Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre Nourishing Moisturizer, the miracle-skin worker - or is it? (UPDATED)

UPDATED: It's been about four months since my skin got introduced to Embryolisse. And four months later, it is still on my beauty shelf, ready to be used every morning, every night before i sleep and anytime in between. Not the same exact tube, of course not.

I definitely love this moisturiser. My combination/oily skin gets horribly dry in autumn/winter here in Paris, and this product soothes it. The consistency is quite runny, and that's a really good thing; it spreads nicely on the skin and penetrates the skin well. A small amount is enough to cover my whole face. Some people said a "pea-sized" dollop is enough, but not for me, especially now that it's winter. A "slightly-smaller-than-cherry-tomato" size is good for me, but now that winter is ending, hopefully i can get away with using less. 

The instructions that come in the box gave a few suggestions for its usage, such as (1) apply a generous amount at night for it to act like a mask and (2) use it as a makeup remover. Once in a while i practise (1) , leaving my skin soft and moisturised when i wake up in the morning, but i never tried (2). It sounds like i would be wasting a good amount if i use it for removing makeup. My usage rate is already about two tubes per month practically, or three tubes in two months. Something like that. All i know is since i started using it. i've run out of quite a number of tubes. 

I also use this currently as my makeup base. My foundation goes right on top of it, and smoothly too. In Malaysia i worry about face primers but here in Paris, i don't even think about using a face primer, as my foundation doesn't stray any more than usual on top of Embryolisse. Major plus!

My combo/oily skin can get shiny after using a generous amount, but it's certainly manageable and not to the point of being overly oily. It's a different case in Malaysia though; i went back home for almost a month in November armed with one and a half tube of this, and it was near impossible to have this on during the day. My face gets covered in the most terrible layer of oil-slick. I would only use it at night in Malaysia, and even then i used it sparingly. Maybe even a pea-size portion was enough! 

So it's definitely not for my skin in my hot and humid home country, but while i'm here in Paris, and the temperature is still below 15, i'm happy to have this on my shelf.

I still get the occasional breakouts, but none has been from this moisturiser. In fact, Embryolisse helps keep my breakouts at bay, i think it really does; it's just amazing, this seemingly simple and straightforward cream.

The only bad point i would give to Embryolisse is its metal tube. As i go along using it, the shape would start to go wonky, with a pinch here and a fold there. Unlike a plastic tube, a metal tube doesn't spring back into its shape after you squeeze it. After a while - usually when i'm nearly finishing a tube and have to squeeze it in different parts to get the cream out - cracks would occur at where the folds are. So when i take off the cap and try to squeeze some cream out, the cream would not only come out from the mouth of the tube, but from all sorts of holes as well. It gets annoying, but i just bear with it, since i love Embryolisse so much. 

Yes, my tube is incredibly wonky

I'm now experimenting on how best to squeeze the tube. So far i've learned not to squeeze from the top from the very moment i start using a brand-new tube, because that's how i get the most holes. We'll see how it goes...

I have to admit, i'm a little worried about having to switch moisturiser as the seasons progress. In the meantime though, i am definitely, 100% continuing to purchase this for every day use.

Previous review (8/10/2012):

Let's forget about my pursuit of the perfect foundation for a moment and talk about the skin. Just like when i first arrived in New Zealand, my skin here in Paris are drying up, which resulted in tiny bumps, then resulted in spots. 

I had brought my Topicil, a clindamycin based medicine applied topically to reduce pimples and my L'oreal icy gel moisturiser; both worked beautifully for me in Malaysia. But the same routine just doesn't do it here, not in the dry weather. I knew i had to use a better moisturiser, as it's possible the bumps are the result of dryness. So i Googled about Embryolisse.

Again, like Bourjois, i knew about Embryolisse from the Pixiwoo sisters. Further research (using Google) shows that Embryolisse has pretty much formed a cult of its own. Supermodels and beauty experts "swear" by it. And they're all talking about one product in particular, the Lait Creme Concentre Nourishing Moisturizer.

I read up more on Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre in MakeupAlley. One girl even claimed that it cleared out her acne. And since Embryolisse was born right where i am currently at, it's only befitting for me to try it, in my condition.

I looked for the range in the pharmacie nearest to our apartment; it wasn't there. So home i went and Googled for distributors in my area. Thankfully there's one right in the station where Shah and i always take the train. So off we go to purchase one!

No-fuss packaging

What the product promises to do for your skin, and its composition

Advice on how to use it, and its ingredients

Made in France!

It looks simple enough. Unlike most moisturisers, this one tells you to simply apply on your skin without massaging it in; just leave it be and it will "penetrate" your skin.

It looks like a normal plastic tube, but the tube is actually made of some kind of metal, so as you go on and use it, your fingers will leave dents on the tube. Not that it's a problem.

I've only used it for about a week and a half, so i feel like it's not my place yet to say how effective this is. BUT, i can tell you that so far the darkening spots that were beginning to form on my forehead have "calmed down". I can't really say if there are no more bumps coming out, but overall, my skin does look better, and feel better too.

I know that it's possible to want a beauty product to work so bad that you start to imagine it doing wonderful things to your skin. But that's not the case here, as my husband also commented that my skin looks a lot better now. So let's hope i'm hoping it's not just my imagination or some kind of wishful thinking.

I do think though that this moisturiser would not feel so good on my skin in hot, humid Malaysia; i'll probably go back to my L'oreal Icy Gel once i'm back at home. But i might still give it a go anyway, i just might, just to experiment. With Lait-Creme Concentre, my face looks sort of oily and slicky whenever i put it on, but then again, true to their word, the lotion "penetrates" and the oiliness goes away after a while. By the way, translated, Lait-Creme Concentre is "Milk-Cream Concentrate".

I'm really, really hoping this is THE product for me in this cold, dry weather. I'll come back to this Embryolisse product in the future to offer more of my insights on it. In the meantime, i can just hope!

Not all pharmacie in Paris sells this, as i've found out. The best thing to do is GOOGLE FIRST. Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre is priced at 9.99 EUR.