Is Moringa the best anti-aging ingredient of all time?
Estee Lauder certainly wants you to think so. Since they’ve added a few drops to their Revitalizing Supreme + Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Creme, they’ve been singing its praises from the rooftops. They swear it can make wrinkles look smaller, help firm skin, and just make you look younger.
The truth is a little less glamorous…
- What’s In Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme + Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Creme?
- Texture
- Fragrance
- How To Use It
- Performance & Personal Opinion
- Who Is This For?
- Who Is This Not For?
- Packaging
- Does Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme + Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Creme?
- Price & Availability
- Do You Need It?
- Dupes & Alternatives
What’s In Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme + Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Creme?
SILICONES TO ENHANCE TEXTURE
The base of this moisturiser is made up of silicones. It’s not as bad as you think. Silicones do a lot of good things in skincare:
- Enhance texture: They allow the cream to glide on smoothly, without tugging or pulling.
- Fill in fine lines and wrinkles: It’s a trick to make them look temporarily smaller.
- Softens skin: It makes it feel silky soft to the touch.
They don’t even cause pimples: silicones have a particular molecular structure made up of larger molecules with wider spaces between each molecule. They create a barrier that keeps moisture in but still allows skin to perspire.
But if you use anything comedogenic before this serum, then yes, silicones can trap them underneath their protective barrier and cause breakouts.
Bottom line: don’t use comedogenic ingredients in your skincare and you’ll be fine.
Related: Are Silicones Really Bad For Skin?
MORINGA EXTRACT TO FIGHT PREMATURE AGING
Moringa extract is the key ingredient in Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme + Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Creme. This extract contains all kinds of goodies your skin loves:
- Amino Acids: The building blocks of proteins, they hydrate skin, help speed up wound healing, and are even involved in the production of collagen and elastin.
- Antioxidants: Vitamins A, C, and E, and quercetin fight off free radicals before they give you wrinkles and dark spots.
- Oleic Acid: A fatty acid that strengthens the skin’s protective barrier and keeps skin soft and moisturised for hours.
Impressive, isn’t it? Moringa extract is a powerful anti-aging ingredient, but it can’t single-handedly boost collagen or take 10 years off your face, like Estee Lauder implies. It certainly isn’t more powerful than retinol.
Related: Why You Need Amino Acids In Your Skincare Routine
ARGIRELINE
You’ll find it as Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 on the label. But it’s best known as “Botox in a jar.”
This peptide works by relaxing facial muscles so they can’t move. No movement = no wrinkles (no wrinkles caused by repeated facial movements, anyway. You’ll still get wrinkles from sun exposure).
Sounds too good to be true? It sort of is. A 2002 study (the only one I could find) shows that an “oil/water (O/W) emulsion containing 10% of the hexapeptide on healthy women volunteers reduced wrinkle depth up to 30% upon 30 days treatment”.
But… not for everyone. Argireline doesn’t diffuse through the skin well. If your skin is thick, chances are it won’t do anything for you. Only older women with thinner skin will see small results here.
P.S. This cream has way less than 10% Argireline. Even if your skin is thin, don’t expect much from it.
Related: Is Argireline An Effective Alternative To Botox?
HYALURONIC ACID TO HYDRATE SKIN
I’m sure you’ve heard of hyaluronic acid. It’s a moisture magnet that attracts and binds to the skin up to 1000 times its weight in water.
What does it mean? Moisture is the foundation of healthy skin. The more moisture your skin has, the smoother, plumper, and brighter it gets.
Related: Why You Need Hyaluronic Acid In Your Skincare Routine
Need help creating an anti-aging routine that really works? Sign up to the newsletter below to receive the “Anti-Aging Skincare Routine Cheatsheet” (it includes product recommendations, too!).
Texture
A hybrid between a cream and a gel, it’s on the thick side. It glides on smoothly and sinks in quickly without leaving a greasy residue behind. But you can feel there’s a film on your skin.
Fragrance
Floral. Perfumey.
How To Use It
In the morning, in between serum and sunscreen. At night, it’s the last step of your skincare routine.
Performance & Personal Opinion
I only use Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme + Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Creme at night. Its luxurious texture feels velvety and glides on smoothly, but it’s a tad too rich for my oilier areas.
It feels like I have a film that doesn’t sink in, but it doesn’t feel greasy, tacky, or anything like that. I was afraid it’d break me out, but luckily that didn’t happen.
Still, I think oily, acne-prone skin types may be put off a little by the texture. If you aren’t, the cream does a great job at moisturising your skin. The extra moisture plumps up skin so it looks suppler. Silicones fill in fine lines and wrinkles so they look smaller. And the whole complexion takes on a dewy glow.
In the short term, the cream can improve the texture of your skin and make you look younger. Its long-term anti-aging properties aren’t the stronger, so slather on a good retinol serum beforehand.
Related: The Complete Guide To Retinol: What It Is, What It Does, And How To Use It
Who Is This For?
- Combination skin
- Normal to dry skin
Who Is This Not For?
May be a bit too heavy for oily and acne-prone skin.
Packaging
Gold jar. It’s pretty and luxurious, but not that hygienic. Plus, antioxidants degrade (and lose a bit of their effectiveness) when exposed to light and air. You’ve guessed it, not the best packaging for an anti-aging product.
Does Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme + Global Anti-Aging Cell Power Creme?
| CLAIM | TRUE? |
|---|---|
| This nourishing, multi-action creme with Moringa Plant Extract improves skin’s elasticity, helps it feel firmer, look plumper. | Notice how they dropped Moringa in to make you think it’s what does the job. In reality, they don’t directly say Moringa does all the things. They also say it makes skin feel firmer, not get firmer. But does the cream deliver? It certainly makes skin plumper, but it doesn’t do much for elasticity. |
| Lines and wrinkles appear reduced. | Yes, anything with silicones will do this. They fill in fine lines and wrinkles, so they look smaller. |
| For thousands of years, the Moringa Plant (often referred to as the “miracle tree”) has been known for its exceptionally nourishing qualities. It holds key building blocks of life—calcium, potassium, Vitamin C, amino acids and Omega 3. It’s one of the most powerful anti-aging ingredients we’ve ever discovered. | Moringa has moisturising and antioxidant properties, but it’s not better than other anti-aging ingredients. It’s certainly not more powerful than retinol. |
| What our Moringa Extract does: • Helps skin optimize its natural renewal and cellular potential. • Supports a powerful protein known as the “gatekeeper of youth”—helping skin “unlock” multiple pathways to visible anti-ageing benefits. • Works together with our pro-collagen technology to help reduce the look of lines and wrinkles. |
Notice how Moringa itself doesn’t do anything. It only helps and support other proteins and technologies to help reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles (not the fine lines and wrinkles themselves). |
Price & Availability
$58.00-$87.00/£49.00-£70.00 at Asos, Look Fantastic, Nordstrom and Ulta
Do You Need It?
I wouldn’t say you need it. There are better options around. But it’s not a bad option if you’re only concerned about moisturising skin and preventing (rather than treating) the signs of aging.
[penci_review]
Dupes & Alternatives
- Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Night Line Smoothing Cream Combination Oily To Oily ($53.00)
- Paula’s Choice Defense Triple Algae Pollution Shield ($31.00)
Ingredients
Water\Aqua\Eau, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Isohexadecane, Butylene Glycol, Bis-Peg-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Pentylene Glycol, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Narcissus Tazetta Bulb Extract, Magnolia Officinalis Bark Extract, Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract\Extrait D’Orge, Sigesbeckia Orientalis (St. Paul’S Wort) Extract, Lens Esculenta (Lentil) Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Whey Protein\Lactis Protein\Proteine Du Petit-Lait, Citrullus Vulgaris (Watermelon) Fruit Extract, Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract, Opuntia Tuna Extract, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Sorbitol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake, Caffeine, Algae Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Lactate, Squalane, Polysilicone-11, Isododecane, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sucrose, Acetyl Glucosamine, Polyethylene, Propylene Carbonate, Citric Acid, Peg-32, Propylene Glycol Dicaprate, Peg-6, Isoceteth-20, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Aminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate, Fragrance (Parfum), Sodium Pca, Sodium Citrate, Disodium Edta, Bht, Phenoxyethanol, Iron Oxides (Ci 77491) <ILN42592>
there is a soft cream version and and a light emulsion available,, your review is a tad bit misleading.
Jeff, I’m sorry if you find it misleading. But I’m clearly stating the name of the product and showing pictures. The emulsion has a slightly different name.