As someone with sensitive, redness-prone, combination skin, I’m hesitant to try just any old moisturizer that lands on my desk. (And trust me, there are many thanks to my job as a beauty writer.) That said, one brand that I typically have no hesitation in trying is Dermalogica. It’s gentle, professional-grade skin care formulated without artificial fragrance (a known trigger for folks with sensitive skin). What’s more, it’s backed by the International Dermal Institute. Needless to say, when I heard about the new Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream ($64), I immediately had to try it.
Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream: What makes it special
The Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream seems like a generic fragrance-free moisturizer. The packaging is no-nonsense and the cream itself has no scent. If you were to judge it based on those two things alone, you might think it’s a boring skin-care product and there’s something better out there. Oh, but how wrong you’d be.
This sensitive skin-friendly cream is formulated with moisturizing glycerin, soothing jojoba oil and boerhavia diffusa root, a calming ceramide complex, and anti-inflammatory centella asiatica extract. What’s more, it has high percentages of shea butter, which gives it an occlusive effect, making it a great moisturizer to layer over skin-care products in a slugging routine.
My honest review
This moisturizer comes housed in a short, girthy bottle affixed with a pump top. Where some creams require a few pumps to address even just the face, the Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream disperses more than enough product for your face and even a bit of your neck in a single pump. That said, to adequately cover my face, neck, and chest (as derms recommend we do with any facial skin-care product), I use 1.5 to 2 pumps.
My first impression of the texture of this cream was that it’s thick. However, as soon as I began rubbing it into my skin, I discovered just how balmy and weightless it becomes. While rich and nourishing, this cream sinks so effortlessly into the skin that you don’t have to worry about any residue or wait for it to dry down—not if it’s the only product you apply or if it’s layered over other skin-care products. Speaking of, I found that it notably hydrates and soothes my skin on its own but it’s even more impressive when applied over my retinol and exfoliating acids, as my skin doesn’t get the slightest bit sensitive to those applications anymore. (In the past, I’ve experienced some redness while my skin adjusts.)
Truly, the Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream is a thirst-quenching, skin-drenching, complexion-soothing cream like I’ve never seen before. Best of all, it genuinely calms my redness-prone skin (which turns out to actually be rosacea, so that’s saying something). I love to use it on its own, over my more intense skin-care treatments, when my skin feels parched post-pool swim, and after long days out on the boat when my complexion feels chapped from the sun and wind. I can only imagine how stellar this formula is going to be once it starts to get cooler out, especially during winter. I have no doubt that I’ll hit empty and when I do, I’ll have no qualms about spending upwards of $60 for a moisturizer. It’s that good.