‘Tis the season for skin hydration and for those with dry to very dry skin woes, Kiehl’s promises you a solution in their new Ultra Facial Cream Intense Hydration cream. Guess what? It’s just only launched haha! ‘Tis also the season for newness 😀
If you have normal, combination or oily skin, good news! You can stop reading now because this isn’t targeted at you 😛 This is seriously targeted at those with dry or very dry skin. See, it says so in bold red “For drier skin types” and I can also tell you that it will be tempting to actually test this even if you don’t have dry skin, because the texture is so lovely and light! Such a departure from the heavy creams targeted at dry skin that we are used to.
Remember when I shared my thoughts on dry skin and how I’d work to combat it? Some of you responded in the comments that you too had a dry skin problem and those of you who did, would have received a special email from me because Kiehl’s was going to send you a sample of this product for you to try out for yourself 🙂 Commenting here at MWS pays dividends, I tell you 😉 But from a dry skinned gal, how did I find this cream?
Well are you familiar with the popular Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream? It was taken up to Everest my mountain climbers and down to Antartica by polar explorers and people wax lyrical about how good it is for protecting the skin from intense cold and dry climates. I’ve tried it in a cold winter and I attest to its efficacy. It works well to protect the skin and keep it from drying out in cold harsh winter climes.
But back here in tropical Malaysia, breakout city! It’s just too heavy, I couldn’t use it. In the local tropical climate, I much prefer the Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream which is lovely and light, hydrates my skin and doesn’t break me out. But it is now a tad too light for my drier skin.
The Ultra Facial Cream Intense Hydration seems to be a bit of a hybrid of the two in terms of texture. I was quite pleasantly surprised to see that the cream isn’t as thick and as heavy as the original Ultra Facial Cream. It has a light texture and absorbs easily into the skin very quickly like the Ultra Facial Oil Free gel cream.
In fact, because it’s so light, there is a temptation to use more of it, but don’t. A thin layer of this cream is quite sufficient to keep skin feeling comfortable and hydrated. I found it worked nicely especially if you have drier skin and are exposed to a lot of air-conditioning which dries out skin. It made skin feel very comfortable and I will attest to comfortably hydrated skin.
However, I experienced some clogged pores after about a week of using this so I had to stop. If you do have dry or very dry skin or know someone who has, I do think this is quite a good one to try because of the light texture. I do find it a bit heavy for the day in our weather but for evenings and especially if you sleep in an air-conditioned room, it helps your skin feel so much more comfortable when you wake up.
Do sample it however. Kiehl’s is usually very good with samples and this cream is new in stores so they should be able to let you have some so you can decide if it works for you or if it doesn’t. But remember, despite how tempting it is to give this a go because it feels so nice and light, it is targeted at dry and very dry skinned folks only.
In a nutshell
The new Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream Intense Hydration is targeted at people with dry to very dry skin types. The texture is surprisingly light for such an intense product and it absorbs quickly and easily into the skin without leaving much of a residue. Only very little is needed to keep skin feeling comfortable. I think this works best in colder, drier air or for those who have dry to very dry skin. I did experience some clogged pores while using this so I had to stop, but in main, my skin felt comfortable.
Pros: Makes dry skin feel more comfortable, Light texture absorbs quickly into skin, Dry or flaky skin feels more hydrated and comfortable
Cons: Clogged my pores a little, Nice texture but not suitable for anyone who doesn’t have quite chronically dry skin
Who will like this: Anyone who has dry or very dry skin types, Anyone exposed to very dry and cold climates that dries out skin
I’m afraid I don’t have the ingredient list but once I do, I’ll update! I can tell you that it contains glycerin, apricot kernal oil and hyaluronic acid as its key ingredients but the full list will have to come when I get it.
Do you have dry or very dry skin and is this something that might interest you to try?
If you were lucky enough to receive a sample of this product from Kiehl’s and I please do share your thoughts in the comments after you’ve had a chance to try it. You should be receiving it very soon. I’d love to know how it went for you 🙂 If you didn’t receive a sample, try the Kiehl’s stores. They should be able to set you up with some 🙂
Paris B
Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream Intense Hydration for drier skin types Price: RM100/50ml Availability: All Kiehl’s stores
Rm100 for 50ml sounds really affordable! I have tried its ultra light gel cream version, but somehow that broke me out after a month using it. Initial imprrssion, however, was good as it seems to absorb well without greasiness. But seeing that it was one of their famous product, i believe this new one will be be hepful for really dry skin types.
Hi Paris,
After using this Intense Ultra Facial Cream four times already (day and night), I must say I have mixed feelings. During the day when I used the cream without serum, I actually looked dull. The cream somehow stayed on the surface without penetrating into the skin. So what I did at night was to add some drops of Kiehl’s MRC into a pea sized amount of this cream, rub them together in my palm and dab it all over my face. That works much better as my face became hydrated and slightly brighter. =)
Thanks for sharing Liyeun 🙂 It’s interesting that you thought to add in the MRC because I also do, but to heavier creams not this one 🙂
Yep, definitely tailored for those with very dry skin. I couldn’t use it myself though >.<
Ooh I’m going to ask my mum to get a sample of this to try out. She has very dry skin and often asks me if I have any moisturisers for dry skin for her, which I normally don’t. Let’s hope this works because the price point is really good.
Ooh yes, Kiehl’s has a good sampling policy and there’s a store in Penang! 😉
I have super dry skin and I use the Kiehl’s Ultra facial cream all the time for my dry skin and it works great.
Ooh Kassie, this cream is made for even drier skintypes so maybe you could try to get a sample and see if it helps your skin, since you already like the Ultra Facial Cream! 😀 It has a lighter texture but I’m told, better efficacy.
I have dry skin and I m using kiehl’s ultra facial cream, works well for me so far, but like what you’ve mentioned, I got bumps there after used. Let’s keep fingers crossed this will work better.
Ooh I couldn’t get Ultra Facial Cream to work even if my skin likes it if the weather is dry and cold. Maybe it really is made for the Arctic hehe… Do try to get a sample. Maybe this might work better 🙂
Oily skin gets the gel, I got it as a sample. It is sooooo good
Yep! I like the gel cream too that comes in the blue tub. It’s effective!
LOL thanks for stopping me from reading… but I read it anyway 🙂
Haha you don’t need this! 😀
Sounds like my skin might need this one.. Hmm I’m gna put this in my shopping list in case the Origins Gin Zing couldn’t handle my dry skin especially in my air conditioned work place 😛
Oh Effa, if you compare this to GinZing then this one will definitely work better if you have dry skin. I was using GinZing for a while and it was just far too light for me 🙁
Hmm… I will ask for a sample of it to target my flaky nose area. 🙂
Good idea! The sample will last a while too!
There’s a certain ingredient in the “intense hydration” that you guys need to be mindful of. It’s not one of the top ingredients, but it’s in there and it can be quite harmful. Stick with the regular UFC.
I used this cream as a total replacement for my normal moisturiser (Origins Make A Difference + Rejuvenating moisturiser) for the past 1.5 weeks and found that it works to keep my skin hydrated from within i.e I did not notice any usual signs of dryness like tight forehead / cheeks or flaking around the corners of the mouth and nose.So far, there is no sign of clogging although my skin can sometimes take up to a month of using a product before manifestation. It might be because I followed your advice to use it sparingly.
The downside of this cream is that while it did the job for the “inside” of the skin (if that makes any sense!), it didn’t give the same succulence and dewiness on the surface of my skin that my normal moisturiser does. This point is quite important since it facilitates smooth application of my BB cream over the moisturizer. The Kiehl’s cream dissipated quickly and left my skin feeling as if it was freshly wash resulting in that I experienced some skin tugging when I applied my BB cream.
I wouldn’t replace my normal moisturizer within this cream permanently but at the very reasonable price of RM100 for 50ml (nearly half the price of my normal moisturiser!), it is firmly in my Plan B list in case I ever find myself unable to get hold of my normal moisturiser.
Thanks again for the chance to trial this out!
Thanks for the feedback Isabel! Glad you didn’t have a problem with the comment box this time 🙂