Review: Nivea Sensitive Face Care

Cold winter weather wind dry, indoor heating can really be harsh on even skin that is pretty normal most of the time. For me, I definitely notice that my skin gets even drier and more sensitive in the winter. That's why I think Nivea picked the perfect time to introduce their new Sensitive line! I received samples of the Sensitive Day Care and Sensitive Night Care moisturizers and have been testing them out over the past few weeks. These moisturizers are designed to reduce the tightness, redness, and dryness of parched skin.

The headliner ingredients here are licorice extract and grape seed oil, which Nivea says helps reduce the redness brought on by dry skin. (Apparently licorice root extract may also inhibit an enzyme that is key in hyperpigmentation. Neat!) They also have a few other ingredients I personally like to see in my skin care products: glycerin (a humectant), panthenol (moisturizing), and shea butter (Night Care only). They are formulated without added fragrance, colour, or parabens, which is great news as many people can be sensitive to these ingredients. Both come with a convenient flip-top cap in 50ml tubes. The size is a bit smaller than I am used to for a face moisturizer, but on the other hand it's perfect for travel. The packaging is identical except that the Night Care moisturizer cap is dark blue.

Left: Nivea Day Care moisturizer / Right: Nivea Night Care moisturizer
Both formulas were a little richer than I expected, but not in a bad way! I slather on all kinds of things to combat dry skin, but they may feel a little heavy (especially Night Care) if you don't normally have dry skin/are not used to richer products formulated for that. My desert face absorbs Day Care well, but it can sometimes leave skin a little shiny if I don't blot or apply makeup afterwards. Makeup goes on perfectly fine on top of Day Care. Note that Day Care does not contain SPF, which I know a lot of people look for in a daytime moisturizer. I prefer to layer on sunscreen separately, so this doesn't bother me. I think it's a good move on Nivea's part anyway, as some people may be sensitive to certain SPF ingredients.

As for Night Care, I noticed that it has slight yellowish tinge, which I think is from the shea butter. Shea butter is an amazing moisturizer, but I think it contributes a lot towards a much thicker product. Compared to both my L'Occitane Shea Ultra Gentle Moisturizer (which is 8% shea butter) and LUSH Celestial, Night Care is much richer and heavier. My skin drinks this up as well, but my face feels a lot more tacky afterwards compared to Day Care. I use this one pretty sparingly or rotate with a lighter moisturizer. I would be hesitant to use this in the summer as I think it might be too heavy even for me in warmer weather.

Overall, Nivea Sensitive Day Care and Night Care are both good products with a simple focus. If you're looking for a product with a lot more bells and whistles (ex. antioxidants, brightening, etc.), these are probably not for you. What they're great at is providing moisturizing while avoiding common irritating ingredients, which is really what's most important to someone with dry and sensitive skin. (Note that I don't get redness from dry skin, so I'm not sure how effective it is on that front.)

If I had to recommend just one, I would choose Day Care. It's lighter, probably more suitable for a wider range of people, and could also be used as a night cream if your skin needs just a little bit of extra hydrating TLC. Night Care would be a great pick for those with very dry skin and/or those living in drier/harsher climates--if I suddenly had to pack up and go to, for example, Edmonton in winter, you can bet I would be clinging to this tube and holding on for dear life.

Sensitive Day Care ingredients: water, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, methylpropanediol, tapioca starch, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, dicaprylyl ether, sodium phenylbenzimidazole sulfonate, butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane, octocrylene, hydrogenated coco-glycerides, octyldodecanol, Glycyrrhiza inflata root extract, Vitis vinifera (grape) seed extract, panthenol, glyceryl glucoside, carbomer, ethylhexylglycerin, sodium stearoyl glutamate, sodium chloride, trisodium EDTA, phenoxyethanol, piroctone olamine

Sensitive Night Care ingredients: water, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, methylpropanediol, Butyrospermum parkii (shea) better, ethylhexyl stearate, dicaprylyl ether, glyceryl stearate citrate, hydrogenated coco-glycerides, cocoglycerides, panthenol, Glycyrrhiza inflata root extract, Vitis vinifera (grape) seed extract, glyceryl glucoside, caprylic/capric triglyceride, ethylhexylglycerin, trisodium EDTA, sodium carbomer, phenoxyethanol

Widely available: $8.99 CAD / 50ml

Does your skin drastically change in the winter?