I first heard of the Hydrabio range last year when popular makeup artist Lisa Eldridge posted a picture of her Parisian pharmacy shopping haul on Instagram that contained a lot of Hydrabio products, especially the micellar water. As usual, it took a while for the range to finally be available in Australia and thankfully, it now is.
A couple of months ago, I was given the opportunity to try out skincare products from the Hydrabio range. I was pretty selective in the items I’d like to give a go and I decided on the Exfoliating Cream, the micellar water and the Light Cream. The Hydrabio range also contains an Intense Moisturising Serum, a Moisturising Toning Lotion and a rich moisturising cream.
Hydrabio Exfoliating Cream (AU$39.99)
This is a simple facial scrub with minute artificial beads that comes in a rich white cream. I use this as my physical exfoliant twice a week. It isn’t harsh on my skin (gently does it, of course) and the result is smooth and soft skin. I didn’t find this a spectacular product but it’s not a bad one at all and it does what it’s supposed to.
Hydrabio H2O (AU$29.99)
This is a micellar makeup removing water which is similar to the very popular Sensibio H2O. The major differences between the Hydrabio H2O and the Sensibio H2O is that the former contains glycerin, which makes up the “hydrating” feature of the Hydrabio H2O (glycerin is a humectant) and that the Hydrabio contains fragrance. To be honest, I didn’t experience any differences between the two. My skin didn’t feel any more moisturised than when using the Sensibio H2O. If you have dry skin and don’t have any aversion towards fragranced skincare, perhaps you’d like to give the Hydrabio H2O a go instead of the Sensibio H2O. They’re equally priced and you get that extra bit of moisturisation. Personally, I didn’t see nor feel any differences between the two.
Hydrabio Light Cream (AU$39.99)
In my opinion, this is the star product out of the three that I’ve mentioned today. I really like this moisturiser. It also comes in a richer cream but I opted for the Light Cream instead as I have combination skin. I’ve been using this moisturiser for a couple of months before switching to trial another brand and range of skincare. Unfortunately, my skin didn’t agree with that new range of skincare and it broke out in dry patches and pimples. In other words, my skin looked and felt pretty darn shitty. I switched back to the Light Cream and it calmed my angry skin right down. When I was using the moisturiser before switching skincare products, it hydrated and moisturised my skin well without leaving it greasy. It’s non-comedogenic and also has a subtle yet lovely and fresh aquatic scent that I’m particularly drawn to.
Even though I didn’t try the rest of the range out, I thought what I used were pretty good. Like I said, I didn’t experience any differences between the Hydrabio and Sensibio H20s but if you do have dry skin, it might do your skin good to have that extra bit of hydration (again, if you’re all right with fragranced skincare) with the Hydrabio version instead of the Sensibio. I find the scrub very similar to Uriage’s Gommage Integral scrub, but less, er, blue.
My favourite of the lot is the light cream and I reckon combination to oily skin folks would like this too. It’s a no-nonsense and decent moisturiser for the skin that I’m more than happy to use in summer.
The only gripe I have with the range is the addition of fragrance. Just like the Sensibio, the Hydrabio is targeted towards dehydrated and sensitive skin. I would have liked it sans parfum but still maintain the addition of glycerin. I was told that the added fragrance to the range is a hypoallergenic one and that it would not irritate the skin. I don’t have sensitive skin but if you do and your skin is particularly sensitive, I’d still take that claim with a pinch of salt and proceed with caution.
Bioderma products are available at selected pharmacies nationwide.
I always wonder if the addition of scents into products is to mask an otherwise horrible smell. That thought alone is usually behind the driving force for me to move on to the next product. Who wants to walk around with stinky skin? 😛
Yes it usually is. I asked a number of people in industry and they said that usually fragrances are added to mask the smell of certain ingredients in the product because apparently when certain ingredients are mixed, they’re not exactly pleasant-smelling. I can certainly attest to one of the products by Indeed Labs; the peptide serum is, I believe, fragrance-free but geez louise, that product stinks something fierce. Most people couldn’t stand it either. I couldn’t even use the product more than once; it’s that bad.
I’m alternating between REN and Bioderma skincare these days and have to say that I really like the Sensibio Light Creme (not the blue one you have). I have the Hydrabio toner and serum, both pretty good products too. My skin is finally getting better and starting to look normal again. I’m pretty impressed with Bioderma skincare, which is probably a good thing because it’s easier on the wallet although still not cheap for a drugstore brand.
lyn recently posted..Aveda Light Elements Defining Whip
Glad to know your skin’s improving Lyn. I agree; Bioderma’s skincare is pretty good and no-nonsense. I don’t use products from just one line; I use the Sebium moisturiser during the day, Hydrabio at night and the Sensibio H2O for removing face makeup. All work a treat!
I can’t believe that to date I’ve only used one item from REN and that’s the Rose Cleanser. I really must try more!
Just commenting to add that I’ve been using the Hydrabio serum and it works well with my super sensitive / eczema skin. It reminds me of (and has replaced) my Dermalogica UltraCalming Barrier Repair. I use tiny dots of the serum on my dry, irritated skin all throughout the day and it does the trick. No clogged pores or breakouts either.
Good to know Rinnah! So glad to know this helps your skin! I have the serum but haven’t tried it out yet. I’m going to give it a go because something is causing dry patches around my mouth and it’s irritating the heck out of me.
I like the description of the Crème légère but …. €17 in France and $39.99 here? Why oh why? 😉
Carole recently posted..La Photo du Mois – Décembre 2015
Sigh you know the price comparison of the H2Os. Not surprised that the rest are much cheaper in Europe too. 🙁