It’s a good think that I discovered ZO Skin Health Offects Sulfur Masque. It came in very handy when Vichy LiftActiv Supreme Day Cream for Normal to Combination Skin gave me one of the worst breakouts I have ever experienced.
Just a few days after I started using it, my chin and jawline were dotted with huge and red pimples that simply refused to budge until I resorted to sulfur.
The worst part? I should have known this would happen…
- What’s In Vichy LiftActiv Supreme Day Cream for Normal to Combination Skin?
- Texture
- Fragrance
- How To Use It
- Performance & Personal Opinion
- Who Is This For?
- Who Is This NOT For?
- Packaging
- Does Vichy LiftActiv Supreme Day Cream for Normal to Combination Skin Live Up To Its Claims?
- Price & Availability
- Do You Need It?
- Dupes & Alternatives
What’s In Vichy LiftActiv Supreme Day Cream for Normal to Combination Skin?
SILICONES TO MINIMIZE FINE LINES
The base of this eye cream 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 suffocate skin: 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.
Related: Are Silicones Really Bad For Skin?
ISOPROPYL ISOSTEARATE TO SOFTEN SKIN
FYI, it wasn’t the silicone base that made me break out. Isopropyl Isostearate is the culprit.
My skin so does NOT like isopropyl anything. Isopropyl myristate and isopropyl palmitate have always turned my face into a war zone.
Isopropyl ingredients are emollients. They make skin softer and smoother. But in my case, the cost is too high. What’s the point of having softer skin if it’s riddled with pimples?
Before I go any further, let me reassure you. Just because the cream made my skin breakout, it doesn’t mean it’ll do the same to you. I know many ladies who use it without any problems.
But, if your skin hates Isopropyl anything like mine, stay away!
Related: Is Isopropyl Myristate Comedogenic?
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The star of the show here is rhamnose. At least, that’s what Vichy says.
Rhamnose is a sugar, and we all know that eating sugar isn’t the best thing for skin (life sucks sometimes, doesn’t it?), so I didn’t expect it to do anything. It’s there for marketing purposes, I thought.
Again, I was wrong. A bit of research unearthed something interesting. Turns out, rhamose is a cell-communicating ingredient. That’s scientific jargon for a substance that can tell cells how to behave.
In this case, rhamose can tell fibroblast-producing cells to, well, produce more fibroblasts. Those little thingies are what create the collagen in our skin, and collagen is what keeps skin elastic, so the more the better.
The only problem is that these studies were done in vitro, ie in a petri dish, so we don’t know how well rhamnose works when applied on the skin.
One thing is sure, though. Skin doesn’t need just one anti-aging ingredient. It needs plenty. That’s why I’d be a lot more excited about this cream if it also contained vitamin C, or retinol, or niacinamide (and didn’t turn my face into a battlefield).
Related: 5 Anti-Aging Superstars You Need In Your Skincare Routine
ALCOHOL TO THIN OUT THE TEXTURE
Alcohol Denat is one of the most misunderstood ingredients in skincare. Word on the street is that it’s terribly drying and irritating.
To an extent, that’s true. The reason you feel so bad after you gulp down one too many cocktails is that alcohol is drying out every cell in your body, giving you a bad case of dehydration.
Does the same thing apply to skin when you slather alcohol on it? It depends. If alcohol’s all you’re slathering on, then yes, it will dry out your skin.
But if you use alcohol together with moisturizing ingredients, they’ll counteract its drying effects. Science confirms this. Recent studies show that alcohol isn’t as drying as we once thought.
Having said this, everyone’s skin is different. If your skin is particularly sensitive to alcohol denat and doesn’t tolerate it well, this cream isn’t for you.
But what’s alcohol doing here, anyway? Alcohol thins the texture of skincare products. It’s the cheapest way to do the job.
Related: What Does Alcohol-Free In Skincare Really Mean?
Texture
For a day cream, it’s pretty thick. I’m surprised this is for combo skin, as texture-wise, it seems formulated for dry skin, if you know what I mean? And that, despite the addition of alcohol to thin out the formula!
The thick texture absorbs pretty quickly, without leaving a greasy or shiny residue behind. So, that, at least, is good.
Fragrance
Medicinal-fresh and subtle.
How To Use It
In the day, in between serum and sunscreen. At night, it’s the last step of your skincare routine.
Performance & Personal Opinion
You already know this, but a few days after I started using Vichy LiftActiv Supreme Day Cream for Normal to Combination Skin, my face erupted in pimples…
But what if it doesn’t pull the same trick on you? Here’s what you can expect. Breakouts aside, the cream did a good job at moisturizing and brigtening my skin.
The areas not covered in pimples were softer to the touch and looked a lot smoother. And radiant. It had that lit-from-within glow, you know?
This was all the result of hydration. When skin is hydrated, it looks so much better. But, hydrating skin is pretty much all this moisturizer does. It certainly can’t lift it, as the name implies.
And it seriously lacks antioxidants, so it won’t do much for premature aging, either.
Who Is This For?
Normal skin.
Who Is This NOT For?
- Acne-prone skin
- Combination skin
- Oily skin
Packaging
I have mixed feelings about it. The jar itself doesn’t bother me much. There’s not much here that can be spoilt by exposure to light and air. But it’s not the most hygienic.
P.S. I love the cap has a mirror on top. Isn’t that cool?
Does Vichy LiftActiv Supreme Day Cream for Normal to Combination Skin Live Up To Its Claims?
| CLAIM | TRUE? |
|---|---|
| Smoothing and firming daily moisturiser that targets the signs of ageing as they appear. | It’s smoothing, but not firming. “Targeting the signs of aging as they appear” simply means it plumps up and moisturises skin. The combination of moisture + silicones fills in wrinkles and fine lines, so they look smaller. But it only “hides” them, it doesn’t get rid of them. |
| It has a unique formula that smoothes the appearance of wrinkles and helps the skin to feel firmer. | It’s true that it smoothes the appearance of wrinkles. Anything moisturising and/or with silicones does this. It does’t firm skin, but it doesn’t claim to do so. Pay attention to the words used. They only say it helps (what?) skin to feel (NOT be or become) firmer. |
Price & Availability
£30.00 at Escentual and Feel Unique
Do You Need It?
Not really. If you like the sound of it and want to give it a go, go ahead. But make sure there’s nothing in here with a proven track record of breaking out YOUR skin.
[penci_review]
Dupes & Alternatives
Ingredients
Aqua, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Rhamnose, Isohexadecane, Alcohol Denat., Propanediol, Isopropyl Isostearate, Vinyl Dimethicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Cetyl Alcohol, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Behenyl Alcohol, Nylon-12, PEG-100 Stearate, CI77163, CI77891, Stearic Acid, Stearyl Alcohol, Arachidyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Caffeine, Neohesperidin Dihydrochalcone, Palmitic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Adenosine, Ammonium Polyacryldimethyltauramide, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Disodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Acrylamide/Sodium Acrylolydimethyltaurate Copolymer, Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate, Polysorbate 80, Perfume
Thanks so much for this review, i think i’m gonna stay away from it… My skin is very sensitive and prone to break out, so i rather stay on the safe side i think.
Amanda, good choice!