Nivea Aqua Effect Mattifying Day Cream

I think I have my new go-to day cream: Nivea’s Aqua Effect Mattifying Day Cream with SPF 15. This easy-to-use product is exactly what I’ve been looking for in a day cream: It mattifies, it contains sun protection, it smells nice, it’s reasonably priced and it does indeed leave my skin “looking healthy and beautiful.”

Made with ocean algae, this product reminded me a lot of The Body Shop’s Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream, a moisturizer I loved except for its lack of SPF (though a new edition of that product has solved that problem). While The Body Shop product did feel nicer on my skin, thanks to its cool, gel-like texture, the Nivea one does a much better job at mattifying my skin.

It doesn’t completely prevent shine though then it doesn’t make that claim. Instead, it says that it “Reduces shine and mattifies the look of skin thanks to its oil-free, non-greasy formula.” I completely agree with all of that. I recently started walking to work in the mornings and while sometimes I feel like I’m breaking a sweat, when I look in the mirror once I get to work, my skin is smooth and shine-free. By the end of the day, some shine has appeared but it’s nothing that a bit of pressed power can’t take care of.

But just as important as its mattifying powers is the fact that this cream contains SPF 15. Well true, that’s not high enough to product my skin if I’m outside for any real length of time, it’s good enough for most days. Nivea also claims that this product “Provides intensive moisture without clogging pores,” and after three weeks of use, I agree with that claim as well. My skin looks great, free of any dry patches and even medium-level blemishes. And while I still have some clogged pores, it’s about the same number as before I started using this cream.

The one downside to this product is that it’s packaged in an open-mouth jar. While the jar itself is sturdy and easy to open and close, it suffers from the issues that all jars have: Product degradation due to excessive exposure to air, light and, thanks to fingers going into all the time, bacteria and oils. Thankfully, the jar is a reasonable size and because it is a day cream, I’ll be using it daily so I should be able to finish a container off before it gets gross.

But even if I have to toss a partially used jar, it’s not that big of deal since this moisturizer is nicely priced at under $10.

Would I buy this product again: Yes!

Should you buy this product: Yes! It’s a great cream that delivers on its claims and should work for a lot of skin types.