Hydrate Your Skin With The L’Oreal Paris Hydra Genius Aloe Water

During one of my & my mothers’ annual Germany shopping trips I came across this very interesting product from L’Oreal Paris. Recently I’ve been very into skincare and especially into serums. While looking through the skincare section I saw this product that seemed pretty luxurious and looked very much like a serum. Because my German isn’t too great and because L’Oreal is pretty vague with their words I had no idea whether this actually is a serum or not, but I decided to buy it. Today I’m going to review it and let you guys know everything there is to know about this product. If you’re interested in reading about that, make sure you continue reading!

Let’s start off with talking about the thing that first caught my attention: the packaging. This product comes inside a box in a gorgeous glass bottle. It’s quite slim but it’s tall. It’s rectangular shaped and it looks very elegant. The box in which it’s packaged is decorated with bubbles and information, but the bottle itself is pretty straight forward and clean. It doesn’t say much aside from ‘L’Oreal’ and ‘Hydra Genius Aloe Water’. I do really like the design of the bottle. I think it looks very elegant and luxurious. It also comes with a pump which gives the entire packaging an even more luxurious look. Isn’t it just gorgeous?!

In store I saw three bottles of this next to each other. At first I thought all three were the same product, but it turned out that there are three different versions available. There is a version for sensitive skin, a version for normal to greasy skin and a version for normal to dry skin. I do have rather greasy skin, but it’s also dehydrated which is why I decided to go for the version for normal to dry skin. There is one other reason why but that’s a long story I won’t bore you with.

L’Oreal Paris Hydra Genius Aloe Water – €12,50

Like I mentioned I wasn’t completely sure what this product was meant for at first. After translating the text on the packaging and after reading about it on websites written in English I found out that this L’Oreal Hydra Genius actually is a moisturiser. I thought it was a serum since it has such a liquidy texture, but apparently that’s not the case. Aside from finding out this is a moisturiser I read even more about this product on the L’Oreal website.

According to L’Oreal this product is inspired by Asian skincare. It’s a product that should deliver pure moisture that penetrates quickly, deeply and continuously without overloading the skin. It’s supposed to instantly refresh. It absorbs immediately and the water-like texture rehydrates and reinvigorates the skin. It also instantly locks in moisture and it contains hyaluronic acid which also penetrates deeply for a healthy-looking glow.

The last thing they claim is that the aloe vera water releases continuous hydrating and drenches the skin with moisture for up to 72 hours. It’s fresh as water but hydrating as cream.

Having read that I do understand more why the product is this watery, because apparently that’s the idea behind this moisturiser. It’s supposed to be thin as water but very hydrating. It’s supposed to be the best of both worlds. And even though that sounds amazing, I have to say that I don’t think it does what it says it does. It’s very fun and all and I think it’s a very unique idea to create a moisturiser like this, but this isn’t moisturising enough to actually be a moisturiser. Not in a million years.

Consider the fact that I have oily skin and I bought a moisturiser that should be hydrating enough for dry skin. If it’s not even hydrating enough for my oily skin, don’t even think about using it as a moisturiser if you actually have dry skin. The product definitely does something and it might actually do a lot of work deeper into the skin, but on the surface you need hydration too. Especially if you have some flakiness going on you do want your moisturiser to take that away and this won’t do that.

One thing I do like about this product is the scent. It’s a very fresh smelling product. The scent smells very familiar to me, but I still can’t put my finger on what it smells like and I’ve been thinking about that for a very long time now. I just don’t know. Anyway, it smells very fresh and that’s a nice thing for in the morning. It’s definitely an awakening scent.

But let’s get back to the product again. As you might be able to tell from the picture the product is very thin. It’s almost like water, just a teeny tiny bit thicker. It has a bit of a gel-like look to it and it’s not completely transparent. I did expect it to also have a bit of a gel-like feel to it but that’s not the case. It really feels like water.

One positive thing about this texture is that it’s very easy to blend into the skin. You only need a little bit and since you get such a big bottle (with 70 ml) it will last you for a long time. It also absorbs extremely quickly, like L’Oreal claimed, and that’s definitely a big plus.

But what I don’t like is that I don’t notice that much difference when I apply it. It’s not a product you will benefit from in the short term. I do definitely believe that it hydrates your skin on a deeper level, which would mean it does have an effect in the long run. So far I haven’t noticed a ton of difference, but I do feel like my skin already is a little less dehydrated. It looks like my skin is a little less dull and more alive looking. Of course this could be due to a lot of things, but I do feel like this product played a part in it.

The problem is that this product is great as a serum, an extra step in your skincare routine, but that’s not what it’s meant to be. It’s meant to be a moisturiser and it does a terrible job at being one. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad product and it definitely doesn’t mean that I won’t use it because I do use it everyday, but I don’t use it as a moisturiser.

Overall I have mixed feelings about this product. The design of the bottle is stunning, you get a lot of product and the texture is really nice and thin which feels great on the skin. However, this is meant to be a moisturiser and it just isn’t moisturising enough to be one in my opinion. It’s great as a serum, but if that’s not what you’re looking for, this product will definitely not work for you!

And that’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed reading today’s review and be sure to let me know if you’ve ever tried this product or anything like it, and if so, be sure to let me know how you like it!