Review: Nuance Salma Hayek Age Affirm Skincare

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Even though I don’t talk about it as much as makeup, I’m really into skincare. Obviously I have some particular skincare concerns that I’m still working on, but I also really just love testing new things and seeing if they live up to their claims (and their prices). For me whether I like a skincare product is totally about performance, so I’m always on the lookout for stuff that works without putting a huge dent in my bank account. I had a chance to try out the new Age Affirm collection from Salma Hayek’s Nuance skincare line, and I’m happy to say I found a couple new gems in it.

Packaging

First off – when it comes to skincare I don’t care nearly as much about the packaging as I do with makeup, mainly because it’s hiding in my bathroom cabinet. Also, I see skincare as more of a necessary evil than part of my ‘me time’ ritual like makeup is, so it doesn’t necessarily need to wow me with its great design or awesome materials. As long as it doesn’t make the product annoying to use, then whatever. That said, I think the brand has done well with the Age Affirm packaging. The jars look nice and they’re easy to open and use. The plastic is sturdy – I know because I’ve unintentionally drop-tested everything at least once. Nothing broke and even the cleanser tube didn’t pop open. My only possible gripe is that two of the jars are the same size, and from the top they’re identical. I keep all my skincare stuff in a drawer, so that means I need to pick up both jars to see which one is which. That’s a total first world problem though, and if it’s the worst thing that happens to me then I’m damn lucky.

Glycolic Cream Cleanser ($13.99)

I’ll admit I had kind of a rude surprise when I first used this – I thought the exfoliation would all be done by the glycolic acid but it turns out it has some little crunchy bits in it for manual exfoliation too. They’re not the round plastic beads, which I like because who wants to fill up the ocean with plastic? I’m not sure what the actual material is but it feels kind of like coarse salt. I don’t really do products with physical exfoliants so it took my skin a few days to get used to it. It’s definitely a good reminder not to scrub too hard at my face, but my skin doesn’t feel sore or sensitive afterwards. My skin is a little on the sensitive side, so I think this would work for a lot of people, but if you have really sensitive skin you might want to proceed with caution. The texture is more milky than creamy, and I only need a little bit – around a dime size amount. I honestly wasn’t sure I’d like this at first, but after a few days I was hooked. The little beads give my skin that extra-clean feeling, but it’s sulfate-free so it doesn’t feel like my skin is stripped bare. After about a week I noticed that my face was feeling almost as soft as it does right after I do a light acid peel, so the glycolic acid seems to be doing its job too.

Firming Eye Balm ($19.99)

This little pot of eye cream is small compared to the other products, but trust me, it’s enough to last a really long time. The product in the jar feels really dense and thick, but it glides onto the skin easily and soaks in fast. Once it’s on, it doesn’t feel heavy at all. Unfortunately my undereyes are thirsty little suckers, so this particular eye cream isn’t quite emollient enough for me, at least not at night. I do like it as a daytime eye cream though, since it feels light on the skin and doesn’t make my concealer crease.

Firming Day & Night Cream ($21.99)

This was the unexpected surprise out of all of them. The texture is very light and almost gel-like, so when I first got into it I was pretty sure there was no way it would be moisturizing enough for my skin, since it gets dehydrated so easily. I was wrong, so very wrong. Like the eye balm, is spreads really easily and I only need just a bit. It feels a tiny bit sticky until is soaks in, but that only takes a couple minutes. After that, my skin feels soft and moisturized, and stays that way until the next time I’m ready to do my skincare thang. My skin is normal-to-slightly-oily right now, so I can’t swear this will be a miracle for super-dry skin, but the light & non-greasy texture is just about perfect for normal or oily skin. In fact, I think this may have taken the ‘favorite moisturizer’ crown away from FAB Ultra Repair Cream, at least for the warmer seasons. This will definitely go on my repurchase list.

Firming Neck & Chest Balm ($21.99)

When I got these, I was a little unclear on why there was a separate neck and chest balm – I’ve always just used either my facial moisturizer or body lotion on those parts. Can it really be that different? But as soon as I tried it, I understood. The texture is the complete polar opposite of the facial moisturizer – it’s dense, thick, and takes some effort to spread. It doesn’t feel greasy, but it does feel a little heavier on the skin. The thickness means it takes a little longer to apply, so I usually only end up using it in the evening. The moisturizing abilities are spot-on though, and even though I don’t really have issues with crepey skin on my neck and chest (yet), this does make my skin feel more plump.

In Short: Out of all these, the Glycolic Cream Cleanser and Firming Day & Night Cream were the real standouts for me. The others weren’t necessarily my top favorites, but that has more to do with my particular skin and lazy skincare ways – the products themselves are very good. Best of all, they all feel like luxury skincare products – but without the luxury price tag.

Nuance Salma Hayek products are exclusive to cvs.com and CVS stores

Products in this post were provided free of charge for consideration. All opinions are 100% my own, because I hate BS and odds are you do too.