This $36 French Pharmacy Cream Is An Amazing Dupe For The Viral $300 Moisturizer None Of Us Can Afford

And so we made it our mission to try all of the known “dupes” for it to see if anything came even close.

Spoiler: they didn’t. We tried THIS, THIS, THIS, and THIS. They’re all really beautiful and really moisturizing, but they didn’t touch the AB cream. Not even close.

And then something happened.

We were researching the best creams for excema and reactive skin, and we discovered something. Something very, very good.

It’s the Avène XeraCalm A.D, and it’s the closest dupe to the Rich Cream by Augustinus Bader that we’ve ever tried.

Ok, so how is it similar to the Rich Cream?

The first ingredient is the Avene Thermal Water, which, guys, if you haven’t tried IT, please do. Like immediately. There are more than 100 clinical studies showing it neutralizes redness, calms reactive skin, and reduces the skin’s sensitivity.
It contains the mega-nourishing ingredient cer-omega— a lipid complex containing omega 6, ceramides, and evening primrose. All of that means it’s profoundly moisturizing and beautiful for the skin barrier.
It’s balancing. Which is a weird word, but is actually the dream when it comes to our skin. We don’t want to feel heavy grease sitting on the skin, and we don’t want to feel tight and dry. We just want our own skin to feel perfectly balanced, hydrated, plump, and happy. And that’s exactly what this does.
The formula keeps skin moisturized for a full 48 hours. Of course, we recommend not going that long (where are we, Vegas?) but it’s nice to know we have the option

We use a single pump (from an airless pump, which allows it to be totally free of preservatives), warm it vigorously in our hands, and then press it onto the face, neck, chest, immediately after washing our face or showering, onto wet skin. This helps “trap” the moisture, and when applied at night like a night cream, you will awaken with the freshest, glowiest, soothed skin in the morning. A mere bonus that it’s actually made to calm itchy, angry skin. Really—it works beautifully on nearly any skin type. We might not recommend it for super oily, but even combination skin will benefit. Especially if you’re someone who has often stayed away from heavy, thick creams at night for fear of waking up with unwelcome red spots in the morning. This cream is made for reactive and sensitive skin, so even if you’re dry but acne prone, it’s for you.

Yes, we also love it in the morning as a gorgeous, glowy base before makeup.

You sort of won’t believe the size of the bottle—it’s enormous for a face product. And for $36 for the whole thing, the cost-per-use is about 2 cents. You sort of can’t afford not to try it.

And if you do, let us know what you think HERE. We predict you’ll notice a difference in your skin after 3-days. Sending selfies is highly encouraged. We’ll send you one back.

Price: $36

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At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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