I’ve Tried 42 Moisturizers For Mature Skin In The Last Year, And I Always Come Back To This One
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I’ve Tried 42 Moisturizers For Mature Skin In The Last Year, And I Always Come Back To This One
WHAT: Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte’s Magic Cream*
WHY: If I’m being honest, I much prefer ferreting out little-known, underrated, potentially even cheap/drugstore products to share with you, but when something is truly special, regardless of popularity or price, it’s my duty to talk about it.
Moisturizers are sort of my white whale.
They must be deeply hydrating to the point of immediate skin transformation, but they cannot in any way leave a sticky or tacky residue. They must smell heavenly and offer a relaxing experience such that I am excited to use it, but they must never be overly perfumed or synthetically scented. They must essentially perform a modern miracle that moisturizers aren’t really even meant to do —lessen fine lines, fatten skin, fill up pores, and, rather impossibly, visibly improve skin tone and texture.
The number in the title of this article is not a guess. It is the result of me going through my various moisturizers marked “tried, with notes.” I would estimate that 30% of them were sent to me in PR, but the rest, dear reader, were purchased with my own, hard earned American dollars. Well maybe not hard earned because this is what I do for a living. But earned nonetheless.
And I will tell you that I liked a lot of them. Many are very good, many are excellent. I would say maybe 10 of them I would gladly use every day if this other pesky moisturizer didn’t exist, beckoning me back to its loving, ultra-hyped but entirely deserving, arms.
You already know what it is. It is Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte’s Magic Cream. And it is, well, the closest thing to an actual magic cream I’ve ever used.
This beloved cult classic is worth every single solitary ounce of its semi-hefty price tag. Made from a witches brew of hyaluronic acid, camellia and rosehip oils, vitamins C and E, and frangipani flower extract, this moisturizer seems to work for every skin type, every age, and in tests across 100 women, 100% of women saw a reduction in wrinkles.
For me, there is a certain kind of plumping effect that creates an actual bounce to the skin, and without question, there is no better moisturizer for wearing under makeup, as it almost acts like a primer.
I am not ashamed to tell you that after experiencing the moisturizer, I have now officially tried every, single skincare product Charlotte Tilbury makes. All with my own money. And truly everything is good. I would say there’s a reason, though, that this is the only dedicated article I’ve written about one of them. Actually wait. That’s not true. I wrote about THIS even though you will likely think it’s a totally superfluous item in your skincare regimen though you would be wrong. There’s also a water cream version* for more oily and/or sensitive skin types that I’ve tried and love and use sometimes in of the dead of summer. Their cream cleanser* is also absolutely ideal, especially for drier skin, if most cleansers typically leave your skin tight.
But.
If you have never experienced this cream, it’s time. Psychotically, even though I have a lot left of my jar, I just bought the new “supercharged” version* (which is just replacing the old version) which now does not contain spf so it can be used morning and night—you should always use a separate spf anyway so I prefer this change. And it also has something called a “recoverstem peptide” which apparently is a blend of more than 100 different peptides, the goal being to reverse the visible signs of aging. It’s also refillable so we don’t have to purchase a whole new jar when we’re out.
So far, it acts and feels just as glorious and rich and lovely as the original, but I’ll report back if the new version has Benjamin Buttoned me into my early 20s.
In the meantime, try this cream. Use it every day. I haven never met a person who doesn’t love it.
Price: Starts at $69
Audie Metcalf is the Editor-in-chief of The Candidly, and lives in LA with her family. You can find more of her articles here.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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