Vichy Normaderm Hydrating Care: It's Tri-Activ, Jim, but not as we know it

I'm a big fan of Vichy's excellent Normaderm range for keeping my sensitive, dehydrated, oily skin in check, so a new product release from the range is guaranteed to pique my interest. This time around, it's a moisturiser that's being added to the line-up: Normaderm Hydrating Care for imperfection prone skin. With the science of 4 patents behind it, Hydrating Care targets blemishes, clogged pores, oily skin, shine, imperfection marks, and uneven complexion problems while providing 24-hour hydration and a mattifying effect.

This do-it-all triple action is achieved by combining:

1. Dermatological peeling ingredients acting on different levels in the skin
in the form of LHA (on the surface) + salicylic acid (in the pores) + glycolic acid (deep down)

2. 5% hydrating ingredients that add and lock in moisture to thirsty skin
in the form of 7% glycerine + light and emollient oils

3. Mattifying ingredients
in the form of perlite + silica

While this all sounds wonderful for skin like mine that's oil rich but water poor, my first thought on seeing it was that Normaderm Hydrating Care looked and sounded pretty much identical to Normaderm Tri-Activ Anti-Imperfection Hydrating Care, which launched in September 2010.

So I got in touch with Vichy and asked them about it.

It turns out that the new Hydrating Care isn't a totally new product per se, but is actually a reformulated, rejigged version of Tri-Activ and will be replacing it on the shelves.

Efficacy has been improved, I'm told, and the 5% of hydrating ingredients are new, but the big difference is in the texture.

Vichy have removed the silicone, which some people found created a delightful balling or peeling off effect, and also the starch which gave the original formula a heavier texture; these have been replaced with perlite and silica as the mattifying agents. In their own words, it's all about improved sensoriality and, apparently, the new and improved Hydrating Care will have a much lighter feel and dry to a really nice finish.

I haven't trialled it yet, but if you found that the original Tri-Activ formula made a balls of your foundation or wasn't quite hydrating enough for your skin's needs then this would definitely be worth a punt - and it's a little bit cheaper, too, at €15.75.