This winter has been hard on my skin. It is usually quite dry, but the constant cold and snow took it’s toll, and I got dry patches all over. I’ve been used to harsh winters back in Bosnia, but I think my skin got ‘lazy’ since I moved to Lower Mainland BC, Canada, since winters here are usually not that harsh.

I’ve tried everything this year to keep those dry patches at bay. I exfoliate gently, but more often, and use hydrating lotions, serums and creams. Sadly, nothing helped completely. I remembered I used to use Nivea cream during cold Bosnian winters, and never had these issues, so I decided to try it again. After checking the selection at my grocery/drug store, which has improved greatly since the last time I used Nivea creams, I decided to go with the Pure & Natural Soothing day care cream, which is meant for dry and sensitive skin. My skin isn’t sensitive, but I obviously needed that extra hydration for dry skin! Spoiler alert – I was right!

I have noticed Nivea changed packaging since the last time I used it. Face creams used to come in glass jars, while now the packaging is plastic. I liked the previous one better, but this one is lighter and more travel friendly. What I do like is that it still comes sealed. I just hate to get unsealed products, and I don’t think I need to go into details why.

The cream does come in a jar packaging, which I know some of you don’t like, but I personally don’t have a problem with it.

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Now, what really pops out is the ‘natural’ claim. Nivea claims that this cream is made with 95% naturally sourced ingredients, and enriched with Argan oil and Chamomile. It doesn’t contain parabens, silicones or mineral oils.

Ingredients: Water/Eau, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Alcohol Denat., Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Methylpropanediol, Octyldodecanol, Dicaprylyl Ether, Glyceryl Stearate, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Tocopherol, Maltodextrin, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol,  Methylisothiazolinone, Fragrance/Parfum

Although the ingredients’ names might look scary, I checked every single one on Paula’s choice, and most ingredients are good or very good. It’s hard to tell if they are all natural, since a lot of them can come either from natural or synthetic source, e.g. glycerin. I doubt they would make false claims, though.

The only ingredients I have a problem with are the ones I’ve shown in bold:

  • Alcohol denat. = denatured alcohol – it is quite high in ingredients list, and can be drying for the skin. It makes no sense to have such an ingredient in a product tailored for dry and sensitive skin;
  • Methylisothiazolinon – this is a preservative known to make skin sensitive, and again makes no sense to have it in this product. Although the amount is low, it is known to cause sensitivities even in low concentrations;
  • Fragrance/Parfum – this is the last ingredient, meaning it has the lowest concentration in the cream, so I don’t consider it that bad, but I had to point out that it’s there.

Considering the ingredients list, I cannot recommend this product for sensitive skin. I don’t have skin sensitivities, so I can’t say would it cause any problems.

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The cream has a perfect consistency for me, it’s not too thick to absorb too slowly, nor too light not to have effect on my skin. The fragrance I mentioned before is quite nice, reminiscent of other NIVEA products (not the classic blue line), but not too strong.

This cream has been a life savior for me. Combined with exfoliation, it kept my dry patches at bay for a while now. It moisturizes my skin just right. I have combination skin, and my T-zone is not getting oily from it, while it manages to keep my dry cheeks hydrated morning to evening. I have noticed a slight dryness when it’s time for my nightly routine, but way less than before I started using the cream.

Here it’s shown in hand for scale – 50 ml is a pretty standard size for face creams:

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Nivea Pure & Natural Soothing Day Care is available online on Well.ca for $13.29, but I paid $10.99 for it at the Real Canadian Superstore.

Do you use drugstore skincare? What do you do to keep your skin moisturized during winter? Any recommendation is welcome!