AS YOU’LL know from past posts on winter skincare, the season wreaks havoc on my skin. It’s complexion bedlam — dry yet oily, peeling and taut, red underneath the white flakes of skin, itchy, bumpy, inflamed. It’s enough to make a grown woman despair. If the weather isn’t enough to drive me inside until spring (and it won’t be this year because of this), my skin is. Plus, it’s — surprise, surprise — sensitive, hyper-sensitive even. If I so much as look at some skincare products, it breaks out in a rashy-ruddy show of defiance.

So when the Eucerin Sensitive Skin and Anti-Redness range landed on my desk two weeks ago, I was a touch skeptical. I’ve been on a crunchy, hippie skincare streak of late that’s been working for me. And, as I’ve gotten older, my skin is, annoyingly, less tolerant of ever more products.

Plus, I’m an ingredient snob.

Working in beauty I can hand select my products without constraints like price or availability in certain markets. Thus, I regarded the package with thinly veiled suspicion that it wouldn’t live up to my lofty skincare requirements…

But it would seem that my snobbery has been re-buffed by this range and I’ll tell you why:

Clever use of pigment: Eucerin is dabbling with color theory, and we like it. A very common trait of sensitive skin? Redness. How do you calm red? With its compliment, green, according to the color wheel. The Eucerin Anti-Redness Neutralising Day Fluid has green pigment that successfully cancels out redness upon application.

A few online reviews complain about the pigments, saying they’re visible upon application or make the skin look ghoulish. To the former I say “duh… it’s a pigment!”. To the latter I say you probably don’t have red enough skin to warrant using a green pigment, or you’re using it on olive skin On red/pink skin, the green pigment works and well.

Good active ingredients: Glycyrrhiza Inflata (the fancy name for licorice extract)  is anti-inflammatory and anti-allergy (perfect for sensitive skin). Panthenol (or vitamin B5, a top ingredient in the Anti-Redness Night Cream) keeps the skin moisturised, is anti-inflammatory and has regenerative effects. Glycerin is a super humectant (and the second ingredient in the Anti-Redness Night Cream and the Anti-Redness Cleanser). Squalane is antioxidant, protects against UV, is non-irritating and highly humectant. Shea butter (in the Soothing Moisture Lotion) has vitamin A, E, F and cinnamic acid, which is a natural sunscreen. Only two of those are on the active ingredients lists, although they are all actively good for the skin.

They’re effective: The Anti-Redness Night Cream absorbs quickly and leaves the skin soft (probably that panthenol-squalene combo). I’ve found that it makes a great base for makeup, plus my sensitive skin hasn’t reacted to it. The Anti-Redness Neutralising Day Fluid subdues my ruddy hue. Worn under makeup it evens my skin tone as does the Soothing Moisture Lotion, which not only looks better but really helps hides my adult acne too.

The use of preservatives for cosmetics is essential to protect the product against skin harmful germs or yeast. In addition the use of sunscreens is recommended for rosacea patients to protect their skin against UV sensitization.

The last con is that the day creams smell strongly of sun cream. No getting around it, I feel like I’m poolside when I’m wearing them. They have the same texture as that stuff too.

All that said, I’ve happily incorporated the Anti-Redness Neutralising Day Fluid and Anti-Redness Night Cream into my regular skincare rotation and would recommend them to anyone with truly ruddy, sensitive skin.