I Did A Thing, Vol. 7

This blog might not be good for much, but it’s a workable excuse for all kinds of self-indulgent projects because … blog content, amirite? Anyway, I love an excuse to “experiment” with “science” so blogging it is. Those scare quotes are there for a reason, by the way, because what I’m going to talk about today is actually more in the line of playing around with skincare. But that doesn’t sound nearly as cool, sigh.

You may recall that, a few months ago, I busted my skincare budget when I decided to splurge on some Dr. Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream. I like the cream a lot, but maybe not $60 worth of a lot. I started to look around for a plausible dupe and, lo, I found not one but two. Sort of.

First, L’Oreal definitely jumped on the centella asiatica bandwagon with Revitalift Cicacream. This usually sells for about $30CAD at Shoppers, which is half the price of the Dr. Jart cream, but still on the high side for me. One day, I found it on sale for under $20CAD, which is when I decided it was worth trying. For science, you understand. (Also because, as we have established before, $20 is the magical number my threshold for impulse buys.)

The second product I decided to try was the Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume. This actually does not contain the same active ingredient as the Dr. Jart cream, though the name sounds similar which is what drew me to it in the first place. I’ve done exactly zero research into this (which is, come to think of it, par for the course for my “science experiments”), but I think the “Cica” comes from cicatrice – the French word for “scar”. Both creams are supposed to aid in healing damaged skin, you see. The Cicabalm was around $20CAD (regular price) at Shoppers; for what it’s worth, you can also get it on Amazon for around the same price, and it has very good reviews.

My experiment went something like this: I switched from using the Dr. Jart cream (every morning, after my lactic acid, and before sunscreen) first to the Roche Posay, and then to the L’Oreal cream. I gave each new cream a month’s trial; I figured this would be long enough to see any effects, differences, etc. And? I’m sure you are on the edge-of-your-seat excited to hear about the results. Well … sorry. The truth was that I really didn’t see any real difference among the 3 creams. All 3 worked well as moisturizers for my normal-to-dry skin. I experienced no adverse effects, though I also saw no dramatic change.

With that said, here are my (subjective) impressions:

I *think* I like the Dr. Jart cream the best, though the Roche Posay is a close second. Oddly, I think I like the slight medicinal smell of the Dr. Jart cream and its consistency (more balm-like). Also, it’s green. The Roche-Posay smells nicer, though not in a skincare-fragrance sort of way. It’s lighter and absorbs more quickly than the Dr. Jart. The L’Oreal cream is the one that feels (and smells) the most like a typical face cream. I don’t hate it, but I also don’t feel like raving about it, if you know what I mean.

What’s next? Since I am nowhere close to finishing any of my current tubes, my plan is to use the Roche-Posay and L’Oreal creams through the summer and fall, then switch to the Dr. Jart in the winter because I find it a little bit heavier (and, in my mind, slightly more moisturizing). When the time to re-purchase comes, I think I’m going to go with Roche-Posay. I like it a lot, it’s easily accessible, and it’s relatively inexpensive (at $0.50/ml, it’s cheaper than the other two: Dr. Jart, $1.20/ml; L’Oreal, $0.60/ml).

If you’ve done any “experimenting” of your own recently, and have some good discoveries to share, let me know in the comments.