Lacura Hydra Complete Cream

Lacura, a skin care line sold at Aldi and manufactured in Germany, has a line of day and night creams, body lotions, cleansers, serums, wrinkle fillers, eye creams and toners with make-up debuting soon.

Having tried and liking the Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Day cream, but finding it a bit heavy for my skin type decided to try their Hyra Complete Cream which contains Sea Minerals and Vitamin B.

I was very pleasantly surprised. In a screw top jar this cream is sort of a gel-cream mix, very light in texture. It is a beautiful shade of blue and has a very fresh, clean, pleasant smell that makes one think of the sea.

It spreads easily and absorbs very well and doesn't seem to "ball up" on the skin like the Q10 Day Cream does. The scent is a bit strong initially but quickly fades. It does contain sunscreen ingredients but does not list the SPF and therefore I will not rely on it as a sunscreen. Having used it for several days in a row it seemed to soothe and hydrate my skin without causing me to break out despite containing silicones.

Why is it that this cream, which some bloggers have said is comparable to such creams as La Mer, able to be manufactured and packaged so nicely for such a low price? It is remarkable to me. Especially when you consider that so many mass market skin care lines are coming out with products that cost more than department store lines. Olay being the first to come to mind.

In my opinion, this is an excellent product and one that I plan to repurchase. It contains ingredients found in much more expensive products, vitamins, oyster shell extract and appears to be paraben-free.

I have tried to figure out who manufactures this product line for Aldi but so far have not been able to find out.

A jar of this delightful cream sells for under $5.00 at Aldi stores.

Ingredients: Biosaccharide Gum-1, Glycerin, Octyldodecanol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Sodium Acrylates/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Octocrylene, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Cyclohexasiloxane, Ostrea Shell Extract, Maris Limus Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Fructrose, Glycine, Niacinamide, Urea, Inositol, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Calcium Pantothenate, Propylene Glycol, Fragrance, Tetrasodium EDTA, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Benzoic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Blue 1.

Open Forum: What are you newest beauty finds?

Tell us what your newest beauty finds are. Many companies come out with their new products in the spring.

Estee Lauder, Clinique, Good Skin, American Beauty, Lancome, L' Oreal, and Garnier are some of the companies that just recently launched new products.

What are you using? How do you like it? Where do you buy it and what does it cost? We want to know!

Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv Intensive Lifting Lotion

I just received a sample of Estee Lauder's brand new Re-Nutriv Intensive Lifting Lotion. It is part of Estee Lauder's luxurious Re-Nutriv line aimed at more well-to-do folks.

This product absorbs very quickly and completely. The texture is somewhere between a serum and very light lotion. It starts off a bit on the oily side but quickly dries somewhat matte and dewy. The scent is typical Re-Nutriv and smells wonderful, it is very light and subtle, not at all overpowering or offensive. It appears to contain mica as it leaves behind a sort of pinkish shimmer.

This product is similar to less expensive products also made by Estee Lauder and some of their other corporate brands so if you aren't too keen spending so much on a product, you might try some of the others first (American Beauty, Grassroots, Good Skin, Clinique, Prescriptives, etc.). However, Re-Nutriv is supposed to be the ultimate in Estee Lauder luxury.

This is definitely a product worth trying if you have oilier skin but like using high-end cosmetics and do not want your face to look oily as so many of the creams can cause, especially on younger skin. Estee Lauder is one of the premier cosmetic companies in the United States with an array of wonderfully formulated products. Now, if only they would quit putting mica in everything!

A 1.6 ounce pump bottle costs $160.00 and is available by select department stores and the Estee Lauder website.

Ingredients: Unavailable.