What is STEAMCREAM?

Like me, you may have heard of STEAMCREAM - but the extent of your knowledge may be that they come in 100's of different pretty tins. You're not wrong! The one I have here is one of their recent limited edition tins, "Ume ni Uguisu" - which is a Japanese proverb, which means "a great match" (well, literally, it means a bush warbler on a plum tree.)

So what exactly is inside these tins?

That.

Slightly disappointed? It is, indeed, a plain white cream. It could be NIVEA for all we know?

Not a chance. It's what's inside this cream that sets it apart. This cream, which smells predominantly of lavender, but significantly watered down by smells of other ingredients, is handmade from natural ingredients (like lavender essential oils, neroli oil, orange flower water, jojoba oil, rose absolute). These are steamed together into this gorgeous cream. This steaming process is key (as you may have gathered from the name), as it creates a more natural binding effect than adding binding agents. Steaming results in a light cream which maintains the qualities of each individual ingredient, and when applied on the skin, each ingredient is allowed to really sink into the skin and do its job. Which means in theory, your skin should not only be soft on the surface, but really hydrated from within for a very long time.

My verdict?

Yes. It does everything it claims. On my hands, it delivers the same effects as other handcreams, i.e. soften the skin, but even when it wears off, my skin is still soft (unlike other creams that can actually dry out your skin in the long run!). On my body, it wasn't as heavy as a body cream, so I could cross my legs and sit on wooden surfaces without slipping everywhere, despite having nicely hydrated skin. And lastly, to my surprise, on my face - this thing was AMAZING!

I struggle to find moisturisers that are light enough to not make the surface of my skin oily, but hydrating enough, to not make my skin cells create oil. If my skin cells don't get enough hydration, it panics and produces its own oil, thus making my skin oily. So I need things like the STEAMCREAM that delivers hydration down to the skin cell. The only other products that have really done this to my satisfaction are the REN Ultra Rich Day Cream and the Origins Vitazing which are both double the price of a tin of STEAMCREAM.

So I am SO SO SO impressed by the STEAMCREAM! I cannot believe how effective AND multi-tasking this product is. It's also a plus that you can choose from a myriad of designs, and that there are always new ones coming out. The next limited edition ones are for Valentine's Day - Thalia (on the left) and Shu (on the right)!

L: Thalia, R: Shu

Here are some of my favourites..

Unfortunately, some of those are Japan exclusive!

If you're not please with some creams out there which just seem a bit greasy and doesn't seem to make any difference in the long run - give the STEAMCREAM a go. You can read more about it on their website, and they're sold on their website, ASOS and FeelUnique for £13.

Yu