[ disclaimer: product received complementary for review purposes. all opinions are my own ]
I love Benton products, as evidenced by all of the reviews I have written about their skincare products and I was really excited when I saw Benton do a call out for reviewers on their latest product. It was unknown at the time I applied what it was, but I knew it came in a tube! I was one of the lucky applicants who got selected and the latest product is the Benton Cacao Moist and Mild Cream. I am giving an initial impression review, as I have only used this for a week, but I think this might be my final review as well, due to the performance of this cream with my skin type.
Skin Type/Concerns: Oily, blemish prone, aging concerns with fine lines/wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation
Just Fun Info: Ever wonder how Benton came up with their name? Well, according to their webside, it came from a movie
The name and definition of Benton took its motives from the movie ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ (also known as ‘Benjamin Button goes backwards in time’ in Korea) which had a warm touch on many people’s heart. In the movie, Benjamin is born as an old man and he becomes younger and younger as time goes by and ultimately dies as a new born baby. Benjamin happens to deeply fall in love with a woman named Daisy. However, as time goes by and as Benjamin becomes younger he has no choice but to leave Daisy. What if Daisy could have also turned back time on her physical appearance, wouldn’t she be happier? It may just be a fictional movie, but wouldn’t most people have the same desire to be young again? Benton’s desire is to turn back the time of your skin. Unlike the instant temporary effect created by the chemical ingredients, we hoped to improve skin care by using the natural ingredients in our products which will help regain your skin to its original healthy condition. (source bentoncosmetics.com)
image from bentoncosmetics
Benton’s Cacao Moist And Mild Cream is a light weight cream with a velvety smooth texture. Contains Cacao extracts and Hyaluronic Acid to infuse a wealth of hydration to your skin. Various botanical extracts further provide your skin with nutrients to leave it smooth and supple. Having a light texture, even a generous amount of the cream does not leave skin heavy. Cacao extracts and hyaluronic acid help to replenish dry skin, leaving it dewy and vibrant.
What is it?
So this is a a lightweight cream made with some heavy duty occlusives, namely the star ingredient cacao (cocoa) extracts. Occlusives help create a barrier on your skin, so that moisture is not lost to the natural evaporation process. The Cacao Moist and Mild Cream will provide hydration, while leaving your skin dewy. DEWY. According to Benton, it is good for all skin types. It will address the following needs and concerns
- For dry and tight skin
- Balance their skin’s oil-moisture levels
- Gentle, non irritating moisturizing cream
- For sensitive skin due to external stimuli
- Lightweight non-sticky cream
Star Ingredients
As I just mentioned, the star ingredient is cacao extract ~ 63% theobroma cacao extracts and 10% cocoa seed butter ~ so this will really moisturize while creating a moisture skin barrier. This is a fatty oil and the use of cocoa butter goes back to Central American tribes ~ the Mayas and Aztecs in particular. This has a rich texture that helps soften and smooth our skin, filling in those fine lines and wrinkles. It is rich in fatty acids, such as oleic, palmitic and stearic acids and will help combat free radicals and limiting the damaging effects on your skin. Cocoa butter is used to keep your skin soft and supply ~ one of its common uses helps prevent the creation of stretch marks and also to help soften the appearance of those marks if they appear.
This also contains a favorite new ingredient of mine ~ madecassoside, which is derived from centella asiatica. Centella asiatica is a plant that is rich in saponins and is an anti-inflammatory, calming your skin and aid in wound healing ~ madecassoisise helps soothe, reduce redness and inflammation and helps heal your skin.
This contains some old friends from the Benton skincare ingredient line up ~ Peptide polyglutamic Acid, made from fermented soybeans (natto), will help moisturize and exfoliate old skin cells. It can penetrate to the deepest layers in your skin, locks in moisture and helps increase the production of NMF (Natural Moisturizing Factor). This also contains a trio of humectants that will attract moisture to your skin and keeps moisture locked into your skin: glycerin, sodium hyaluronate and beta-glucan
Benton makes a point that the Cacao Moist and Mild Cream will provide the following skin care benefits:
- Lightweight texture
- Suitable for summer
- Moist finish
- Cacao extracts for a dewy complexion
- Water-oil balance
- Mild formula
image from bentoncosmetics
Ingredients: Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Water, Sorbitan Olivate, 1,2-Hexandiol, Pentylene Glycol, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyglutamic Acid, Madecassoside, Beta-Glucan, Carbomer, Arginine, Xanthan Gum cosDNA analysis
This cream comes in a 50 mL baby-pink colored tube with a lovely botanical print ~ this is a departure from Benton’s normal designs, which never had a print before on it. Just squeeze the tube and a lightweight cream comes out without a lot of coaxing. I was a little scared at the high amount of cocoa butter extracts, but this cream is fairly lightweight ~ it is unscented, so if you are looking for a coco-loco chocolate delight, you will be disappointed!
image from bentoncosmetics
Benton gives this a 6 pH level, mildy acidic and I did a pH test as well, coming out with around a 6 level as well.
The cream glides across my skin and absorbs quickly, practically melting into my skin, due to the interaction between it and my body heat. There is no sticky or tacky residue and initially, this cream leaves a nice, satin finish. The initial moisture/oil readings were also positive. My moisture level increased by 16% where as oil decreased by 45%
I was quite pleased with how this cream looks after initial application on my face. Dewy? Not really… but then…. disaster… This is not an oil controlling cream. I cannot speak for anyone else with oily skin, but between the richness of all of those cocoa extracts, the hot, humid weather and my already perpetually oily skin, my face became a massive grease pit within an hour. Areas on my face that normally do not shine with oil, acted as a shining beacon.
There is dewy and there is oily and this product was oily on my skin. I had to grab my facial wipes and toner and remove this cream from my face and reapply my makeup. Okay, not suitable for daytime, so let’s see how it works as a night moisturizer. I honestly don’t care if my face is a oily when I wake up, so long no new blemishes cropped up. I used this as a night moisturizer and yes, my skin was very greasy and oily in the morning, but I didn’t experience any breakouts ~ this is in part to the madecassoside ingredient, in my opinion. My skin was soft and smooth, however there was a filminess on my face which I didn’t care for ~ and even though the first thing I do when I wake up is take a wipe and remove the remains of my night time routine, it still felt bad on my skin.
I did try it as a massage cream, and that was a lot better. Benton actually has instructions with this cream on their website to use it as a massage cream.
image from bentoncosmetics
Final Thoughts
I think this cream would be better for me in the winter months, when it is cold and dry. I don’t think I will ever use this as a day cream, but as a night moisturizer, it might be effective. I do think if you have dry skin or normal to dry skin, you would find this to be a good moisturizer for the warmer months, but for me, it was just too oily and greasy. Dewy is in the eye of the beholder, but this was not dewy on my skin but just greasy. I wish Benton would create a lotion that works for oily skin in a similar formula to their BHA Propolis Toner. I do know they are testing a sunscreen product, but I did not get into that campaign ~ I will be looking with interest to see those reviews! Have you tried Benton Cacao Moist and Mild Cream? Did you like it? Or are interested in purchasing it? Let me know in the comments below!
Disclaimer: Benton requested that a review be made within 7 days, so that is why you might see a lot of these reviews around. They also will give $50.00 worth of skincare goodies to reviews they deem the best one. I do not know how they will chose their best review ~ if it is based on the content or just a glowing review.
Where to Purchase
This was just released, so right now, I only found it on a few sites. Benton is very popular, however, so it is a matter of time before it will be more wildly available. Check out my Promo/Referral (click here) page for coupons and referral discounts at some of these stores before purchasing ~ you might save some money. This is a 50mL tube and you should be able to purchase this for $16.00 USD and under.
[ disclaimer: product received for review purposes. all opinions are my own ]
Unboxing Beauty 
Sadly, the same greasy/oily thing happens with the Snail Bee Steam Cream for me. I was gonna try this one out but fortunately I found your review before I could purchase it. I wish Benton made creams for oily skin because their products/ingredients are usually amazing.
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yeah, I also found the steam cream to be too heavy – I used it on my feet instead. I wish they would do a lotion in their Aloe line – they have the gel, but a facial lotion with aloe/propolis would be great.
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