You’re not imagining it—Rhode quietly swapped the squalane for a lighter ester. The new tub feels thinner, almost slippery.
Fans are pissed. Some say it pills. Others say it sinks in faster. Both are right—depends on what your skin is used to.
It’s $29 for 1.7 oz. The claim: barrier repair without the grease. I bought it because TikTok said it was “the one.”
New base oil
Coco-caprylate instead of squalane—feels slicker, dries faster
Peptide complex
Three peptides to plump, but you need weeks to see it
Ceramide trio
Same as before—still the real workhorse here
Photo: Poko Skincare / Unsplash
The formula is simpler than it looks. Ceramides rebuild your skin’s brick wall. Peptides whisper at collagen—slowly. Shea butter sits on top like a bouncer.
- Ceramides AP/NG/OP: Seal moisture without suffocating pores
- Tripeptide-5: Faux collagen signal—mild, not magic
- Shea Butter: Thick, protective, can clog if you’re oily
- Coco-Caprylate: The new lightweight carrier—feels like nothing
Photo: Gabrielle Henderson / Unsplash
First pump: it slides like a primer. Absorbs in 12 seconds flat. No greasy film—but my dry patches felt ignored.
Week two: my T-zone stopped looking shiny by noon. That’s the real win. But my cheeks needed a second layer. It’s a balancing act.
Photo: mari lezhava / Unsplash
Redness down 30% after 10 days. Pores looked smaller—but that might be the silicone-like feel. My barrier didn’t scream, but it didn’t sing either.
It’s a good moisturizer for normal-to-combination skin that wants a no-fuss AM step. But the reformulation made it less of a barrier cream and more of a lightweight gel-cream hybrid.