Sisley Restorative Facial Cream with Shea Butter - review

For today's Mondays with MontyC, and following on from my Sisley facial/skin consultation, one of the two products I purchased was their Restorative Facial Cream With Shea Butter.  I've been using it since the facial and promised I'd report back...

Sisley claims that this is a "compensating cream for fighting environmental stress".  Its main ingredient, shea butter, helps to repair damaged skin, sooth chafing or sunburn, nourish and moisturise the skin, leaving it hydrated and supple.  Slightly "more" than just a daily moisturiser then - this description suggests something that I'll probably only need to use periodically as a treatment cream.  As anyone who uses products with shea butter likely knows, this really is a wonderfully soothing and moisturising ingredient.  So far so good.  But does it live up to its promises?

After my facial (see my review of that here), the next step for me was to calm down the redness in my skin and soothe it back to its happy place.  This is exactly what this cream is designed to do.  It's a "rescue" cream.  If your skin has become irritated, it's looking red or dry or just generally downright aggrevated, then you're recommended to use this night and day until your skin is restored.

This is a very creamy cream but despite its richness, its texture leans towards the whipped side of creamy, so it feels light to the touch, glides on and instantly sinks into the skin.  It feels really good.  Strange and all as this may sound, it also smells comforting.  It has this gentle, comforting medicinal scent that makes me think "aaaaaaah yes, everything's going to be fine".  It's not overpowering in any way and settles downs quickly and while I absolutely love it (I'd love to find a candle that smells the same!) it is always worth mentioning for anyone who is sensitive to scents and smells.

Le splodge...

I've been using this cream every night since I got it and occasionally in the morning on the days when I felt I needed it.  I can clearly see that my skin has calmed down considerably (particularly the redness on my chin) and is looking hydrated and healthy.  As this is a cream you switch in and out of your routine as and when you need it, I will judge over the next few weeks how long more I need to keep using this and will gradually get back to my routine (which I've become a lot more mindful about).

In a nutshell, yes, it does what Sisley claim - using it has comforted and soothed my cranky skin back to happiness.  It is a pleasure to use and results are plain to see.  A little goes a very long way and given that this isn't a moisturiser you need to use on a continual basis, only when you really need to, a 50ml pot will last a considerable length of time (which at €124, is a very good thing).  By my reckoning, I shouldn't need to repurchase until well into 2015 (I will be rationing this like mad!) so right now, I honestly can't if I'll replace it when it runs out.  There are more and more products on the market (which cost more and less) that do a similar job so if this cream is out of your budget, shop around as alternatives are most definitely out there.

Ingredients-wise, it's so-so: shea butter features highly, but it also contains mineral oil, alcohol and parabens; the kind of products I'd expect to appear in a product with the claims per the back of the box ("Specially recommended for repairing the damage caused by lengthy exposure to sun and wind");  something for using when you've been out and about in the elements;  a mix of nourishing- and barrier- type ingredients.  Possibly not deep-nourishing however if you are just a bit dry and dehydrated in the normal course of events and not specifically from boating/yachting/hiking/golfing in all weather/environmental-type minor damage.  Either way, I like it, it has worked for me :-)
Until next Monday,
MontyC