Kim K’s face cream sells out like a drop of Yeezy sneakers — but I put it next to my $19 Neutrogena and did a blind test on each cheek. The results were honestly embarrassing for one of them.
This is the reality of celebrity skincare in 2024: luxury packaging, influencer hype, and a formula that’s 90% marketing budget. The other 10%? Let’s dig in.
It’s $70 for 1.7 oz of a basic “anti-aging” moisturizer. The claim that got me: “mimics the skin’s natural moisture barrier” — which is skincare-speak for “we put ceramides in it.”
The Texture
Feels like a melted milkshake — thick but not greasy, absorbs in about 40 seconds flat.
The Scent
Smells like a $20 spa candle. Faint, clean, slightly overpriced.
The Pump
Airless pump that actually works — no wasted product, no digging with a spatula.
Photo: Content Pixie / Unsplash
The formula is genuinely decent — but it’s not doing anything your drugstore shelf can’t. The hero players are the usual suspects, just dressed in a black and white minimalist bottle that costs $50 more.
- Squalane: Softens without clogging pores, basically plant-based oil
- Ceramides: Rebuilds that moisture barrier, the real workhorse
- Peptides: Smoothes fine lines, but takes 6+ weeks to show anything
- Hyaluronic Acid: Holds 1000x its weight in water, plumps instantly
Photo: Mariia Shalabaieva / Unsplash
First pump: it’s luxurious. Glides on like a silk pillowcase, no white cast, and my skin felt like a baby’s bottom for about 4 hours. Then the reality: by 2 PM, my T-zone was an oil slick while my cheeks felt tight — it’s a Goldilocks formula that can’t decide what skin type it wants.
Week 2: I woke up with a small breakout on my chin. Could be stress, could be the shea butter. My Neutrogena never did me dirty like this.
Photo: Element5 Digital / Unsplash
After 3 weeks: my skin looks… fine. Slightly plumper in the morning, but no dramatic “glow up” — and the morning puffiness made my eyes look smaller for the first 10 days. The drugstore cream gave me the same hydration for a fifth of the price.
Photo: Fleur Kaan / Unsplash
Kim’s cream is a perfectly fine moisturizer that sells like a status symbol. If you want the glow, buy CeraVe and spend the other $50 on a facial.