So if you read my previous post on Nature Republic’s Combination Watery Cream, you’re probably surprised that I would give anything else in this line a chance.  But, I received a sample of this cream from Korea Depart, and opened the sample with trepidation.  I was happily surprised with a slight smell of roses coming from this cream (and not the obnoxious Axe deodorant smell that was in the Combination Watery Cream).  So I found someone from Hawaii selling a bottle of Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Moisture Watery Cream on Amazon, and I went for it.

There are three different versions of this cream in the Aqua line: Fresh Watery Cream for oily skin, Moisture Watery Cream for dry skin, and this one: Combination Watery Cream for combination skin.  Each cream has basic moisturizers in it, laced with TONS of marine-sourced extracts, and a lot of silicons to bind the moisture barrier of the skin.

This cream is meant for people with dry skin, but honestly I felt that it was more suitable for normal-dry skin, especially in the wintertime.  It’s just the beginning of winter here in Chicago, and I find it’s just moisturizing enough when I add my sunscreen and finisher on it.  Without the added products, though, my skin starts feeling a little dry after a few hours.  But it is a nice silicon-based moisturizer as it absorbs well into the skin, leaves it looking plump with diminished pores.

I cannot find the ingredient list pre-typed anywhere online, so I just decided to take a picture of the box because I’ll be honest – I’m a little lazy right now, and not really in the mood to transcribe this insane list of products:

As you can see, there are a lot of silicon-based ingredients in it, an insane amount of marine-based extracts, and nothing that’s really irritating or acne-triggering.    But like the Combination Watery Cream, I’m not exactly sure what all these marine-based extracts are doing for my skin.  Nature Republic’s website states that these extracts supply essential minerals such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium.  Which is fine, I guess, but I certainly want more nutrients in a moisturizer.

*UPDATE: You can read my follow-up post here, where I talk about the many benefits of the ingredients in this product!*

The smell and feel of this product is completely different from the Combination Watery Cream that I hated so much!  This smells slightly of roses, and because it has more moisture, it feels soothing on my skin.  This reminds me a lot of Clinique’s Moisture Surge line, but this product is even more moisturizing with less shine on the face.  This is the perfect day cream because it leaves my skin plump, moisturized, yet matte and smooth to layer my makeup over it. (See bottom right picture – the right side of my hand has the product applied to it, but the left side doesn’t.)  I used this once at night, and unfortunately I woke up with my skin feeling super dry!  Even though this isn’t moisturizing enough for night, I really like it as a day cream.

Overall:

This is a really good day cream!  Although I’ve tried other moisturizers during the day (reviews will come later!), I find that I keep coming back to this one because it leaves my skin plump, not super shiny, and with my pores slightly diminished.

Pros: Decent day moisturizer even in the winter, and good at diminishing the look of pores like a face primer.

Cons: not moisturizing enough for night, not sure if the marine-based ingredients really do anything for my skin.

Total score: 8/10

Ingredients: 7/10 (very few acne-triggering ingredients, a ton of different marine-based extracts, but no real benefit for the skin like I expect in quality skincare)

Quality: 8/10 (Quality is decent – moisturizes well, but not wish that there was more nutrients and benefits for my skin)

Wear: 9/10 (absorbed well into skin and left my skin looking better, like I just put a ton of primer on it.)

Price: 8/10 (cheap moisturizer, paid only around $20 for 2.7 oz of product, and is a fairly good deal for a decent moisturizer.)

*UPDATE: Based on the new information I’ve found on all the different extracts, I actually changed my score.  Read it here.*