A great facial moisturizing cream can go a long way in your skincare routine. Finding an affordable but effective cream as your last step in your nighttime routine can make all the difference. Trends like the glazed donut look and slugging are not new. However, they have gained popularity again. It is popular because it highlights the importance of locking your actives and moisture into your skin. The Peach Slice Citrus Honey Glow Hydrating Moisture Gel is a great affordable facial moisturizing cream.
About the Product:
The Peach Slices product line from Peach and Lily has so many great K Beauty products. And all of the products are at such an affordable price point. I have really liked all of the products that I have tried. The Peach Slices Citrus-Honey Aqua Glow Hydrating Moisture Gel is not an exception. However, that is with some caveats that I will talk about a little bit later. It comes in a plastic squirt bottle that sits on its cap. I purchased it from ULTA Beauty a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, when I wrote this in July of 2022, they no longer carry the product, but it is available on the Peach and Lily website. It was $11.99 for 3.04 oz at ULTA Beauty when I purchased it. So let’s talk about the product’s claimed benefits and the ingredients’ science.
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Benefits of the Facial Moisturizing Cream’s Ingredients:
Peach and Lily advertises the Peach Slices Citrus-Honey Aqua Glow Hydrating Moisture Gel for all skin types and says it can help acne, dryness, dullness, firmness, and oiliness, pores, and skin sensitivity. Additionally, they claim several of the oils can brighten your skin tone. So let’s talk about what is science-backed and what is more marketing.
Hydration
It is no surprise that the first ingredient in this facial moisturizing cream is water. And neither is the second ingredient, glycerin. Water is the only ingredient that can hydrate skin. But glycerin is one of the most effective ingredients to increase water penetration into your skin. Additionally, glycerin is a humectant that attracts and holds onto water molecules. It behaves like a water reservoir and keeps the skin hydrated. Hyaluronic acid gets a lot of hype for being a hydrating powerhouse (deservedly so). However, glycerin is also a well-established moisturizing ingredient and has a lot of science backing its benefits. Other polymers in the formulation attract and hold onto water molecules. However, their primary responsibility is to help create a light but creamy texture.
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Skin Barrier Repair
Can you have a K Beauty product without it having soothing or barrier repairing ingredients in it? Ceramide NP is one of the ingredients in the product formulation; it is a barrier repair ingredient. The skin barrier, the epidermis, is made of tightly packed cells that have ceramides between them. A brick wall is an analogy many people use to describe the skin barrier. The skin cells are the bricks, and the ceramides are the concrete that holds them together. When the skin barrier is damaged, there can be gaps in the ceramide “glue.” These gaps make your skin more sensitive and lead to trans epidermal water loss.
A damaged skin barrier can lead to many other issues. Some of the problems include dryness, dullness, oiliness, and sensitivity. A product that contains ceramides for barrier repair can help address these issues. If your skin barrier is not damaged and giving you problems, but you are using exfoliating products replenishing your skin barrier with a product that contains ceramides can help prevent you from sensitizing your skin from over-exfoliation.
Plant Extracts and Oils
There are quite a few plant extracts/ oils included in this product. These oils and extracts include Honey Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Bixa Orellana (Annatto) Seed Oil, and Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil. And while many of these plant-based ingredients have a good marketing story behind them, there is no definitive scientific evidence to support their effectiveness. Like humans, plants have natural antioxidants, enzymes, and other ingredients that are active in skincare. And when oil or an extract is harvested from plants, some mixture of these active ingredients is present. However, when skincare products like a facial moisturizing cream are formulated, the concentration of the actives is not enough to be helpful.
Most scientific studies show these oils and extracts are effective in experiments that scientists call in vitro. In vitro means a concentrated version of the material is placed directly onto skin cells in a petri dish. While this study is an essential first step to understanding how materials perform. However, it cannot be assumed that the oils and extracts will achieve the same benefits when placed on the skin in a cream. Skincare products do not come in direct contact with the skin cells responsible for things like collagen production, so the way an ingredient is applied and the concentration is critical when evaluating its effectiveness.
Additionally, making extracts and oils is not a consistent process, so you cannot guarantee the concentration, or even which actives will be in an extract or oil. Between the variability in the type concentration of desired actives that come in an oil/ extract, low addition rate in the product, and minimal scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness, the oils and extracts are more like fragrance additives than skincare actives that can be brightening or hydrating.
Summary of the Science Behind the Facial Moisturizing Cream
Despite the benefits of the oils and extracts being more marketing than science, this product still has its positives. It does have the ability to be hydrating, which means it can address:
- Acne/ oiliness- if it is a result of sebum overproduction due to dehydrated skin
- Dryness- the water, glycerin, and other film-forming polymers will keep the skin hydrated and moisturized
- Dullness and skin sensitivity- if it results from a damaged skin barrier, using the product consistently and being gentle with your skin as it heals can help dull sensitized skin.
- Firmness- Superficial firmness can be achieved by ensuring your skin is well hydrated. You will not get the effect of fillers, but they can give the appearance of more plump, firm skin.
When I Use the Product:
I go in cycles as it pertains to my skincare routine. There are some weeks that I am really good and will stick to a 5+ step routine, and there are other weeks that I only want to wash my face and put on my sunscreen. I love this facial moisturizing cream for my lazy nighttime routine. After washing my face, I can leave it damp and apply this product. In the morning, when I wake up, my skin feels soft and hydrated, and I do not have to do a million steps. So if you are looking for one product that you can use at night that will not do anything magical for your skin but will keep it hydrated and feeling soft, this is an excellent one-step option.
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Things I Loved:
- Price– at $12, this is an affordable product, and because a lot goes a long way (you really only need a dime-sized amount), it will last.
- Consistency– Several water-gel-like creams have almost too thick of texture, and they can feel slimy and leave a residue on your face. The Peach Slices Citrus-Honey Aqua Glow Hydrating Moisture Gel does not do this. It does absorb quickly but also keeps your skin feeling hydrated.
Things to be Mindful of:
- Depending on your fragrance tolerance or how sensitive/ sensitized your skin is, all of the oils could give you some irritation. If you use the product and experience some irritation, this product could be a culprit. Again, the oil concentration is so low that it is unlikely, but it is something to be mindful of as you introduce new products into your routine.
Using a Facial Moisturizing Cream in Your Routine:
If you want to incorporate this product into your routine, I recommend using it as your last or second to the final step in your nighttime routine. The product is water-based. However, the consistency is thick, and you do not want to apply it too early and prevent your other actives from penetration. If you use it as a second to the last step, an occlusive could seal in all the moisture and actives.
I would not recommend using it during the day because when I tried it, it caused my sunscreen to pill. The film formers in the facial moisturizing cream and the sunscreen did not mesh well together, and it was a mess. If you decide to try the product, let me know, or if you have another affordable facial moisturizing cream, let me know in the comments.