-Olay

In May 2007, I posted about Olay’s Multi-Radiance Daily Illuminating UV Fluid SPF 15. It was my daytime moisturizer/sunscreen product for about two years. It is a nicely formulated product and I have recommended it to some of my readers.

Earlier this year, I was looking through the ingredient lists of some other daytime moisturizers from Olay in my local Boots store and I decided to try Complete Care Daily UV Fluid SPF 15 (for Normal/Oily Skin) and Complete Care Daily Sensitive UV Fluid SPF 15 (for Sensitive Skin). After using them for several months, I can say that I am very happy with both.

I was very pleased with the Multi-Radiance moisturizer, which is a competent sunscreen product (with ingredients to protect against UVA and UVB rays) that contains niacinamide. It was moisturizing without being greasy, it didn’t cause breakouts or irritation, and it worked for me all year around.

However, there are two ingredients the product doesn’t need to have. One is citrus nobilis (mandarin extract), which can be a skin irritant. It didn’t irritate my skin but I thought it would be nice to use a product that doesn’t contain this. The other is mica, which is one of the ingredients in makeup products that create shimmer. It is usually used in skincare products to create a subtle glow for the skin. (It doesn’t have skincare benefits.) Even though it didn’t make my skin look too glowy, I’d prefer skincare products with fewer ingredients whose effects are merely cosmetic.

Like the Multi-Radiance moisturizer, both of the Complete Care ones are well-formulated sunscreen products (with butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane to protect against UVA rays) and both contain niacinamide. Neither of them contains citrus nobilis or mica. Compared with Multi-Radiance, both have a lighter texture. (The two are very similar in texture.)

At the very moment I am using the one for normal/oily skin, but I will be going back to the one for sensitive skin. It was the one I used first when I bought the two and it will become my staple daytime moisturizer. The main reason is that it is fragrance-free. (The other two contain fragrance.)

One thing I would like to point out is that all the three moisturizers, as well as many others from Olay, contain benzyl alcohol, which can be a skin irritant. But it is not among the major ingredients in any of the three and I haven’t had negative reactions to them.

On a very minor note, I wish the bottles (pictured above) would come with a pump dispenser.

Overall, both are nice products. They spread effortlessly, absorb easily and don’t leave a greasy film. Both work well under makeup too. I would recommend them (especially the one for sensitive skin) to those with combination and oily skin as a daytime moisturising/sunscreen product.

Other skincare products I am using at the moment:

Olay Complete Care Night Enriched Cream

RMK Cleansing Oil

Lancôme Tonique Douceur

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(Olay Complete Care Night Enriched Cream)

Happy new year everyone! I wish all of you a healthy and happy 2008!

Today I am talking about my current nighttime moisturizer. In my post on my daily skincare routine, I mentioned Lancôme’s Hydra Zen was my chosen moisturizer for nighttime. But, about six months ago, Hydra Zen changed its formulation for the fourth time. Unlike the last three times, when there were only minor changes, the 4th-generation Hydra Zen’s ingredient list looks very different. It is still a suitable moisturizer for me (I used a couple of samples), but it was apparent to me that my skin didn’t like it as much.

I decided to look for a replacement. Usually, finding a replacement skincare product can be painful and can involve wasted money. (Opened and used cosmetics products are not returnable and refundable in the UK.) But, since, at that time, I had just started to like Olay Complete Care Daily Illuminating UV Fluid SPF 15, I thought I’d tried another moisturizer from Olay.

The one I got is Olay Complete Care Night Enriched Cream. It sounds like it is really dense and possibly greasy. But, when I tried the in-store tester, it seemed clear that it was not. It seemed light but still emollient, and it appeared to be suitable for my oily-dry skin. With Olay being a relatively affordable brand, I thought I’d try it out.

I really liked it the first time I used it. Even though it has a cream consistency, it is surprisingly lightweight and has a good slip. It is moisturizing and absorbs well, but it doesn’t feel heavy or look greasy at all. For me, it is a competent moisturizer for all seasons. Obviously, this is the first winter when I am using it. All I need is just to use a bit more of it than I do in warmer months, and I don’t need to layer on any other product.

One thing worth mentioning is that one of the major ingredients in this moisturizer is niacinamide. Paula Begoun describes ingredients like niacinamide and retinol as “cell-communicating ingredients“, which are able to work effectively at the cellular level to help improve the conditions and appearance of skin. (Read more about niacinamide and cell-communicating ingredients on Paula Begoun’s website.)

It contains benzyl alcohol, which can be a skin irritant. But it is not among the major ingredients and I have not had negative reactions to the product.

Overall this is a well-formulated moisturizer that happens to have the texture and the degree of emolliency that really suit me. I am quite positive that, as long as it remains available in the UK, I will continue to use it.

Related Posts:

10 Golden Skincare Rules
(Let’s try to follow all of them in 2008!)

A Touch of Blusher’s Anti-Aging Week
(my week-long series on facts and thoughts on anti-aging skincare)

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I have written in my post about my daily skincare routine that Estee Lauder’s DayWear Plus for Oily Skin is the daytime moisturizer that I use. I have been using it for years and I have never thought about changing it.

But recently I have discovered Olay Complete Care Multi-Radiance Daily Illuminating UV Fluid for Combination and Oily Skin (SPF 15). For me, it is one of the very few daytime moisturizers that are as good as DayWear Plus.

It has a slightly thicker consistency than DayWear Plus, but it spreads easily and absorbs well. It dries up to a semi-matte finish. Thanks to mica, it does impart a subtle glow, but it does not look shiny or greasy. It is also a good base for makeup. Most importantly, it does not irritate my sensitive skin and my skin feels properly moisturized.

It is about 14 US dollars (for 75ml) in the UK, so it is a great cheaper alternative for me. (DayWear Plus (50ml) is about 56 US dollars here, whereas it is 38 US dollars in America!)

It contains titanium dioxide and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane as the anti-UVA ingredients. (Please check out my post on sunscreen basics to see why we need ingredients like these in a daytime moisturizer.)

There are a few drawbacks of this product. It contains benzyl alcohol and citrus nobilis (mandarin extract), which can be skin irritants. Benzyl alcohol is not among the major ingredients while citrus nobilis is a bit higher up on the ingredient list. But I have not had negative reactions to the product. Also, the packaging is not totally opaque. Skin-benefiting ingredients that are light-sensitive can lose their effect overtime in this kind of packaging. Maybe Olay should consider rectifying this.

By the way, I know that Olay carries different products in different countries (or it may package and name products differently), and I can’t find this particular product on the Olay US website. Maybe someone can let me know more about this.

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