Benefit Total Moisture Face Cream

This is yet another post from my Sephora skincare hauls of the last few months!  This started as a deluxe Beauty Insider sample from Sephora and then I quickly ordered the full size in it.  I have never associated Benefit with skincare and I tend to head right to their brightly colored makeup displays in Sephora and at their counters in department stores.  I am doubting that I ever would have tried their skincare had I not gotten this sample from Sephora, it even lives in the shadows on the brand's page on the Sephora website.  I wasn't expecting all that much from this skin cream, I kind of assumed that Benefit released a skincare line just to grab a few extra dollars and I never saw it mercendised or recommended in my local Sephora.  And what happens when we assume?!  This a lovely skin cream for those of us with normal to dry skin that need a bit of extra moisture at night or during the coldest days of the winter, in fact I have just ordered another jar of this since I am getting low heading into the coldest days of the winter.

"A hydra-concentrated facial cream with tri-radiance complex.  Formulated for normal to dry skin, this concentrated facial cream provides immediate and long-term hydration for an ultra-radiant complexion.  It contains an exclusive "tri radiance complex" to help develop the skin's reserves of water and reinforce skin's moisture barrier.  This product contains natural plant-based squalene and mango butter emollients."

This is thick and very hydrating face cream, I use it at night currently but I might start using it during the day too if the weather gets even colder and drier.  I use enough of this cream to cover one of my fingertips and that is enough for me to cover my whole face.  I love that this cream is very concentrated, it absorbs very quickly and helps hydrate my face.  This is much higher quality skin cream than I ever expected to see from this company.

Squalene is one of the key ingredients in this face cream.  Squalene is a plant-based hydrating ingredient and is one of the most common hydrating ingredients on the market today.  It is a fat molecule so it helps to hydrate the skin and to hold the moisture in by strengthing skin's natural moisture barrier.  This ingredient also has anti-oxidant properties to help protect the skin all year round.  The Sephora website doesn't give any more details about the "tri-radiance complex" so I decided to check for more information on the Benefit website.  It gives very few details also except that it states that the squalene si part fo the complex so I am going to guess that this cream is  formulated to act as an anti-oxidant and to protect skin as it hydrates.  Mango butter is another plant-based emollient to help hydrate and protect the skin.  I believe that mango butter is what helps to give this cream its thick texture. 

This cream has one drawback, for me it is not that much of an issue but for others it could be.  This product has a very noticeable floral fragrance, I like it but if you are sensitive to fragrance than you would not be able to stand using this product.  I have complained about this before in skincare products, I prefer little to no fragrance since a fragrancve can ruin an otherwise amazing product.  This isn't the hugest issue and doesn't detract from the product performance but it is something that could be improved on.

Next time that you visit the Benefit counter, look past the blushes and mascara and give this cream a try.  I found their skincare to be quite impressive and on par with some of their best makeup items.

photo courtesy of Sephora