Estee Lauder Nutritious Radiant Energy Gel Emulsion

So... what an awesome trial team to be a part of.

First things first - if hydration is what you are looking for then seriously look no further. This is a beautifully packaged product that screams 'luxury' and once I got over my fear of opening such a sacred lotion, I enjoyed trialling it.

It is intensely hydrating which is fantastic, but if you're prone to oily skin then you might want to be selective with placement.

After a hot day horse riding and a shower to cool down I put this on and the following day had a small breakout above my eyebrow. I'd not had this issue in the first week of using the product, but am pretty sure it was the exercise and added moisture that led to it. Since then I was more particular about using it on my cheeks, forehead, under/eyes and neck, and avoiding my nose and brows and its been great.

The smell is lovely and gentle, not overpowering in the slightest and I plan to use the remainder of the bottle after I wrestle it back from a friend I loaned it to, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to buy it again.

I have used Estee Lauder Moisturiser (Day Wear SPF 15) in the past, and really enjoyed that product. This has a similar feel, but just wasn't quite as impressive.

Firstly, the packaging is lovely. An almost glowing red tub with a reflective lid. I like that the tub is glass - it feels fancy.

The moisturiser has a slight tangy-sweet smell of pomegranate. It is super creamy but still light weight and absorbs very easily into the skin. It claims to give an immediate and intense boost of moisture, but I felt that it's main effect was more that of 'energising' the skin. It made my skin feel tightened and radiant but probably wouldn't suit dry skin types as it doesn't really offer deep hydration. Because of this, it would likely work well for oily skin.

Overall, I found this to be very very similar to Clinique's Moisture Surge Gel. Clinique's product is slightly more affordable though, and so for that reason I wouldn't repurchase the Estee Lauder Gel again.

As an extra point, I love that the Estee Lauder Day Wear has added SPF 15. Because this gel doesn't have SPF, I need to add it as an extra step in my morning face routine (especially now we are approaching summer). The gel also is not quite intense enough to be a night cream, so it doesn't really fit into my overall skincare collection.

I am still a firm fan of Estee Lauder, but this product didn't quite hit the mark for me.

My skin is generally awful. It breaks out at the mere whiff of a scented product and don't get me started on "heavy" products.

I was naturally quite hesitant to try these products, but I was pleasantly surprised. They both smell amazing, the pomegranate smells delicious, without being overpowering, in both the lotion and the moisturiser.

The moisturiser was quite thick and heavy, but you can definitely feel the gel aspect. It didn't clog any pores at all which I was worried about and went on smoothly. A little bit goes a long way with the moisturiser and especially in conjunction with the lotion, you can get away with only using a small blob about the size of ten cents. It is very fresh and you can almost feel the moisture it is bringing to your face.

Because the moisturiser is so thick, I only used at night before bed and that worked really well for me. The next day I face was fresher and less oily during the day so it is a win.

The packaging is very elegant and nice and bright which I like. The moisturiser noticeably brightened my face, and I love the idea of giving my face a nutritious blast of energy!

Using these products made me feel really special and pampered, like I was using fancy products from a spa, so I would definitely purchase again given the chance.

Just as a bit of background on my skin type, I vary between normal/combination/oily depending on a number of factors. I'm 25 years old, but still prone to the occasional breakout. This product is meant to offer lightweight hydration which sounds ideal for someone with my skin type, as anything too rich could make my skin feel super oily.

I was a bit confused prior to receiving this product because I wasn't sure what it actually was! Turns out this "Nutritious Radiant Energy Gel Emulsion" is just a fancy way of saying lightweight moisturiser that can be used morning and night. Straight out of the postage bag, I loved the packaging. It's a heavy feeling red plastic pot with a silver lid that certainly looks expensive. And it should look expensive since it's $112 for 50mls of this product!

Now on to the actual product… The first thing I noticed when I took off the lid is the smell. I can’t think of anything to compare the scent to, but it definitely smells luxurious. The consistency of the moisturiser is lightweight yet creamy at the same time. When I rubbed it into my face I found I needed to be quite generous with how much I applied, otherwise it wouldn’t spread to all the places I wanted it to go. It did absorb quickly into the skin and didn’t leave any residue behind. My skin looked like it had a slight glow/sheen to it after I was done. It also felt perfectly moisturised all day and I wasn’t left feeling too oily or heavy. I didn’t experience any breakouts because of this product, in fact if anything I’ve had less breakouts since using it.

Overall I’ve really enjoyed using this product and I’ve liked the effect it’s had on my skin, however I still find it difficult to recommend it for two reasons. Firstly, it costs $112 per pot which is a bit pricey to recommend to a lot of my friends and family who wouldn’t normally spend that much on skincare. And secondly, I’ve been using this product for about three weeks and I’ve used up around half the pot with twice daily use. If I continue this trend, the pot will likely be empty in another six weeks. This may mean if you buy and like this product you’d have to fork out $112 every six weeks to continue using it.

So if you have oily/combination skin, you’re looking for a lightweight/absorbent moisturiser, and price is of no concern to you, I would certainly recommend giving this product a try. Personally I probably won’t buy this again, as although I found it to be good, I can’t justify spending that amount of money on a moisturiser at this point in my life.

This gel-cream has a semi-translucent texture and is cooling to apply. It spreads easily and refreshes the skin with moisture. It has a fresh, fruity scent that dissipates eventually. This product left my skin feeling very plump, but it also leaves a bit of a tacky layer on the skin, which I personally don't mind. The light texture means you can use it underneath your daily sunscreen without it feeling heavy.

I don't think it would be moisturising enough for dry skin, but it would suit normal-oily skin, especially in hotter weather as it is very refreshing.

A $112 moisturiser. Just let that soak in for a few minutes. One hundred and twelve dollars.

When I first received it I'd never felt so overwhelmed and underwhelmed at once. LAUDER. I am going to be using Estee Lauder. The skincare of ladies. Proper ladies. Who shop at counters and don't ask 'how much is this?'. But then. Plastic. PLASTIC. $112 and the went for a plastic tub! Where's my hermetically sealed pump?! Now it is a thick, heavy pot but still...I was expecting more. There's also no indication if it's recyclable.

The instructions are simply 'apply am/pm'. Cheers for that EL! And very interesting - it'll last for 24 months from opening. As this is a wide open pot, I assume there's a fair few preservatives in it to counteract the exposure to air. But that doesn't bother me too much. Something to note if it does concern you.

It smells gorgeous. Fruity fresh. Delicious. The smell doesn't linger, so if fragrance bothers you, but doesn't irritate you, I think you'd still enjoy this.

The cream is white and quite thick. It's not heavy though. It absorbs instantly, my skin just drank this up! You don't need much, but I don't think I'll need to worry about using this up in the next 2 years! Potentially there's 2 months worth here.

I'm so torn on this product. It's fantastic. It's hydrating, its moisturising, its a sheer delight to use. Morning or night it injects moisture. After a couple of weeks use my skin is smoother and more even. I just can't get over the price tag!

So did it do what it said? YES! My skin is radiant. So radiant. Would I recommend it to a (rich) friend? YES! 100%. I can't not recommend the product because it totally does what it says. Would I use it again? YES! If I won the lottery.