Review: Naturewell's Retinol Cream, the $15 anti-aging 'miracle' lotion our readers love

I have to admit, when I was assigned this review of Naturewell Rejuvenate & Tone Retinol Intense Moisture Cream, I was dubious. Yes, this moisturizer is a Yahoo reader favorite product — or at least a frequently purchased one — thousands of shoppers buy it each year. Yes, it has more than 10,000 5-star reviews on Amazon where customers praise it for being "nothing short of a miracle." Still, something about jumbo size (what the brand calls "spa size" — 16 oz — downright enormous for skin care!) coupled with the price ($15) gave this grumpy beauty editor pause. I was skeptical that this so-called "transformative" lotion could actually live up to its ambitious "rejuvenation for both face and body" hype. After three weeks of consistent daily use and hours trolling internet threads and reviews, I now have a, well, firmer opinion. Here's my honest review.

First off, what is Naturewell Rejuvenate & Tone Retinol Intense Moisture Cream?

Naturewell's popular moisturizer is a dermatologist-tested cream that contains ingredients like coconut oil, grapeseed oil, glycerin and, perhaps most importantly, retinol (at a respectable 0.1% concentration, especially for retinol beginners). It is a thick body lotion the brand claims is gentle and noncomedogenic enough for use on your face. It contains no parabens, sulfates, dyes or phthalates and is not tested on animals.

What does Naturewell Rejuvenate & Tone Retinol Intense Moisture Cream do for your skin?

According to the Naturewell website, Moisture Cream is meant to "promote elasticity and smooth the look of fine lines and wrinkles," "brighten skin while delivering intense moisture" and target: "dryness, rough texture, stretch marks, crepey skin, uneven skin tone, cellulite and dull skin." In other words: Lots of lofty anti-aging goals.

Does Naturewell Rejuvenate & Tone Retinol Intense Moisture Cream actually work?

This is a tough question! Here's how it worked for me: I applied the Naturewell cream to my chest, arms, hands and thighs twice per day for three weeks (I tried it on my face as well but stopped after it caused a breakout — for me, the formula was much too thick to use in that area). Moisture Cream is rich, with the consistency of just-softened butter (though not as greasy) and it smells faintly of flowers, specifically a heavier, sweeter flower, like a gardenia. Scent is subjective of course, but I don't particularly love smelling like an old-timey romantic garden and this lotion's fragrance is not faint enough that you won't notice. If scent is a deal breaker for you, your relationship with this product probably ends here.

Beyond my issues with the scent (which, to be fair, many reviewers like!), Naturewell's cream absolutely worked at achieving at least one of its promises: My 52-year-old skin was well hydrated for the entire testing period. It looked less dry, and, because of this hydration, appeared less lined and crepey in the areas where I have a bit of crepey-ness, like above my knees and on my upper arms. It also absorbed well enough and didn't leave my skin greasy or sticky, though it did pill a bit on my chest.

In terms of brightening, tightening or evening my skin tone, I did not see anything close to those results. To be fair, this outcome may have taken longer than I was willing to give Moisture Cream and its 1950s Tahitian honeymoon aroma. However, for context, I've experienced a noticeable difference in my skin's clarity and tone in just a few days when testing a quality vitamin C serum or a more powerful retinoid — if nothing else, the Naturewell formula is less potent than other "actives" I've tried. The retinol in this formula should be enough to stimulate collagen and brighten skin on one's face, but since skin on the body is thicker, retinoids in higher concentrations tend to be more effective for use in that area.

Even with the scent debacle, as a lotion simply meant to hydrate dry skin, I liked Moisture Cream; I just didn't love it like so many reviewers have in the past. Which brings me to my main issue with the current Naturewell moisturizer — the ingredients have changed! More recent reviewers have pointed out on both Reddit and the company's website that while Moisture Cream used to contain a smaller list of high-quality, skin-nourishing ingredients like beeswax and macadamia seed oil, it no longer does. Instead, it's now filled with ingredients you've never heard of, mainly waxes like behenyl behenate. All of which may explain why I felt lukewarm and confused about the hype surrounding this product: It's no longer quite as good as it was.

Bottom Line: If you're looking for a low-cost body cream (or face cream if you have super-dry, not-sensitive skin), you could do a lot worse than Naturewell Rejuvenate & Tone Retinol Intense Moisture Cream. While I do not accord with the idea that it's "nothing short of a miracle," truly, when it comes to anti-aging skin care, what is?