Name: Soft Moisturizing Cream
Brand: Nivea
Size: 300ml
Price: €4,60
From Nivea’s website:
Use NIVEA Soft on face, hands and body. Sense the fast absorbing cream. Feel and see how your skin gets sensationally soft and smooth.
What I liked:
- makes skin soft
- hydrates
- cool feeling
- no breakouts
- the price
What I didn’t like:
- leaves a greasy residue
- contains alcohol
- can be drying
- doesn’t control oil production
- the packaging
Nivea Soft Cream is a moisturizer for face, body and hands. The cream has a very soft texture and a little goes a long way. When applied on the skin, it feels cool and refreshing but it takes a few minutes to sink in and leaves a slight greasy residue behind.
At first, I used it as a face moisturizer but it didn’t work that well for my combination skin. The cream is hydrating and makes skin very soft and smooth and didn’t give me breakouts, but my oily patches were just as shiny as ever. It didn’t do anything at all for them, so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone with combination or oily skin.
Instead, it works well for normal to dry skin, although I wouldn’t really recommend it to people with dry skin but I will get into that later. I just didn’t want to throw away the cream after the poor performance on my face so I started using it on my body. The skin there is very dry and this moisturizer does a good job of keeping it hydrated and soft for most of the day.
The cream contains paraffinum liquidum (mineral oil) that, despite having a bad reputation, is considered one of the safest and most moisturizing ingredients available. It works by creating a barrier on the skin that will prevent water from evaporating but won’t dry skin nor clog pores. However, this barrier can trap other ingredients into the skin and, if they are comedogenic (like Myristyl Myristate, a thickening agent also present in the formula), breakouts can occur.
The cream also contains Butylene Glycol, a mild humectant that helps prevent moisture loss, and Stearic Acid, a fatty acid that has emollient properties and helps to keep the other ingredients in the formula intact.
Alcohol Denat, which is used as an astringent and to help other ingredients deliver into the skin, can be drying and those with dry skin are recommended to stay away from it. But because Alcohol Denat can also cause irritations and free radical damage, it could be problematic for all skin types.
The moisturizer has a pleasant baby powder scent which is not too strong. It comes in a huge, white jar. The packaging is very simple and contains a lot of product. My only gripe with it is that jar containers aren’t very hygienic. I usually prefer tubes for skincare products.
Summary
Overall, I don’t like Nivea Soft Moisturizing Cream very much. It makes skin very soft, smooth and gives it a fresh feeling when applied. And it’s really inexpensive, especially considered how huge the jar is. But the cream leaves a greasy residue, doesn’t control oil production and contains alcohol, which can be drying and generate free radical damage.
Rating: 2/5
Disclaimer: the item was purchased by me for both personal and review purposes. The review is based on my own personal and honest experience with the product. For more information, please see my disclaimer.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Hmm…I’ve never tried Nivea soft, but I am a fan of the original Nivea cream as a night moisturizer. Not so thrilled to hear about some of the potential effects of its ingredients, though.
.-= Emilita´s last blog ..Casual Mens Clothes Shopping Adventure =-.
Hmm, I was actaully planning tobuy this, but if it left your skin oily, I guess I shall stay away from it. Maybe this is better for just the hands and body? The ingredients are a bit “eh” to me.
.-= Dee´s last blog ..Lavshuca 2009 Autumn Collection =-.
I am thinking hard at the moment, this product looks familiar! Either I’ve tried it on testers or I’ve just seen this, can’t seem to remember..thanks for the review though! I have to look again!
i have something the same frm nivea too. although they say its for face and body, i tried it once on my face and it became horribly oily and sticky. so i guess..it’s better for them to just market it as body cream right?
.-= prettybeautiful´s last blog ..How to maximize the use of ONE cotton pad =-.
Emilita: I’ve tried quite a few products from Nivea but never the original cream. I’m glad it works well for you. As for this one, the ingredients are one of the (many) reasons I gave it such a low rating. I don’t like the fact it contains Alcohol Denat as that is one of the few alcohols that should be avoided in skincare products. It’s not very beneficial for the skin and has too many side effects.
Dee: I think it could work for the face if the skin there is normal or dry. But if it is oily or has a few oily patches it won’t work for you. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend products containing Alcohol Denat to anyone. Even if it may not dry or irritate skin, it can always cause free radical damage which is bad for skin.
Nikki: you’re welcome and I hope you remember.
I don’t like the ingredients used in this, but if you don’t mind that, the cream does a good job at hydrating dry skin. 
prettybeautiful: that’s too bad, I’m sorry! I guess it depends on your skin type. If the cream is too rich or oily it may react bad to oily/combination skin. This one definitely works best for my bad than my face though
hi, i was linked here by one of your comments on makeupandbeautyblog!
i actually happen to love this cream, bad ingredients or not. i have sensitive dry-combo skin (tight in the cheek/eye area and a little oily in the t-zone), and this has moisturized well, even in the summer months, no breakouts or itchiness! i prefer it in the tube packaging you can get in north america though, because it’s more hygenic. my mom has also been using it for years – she’s 57 this year but everyone thinks she’s in her 40s. asians age well but i think the cream is the secret.
anyhow, enough rambling – i do love your blog
i’m still relatively new to the beauty blogging scene, so i don’t get very regular comments on mine, but you’re welcome to drop by when you have a minute!
.-= lareinarumbera´s last blog ..Quick Beauty Tip of the Day – Fighting Sticky Lip Glosses =-.
Lareinarumbera, hi and thanks for your comment. I’m glad you like my blog and I hope to see you around often! I’ve had a look at your blog and I like it a lot! It’s hard to get comments at the beginning, but stick to it and keep delivering good content and people will start commenting more often
I’m not fond of the ingredients of this cream but if that doesn’t bother you then it does a good job at moisturizing dry skin and keeping it hydrated fo most of the day. I don’t think I saw the tube packaging here, but that is definitely better and more hygenic than the jar.
i use this stuff for my face. it does leave an oily layer, but after like a few days (maybe less) of using it my face felt SOO damn soft, i was shocked. i really like it.
Romey, I’m glad you enjoy it. It does make skin soft indeed. I just wish it didn’t contain alcohol though.
Nivea…one of the best moisturisers I have ever used…great on hands, face, anywhere that you can suffer from dry skin. Great in the winter months to prevent a chapped face from the biting winds and wonderful on hands under rubber gloves (when washing up)…afterwards your hands feel smoother.
Meryl, I’m glad it’s working well for you. My sister likes it too but sadly it just won’t work for me.