Review: Skincare: Olay Total Effects 7 in 1 Anti Aging Cream

Hands up everyone who remembers their mothers or grandmothers using Oil of Ulan with the distinctive pink lotion and powdery smell? I do. And I took a while to adjust to it being called Oil of Olay and then just Olay.

I used the Total Effects cream the first time it was introduced here in Malaysia. I was one of the testers for the mystery cream based on an ad on tv at the time. I knew what it was because I was monitoring its arrival after reading many good things about the Olay Total Effects cream online. When I tried it, I knew I liked it and Olay Total Effects was my staple moisturiser for a couple of years.

And then, I got bored and ventured out into various brands of skin moisturisers, mostly of the department store or higher end variety.

Recently, with prices soaring on nearly every consumer good, and with my night moisturiser on its last legs, I decided to once again return to an old favourite, to see how it re-measures up. I have noticed that Olay has been rather aggressive in their TV advertising lately but it wasn’t the reason why I returned to Olay. The main reason for my return to Olay was because Olay came out with a new sample size 20g bottle! Yep, you can get the sample size bottle of Olay Total Effects for about RM21.90. Terribly expensive considering the full size 50g bottle usually goes on sale for about RM30 but its good if you aren’t sure whether your skin can handle the product.

This is what Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 promises:-

1. Line Minimization: Reduces the appearance of fine wrinkles
2. Nourishing Moisturization: For a radiant, healthy glow
3. Tone Enhancement: Balances color & reduces appearance of age spots
4. Gentle Exfoliation: Smoothes and evens skin texture
5. Pore Refinement: Minimizes the appearance of pores
6. Free Radical Defense: Helps prevent damage to skin’s surface
7. Subtle Lifting: Hydrates for firmer skin appearance

Does it deliver? Well, I’ve been using the Olay Total Effects 7 in 1 daily moisturizer for above 2 weeks now purely as a night cream over my Vitamin C Skin Boost. I find that it provides sufficient moisture to my skin and absorbs quickly. I don’t have an oily layer on the skin after that and my skin isn’t feeling taut and dry so that must mean its working well in the moisture department.

As for tone refinement and pore minimization, I have found that my skin is more even toned recently and have also received comments that it is looking clearer. Might it be the Olay Total Effects, Vitamin C Skin Boost or Eucerin White Solution? I cannot tell. Perhaps its a combination of all 3!

I too can’t tell if my skin is looking any firmer. It certainly isn’t looking any more saggy (not that it usually is) so I can’t tell either.

But what I can say is that the Olay Total Effects moisturizer isn’t wreaking havoc on my skin and is in fact, keeping it nicely moisturized at night in an air-conditioned room. Is my skin looking better? I’d like to think so. But as I said, my recent combination of skincare products seem to be doing the trick so it might just be a combination effect.

I purchased the Normal formula. There are gentle formulas for Sensitive skin and also those with SPF 15 for day use. Personally, I feel that SPF15 isn’t enough for our tropical climate so I’d recommend a higher SPF sunscreen over the moisturizer. It doesn’t say if the Normal formula has SPF (one of the ingredients is zinc oxide and titanium dioxide which is the sunscreen factor, but I don’t know if its present in the whole range or only in the SPF15 range) but since there’s a range called “Normal with SPF15″ I’ll take it that the one marked “Normal” has no SPF.

Will I repurchase? At this moment, yes I will and the next time I do, I’ll get the 50g bottle. I still dislike the packaging – the body is opaque so you can’t see the inside and when its finished, and you can’t get at the rest of the cream once the pump stops working. I wonder if Olay could put it in a tube instead? A tube is easier to tote around and easier to use plus being hygienic as well.

The cream has a fragrance which isn’t as strong as I remembered it and which dissipates quickly. I believe there’s a fragrance free formula in the 50g range but we don’t get it here. There also seems to be a Total Effects Night Cream by Olay which is available for RM42.90. I might give that a whirl next time because it felt nice going on the skin. The Olay Total Effect Daily Moisturizer retails for about RM42.90 but goes on sale often. It is available at most pharmacies and even supermarkets.

Pros: Absorbs quickly, moisturises skin well, affordable

Cons: Packaging could be improved

[rating:4/5]

Here’s the ingredient list for the Olay Total Effects Daily Moisturiser for anyone familiar with ingredients:-

Water, Glycerin, Isohexadecane, Niacinamide, Dimethicone, Isopropyl Isosteartate, Polyacrylamide, Zinc Oxide, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Sorbitan Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Sucrose Polycottonseedate, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Stearyl Alcohol, Titanium Dioxide, Dimethiconol, Benzyl Alcohol, Ethyplparaben, Laureth-7, Fragrance, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA, PEG-100 Stearate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Methylparaben, Oleth 3-Phosphate, Ammonium Polyacrylate, Yellow No. 5, Red No. 40, Vitamin B3, Pro-Vitamin B5, Vitamin E.

Featured: Olay
Categories: Cheap and Good?,Moisturiser,Product Reviews
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