Review- Femmue Global Cera Smart Cream

Femmue is a brand I have frequently featured on my Instagram page since I first tried out some of their products back in November. I have received numerous comments asking for more information about them. They are a relatively new K-Beauty company, and are not very well know yet, particularly overseas but also here in Korea. Today I’m going to review their Global Cera Smart Cream, which is a moisturiser I have been using consistently for six months, and one I feel really benefits my skin.

*I had a meeting with Femmue in November where we discussed their potential new market in the UK. The people I met at the meeting were very passionate about their brand, and I really enjoyed talking to them, but our collaboration has not since developed and I am not involved in selling or earning commission from Femmue products. However in the meeting I was able to learn about and sample each product they make, and I chose four products to take, free of charge, for testing. This cream is one of them, but as usual, this has not affected my review in any way. These are true, honest opinions and I use this cream most days, simply because I love it.

Who are Femmue?

‘Flowers, the energy for Femmue skincare’

If you visit their website you can see under Brand Story that Femmue are based on botanical ingredients and focus on flowers to inspire their ‘luxurious quality, scents and textures’. They also use older, traditional ingredients in their products such as gold (I have their beautiful The Grand Gold Cream’), ginseng, propolis etc.

When I met with them, I felt like there was a big focus on the beauty of flowers and the importance of flower extracts and their benefits for the skin (such as anti-inflammatory, calming, healing). The people I met with also cared about the aesthetics of their products for consumers, such as the packaging, the scent and the texture, which I think are vital for me to enjoy a cream, after I’ve considered the ingredients themselves. In addition, I liked that the company had thought to some extent about the nature that they are utilising- for example they showed me how they have been supporting botanical gardens back in my home country, England.

Overall I had a good vibe from them- they explained their reasoning behind certain ingredients, gave me lots of detail about every product, and I came away happy to try out them out.

What are the aims of the cream?

The box states: ‘This smart cream reestablishes balance among the skin’s ceramide level. It has a long lasting moisturising effect and leaves the skin feeling soft, smooth and healthy.’ My understanding is that ‘smart’ means the correct combination of ingredients to achieve these aims- I can’t really comment on the accuracy of this, but ‘long lasting moisturising effect’ and ‘soft, smooth and healthy’ are very appealing.

How to use: ‘Using palms, spread evenly onto entire face from the center outwards and gently pat until thoroughly absorbed. Ideal for all skin types, especially for sensitive skin.’

Ceramides- that buzzword

This cream is marketed as a ceramide cream, but when I actually looked at the ingredients list there is only actually one ceramide present. The word ceramide is a current buzzword in the beauty industry, and when I started using this cream I did a little research to try and figure out what the actual benefits are from using a cream like this one.

I’m the first to admit it I am not a scientist and it takes a simple article for me to actually understand ingredients.  This article really helped me understand ceramides in skincare, and I think it’s worth a read.

In short, ceramides are a huge part of our natural skin barrier, which protects our skin from irritation, infection and water loss. By helping maintain that barrier, our skin should remain hydrated, healthy and hopefully youthful. The article shows that there is evidence to suggest ceramides in creams are definitely beneficial for our skin.

However, the article also highlights that there are problems with this sweeping statement, for example the importance of ratio in whether a ceramide cream is really going to give us the benefits of ceramides. With a lot of creams, you, as the consumer, cannot necessarily know if the cream would do just as well without the ceramides, because we can’t know whether the ratios are correct and whether the ceramides are blended at the optimal levels with other necessary ingredients.

What I’m trying to say in a roundabout way is that I really like this cream, but I can’t claim that it’s great for my skin because of the ceramide…it may be great for my skin without it too! There is only one ceramide (Ceramide 3) present in the ingredients list, so if you’re only interested in this cream because of the excitement surrounding ceramides, this review isn’t going to state that the ceramide (alone at least) is a miracle wonder. I can’t know for sure if the ceramide makes all the difference.

Onto the ingredients…

The ingredients list is LONG. And I did trawl through it to figure out the good and the potentially not so good.

There are a number of great moisturisers/emollients/skin conditioners present: hydrogenated polydecene, sodium hyaluronate, caprylic/capric triglyceride, cyclopentasiloxane, glycerin, palmitic acid, orbignya oleifera seed oil, and ceramide 3. I think it is the combination of these which have given my skin such a healthy, nourished feel while I’ve been using the cream.

The flower extracts used (peony, Damask rose, chamomile, freesia) are known for their calming, anti-inflammatory, skin conditioning, and healing properties. I think the extracts probably also contribute to the nice light scent of the cream.

In terms of issues for consumers: cyclopentasiloxane is a silicone for those of you that avoid silicones; stearic acid and palmitic acid came up as a 2 rating on Cosdna as comedogenics; don’t use if you have issues with plant oils/extracts or fragrance. Femmue did tell me in the meeting that there are no artificial colours or fragrance.

Packaging

I think the packaging is innovative and easy to use. I hate jars of cream and so this push mechanism is great for people like me. You simply take of the lid, and push down the white top to release the cream. For mornings I just lightly push it down to dispense a little cream, and for evenings I go all the way…!

Even though I use clean fingers, I still wipe the white area fairly frequently to be hygienic.

Once the cream is nearly finished I’m not sure how well the dispenser will work, and I think I’ll hit that soon. But it can be unscrewed to scrape out the remnants.

Texture and scent

The texture is a-mazing. It feels so soft, smooth and buttery, and I really enjoy slathering it on my face. I don’t like really thick creams but this is a lovely consistency.

In terms of scent, I really like it. Its a light, citrusy floral scent and I find it very calming. It’s definitely not over bearing IMO but of course fragrance is personal.

So what are my overall thoughts?!

There are a number of reasons I love this cream-ultimately because it achieved what it stated on the box.

• I can use it day and night. I like something lighter for day, but really moisturising and repairing for night- this is difficult to find. By using a small amount of the Cera cream, it’s not too heavy for day, but provides deep moisture and nourishment when I apply it liberally at night. I really like that I can use it at both times of the day.
• The moisturising element is so good for my normal/combination skin. Personally, I find that there’s a fine line between a great moisturiser and a cream that is too heavy for me and leaves parts of my face oily. This, and my COSRX Snail 92 AIO Cream, are the two that I really rate as the perfect moisturisers for my skin type.
• I use this even when I am breaking out, as it does not clog my pores or leave oily residue. I avoid some of my heavier night creams during these hormonal breakouts, but this product does not further aggravate my skin.
• As well as moisturising, I also find that my skin feels very soft and smooth when I use it. The cream slides on and after its absorbed my skin feels great to touch.
• If I have some redness, I think the texture and formulation are calming.
• I find the aesthetics of the fragrance, texture and packaging really attractive, which do matter to me.

Negatives:

• The only negative I think is the price, which is 42,000 Korean Won. This is around US $37 or British £26. For that price, personally I would expect it to give the kind of results it luckily has for me. If you buy it at that price and it doesn’t work for you, that would be a disappointment. My COSRX cream which I love just as much (if not maybe slightly more just because of my snail love) is only 19,000 Korean Won- less than half the price for just as much goodness. I do think I will repurchase this cream at some point, as I really love the results, and like I said it’s one of the few I’ve found that has a great balance for my normal/combo skin. But I don’t think I’ll be in a rush to spend that kind of money when I’m saving, and know I have cheaper options.
• I also don’t know how accessible the brand are to foreign consumers yet. Their website is in Korean, so I’m not sure if they ship abroad. I couldn’t find their products on Wishtrend or Jolse. My impression at the meeting in November was that they are already large in China, had made headway in their American market, and were just thinking about the UK. I’ll update this post if I find out any more information on this. If it’s not available abroad now, I’m almost certain it will be very soon.

Ultimately the Cera Smart Cream has been a great addition to my skincare lineup, and I really like the other products I have tried from Femmue so far. I look forward to seeing their market grow as they develop.

Have you tried any Femmue products or seen them anywhere? Do you have any questions? If you have any information on their presence outside of Korea, let me know in the comments. Hope you enjoyed this review!