Vichy Idealia Smoothing and Illuminating Cream Hot

Vichy is a renowned brand with a higher price than those of L’oreal, Nivea and so on, but its marketing is much more aggressive which makes the first clue that the product is not so good if it is almost forced upon you in a drug store as a part of never-ending sampling campaign. I decided to make use of that sampling and opted for Idealia Smoothing and Illuminating Cream since it is intended for young women aged 25 to 35 and I fall within that range.
At the beginning this cream looked very tempting due to its frosty pink outside and very promising “insides” (contents). Though I am not much into reading the contents because Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate or Dimethicone Crosspolymer or both or any other ingredients do not ring a bell to me, from my testing empiric experience I can tell that this cream’s ingredients are mostly synthesized and not from natural extracts.
The cream has a pleasant smell, presentable packaging, and a light texture indeed. Its advantages stop here. After application the skin feels stiff as though you are wearing a very thin mask, and the absorption level of the cream is shamefully low. Thus, after some time when I tried to clean the leftover (residual) cream that did not absorb, I could feel it congealing into gluey particles (pellets). Hence, I would say the skin does not “breathe” properly if this cream is in action. Moreover, it looked really tired as though I have not applied anything at all.
As for anti-age treatment if any that have been promised in the leaflet, I have found none. My yet tiny wrinkles have remained as they are - no more, no less.
Other reviewers indicated breakouts on the skin as a result of this cream’s application, luckily I have been spared this destiny, but it may be due to my very short usage of Idealia Smoothing and Illuminating Cream because to my greatest relief I had a bunch of samples instead of a full volume specimen. And although it is a topic for another review I have also tried samples of Aqualia Thermal Cream, which is even worse (slight burning on the skin plus the smell is far not so nice as in Idealia’s case).
All things considered, I would not recommend Idealia Smoothing and Illuminating Cream, since it is more PR and good looks, but no deeds.

I haven't bought this cream but got to test a dozen samples during a vigorous campaigh conducted by Vichy not long ago. The advertising leaflets with an angelic model pictured were very promising with regard to a new product. The same was the nice womanly pink packaging with the melting texture pinkish content. So what's the outcome?
The cream has very lightweight texture which is easily distributed over the skin. It's a bit oily but runny enough at the same time.The first weird thing that I had to discover about it that it somewhat doesn't absorb, it just dries up on the skin as a film. So under the film the skin feels very dehydrated instead become supple and moisturised as it is claimed.
This might be a reason of that many of those who tried it had complaints of unexpected breakouts caused by this cream. I also had no wish to keep it long on my skin, it seems to clog pores and and unconsciously I tried to get rid of it. Maybe it's just not compatible with my mosly dry skin as it comes as for normal/combination types but I've never experinced using of the cream that only freezed on the skin without movement. So no moisturizing, nourishing or refining effects for me, it only gives a shine to the face by means of forming the film.The reasons of it can be found in some ingredients. Apparently the cream contains too much dimethicone and alcohol ingredients.
Dimethicone, which is a silicone oil, is also known as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and is used in a number of health and beauty products as an anti-foaming agent, skin protectant, and skin and hair conditioner. Manufacturers like it because it makes products easily spreadable, so you get that feeling of the lotion or cream gliding over your skin.
Dimethicone also helps form a protective barrier on the skin, and can fill in the fine lines and wrinkles on the face, which is why it’s often used in makeup primers.
But actually silicone oils can make dry skin worse over time. Instead of sinking into your skin and nourishing it from the inside out, like healthy ingredients do, it forms a sort of plastic-like barrier on the outside of skin. In some cases, those with extremely sensitive or thin skin have reported that creams containing
dimethicone can make their skin feel drier than usual. So I wouldn't recommend the products with such amount of that substance and other ones alike.