I've been taking a great interest in my skincare routine recently mainly because I'm getting older and I'd like it to stay looking youthful. As a result I've been trying out a number of face skincare products, starting with high-street ones as premium products unfortunately do come with a premium price tag!
After having positive experiences with the Loreal Youth Code range I thought I would try this - the Hydrafresh gel-creme, which promises, according to the packaging, keep skin feeling hydrated. This sounded very positive to me and as I think that hydrated skin is a feature of young skin, I wanted to try this out, especially as it was just under £5 for a 50ml pot - more than half the price of the Youth Code creams by Loreal.

The moisturiser is described as a 'gel-creme' and I suppose this is a fairly accurate description of it's consistency. It does have a slightly translucent appearance and feels lighter than a normal cream moisturiser. It is also slightly aqua green in colour and has a very subtle 'clean' smell. In terms of appearance and smell I would describe it as pleasant.

But unfortunately this is where my positive comments end. It doesn't keep my skin hydrated very well. In fact after around 4-5 days of consecutive use, I started to notice dry patches around my forehead and my chin. This was not good, especially as my skin has been a lot less dry since using the Youth Code creams. I was really disappointed with this, especially as dry skin is not really a feature of hydrated skin in my opinion.

In addition to noticing dry patches of skin after using this cream for a few days another problem I experienced with this was that after application, my skin would begin to sting after just a few minutes of putting it on. I wouldn't say that I have particularly sensitive skin, but this product really made my skin feel uncomfortable. I did wonder if my reaction to this moisturiser had something to do with the dry patches that resulted from its use - it's hard to be sure if the two are connected, but either way this cream is not for me. As a result I have stopped using it on my face and will probably just use the rest of it as a body moisturiser. But to pay around £5 for a pot of body cream is expensive in my opinion!

I think I was hoping that this moisturiser would have a similar effect to the Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief by Clinique that I once tried on in a department store but didn't buy as it was too expensive. Its claims are similar and with a price tag of £30.00 I would have been over the moon if I'd found something as effective for a fraction of the price! Alas, it wasn't meant to be!

Thanks for reading