Review: Aesop Camellia Nut Facial Hydrating Cream

Aesop is one of those brands that either disappears in your beauty radar or keeps intriguing you from the side line like the nerdy math whiz in school. In my case, it's the latter -- from the old laboratory feel to the aroma therapeutic scents to the generously-sized products. My first Aesop experience was with mere samples but they confirmed that Aesop has got the goods. While I was impressed with the Oil Free Facial Hydrating Serum, I decided that I needed a moisturizer more urgently and bought the Camellia Nut Facial Hydrating Cream, which I sampled and equally liked.

Read on for the review...

The invigorating scent heightens the senses as you take a whiff of Aesop Camellia Nut Facial Hydrating Cream. I seriously can spend hours smelling this custard-like cream and won't get nauseous. Formulated with dry and sensitive skin in mind, ingredients that tend to aggravate the skin were omitted from this formulation. Although the cream doesn't trigger any sensitivities, it doesn't help to treat them. Nonetheless, it's soothing and comforting.

At the sight of "cream", one would think "sticky", "oily" and "heavy" but that's not the case at all with this moisturizer. Despite the fact that it sits on the skin for 2 seconds more than the average cream does, this water-based cream absorbs well leaving very little shine and stickiness. In comparison with most creams, this one's lightweight enough to be used for day time, which is what I do. Keep in mind though that I have sponge-like skin so reserving this for the night would be better for normal and combination skins. If you have very dry skin or live in dry conditions, you'd probably want to use this in tandem with a hydrating serum to yield better results. In the morning you should have supply soft, comforted and hydrated skin. When used under makeup, the cream doesn't cause any greasiness that may make foundation appear oily throughout the day as with most creams.

If you don't already know, I like value-for-money packaging and Aesop's beaker jar is definitely one. Unfortunately, it lacks convenience and hygiene. Dipping your fingers into the jar every day will probably make the product go bad before you can even finish it (within 12 months, please). My suggestion would be to transfer the cream into a smaller jar or if you're lazy like I am, simply shake the jar before use and scoop up the cream from the lid.

All in all, it's a good moisturizer that gets the job done without any side effects. Don't expect any miracles though.

Available in 60ml (RM115) and 120ml (RM159)