Alpha-H is an Australian brand founded in 2000 on the Gold Coast. They are best known for their cult product Liquid Gold, a glycolic acid toner that is one of my favourite exfoliating toners to use, which sells 123...
The Essential Hydration Cream promises to rehydrate, soothe, and balance the skin and is suitable for all skin types, but especially dry, dehydrated, and sensitive skin.
It is a thick, white cream that still retains a gel-like feel so doesn't come across too heavy on the skin and spreads very easily. It is packaged in my favourite type of packaging where you push down on the top after taking off the lid and the perfect amount is dispensed into the well-like top of the tub. You can apply day or night, and I regularly do both. It is fantastic under makeup as it absorbs really quickly and doesn't leave your skin feeling tacky yet it is still sufficiently moisturised. I love that this cream is really gentle and free from any intense actives, so it is a great moisturiser to use after you've hit your skin with a heavy duty serum or mask. I particularly like to use this after any AHAs at night time as it is really soothing and cooling, and I can see this being particularly great in a routine following Alpha-H's Liquid Gold.
This has a really calming, fresh, aromatic scent that I have completely fallen in love with. It is also rated 10/10 on the boyfriend 'you smell good' scale, so definitely one to check out if you are a fan of products that have a beautiful scent. It is mostly peppermint but has a really lovely aromatic warmth to it. For that reason, I really like using this as a night cream because I find the scent really relaxing and it helps me to wind down for bed.
The Essential Hydration Cream has a base of water and the second highest ingredient on the list is actually silicon, which my skin has been known to have issues with in the past. Fortunately no problems with this cream though! It also includes hydrating ingredients propylene glycol, glycerin, algae extract, jojoba oil, macadamia seed oil, evening primrose oil, glyceryl stearate, cetearyl alcohol, ethylhexyl palmitate, caprylic/capric triglyceride, isomerised linoleic acid, wheat germ oil, Solomon's Seal plant extract, and palmitic acid to help plump up the skin. It includes carbomer to give the product a gel feel, phenoxyethanol as a preservative, and potassium hydroxide to moderate the pH. Vitamin E is included in the form of tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol, vitamin B in the form of panthenol, and vitamin C in the form of ascorbyl palmitate. Comfrey extract is included to assist with soothing, aluminium/magnesium hydroxide to whiten the formula, ginseng root extract for its healing and anti-ageing properties, caprylyl glycol as a preservative, ylang ylang extract, peppermint extract, wolfsbane extract and cypress seed extract for fragrance, triolein to assist with absorption, barley extract (an antioxidant), palmitoyl tripeptide-5 to assist with skin firmness, propyl gallate as a preservative, citric acid to moderate the pH, and beta-sitosterol which acts like salicylic acid to resurface the skin.
Price: $51.95 [$1.04/mL]
Rate: scent, calming and soothing, efficacy, packaging
Hate: I don't love how silicone-heavy the formula is but, in saying that, it hasn't bothered my skin at all so far
Verdict: I would 100% repurchase this as it is so perfect for using after strong serums - that I am a big fan of - so I have used this up really quickly and I also adore the packaging
This product was received as a sample for review from ry.com.au. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.