I worked for Lancôme when I was 18 years old and discovered the original Absolue Night Cream (which has been reformulated many times since), which was super dense, intoxicatingly fragrant, and made my face look like magic the in morning. Despite my combo/oily/large pore prone skin, I have an obsession with really thick face creams. Something about the rich texture that makes my skin look and feel so plump, unfortunately if I use them too many days in a row I break out. Fortunately I travel a ton and airplanes are dry as hell. For the past year I've been living off some La Mer samples I happened upon as my in flight cream. Even though I know it has mineral oil and whatever else questionable ingredients, I love it. As I was packing for NYC and saw my empty La Mer sample, I remembered I had the Fresh Crème Ancienne hanging out in my fridge! I haven't used this cream in years, but like the original La Mer it has a rich texture that feels like you could cut it with a knife and spread it on some toast. As I'm coming to the end of my 5 hour flight (which took off at 6:45am) I'm feeling exhausted, restless, sleep deprived, and my skin feels so hydrated, like the nasty recycled airplane air hasn't had any effect on it at all.
Crème Ancienne has one of those cosmetic stories that though it may be all hype and just a story, it has me sold. Based on the formula for the original face cream, Crème Ancienne is hand made by monks in a monastery. Like seriously? A monk makes this cream, I wanna know what kind of monastery this is and how do I sign up to hang out there for a week and slather this stuff on my face all day. I mean do these monks look super young? Whatever, they probably don't even use it. It contains hydrating ingredients Meadowfoam Seed Oil rich in fatty acids to nourish skin, Vitamin E for free radical protection, Chamomile Wax to decrease dry patches and soften skin, and Rosewater to soothe.
Fresh also makes some amazing claims for dry skin: Moisturizing for 28 hour, anti-oxidative benefits for 24 hours, Immediate smoothing of wrinkles, and 97% of users felt it moisturized and prevented dry skin while 90% noticed a nourishing effect.
While the ingredients aren't super advanced or really geared towards firming, lifting, or brightening, Crème Ancienne makes for one hell of a night cream or travel cream due to the protective barrier is creates on the skin. If you have dry skin or are on a plane frequently, I highly recommend you try Crème Ancienne. The cream starts at $145 for 1oz, but you use so little that this cream will last you for awhile.
