Supermodel Taylor Hill may seem like the epitome of Hollywood glamour, but when she’s not walking runways for the likes of Ralph Lauren or Zimmerman, she prefers bare-faced beauty. “I do almost nothing—the absolute bare minimum,” Hill once told Coveteur of her daily beauty routine. “Different people do my makeup and they use different products, which is fine, but can cause breakouts and irritation. So when I go home, I like to use the same ones so I’m not scaring my skin anymore than I already have.”
One such product she won’t waver from is Avène’s Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream ($28). “This is my favorite moisturizer,” she recently told The Strategist. “I found out about it from a makeup artist on set about five years ago. I was working with them for three days straight, and they put a little bit of this on my face every single day. Usually, I start to break out or get dry by the third day because someone’s using products on me that I’m not used to. By the end of the third day, I was like, “What is that magical stuff?” They even noticed. They were like, “Wow, your skin is looking good. I think your face really likes this product.” I’ve been using it ever since.”
“It’s great if you’re dealing with acne and healing scars, sun damage, or you overused a toner,” Hill continues. “I use it nightly, because I feel like it restores my skin best then. When I wake up in the morning, I literally feel like my skin is saying, “Hello, good morning!”
Taylor Hill isn’t the only celebrity to rave about Cicalfate+. Newly announced mom-to-be Hailey Bieber previously shared on Instagram, “I [love] this product forever” after it calmed her “angry and irritated skin.” (In a funny coincidence, the only other beauty product Hill had on her favorites list is Bieber’s Rhode Peptide Lip Tint in Espresso [$16].) I’m no celebrity, but back in February I also raved about my love for Cicalfate+; switching out my nighttime moisturizer for this cream has made my skin look more plump and glowy than ever before.
More importantly, Cicalfate+ is dermatologist-approved to hydrate ultra-dry skin, protect skin from factors that compromise the skin barrier and relieve discomfort (think: eczema flare-ups, rashes and dry patches.) It’s a medicine-cabinet staple for all these reasons, and gets the gets the stamp of approval from the National Eczema Association. Plus, one derm told us it “makes skin look so dewy.”
Customers say it’s a “savior” moisturizer for dry or sensitive skin types. “I have normal/ dryish skin that is easily dehydrated and this is better than $80+ moisturizers,” said a shopper. Many shoppers also describe how Cicalfate+ saved their skin from various issues and mishaps. One user on “medication that dries out [their] skin” said it “saves the day every time.”
A second explained, “I tried a face mask that left my face burning… I applied this cream and immediately my skin felt like it was in recovery to healing.” A third shared, “Being diagnosed with perioral dermatitis was devastating… It may sound dramatic but I truly feel this product gave me my life back.” The same reviewer continued, “If you struggle with stubborn pd and feel as though you’ve tried every solution, please give this cream a chance.”
