Drunk Elephant: Lala Retro Creme w/Ceramides Review
If you’re a Drunk Elephant fan like myself, then you may have heard that they’ve reformulated their Lala Creme. The Lala Creme is known to be cream with a thick consistency and is beloved by many with skin textures that are very dry and even normal. The idiom, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” was my initial thought about the reformulation for the Lala Creme. Often the term reformulation can mean the formula of something you already love then shifting to something you really dislike. I’ve enjoyed using the original Lala Creme in the past, so talks about a new formula with the inclusion ceramides really excited me. If you’re interested in checking out my review on the new Lala Creme and it comparison to the old formula, keep reading!
Lala but better
I was gifted the new Lala Creme with ceramides by Drunk Elephant a few weeks ago. Based on the PR package alone- the inclusion of a night mask and a sleeping shirt, the message being portrayed is that the Drunk Elephant Lala Creme is a moisturizer that would be ideal to use in your night time routine before bed. I feel like the best way to move forward with the review would be test out the moisturizer on a continuous basis. This would entail incorporating the New Lala Creme after the usage of my exfoliating masks and stronger acid/active treatments like (AHA’s, BHA’s and Retinol).
As someone who uses Retinol 2-3x a week and AHA’s 3x a week, protecting my skin barrier is extremely important to me. Please keep in mind I’ve been using acid/active ingredients like this for years. My skin is at point that it tolerates these ingredients well. Even with that being said, I still make it a point to incorporate products that includes ceramides to protect and improve my skin. My skin is dehydrated, so I like to pile on the moisture in my night time routine- incorporating ceramides is a must for my skin and routine.
What are Ceramides? Do I need Ceramides within my skincare routine?
When the skin’s outer barrier is damaged it has essentially been stripped and struggles to hold on to moisture. When this outer barrier is damaged small cracks in the skin are created. These cracks make it easy for moisture to leave the skin. Not sure if your skin barrier has been or is damaged?
If you have any of the following, the barrier of skin may be damaged:
- a stinging feeling or redness after applying products that contain actives/acids
-this could also mean peeling or flaking
-often feeling tight or dry –even after moisturizing it -crepiness and fine lines
-increased breakouts
What are ceramides? Why are they important for your skin?
According to CeraVe, Ceramides are lipids that help form the skin’s barrier and help to retain moisture in the skin. As I previously mentioned, the new formula of the Drunk Elephant Lala Creme is now made with ceramides and claims to retain long-lasting moisture to help form a protective layer that helps the skin to perform better.
Stand out ingredients
I’m not a skincare expert, but the following ingredients in the Lala Creme are what I would consider to be standout ingredients.
African Oil Blend: Marula, Mongong, Baobab, Kalahari Melon, Ximenia, Passionfruit
Phytosphingosine: a lipid from a plant source that aids in soothing and restoring the skin
Ingredients for the old formula: Water/Aqua/Eau, Glycerin, Caprylic/ Capric Triglyceride, Isopropyl Isostearate, Pseudozyma Epicola/Camellia Sinensis Seed Oil/Glucose/Glycine Soja Meal/Malt Extract/Yeast Extract Ferment Filtrate (Pseudozyma Epicola/Camellia Sinensis Seed Oil/Glucose/Yeast Extract Ferment Filtrate), Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Cetearyl Alcohol, Pentylene Glycol, Plantago Lanceolata Leaf Extract, Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Seed Oil, Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Schinziophyton Rautanenii Kernel Oil, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Polyglyceryl-6 Ximenia Americana Seedate, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Ceteareth-20, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin
Ingredients for the new formula:: Water/Aqua/Eau, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Isopropyl Isostearate, Pseudozyma Epicola/Camellia Sinensis Seed Oil/Glucose/Glycine Soja (Soybean) Meal/Malt Extract/Yeast Extract Ferment Filtrate, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Cetearyl Alcohol, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Pentylene Glycol, Plantago Lanceolata Leaf Extract, Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Seed Oil, Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Schinziophyton Rautanenii Kernel Oil, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Polyglyceryl-6 Ximenia Americana Seedate, Cholesterol, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Ceramide NP, Phytosphingosine, Ceteareth-20, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Tocopherol, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin
Overall Thoughts
New Lala Cream on the Left - Original Lala Cream
Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Creme
Price: $60 for 1.69 ounces
My first impression of using the Original Drunk Elephant Lala Creme is it’s very light! I still have a couple minis of the old formula, so at night I applied the old formula to the left side of my face and the new formula to the right side. The original version is very thick. The consistency is almost like a balm, whereas the new formula is lighter in consistency. Even with the new formula of Lala being lighter in consistency and the addition of ceramides, I didn’t feel the need to use more product. The mornings after using both the original and new formula my face felt the same on both sides. Overall my face looked plumper, had a nice bounce to it and it didn’t feel dry.
In the past, I would only use the Lala creme at night during the winter months since I have normal to combination skin. Now that the formula is a lot lighter I can get away with using at night during the summer. However, this would not be an every night type of cream for me due to the location of where I reside (NYC) the summers are very humid. For now I plan to reserve my usage of the new Lala cream to the nights that I’m using a stronger retinol like the Drunk Elephant A-Passioni and the nights that I use the Baby Facial Treatment.
After trying out both formulas, I much prefer the new Lala Creme. The new lighter formula absorbs into the skin better. I’m not sure how they were able to change the consistency to being lighter- but still keeping the hydration levels the same, but they did it! As I previously mentioned the Lala Creme is great for those with dry skin textures, but I also believe those that have Normal to Oily skin textures like myself could still benefit from using it. I know this is a cream that I’ll enjoy using more during the winter months. Being that formula is thick, it can also be used to moisturize other areas of your body- don’t forget your chest and hands! These are often neglected and need TLC.