Whenever someone asks me to suggest a moisturizer, I freeze up. Even though it’s a casual question, most likely asked as part of dinner-party small talk, I act like I’ve been suddenly asked to do my Letterboxd Top 4. The stakes seem high, although they’re really not. I worry about what my pick says about me as a person and whether it will actually suit the individual. I fear that giving one bad pick could make someone think that “skin care just doesn’t work” or that a “routine is a waste of time.” The dozens of moisturizers that I’ve tested this year swim in my head. I then turn the tables and start peppering them with questions like: What do you use now? What kind of format do you like? Do you break out a lot? What do you want your moisturizer to do? How much do you want to spend? Are you wearing an SPF? Do you use retinol? And yes, I have an anxious attachment style, why do you ask? (Perhaps this is a common beauty editor affliction.)
At this point, the person asking the question has probably regretted it, having hoped for a simple product pick and not a skin quiz from a stranger with no medical degrees to her name. But now, I finally have one (a moisturizer I suggest to all, that is).
This cream from Aestura, a dermatologist-recommended K-beauty brand, is my new answer. Some people might call it “safe,” but I consider it to be a “crowd-pleaser.” It checks a lot of boxes: It’s fragrance-free, contains good-for-your-skin ingredients, and is a smooth balm. Ingredients like ceramides, fatty acids, cholesterol, and lipids work for a variety of skin types (even for those people prone to eczema or rosacea). The texture also makes it a chameleon-like cream—it can initially feel on the heavier side, but spreads easily into a thin, non-sticky layer that works in the hotter and colder months. Its rich, emollient, no-nonsense formula makes me associate it with something a doctor would give you after a laser appointment. I use it morning and night, before a long-haul travel day, and for just about any occasion. The squeeze tube format is easy to use and reminds me that it’s not that serious; it’s just moisturizer.
My dermatologist, Dr. David Kim, likes this cream too, which further soothes my anxiety. I feel extra vindicated in my choice because BTS’s Jimin is also a fan, and it’s a bestseller at Korean retailers. Of all my anxieties, it’s nice to know that at the very least, this cream is something that everyone (or most likely, almost assuredly so, probably, hopefully) would like.
