Olay Regenerist vs. L'Oreal Revitalift

The anti-ageing hype isn't new. From the olden expeditions to find the Fountain of Youth till now - we are trying to control (or, ideally, reverse) time. Raise your hands if you can't keep a record of all the ingredients being marketed for "newly-discovered-age-reversal-properties". Since every brand has launched their vendetta against ageing, it gets tough for us to screen what works & what doesn't. The products from this category are not easier on the pocket either - so here are my two cents on what has been worth the splurge - Olay Regenerist Microsculpting Cream or L'Oreal Revitalift Laser x3 Renew Advanced Anti-Ageing  Moisturizer.

OLAY claims on their official website: 

Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream penetrates fast and accelerates surface cell turnover to give you visible wrinkle results starting day 1.

• Hydrates to regenerate volume and shape across skin’s surface

• Reduces the look of fine lines & wrinkles

• Smoothes & brightens skin’s appearance

• Restores skin’s elasticity with plumping hydration

• PLUS: Firms skin over time 

Results:

• 1 Day: Reduces the appearance of lines, boosts hydration & brightness

• 14 Days: Skin is noticeably firmer and skin elasticity is improved

• 28 Days: Reverses the look of up to 10 years of wrinkles

* Money Back Guarantee in US/Canada (terms & conditions apply)

L'OREAL describes their product as:

This isn't a laser treatment but it will give you intense action and target wrinkles, skin firmness and skin texture leaving your skin feeling smoother, plumper and looking more even.

Advanced anti-ageing care for visible results in 4 weeks.

Revitalift Laser Renew contains a naturally-derived glycan (or complex sugar)-Pro-Xylane, which has been proven in a 6 month study to reduce the appearance of crow’s feet wrinkles, boost skin density and improve bounce.This wonder molecule has been combined with two other powerhouse active ingredients, LHA (Lipohydroxy acid) a smart exfoliating ingredient and fragmented Hyaluronic acid, a moisturising ingredient to boost the effects of the formula.

Results:

REPLUMPS: Wrinkles appear reduced

REFIRMS: Skin feels firmer

REFINES: skin looks smoother.

The luxurious texture has been proven to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and roughness in a test with a CO2 fractional laser session. The results are convincing-the test revealed that Revitalift Laser Renew resulted in an 18% improvement in roughness and the CO2 fractional laser session resulted in a 20% improvement. There was a 14% reduction in the appearance of wrinkle depth with Laser Renew and a 17% decrease with the CO2 fractional laser session.

While the claims might seem lengthy, it's always best to understand them, and then weight the product performance against those claims. L'Oreal has taken more scientific approach in explaining their research, whereas Olay describes theirs like a layperson. That's your call to make - what convinces you more?

Before I go in specifics of my experience with these two, let me share the background: I'm in my early 20s with fairly taut facial skin - minor frown lines on the forehead. My Mum is in her late 40s with laugh-lines, forehead-lines, crow's feet and sagging eyelids - much softer/droopy skin overall. She rarely applies makeup (except lipstick) and has no particular regime for skin care. Both of us have combination skin.

OLAY Regenerist Advanced Microsculpting Cream:

There were several positive reviews about Olay Regenerist range online. However, the local market was a different story. I've been on the hunt in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad with different imported items from Olay. Some would have different packaging than what I'd see online, others would have that "replica-expired" look :-/ So, here's what I gathered. Olay has 3 "anti-ageing" collections - Total Effects, Regenerist, Age Defying Series (click for more info). I'd strongly suggest that you read their information in detail to get the best-suited one for your need. The Regenerist range - as the name implies - is to "reverse" the effects of age. Hence, their target market is 40+. 

I purchased my Olay Regenerist Microsculpting cream from Al-Fatah Liberty, Lahore. Please make sure that you get this from a reliable source because it is not officially launched in Pakistan, so many imported items could be fake/expired. 

I had a tough decision to make - whether to buy the cream or the serum. Serum is lighter and absorbs faster. Cream was known to be more effective (as per the reviews I read). And for best performance, it is recommended to use BOTH serum and cream in conjunction with each other. I took the plunge for the cream, and it came in a sturdy & sleek red glassy jar with reflecting silver lid - the kind which gets messed up by fingerprints really fast :-/ There was another lid/cover for security against environment and spilling. Ugh, it is nice, but I hate removing the lid and then carefully picking the thin sheet of a second lid :-/ It takes so long, and I hate making a quick mess. It's just me, but I take that off the first time I open.

Let's weigh it against the claims:

• 1 Day: Reduces the appearance of lines, boosts hydration & brightness

ME: Applied it at night after washing face with TBS Seaweed facewash. Appeared smooth and creamy, not very moisturizing at first. Rubbed it on my face and neck using my fingers. This one could be applied to eye contours as well, but I avoided it. Very faint fragrance that vanishes once applied. It was August - quite humid & hot. It wasn't getting absorbed quickly and I was getting impatient. I left slight residue on my face after a 2-min massage and after couple of more minutes, it just SANK in my skin. It became smooth as if a primer had been applied. Impressive. I woke up the next morning with no significant oil on my T zone. Skin still somewhat smooth. Frown lines the same. Brightness - nothing to write home about.

MOM: She washed her face with Dove soap and applied the cream, It absorbed much more quickly and she reported to have felt a tightening effect few minutes after application. Not too strong or anything. Skin appeared "hydrated" in the morning. No oil residue as well. She's very fair NC15-20, so brightness wasn't noticeable in first usage.

• 14 Days: Skin is noticeably firmer and skin elasticity is improved

ME: I wasn't regular in applying it every night. Although I loved the "smoothing" effect it had, it didn't seem to quench the skin. Can't comment on firmness because my skin was taut to begin with. I resorted to using it in the morning - sometimes under the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector, sometimes just by itself. It does create a smooth base for makeup, once allowed to get absorbed in the skin. It did make the skin luminous without making it oily slick (depending on the climate, because I naturally sweat a lot in heat). 

MOM: She was very regular in applying it as the night cream and a few times she tested it in the day. The tightening effect came minutes after application - although it was never blatantly visible at the time of application. Overall, her droopy eye contour did appear quite firmer, even when her deeper wrinkles remained the same.

• 28 Days: Reverses the look of up to 10 years of wrinkles

ME: With continued albeit irregular usage, the skin did have the "highlighter effect" on my cheeks, but I don't think it is solely due to this cream. I might be hallucinating, but my frown lines seemed a tad lighter overall. Like a mild airbrushing look.

MOM: The 10-year-wrinkle-reversal claim was too big to be fulfilled, I suppose. However, she did manage to finish the first jar and the airbrush effect on her appeared more pronounced. Her skin looked fresher and there was blurring in her deeper wrinkles. Since the skin in the eye area is the thinnest, the "tightening" was most noticeable in that region immediately after applying. She liked its impact because she has never stuck to a regime, but this she completed happily.

L'OREAL Revitalift Laser x3 Renew Moisturizer:

L'Oreal Pakistan officially launched the Revitalift Laser x3 range in the second half of 2013. It has an eye cream, serum, and a moisturizer. The good thing is that the testers are available at most of the L'Oreal counters and you can have a feel before you purchase. Thumbs up for that, L'Oreal! The most annoying thing at a counter is - "iska tester nahin hai" - I mean how else am I supposed to decide. I'm not the one to take SA's word for it. Anyhow, I decided to weigh apples against apples and got the moisturizer from this range as well. 

In terms of packaging, it is comparable to Olay's quality - and even color scheme :) There must be something related to "red" and "anti-ageing" consumer perceptions. So, this has that double-lid quality as well, which makes it travel-friendly, but it is bulky so it might not be a "light" travel. 

Like Olay, L'Oreal also has different lines of their anti-ageing products. Target markets vary in terms of geography and age groups. For example, Youth Code is for earlier signs of ageing. Also, this Revitalift version is available in specific regions only. I have not been able to spot the product in USA, but it is available in Boots, UK, South-Eastern Asia, Australia, etc. (I wonder why....). 

The claims & the performance:

REPLUMPS: Wrinkles appear reduced

ME: This is definitely more moisturizing on my skin. It has a cool faint fragrance that I find quite pleasing. For those who are sensitive to fragrant creams, it doesn't linger much. The weather isn't humid/hot anymore, so can't comment on how it would fare in the heat of Summers on oily/combo skin. But... it hydrates the skin well and there is a cooling effect (not the minty tingle) which is an "attempt" to re-plump, I suppose. My wrinkles are slightly blurred after application, but when I discontinue the usage (for about 1 week - 10 days), my skin gets back to the frowny wrinkles.

MOM: Majority of the problem area for my Mom is the eye contour. Unlike Olay, this is not to be used in the hollows of the eye (so, technically, I should have got her the eye-cream version). She often skips the nightly usage of L'Oreal because she considers a parallel eye-care regimen to be an overkill :-P Having said this, she also reports the refreshing feel and the "almost re-plump" even from the first application. One point though - you need to carefully apply a controlled amount when wearing this under makeup. It absorbs in less than a minute, but the excess product on the skin "balls up" into little globules if you try to use your fingers/sponge/brush to blend in a foundation. Gross reference: It's like when you rub your face and grimy dirt might come off. Ain't pretty. 

REFIRMS: Skin feels firmer

ME: I'd vote for refreshing, yes. Firmer, hmmm... I don't know. My skin is pretty sensitive and red angry patches appear out of nowhere when I apply a tingly product to my face. Do use testers wisely to check if it suits your skin. The firming effect substances might not suit your skin type. 

MOM: My Mommy Dearest didn't feel much difference in firming except may be on her neck. That too wasn't pronounced. She commented that "This creams make me feel like I had just washed my face. It's nice to feel the cream is DOING something without the cheap gimmick of minty-cool-bubblegum thing" (roughly paraphrased from Punjabi :P)

REFINES: skin looks smoother.

ME: I do agree with this. It does make the skin smoother IF you apply the right amount. But I shall update this after testing this in Lahore/Karachi Summers :-D

MOM: Here's when my Mom disagrees. She thinks it smoothes the skin way less than the Olay one. She was too pro towards Olay's smoothing effect that she discards this one as "vague". 

You can compare the swatches to see that Olay has thicker consistency than L'Oreal. One reason could be that the Olay jar was finished and I scooped up the residual to swatch, but still, it has always been more creamy than lighter lotion-like L'Oreal. 

Disclaimer: I still have half the jar left. Will DEFINITELY be more regular in using and update if my results change.

Here's some BONUS insight I'd like to share about Anti-Ageing experience & panic.

Truth is that I am not an anti-ageing product expert. These two have been my only product tries so far. I can say this much - I personally wouldn't call Olay or L'Oreal as my Holy Grail Anti Ageing moisturizers. I love the refreshing effect of L'Oreal, but that's what other moisturizers can do as well. In the anti-ageing front, it has yet to WOW me. Olay has been a better experience overall. If you have the patience for it to get absorbed and have an oily/combination skin, it's a good product. My next catch would be their serums to see if they live up to the hype - however, I've decided not to hop on to the bandwagon right away :-) From my Mom's experience, Olay is a clear winner. But then again, you have to continue using the product to sustain the effects.

Like other skin care products, anti-ageing results vary according to genetics, mental & physical health, skin-type, problem areas, exposure to sun & pollutants, etc. You can see how my Mom and I share genetics, but still the results were different because she was in the target market of the anti-ageing ranges. I believe that you shouldn't haste to use anti-ageing products - these usually cost a fortune and you cannot "see" the results to know if they are working or not. For those who think "prevention is better than cure", well yes, we are exposed to different lifestyles than our parents and our skin is more stressed out with inadequate nourishing. We're at greater risk or earlier onset of wrinkles. Still, try to control the factors that you can until you're atleast 30+. I have hooded eyes and high cheekbones, so my eyes wrinkle-shut when I smile. That is certain that the crow's feet cannot be avoided in my case unless there is the dreaded Botox (ugh) or some invasive method (surgery). But there are a million things I can do to keep my skin fresh overall till I can formally resort to anti-ageing stuff only. (Did you know: Some anti-ageing products are not to be used in conjunction with our "regular" products. Since I can't commit to one product for life...yet. I'd be taking a break after finishing this L'Oreal jar)

There are several myths mingled with facts on anti-ageing subject. Please do your research. An extensive one. Before launching into a full-throttle age defense mode :-P Taking care of sunscreen, SPF, diet, sleep, exercise and basic skin care are the best "preventions". If you need a little push in terms of products, consult dermatologists, please. (Click here for a basic WebMD guide on Anti-Ageing regimen in 20s).

I'll keep researching for a more detailed guide for those who're eager about age defense or want to transition into anti-ageing products. I hope this did help you in some way. Drop in a comment to let me know your thoughts on using the anti-ageing regimen or share your experience with a specific product.

Cheers,

Bia