As our senior beauty editor, Zoe Wiener, so gracefully once put it: “Crepe-y skin, like the ability to pull off the scent of Chanel No. 5, is just one of those things that comes with age.” For all of us, it’s an inevitable thing that happens as we get older and start to lose collagen in our skin. Over time, this causes the thinner areas around our bodies, like our hands, neck, and eyes, to lose their youthful bounce.
If you’re not quite ready to get off the hypothetical trampoline just yet, though, shoppers in their 40s and 50s say Dermalogica’s newest cream breathes new life into skin, putting the bounce back into crepe-y, aging areas that have started to crinkle. Its Phyto Nature Oxygen Cream ($125) re-oxygenates skin with a burst of plant-based actives to improve plumpness, firmness, and tautness, and according to hundreds of reviews on the Dermalogica site, it really works.
One shopper in calls it a “game changer” for rejuvenating crinkly neck skin: “I’m 40 years old and started to become very self-conscious about my neck,” they write. “I was noticing that it had become crepe-y and that my skin was losing its elasticity. I have tried so many different products with no results until this. Literally after one use I noticed a huge difference. I really do feel years younger. Buy it! You won’t regret it.”
How the Phyto Nature Oxygen Cream works
So what’s in it… the Fountain of Youth? More realistically, the secret behind this firming day cream could come from its load of phytoactives, aka, plant-based ingredients, that draw oxygen into the skin and promote cell turnover. “Oxygen is known for assisting in skin rejuvenation and helping encourage a healthy aging process, improving the overall health of the skin,” Varun Koneru, vice president of research and development for beauty brand SeneGence, previously explained to us. “When oxygen is available and circulating within the skin cells, it promotes increased moisture. The oxygen revitalizes the skin, visibly plumping out the lines and wrinkles.”
According to the Dermalogica website, each of the phytoactives (ligustrum lucidum seed, glycogen, and nasturtium flower) grows in low-oxygen environments. Applied in the cream, they help skin absorb oxygen from the air around it. It’s pretty scientific, but when combined with other plant actives—like firming luffa root and tightening astragalus—it apparently works wonders in re-bouncifying thin, crepe-y skin.
“Wow. If ever there was a new product that you needed in your routine, it’s this cream,” writes another Dermalogica shopper in their 40s. “I instantly fell in love with it after just the first use… This moisturizer is lightweight, absorbs quickly and instantly smoothes and softens my skin. The beautiful radiance to my complexion and overall healthier, more youthful look to my skin is what I’ve always dreamed of having. Trust me, this cream is a must-have!”
Another shopper in their 50s also calls it an “absolute must-have”: “Dermalogica has done it again! This cream has brought life back to my aging skin. In such a short amount of time, I’ve noticed visible results with firmness, plumping and deep hydration. I will never stop using this!”
We could keep quoting happy shoppers, but that would take a while; out of 535 total reviews there are only five reviews three stars and below—the rest are 4- and 5-star reviews, praising the lightweight cream for its re-plumping formula and lightweight feel. “The ONLY reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because it’s very pricey and the amount of product dispensed in one pump isn’t quite enough for the whole face and neck,” notes one shopper in their 60s. “Aside from that, this cream is outstanding and I highly recommend it!”