I was so excited when I scooped this in the recent beauty vault, it was an expensive day cream that included SPF. So the benchmark was set pretty high before I had even dipped my fingers into it.
Firstly lets talk about my skin type as I think this is very important when reviewing skincare as everyone is different and what works for some may not for others. I have dry to combination skin which means everywhere except my t zone (nose, cheeks and forehead) is arid dry. I am also subjectable due to the oily areas to random breakouts but I don't suffer sensitivity.
Design wise this is a pretty looking cream, set in a heavy acrylic outer jar with a screw on lid which has a sleeve of plastic that adds another layer of protection for the cream inside. You can see through the clear acrylic outer casing to the small pot of cream on the inside.
The texture is extremely thick, and has an off white colour with little to no scent to it. On application it feels more like a night cream than a day cream. I always give my moisturisers 10 full minutes to settle on my face before I apply makeup but after 10 minutes there still seemed to be excessive amount on my face so I blotted that off and carried on with my makeup.
By the end of the week I had to use matte primers to prevent midday shine from breaking through my foundation. I was perplexed as to why my skin was freaking out so much then remembered that the only new things in the routine was this cream. I had also developed an alarming amount of breakouts, the only thing that was causing these breakout was the over hydration and oil production directly from application of this cream! I normally give skin care 2-4 weeks before passing judgement but I just can not handle the skin problems for a single day longer.
Another thing I noticed was how my pores reacted to the cream, I suffer from enlarged pores in the first place but even with blotting the excessive, patting on a primer and putting powder on before foundation in the areas where the pores are more prominent I found that they would just drink up everything so I was left with really patchy foundation across my cheeks and nose area, my whole makeup application there after was wasted as it just sunk into my face!
I ditched the cream and detox my face with a few makeup free days, mask treatments to purge any product build up and finally today after 4 days of no Elizabeth Arden Flawless Future Moisture Cream I am back to skin perfection in my eyes, everything has calmed down and the pimples have retreated. Never again would I think that just because the price tag on something is high that it equals the best. I really feel like I wasted my 950 points to try this cream so I wouldn't recommend this to anyone with my skin type or concerns, but it might be ideal for those really dry ladies.
I figured I was pretty lucky to nab myself one of these beauties in the last Rewards Vault and thought all my skin problems would be solved with a (larger than usual) pot of expensive cream... I was wrong... so, so wrong. Firstly I gave this a couple of chances putting my first experience with it down to... I don't know, lets say hormonal fluctuations. I was breaking out, oil slick, make up sliding off my face... more black heads on my nose than I have ever seen (and I survived my teenage years). I am not talking a few spots here and there... oh no! my blemish prone skin is pretty much used to a couple on the cheeks and my jawline etc. this was a full on onslaught.
So i stopped using my new product and went back to old ways for a week or so and back to clearer skin. Now to give it a second chance is pretty much just to be thorough. I have given second chances to lesser products (ok less value mainly) and I still held out hope.
So take two... was this any better? Yes to start with absolutely! I used way less product (to a point where I actually didn't feel like I had remotely enough moisture in my skin) and only once a day, I did see some evening of skin tone on my forehead and my cheeks started to fade dark spots from pimples and well look a bit more even.
I was impressed! Ok so the key is less is more?! my skin did look fresher for a bit. The instruction leaflet (albeit confusing) says apply generously and evenly... yeah I won't be doing that again.
BUT... after three days of use I started getting Mila under my eyes... I never get mila, and I started noticing my skin around my eyes looking crepe-y and less nourished and fine lines looking more obvious. Noooo!
I don't feel like I can win with this balancing act... using this should be easy not a scientific recipe of equal measures or... Kapow! pimples/wrinkles.
Sorry Elizabeth Arden but I can not keep using this cream, I don't know who the target market is but I don't think I fit into it. On a positive note though I do love the pink/purple shimmer pearlized on the container, and the scent is nice, subtle and not overpowering
Tips: Maybe use it once a week as a mask???