Never in my wildest dreams I thought I’d be reviewing Aldi supermarket branded skincare range. Yet here I am! Furthermore, I took the longest time to review as well because I was in denial with the quality and performance of a supermarket branded skincare range. Moving on from my denial issues, let’s talk about the range itself. The Caviar range is sold out within minutes (in Australia) on its ‘special buy’ days. I witnessed this first hand myself, where the entire shelf was emptied in first six minutes of the store opening. Its crazy how this product is so insanely popular outside, however barely talked or mentioned about in our skincare community. Fear not, because that’s exactly what I’m about to delve in.
Touted to be the dupe for ultra luxe brand La Prairie Caviar collection, except that costs an arm and a leg, perhaps kidney and liver too. Comparatively, Lacura Caviar range retails at an incredibly low price (in UK £6.99, while in Australia I purchased the pack of night cream, day cream and eye gel for $29.99). The prime time ingredient in these creams is Caviar extract, which claims to make the skin lifted, tightened and toned. Caviar extract is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals and it reportedly tackles signs of ageing. Onto each product in the range that I tried:
Aldi Laura Caviar Illumination Night Cream claims to be a deeply intensive moisturiser that will leave you with silky smooth and supple skin following morning. I appreciate the claims are simple and realistic of a night cream and doesn’t sell the world of promises for a night cream. Sure, knock yourself out if a serum sells bigger promises but in all honesty a night cream is essentially the last step in your routine sealing all the actives and goodness of a serum and moisturizing your skin overnight. I would expect it to perform with that level of expectation. Now onto the actual juice, lets review the inci list:
Top: Lacura Caviar, Bottom: La Prairie
Obvious ingredient of Caviar extract (11th ingredient), while other stand outs include Panthenol aka Provitamin of B5, Globe Daisy extract (helps with skin redness enhances natural skin glow), Snow Algae extract, Peptide, Sodium Hyaluronate. If you closely review the inci list you will see, most of the moisturizing ingredients and humectants are listed above in the inci list, followed by the actives, and finally emulsifiers and preservatives. Based on that, you’d expect to see soft, nourished, and plump skin.
Comparatively, the La Prairie Luxe Cream inci list is more comprehensive aside from star ingredient of Caviar extract (24th ingredient). Although first few lines include silicones, emulsifiers and fatty alcohols. But it also includes Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Algae Extract, Shea Butter, Lactobacillus Ferment, Polyglucuronic Acid, Sea Lettuce Extract, Saxifraga Sarmentosa (type of herb) extract, Grape Fruit Extract, Mulberry Root Extract, Chinese Skullcap Root Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Horsetail Extract, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Sage Leaf Extract, Calendula Flower Extract, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Algae Extract, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Lactic Acid.
With the addition of these other ingredients in a night cream, I’m not sure how the performance or claims are much different to Lacura brand. Also does the addition of these ingredients in their formulation warrant a $$$ price point? Food for thought, I wouldn’t comment as I have not personally used this cream so surely cannot compare its performance and results.
Lacura Caviar packaging is in a gorgeous blue glass jar which looks just every bit luxe (you can compare packaging beauty with much dearer options alongside). It smells like French cream in a luxe pot, nothing offensive, very pleasant.
For fragrance sensitive skin folks you might feel its much, but I absolutely adore it. The texture and consistency is light cream, doesn’t feel heavy at all. Most importantly works incredibly well with other skincare products in a routine and doesn’t cause any piling. Absorbs in the skin like a dream and doesn’t leave a tacky finish at all. It feels like velvet on skin, and settles in without any visible trace. Following morning, my skin is plump and supple. It didn’t diminish lines or wrinkles or whatever, nothing drastic but performed like a stellar night cream. Sealed it all in without creating any drama with other products, sealed and protected my skin overnight and following morning woke up to supple, plump and soft skin. Absolute winner in my books for the price point!! Definite repurchase.
Aldi Laura Caviar Illumination Day Cream with SPF15 (UVA/UVB protection) is quite the opposite of what I expected. I thought with ‘day cream’ in its name, it would be lighter consistency, however this is a denser cream in the jar. Of course the packaging didn’t fault, again a silver glass jar. Any one of these jars on your skincare vanity would look amazing, not for a minute an unaware person could say this is a supermarket branded skincare. Now for this day cream, one may ask if this is chemical or physical sunscreen in the formulation, well it is chemical with addition of Octocrylene, while other standard caviar range ingredients are included (Panthenol aka Provitamin of B5, Globe Daisy extract, Snow Algae extract, Peptide, Sodium Hyaluronate).
While the consistency is slightly denser, it doesn’t feel so on application or doesn’t even impact the absorbency in skin. Given it has sunscreen component to it, I feel if not massaged in skin properly it can leave me a whitish cast; but that’s only if I don’t massage it in skin thoroughly. Makeup sits really well over this cream and no piling experienced. Skin is well moisturized and nothing I could fault in this cream, however I still prefer lighter creams or gels during the day. Perhaps in cooler weather I would have a different take on it.
And the last product I tried from Aldi Lacura Caviar range is the Eye Mousse. Sheer perfection of consistency and texture, exactly as the name suggests…a Mousse. Light, fluffy, gel like consistency that absorbs instantly in my skin. Didn’t cause any milia which is usually my first concern when trialling any new eye product. Personally I did not notice any visible impact on fine lines around my eyes, but where it helped me was with puffiness under my eyes, and that’s where I draw the line. Although very pleasant to use and perhaps if I was committed to using it more consistently, I may have more to report on its results.
Now there are many other products available in the Caviar range, however I’ve yet to see it an Australian Aldi. I know UK Aldi’s sells the extended range which includes three minute peel mask, eye roll on, and seven day intensive treatment (ampoule format). I would absolutely love to try the intensive treatment however until these are available down under, my top pick is surely the Night Cream. If you want to try one product in this range it would be that cream, and perhaps if you don’t mind denser day creams.
HHW.com
xx
Onto the texture and feel, it smells very similar to their Z Luminous Brightening Serum, which is pleasant and much like french skincare. I can’t seem to specifically pinpoint any fragrance notes in the serum. The texture itself is like serum cream but with foundation pigment. I apply with fingers and effortlessly blends and settles in skin. I’ve tried with brush too, but I feel with such expensive product, the brush absorbs tad much. Unlike mainstream foundations, I really don’t feel this one warrants buffing in with a brush. Perfect for someone like me, “finger slap dash application” method (very technical).
Hidden Harmony World 