Drunk Elephant Moisturizer Review: Lala Retro with Ceramides is Better

Ceramides in Skincare – More Options than CeraVe

Before I get into what makes the new Drunk Elephant LaLa Retro with Ceramides better than the original, I wanted to share some background on my skincare journey.

So my first “real” skincare routine was Bobbi Brown. Wait I guess like many other teenage girls it was Clinique? OK going back to Bobbi Brown. My very sweet bother and original beauty idol gifted me a little skincare shopping spree one summer in college when I was feeling down on myself for my melasma (this is just one of a million ways my mom is amazing). While she is generally an Erno Laszlo splashing routine gal she had recently started using some Bobbie Brown makeup and a bit of her skincare and thought that was the right road for me.

That amazing summer day I walked away from the Belk counter in the steamy Lowcountry with the Hydrating Face Tonic, Extra Repair Moisturizing Balm with SPF, the Extra Face Oil and the Hydrating Eye Cream. Holy $h!t the skin around my eyes was so dry and dehydrated I could hardly handle the stinging of the eye cream for the first minute but after that my life was changed. And that face oil? Still one of the best and I’m nostalgic for the scent honestly. But alas once I finally ran out of the products I couldn’t afford new ones. While I loved that skincare I still wasn’t seeing major hyperpigmentation results and thus I went further down the makeup black whole to focus on coverage instead of treatment.

K-Beauty Wonder: Dr Jart Ceramidin

Flash forward to many moons later and as I was exploring more about beauty (and ultimately clean beauty) I started subscribing to Birch Box. I found a few neat items here and there until I finally hit a real gem: Dr Jart Ceramidin Cream. Shortly thereafter Sephora started pushing Amore Pacific and I was convinced to try the Treatment Enzyme Peel. An enzyme exfoliator instead of an abrasive scrub? My mind was blown! And with this duo my journey into skincare was reborn! Side note on subscription boxes: I’m currently in love with the Beauty Heroes clean beauty box. It’s fantastic. I’m also a fan of the Clean Beauty Box (formerly Art of Organics).

So what does this have to do with anything? I wouldn’t have even known about ceramides and how much I like them if it wasn’t for Dr. Jart. So I was super excited when Drunk Elephant released their upgraded version of Lala Retro Whipped Cream this summer (and boy does it pay to be nice and knowledgeable – a few weeks ago a very helpful Sephora artist spent 15 minutes convincing the stock room to give up one of a very few NEW ceremides versions when there was a huge shelf of the original model in stock).

Drunk Elephant LaLa Retro with Ceramides vs the Original & Drunk Elephant Protini

You can read more on my original review of the original LaLa Retro vs Protini here. BTW if you are already a fan of Drunk Elephant I strongly suggest getting a sample and reading my review of OSEA Advanced Protection cream. It’s like an organic version of LaLa Retro and Protini combined.

What I love about the new #lalabutbetter ?

• I’m still in love with the African oil blend (if you love the oil blends within LaLa retro I also suggest trying Elewa skincare as well – more on that in my review 🙂 )
• Once it dries its a bit less sticky and more smooth on my skin..does that make sense?
• I think my skin absorbs it better than the original.
• It’s a bit more emollient than the original.

Overall, I change my mind. If you only want to buy one Drunk Elephant moisturizer I would chose the NEW LaLa Retro Cream. The addition of ceramides gives it a more satisfying delivery.

I also feeling like it is “doing” more things? I’ve gotten so many more compliments on my skin in the past 2 weeks and I’m chalking it up to the new LaLa 🙂 . I’m also more inclined to use it in the morning before my SPF – it feels lighter than the original cream. These are some seriously soothing ceramides for my sensitive skin and my skin looks less stressed.