First Impression: Charlotte's Magic Cream

I got a sample of Charlotte's Magic Cream a few months ago and finally tried it today. I have to confess that I am terrible at trying new skincare products because I am very particular about what I use on my skin. But when I just found out that the full-size version of this cream was a hundy dollars, I was curious to test it. For starters, the cream is white and very thick. It heavily smells of roses- great for those who love rose scented things, but not so much for those who dislike fragrance. (While I love the scent of roses, I personally do not like putting fragrance on my face.) The highlight ingredients are BioNymph peptide (Charlotte Tilbury's patented anti-aging ingredient), vitamin E, damask rose water, rose hip oil, camellia oil, hyaluronic acid, and frangipani. I felt that while the cream moisturized my face, it left my pores looking very enlarged and my face shiny. I used this product in the evening and can attest that the shine did disappear by morning. I like that hyaluronic acid and vitamin E was moderately high in the ingredient list. Shea butter was even higher on the list but the company failed to include it as one of the star ingredients. There were some other anti-aging ingredients such as ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), but I would say this product is more moisturizing than anti-aging. I cannot imagine paying $100 for this cream when there are cheaper alternatives.

Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Homosalate , Glyceryl Stearate SE, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Octocrylene, Cetyl Alcohol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Steareth-21, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Carbomer, Dimethiconol, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Chlorphenesin, Caprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Hydrolyzed Viola Tricolor Extract, Allantoin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Disodium EDTA, Tocopheryl Acetate, Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Michelia Alba Leaf Oil, Sodium Lactate, Coco-Glucoside, PEG-8, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Plumeria Rubra Flower Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Nicotiana Sylvestris Leaf Cell Culture, Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniola