{"id":74958,"date":"2026-09-09T21:32:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T19:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/?p=74958"},"modified":"2026-09-09T21:33:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T19:33:05","slug":"the-formula-for-this-iconic-french-drugstore-cream-has-changed-heres-what-i-think-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/la-formule-de-cette-creme-iconique-de-parapharmacie-francaise-a-change-voici-ce-que-jen-pense\/","title":{"rendered":"The formula for this iconic French drugstore cream has changed: here's what I think about it"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The range Av\u00e8ne Hydrance<\/strong> is one of those moisturizers that have been a staple in French bathrooms and drugstores for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the formula for the\u00a0Hydrance Light Moisturizing Cream<\/strong>\u00a0has changed. Av\u00e8ne now markets it as a light-textured cream designed for\u00a0normal to combination skin, including sensitive skin<\/strong>, which is designed to keep the skin hydrated, supple, and soft all day long. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udccc\u00a0See also:<\/strong> With 10 million units sold, how much is this iconic drugstore cream worth?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I took a closer look at his new list of ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there was something that surprised me: For a cream called \u201cLight,\u201d its formula actually contains a lot of fats and emollients.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The formula begins with the\u2019Av\u00e8ne Thermal Spring Water<\/strong>, followed immediately by the glycerin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that's a really good point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glycerin is one of the most traditional and effective humectants in cosmetics. It helps retain water in the stratum corneum and plays a direct role in skin hydration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it's what happens right after that interests me more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a \u00abLight\u00bb cream, plenty of emollients<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ranked third through seventh are, among others:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate\/Dicaprate, C14-22 Alcohols, Dimethicone, Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate, and Triethylhexanoin.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, we have a sequence of\u2019emollients, oils, and silicone<\/strong> very high in the formula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate\/Dicaprate, Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate, and Triethylhexanoin primarily provide emollience, glide, and suppleness to the skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit\u00a0dimethicone<\/a><\/strong>, listed in fifth place, is a silicone that helps smooth the skin's surface and reduce water loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, further down in the formula, we find more phytosterols<\/strong> and squalane<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That doesn't necessarily mean the cream will feel heavy when applied. Some of these emollients are actually ideal for achieving a pleasant and relatively light texture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when we look only at the formula's structure<\/strong>, the proportion of emollients is quite high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abLight\u00bb doesn't necessarily mean \u00ablow in fat\u00bb<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is an important distinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In cosmetics, a cream can contain several emollients while still providing a feels light on the skin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final texture depends on the formulation as a whole: the type of emollients, silicones, polymers, emulsifiers, proportions, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term \u00abLight\u00bb therefore describes the sensory experience of the product rather than simply the amount of fatty ingredients listed in the INCI list<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, if you have very oily skin and are looking for an extremely light, almost watery cream, this formula isn't necessarily the one I would turn to first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A moisturizing formula that's actually quite simple<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another thing that strikes me is that there is very few specific assets<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this isn't just another cream packed with niacinamide, ceramides, peptides, or other trendy active ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who would I recommend this cream to?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Av\u00e8ne positions Hydrance Light for sensitive normal to combination skin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After analyzing the formula, I would take a slightly more nuanced view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a\u00a0normal skin <\/strong>For dry, normal, or oily skin, the formulation seems well-balanced to me: glycerin for hydration and enough emollients to provide comfort and help the skin retain moisture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, for a\u00a0very oily skin<\/strong>,<\/a> If I have oily skin and am looking for an extremely lightweight texture, I would probably opt for a formula with fewer emollients and a more gel- or gel-cream-like consistency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The name of a cream isn't enough to tell if it's really right for your skin.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We also need to look at how the formula is constructed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scan your moisturizer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To find out if your moisturizer is right for your skin type  Download the Beauty Decoded app (iOS and Android)<\/a> Scan your products, decipher their INCI listings, and compare what the packaging promises with what the formula actually contains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rating depends on your skin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Av\u00e8ne\u2019s Hydrance line is one of those moisturizing products that have been a staple in French bathrooms and drugstores for years. But the formula for the Hydrance Light Moisturizing Cream has changed. Av\u00e8ne now markets it as a cream with a light texture, designed for normal to combination skin\u2014including sensitive skin\u2014that is meant to leave the\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":17406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actualites"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":1,"label":"Actualites"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/soin-hydratant-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Sylvain David","author_link":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/author\/beautydecoded\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":1,"name":"Actualites","slug":"actualites","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":340,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":1,"category_count":340,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Actualites","category_nicename":"actualites","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74965,"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74958\/revisions\/74965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beautydecoded.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}