49, for a 120ml bottle. It lasted me almost 6 months for once-a-day use. The pump-style dispensng ensures that there is absolutely no chance of dust or particles getting into the product, and since no double-dipping is possible, you can even share it with friends who want to sample or need an emergency fix!

3. Lakme Fruit Blast Peach Milk Moisturizing Lotion

I bought this in Bangalore, after watching the delicious tv advertisement for the product. Yes, the travel-size Strawberry Face Wash came free with the lotion, and I imagined my face becoming very fruity-licious and smooth and glowy after using the product.

As soon as my Future-e was exhausted, I started using this; it didn't cause any redness or allergies or breakouts. The texture was light yet creamy, smooth during application. It took a few seconds to completely absorb or dry, but the face was moist without being oily all day long after that. The product was a very light baby pink, which probably meant there was colouring added to it. It smelt nothing like peach or milk. As far as skin tone was concerned, I don'tthink it had enough 'peaches' or 'milk' to cause a significant difference in a glowing complexion, but on the whole, it served its purpose of not making my skin flaky and dry.

Price: About Rs200 or RM15 for about 150 ml of product, and it lasted me about 6 months. It comes in a cutely shaped bottle with a flip cap so you can pour out the amount you need, so you won't contaminate the contents. As the product has no SPF whatsoever, you may want to slather on sunscreen over it if you're not spending 10 hours in air-conditioned places like me.

4. Organic Aid Vitamin-E Moisturizing Cream



As i was running out on my Lakme moisturizer, my skin started breaking out and itching (this was very unusual), and I was wondering if it was caused by air-conditioning, makeup, moisturizer, vitamin intake, food or just hormones. None of them had I done differently in the last year, so it was probably something else that I can't figure out. Anyways, now my aim was to get rid if small scars and find something that would mositurize yet not make my skin oily - while sticking to drugstore brands.

In the past I have used Organic Aid Vitamin E Oil; it was very concentrated and came in a little jar that was hard to dispense, but it worked like magic to get rid of my chicken pox scars so fast that people didn;t believe I was infected after 2 months. So this brand has gotten into my good books; plus I am a sucker for anything made in Canada, US or India. And this is made in the US.

The cream comes in the brown tub with dark brown lid, and I find it a little unhygienic, unless you can avoid double-dipping or scooping. The product is very very thick (very) and will not move around in th etub even if you turn it over. It is white and smooth, and when you apply it on your face, it literally feels like you're applying wax. It takes quite an effort to rub it in, and then wait about 3-4 minutes for it to dry off.

Once it dries off, it doesn't feel uncomfortable anymore and you can go on applying your makeup as usual. Its the the first few minutes that feel icky and uncomfortable. I apply the cream in the morning and wash it off at night, and my skin feels soft and moist all day, without being oily. Since it contains 1,000 IU of Vitamin E, it will work slowly to reduce the appearance of scars as well.

So far, so good. I actually feel this product is the best I've tried, and may stick with it for a while. I have yet to apply it to the neck area as I'm still adjusting to the slight discomfort due to its waxy texture upon application, but it doesn't last long. I've heard really good things about this product too, so let's see how well it works.

Price: RM15 at Guardian for 1oz tub, and I'm guessing it will last me 2-3 months with once-a-day usage. The packaging is very simple, and doesn't explain much about the way it works like othe rpoducts that have pictures of the dermis and absorption mechanism on the box, which is what makes me more confident that this product will do more good. Overall, an excellent product if you can fogive its lack of SPF.