ROAD TEST: the face cream that makes me look like I've had a holiday.

I’m a moisturiser junkie – I’m forever slathering my face and hands with lotions.

Just ask anyone I’ve ever shared a workspace with – it probably seems vain, but I can’t help it – I just have really thirsty skin that feels weird when it’s dry (I’ve got eczema on other parts of my body, it’s just my skin type).

Over the years I’ve spent mega bucks on creams – from high-end ones to stuff from discount pharmacies. It takes a lot to impress me – and it’s not the brand or the supermodel advertising it I’m into, it’s what it does to my skin that matters.

So when a new face cream comes up for trialling in the Mamamia office, I snap it up immediately. And this week I was tasked with trying the Youth Cell Cream from Skin Doctors. Tough gig, I know.

The promise of YouthCell Youth Activating Cream

I'm not remotely interested in packaging, but I'm definitely a sucker for a luxurious smell. And this cream smells much like the rich, expensive creams I've used in the past. So, yep, the scent had me at hello.

This is the Skin Doctors promise about the contents:

"With its unique combination of plant stem cells and anti ageing peptides, YouthCell™ works not only at a cellular level to “teach” the skin how to look young again, but also at the skin’s surface to treat the signs of ageing already visible."

Oh, how dare they imply I have "signs of ageing already visible"? But just quietly, I hope it works!

It contains three active ingredients - PhytoCellTec, Matrixyl 3000 and Renovage. I'm not entirely sure what these mean. I'm not one of those people who needs to understand. All I want to know, like everyone else, is: Does. It. Work?

The application

The cream is meant to be used morning and night after cleansing.

In the morning, for me that means straight after my shower, when my skin is driest because it's just been scrubbed. Past experience tells me I'll know within 60 seconds if a moisturiser will offer enough hydration for my skin. This one does.

The cream disappears into my skin but still feels dewy, which for me is perfect. And it makes me feel 'awake' - refreshed but not smothered in lotion, which is the best way I can describe how I like a product to feel.

How does it go under makeup?

I rarely have time for a make up primer in the mornings, so my make-up goes straight on top of my face cream. My powder and concealer glides on. No immediate signs of separation or cracking.

So far, so good.

During the day

I don't apply any further moisture to my face, despite the office aircon being on high. I slept badly last night, and normally I would feel and look tired by 2pm - but the glow is still happening at 5pm. It's a skincare miracle.

Ladies and gents, you have yourself what's called in the retail game 'One Happy Customer'.

End of the day

Much to the horror of purists, I remove my make up with wipes. I don't wash my face. I reapply YouthCell and rub the excess into my hands and that's pretty much the extent of my evening routine.

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The verdict - would I buy it?

Totes.

I don't know if it works at a "cellular level" as promised - I didn't perform my own clinical trials in a lab, and in any case, I've never been persuaded by numbers or statistics on face creams.

But it felt great, and the feeling lasted, which to me indicates it was doing its job. And that's what impresses me, because I've bought other more expensive creams that don't even moisturise.

Skin Doctors Youth Cell Youth Activating Cream is on sale here.