The best anti-ageing creams
Our expert guide to wrinkle-busting, glow-giving moisturisers your skin will love
Let’s get the bad news out of the way: we start losing collagen (the structural protein that keeps skin looking plump and young) at a rate of 1% per year from our mid-twenties onwards.
Now for the good news: there are skincare products that can help. These are the five key anti-ageing ingredients to look out for:
- Retinol increases cell turnover and kick-starts collagen production
- Peptides are amino acids, the building blocks of proteins such as collagen and elastin
- Antioxidants such as vitamin C are free-radical fighters that protect skin from pollution, UV rays and other environmental aggressors
- Hyaluronic acid is a moisture magnet that can hold 1,000 times its weight in water
- Ceramides are fats that help maintain a healthy barrier function
SPF should be a non-negotiable all year round because UV light accounts for 80% of skin ageing, check out our expert guide to SPF.
But which anti-ageing cream is right for you? We love these moisturising skin heroes.
Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream
Inspired by 30 years of research, this deeply moisturising cream is a try-once-and-never-be-without-it product. Intensely rich and luxurious, working to super-hydrate and stimulate the skin’s natural processes of rejuvenation to revive the complexion and improve the appearance of fine lines. Celebrity fans (including forever-youthful Joan Collins) and countless five star customer reviews rave about The Rich Cream’s skin-brightening and tightening powers. In a word? Gamechanger.
Lancome Rénergie H.P.N. UVMUNE Cream SPF50
This powerful day cream contains three active ingredients; hyaluronic acid, 300 types of peptides, and niacinamide, combined with Lancome’s patented UV protection technology. A real crowd-pleaser, expect skin elasticity and firmness to improve with regular use. Plus, SPF 50 gives you full spectrum UVA and UVB protection without compromising on texture and with zero white streaks.
Kate Somerville Peptide K8® Power Cream
One of the most innovative skin heroes out there, Kate Somerville Peptide K8® Power Cream's advanced clinical formula boasts an exclusive blend of peptides designed to provide intense hydration and increase firmness, while reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Yes, it's on the pricey side, but the reviews raving about the visibly diminished signs of ageing speak for themselves - and a little product goes a long way.
Elizabeth Arden Prevage® Anti-Ageing Overnight Cream
Fans of this intensive overnight hydrator all say the same thing: if only we’d discovered it sooner. Using advanced idebenone technology (which is science speak for antioxidants that help cell restoration), it infuses skin with moisture and targets dryness, fine lines and wrinkles. Apply before you hit the hay so that it can get to work overnight, which is when skin can be most receptive to treatments, promoting natural renewal to a give bouncy, more youthful glow.
Medik8 Intelligent Retinol Smoothing Night Cream
Retinol is a one of the wonder-ingredients you should include in your skincare regime, but it must be phased in gradually - start with just a tiny amount twice a week. Medik8 Intelligent Retinol Smoothing Night Cream contains 0.2% retinol making it ideal for newbies. Apply this rich, rejuvenating cream before you nod off and it will get to work gently refining the look of skin while hydrating and nourishing.
Dr Jart+ Prejuvenation Firming Bakuchiol Cream
Sensitive to retinol? Meet bakuchiol – a milder, plant-derived alternative which offers similar benefits, such as reducing wrinkles and improving skin texture. Dr Jart+ Prejuvenation (the name is a nod to this cream’s power to prevent skin damage while rejuvenating) contains 99% bakuchiol, collagen peptide to help strengthen your skin’s support structure and enhance firmness, and panthenol for long-lasting hydration. There's no greasy look or feel, and unlike many retinols its gentle enough to use morning and night.
Trinny London Bounce Back Intense Peptide Moisturiser
Not only do Trinny London skincare colour-pop products look great in your bathroom, they also really work. Bounce Back Intense Moisturiser is powered by peptides and hyaluronic acid, a high-performing formulation designed to be massaged into face and décolleté after the serum step in your routine. Lighter than other age-defying creams, it nourishes while restoring vibrancy and plumpness, giving you the best, bouncy version of the skin you’re in.
Guerlain Abeille Royale Honey Treatment Day Cream
Are you au fait with the remarkable power of honey yet? Not just great on toast, it's renowned as one of nature’s super-healers, and even used in clinical bandages. Now Guerlain has harnessed it to fight ageing with this luxurious cream. It combines four super-repairing honeys along with royal jelly to help combat visible marks of collagen loss and diminish wrinkles. Natural and powerful, Honey Treatment Day Cream is skin self-repair, bottled.
Elemis Pro-Collagen Morning Matrix Performance Day Cream
Elemis' Pro-Collagen creams and serums are definitely ones to have on your radar. In independent clinical trials the range has been proven to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in as little as 14 days. This day cream help protect your skin from the harmful effects of blue light (those pesky screens…) as well as boosting firmness and reducing visible skin tension. In short, it’ll take years off you.
Murad Retinol Youth Renewal Night Cream
Murad is all about science-backed products to target specific issues and help you get healthy and nourished skin. This luxurious nighttime retinol formula has been carefully developed for all skin types, even sensitive. It works to minimise the signs of ageing while helping to strengthen the skin's protective barrier, all while leaving your skin feeling super-soft and looking brighter.
Sisley Paris Ecological Compound Advanced Formula
Bring in the Sisley big guns. This landmark cream combines five plant extracts (Centella asiatica, Ginseng, Hops, Horsetail, Rosemary) to balance your skin's microbiome and stimulate it’s natural defence mechanisms. In short, beefing up your skin to make it better equipped to defend itself against the harmful effects of modern life (pollution, smoke, free radicals - we're looking at you). Medium-weight, non-greasy and – of course – super hydrating, skin is revitalised and its tone and radiance is restored
Caudalie Premier Cru The Cream
This daily moisturiser is packed with moisture-boosting ingredients - including hydrating heavyweight hyaluronic acid and Caudelie's patented viniferine - to brighten and even skin tone. Formulated with gentle yet potent ingredients which are 97% of natural origin, it’s a one-of-a-kind cream that helps to both reverse and prevent skin ageing and dark spots. A little goes a long way with this velvety-textured cream.
