Absolue-tely worth it: The Lancôme Absolue Soft Cream review

The last time I got this excited about a moisturizer was the super cheap Nivea Creme. Lancôme Absolue Revitalizing & Brightening Soft Cream is much pricier, so of course, my expectations are much higher. Let’s find out.

What is it
A soft cream facial moisturizer with a unique, transforming texture that visibly reduces fine lines and wrinkles, while rejuvenating skin with firmness, radiance and 24-hour hydration..

How I use it
In the evenings as the final step of my routine. A generous pea sized amount is enough for my face, with a focus on my cheeks and drier under eye areas. I don’t use this in the morning only because I’m testing out other products, plus it’s on the heavier side.

Best suited for
Dry and/or mature skin types. Combo/oily skin types or those living in a humid climate may find this too rich.

Things to note
Contains fragrances and alcohol in low concentrations, neither of which I found irritating nor drying.

Packaging
A luxurious and heavy gold jar. The 2oz jar is reusable, and you can purchase refill pods at a lower price.

Scent
A beautiful floral scent that I find oh-so-dreamy! It’s definitely noticeable but dissipates after the product is applied.).

Texture
A silky rich pink cream that feels extremely emollient. It’s not thick or oily and spreads easily. It does leave this sort of protective sheen on your skin, similar to a facial oil.

Finish
A noticeable glow, similar to that of a facial oil. It’s not uncomfortable or suffocating in anyway though.

Where to buy
$120/1oz or $212/2oz from Lancome (multiple BOGO sales per year), Harrods, and LookFantastic; $180/2oz from Nordstrom; $185/2oz for refill pods from Lancome

Ingredients Highlight

At first glance this ingredient list, much like most high end brand ingredient lists, is mostly disappointing:

• Hydroxypropyl Tetrahydropyrantriol is a L’oreal patented ingredient also known as Pro-Xylane. They claim it can help increase the production of important skin building blocks, which will lead to plumper and more hydrated skin.
• Has a good mix of emollients and humectants to draw and lock in hydration – important in any moisturizer!
• BUT key ingredient Rose Extracts only appears in the middle of the list, so the % is probably low.
• Doesn’t contain the usual “superstars” we’re familiar with, eg. niacinamide, vitamin c, ceramides, or even hyaluronic acid!
• There seems to be a lot of “filler” ingredients.

And friends, this is the danger of us average consumers trying to decode ingredients.

The efficacy of the formula is so much more than what we can see from this list, and I would’ve missed out on an incredible product if I judged it on this list alone.

Usage Experience

Going into this my expectations were high. I didn’t know what exactly to expect, but I expected to see results, and boy I was not disappointed!

The texture, as I mentioned earlier, is in one word: luxurious. The way it melted and absorbed so beautifully, my dry skin was in heaven. A little goes a long way too, but it’s hard to be stingy with this one: it’s so beautiful that I just wanna lather this on thick.

It absolutely has the usage experience of a high end product and it quickly became the product I looked forward to using the most. No complaints. None.

As for the results, I’ll let these photos speak for themselves:

This is a moisturizer where I saw immediate and long term results. Immediate is obviously the glow it gives me, hence I call it my “glow in a jar”. But long term results I’m also seeing smoother, plumper, and generally healthier skin. It’s the kind of results I don’t even see from some serums, so to get that from a cream is incredible.

Lancome Absolue Soft Cream compared

There are no dupes that I’m aware of, which is why this cream leaves me shook. However here are a few products I found that also feature Pro-Xylane and similar emollients:

• L’Oreal Revitalift Triple Power Intensive Anti-Aging Night Face Mask contains centella asiatica and hyaluronic acid as well, but I see no signs of the retinol and vitamin c it claims to have 🧐
• Vichy Neovadiol Compensating Complex Night contains hyaluronic acid and caffeine.
• Kiehl’s Super Multi-Corrective Anti-Aging Face And Neck Cream contains shea butter, vitamin e, and hyaluronic acid.

I haven’t tried any of the above, but here’s how the Lancome compares to the other cream moisturizers I have tried:

• I Dew Care Say You Dew Moisturizing Vitamin C Gel + Cream* ($23/1.7oz)
  This truly gives my skin a glass skin glow and moisturizes well, but it doesn’t have the same plumping and anti-aging effects as the Lancome. For me this is the affordable glow-in-a-jar option for younger folks.
• Chanel Le Lift Crème Riche ($165/1.7oz)
  Also a beautiful cream but other than moisturize I did not see any results with this one. I would definitely go with the Lancome if you want a bougie cream.
• La Mer Crème de la Mer ($190/1oz)
  More occlusive than the Lancome, which is great if you have a compromised barrier or super dry skin. Its reparative effects are outstanding. If you have otherwise healthy skin you’ll find this to be underwhelming.
• Nivea Cream ($0.99/1oz)
  For very similar results to the La Mer, try the Nivea Cream instead. I will admit that the La Mer is still slightly more effective, but not by $189.
• Darphin Intral Soothing Cream* ($74/1.7oz)
  Features similar emollients and a variety of botanical extracts (including rose) that helps with soothing the skin. For me the star is their Intra Soothing Serum, but this cream boosted the serum’s effects. Doesn’t do much in terms of anti-aging.

Final Verdict