Did you know skin loses around 500ml of moisture each day? If you don’t top it up pronto, you risk ending up with a bad case of dehydration.
It’s easier than you think. A simple, lightweight moisturizer like Vichy Aqualia Thermal Light Cream will do the job. Here’s how:
What’s In Vichy Aqualia Thermal Light Cream?
GLYCERIN
Glycerin is a moisture magnet. Literally. Like a magnet, it attracts water from the air into the skin and binds it there.
All that extra moisture makes your skin really happy. It plumps it up, so your fine lines and wrinkles look smaller. It makes its texture softer to the touch. And gives your complexion a dewy glow.
Bonus points: glycerin hydrates skin without adding more oil to it. That’s what makes it so good for oily/combo skin.
Related: What Is Glycerin & Why Is It In All My Skincare Products?
CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride is a mixture of coconut oil and glycerin. It’s just as moisturizing as coconut oil, but not as thick and NON comedogenic.
In other words, it gives you all the benefits of coconut oil without its side effects.
Related: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Coconut Oil In Skincare
ALCOHOL DENAT
Alcohol Denat is one of the most misunderstood ingredients in skincare. Word on the street is that it’s terribly drying and irritating.
To an extent, that’s true. The reason you feel so bad after you gulp down one too many cocktails is that alcohol is drying out every cell in your body, giving you a bad case of dehydration.
Does the same thing apply to skin when you slather alcohol on it? It depends. If alcohol’s all you’re slathering on, then yes, it will dry out your skin.
But if you use alcohol together with moisturizing ingredients, they’ll counteract its drying effects. Science confirms this. Recent studies show that alcohol isn’t as drying as we once thought.
Having said this, everyone’s skin is different. If your skin is particularly sensitive to alcohol denat and doesn’t tolerate it well, Vichy Aqualia Thermal Light Cream is not for you.
But what’s alcohol doing here, anyway? Thinning the texture. Alcohol’s the cheapest way to do the job.
Related: What Does Alcohol-Free In Skincare Really Mean?
Texture
It’s so lightweight, it sinks in without leaving a greasy residue behind – even on oily skin. It makes a great base for makeup, too.
Fragrance
It’s fragrance-free, so sensitive skin can use it, too.
How To Use It
Massage a small pump of the cream on your dry skin, face and neck. You can use it both in the morning and at night.
Performance & Personal Opinion
Vichy Aqualia Thermal Light Cream has a very simple formula. I know some of you will be disappointed by the lack of natural extracts or oils.
But there’s a reason why they didn’t make it into this cream – and it’s got nothing to do with wanting to keep the price down.
Sensitive skin can’t tolerate natural extracts + oils well. The fragrant components that make them smell so good also give sensitive skin a rash or irritation. They’re also more likely to give you an allergy.
A synthetic molecule made in a sterilised lab has less chance of causing trouble for your skin. If you have sensitive skin, simple and synthetic is the way to go.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk performance. On my oily t-zone, Vichy Aqualia Thermal Light Cream does the job fine. It makes my skin softer and suppler from morning till evening without clogging up my pores and giving me breakouts. The only problem is that a few hours later, the shine comes back with a vengeance.
My dry cheeks need something more heavy duty at this stage. After lunch, they already started to feel tight, a tell-tale sign they were thirsting for more moisture.
Who Is This For?
- Sensitive skin that’s on the oilier side.
- Teenagers who need a basic moisturizer (no need for anti-aging, yet).
Who Is This NOT For?
It’s not moisturizing enough for dry skin.
Packaging
Vichy Aqualia Thermal Light Cream comes in both a jar and a tube. It’s easier to get every last bit out of the jar, but the tube version is more hygienic. That’s my fave, by the way.
Does Vichy Aqualia Thermal Light Cream Lives Up To The Claims?
| CLAIM | TRUE? |
| The formula works to lock in moisture and reduce water loss. |
Yes, glycerin and the emollients in this cream can hydrate skin and reduce water loss. |
| Suitable for sensitive skin. | Yes, as long as your sensitive skin can tolerate alcohol (not everyone can). |
| Skin is left feeling dewy, fresh and hydrated for up to 48 hours. |
Skin looks dewy and hydrated, for only for a few hours – certainly NOT 48! |
| New and improved anti-pollution formula. | There’s nothing here that can fight pollution. |
| Suitable for dry and normal skin. | More suitable for normal skin than dry. |
| 97% of ingredients are sourced from a natural origin. |
Maybe, but they’re still modified and processed in a lab (all ingredients are). |
Price & Availability
£13.00 at Escentual and Look Fantastic
Do You Need It?
If you have sensitive skin that gets easily irritated or are a teen on a strict budget, you’ll like this moisturiser.
[penci_review]
Dupes & Alternatives
- Revolution Skincare Hydration Boost Lightweight Hydrating Gel Cream ($10.00)
- The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA ($5.80)
- YourGoodSkin Instant Dryness Rescue ($9.99)
Have you tried Vichy Aqualia Thermal Light Cream? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Ingredients
Aqua, Glycerin, Caprylic / Capric Triglyceride, Alcohol Denat., Propanediol, Isopropyl Palmitate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Zea Mays Starch, Mannose
I have this cream (but the one that comes in a jar) and when I accidentally applied a bit on my eyelids, they became extremelly dry and hurt like hell! I spent a whole month without being able to use eyeshadow before getting rid of the allergy (T.T). Not for me.
That is too bad! And to think that this product is formulated for sensitive people and not giving allergic reactions or irritations! Guess you can never be too sure.
I have an eye infection at the moment (although it wasn’t caused by this cream) and I haven’t worn eyeshadow in 2 weeks and I hate it! I wanna wear makeup again!!
I have acne and due to the benzol peroxide and harsh creams I´m using I sometimes get horrible dry, almost burnt patches on my face. This moisteriser works wonders for me with this. I can use it and I wont get any breakouts and it soothes my sore skin and returns it to normal very quickly. Having acne putting moisteriser on is sometimes daunting as you dont know if your gonna breakout or not, I really like this product as I know it wont make my face worse.
I’m glad this works so well for you Kelly. It just goes to show how different a product can work on different people. It didn’t do anything special for my skin but didn’t make it worse either. But what I really love the most about this moisturizer is that it doesn’t make you break out, I’m always worried about that too.
I’m on accutane and never really used moisturizer much before other than Vichy 89 serum gel moisturizer which I loved but just wasn’t enough moisture for being on accutane so I have been using the aqualia thermal light cream for about a month now. My face always looks really shiney after I put it on, everyone always points out how my face looks “sweaty” or “shiney” even a day or 2 of having it on (I can’t wash face every day because of accutane irritating my skin) and I also notice the product balls and looks like my skin is rolling off on day 2.. it does have long lasting moisture but the shininess really bothers me, not to mention because of the product rolling off when I do wash my face I almost have to exfoliate every time just to be able to get all of the rolled off product off my face completely which irritates my skin and makes the shine look even worse.
(Sorry I didn’t realize how old this post was my bad)