Canstar Blue’s anti-ageing skincare review has seen Olay, L’Oréal, The Ordinary, Nivea, Clinique, Coles, Garnier and Neutrogena compared on their consistency, feeling on skin, effectiveness, packaging, value for money, and overall satisfaction.
Olay topped Canstar Blue’s latest anti-ageing skincare review, with five stars for feeling on skin, consistency, packaging, and overall satisfaction.
It’s the age-old question that only a few people like George Clooney and Elle Macpherson appear to have answered – how do you maintain youthful looks for as long as possible (without help from a surgeon)? Whether it’s brightening a dull skin tone, firming sagging skin, removing age spots, or tightening lines and wrinkles, it seems stores are stocked with plenty of products claimed to reverse (or at least slow down) the ‘seven signs of ageing’.
So, which brands can lift our spirits (as well as our skin)? In Canstar Blue’s anti-ageing skincare ratings, we sought to find out which brands are helping to keep Aussies’ youthful glow and which are likely to cause more frown lines. To do this, we surveyed more than 600 adults who gave us their feedback on the anti-ageing skincare products they’ve used in the last 12 months. Eight brands received the minimum survey sample size (30 responses) to feature in our report.
There were barely any wrinkles for Olay in this year’s ratings, having achieved five stars for overall customer satisfaction and in other key areas.
Here are the best anti-ageing skincare brands in Australia, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s latest review:
Olay earned five-star reviews for consistency, feeling on skin, packaging design, and overall satisfaction. Runner-up L’Oréal, Nivea, and Coles also managed to score top marks for packaging, with Nivea additionally receiving five stars for value for money, alongside The Ordinary. Notably, Coles was the only brand to earn five stars for effectiveness.
For further guidance on which anti-ageing skincare might be the best fit for your skin – and details on what to look for when buying a new product – read on for a brief summary of what each brand currently offers.
Olay features a range of products designed to suit various skin types including oily skin, dry skin, and sensitive skin. The brand also offers sunscreens, BB & CC creams, facial cleansers, and toners as well as Olay Whip – a face cream that turns liquid on contact with the skin for fast absorption. When it comes to treating the signs of ageing, the brand offers a number of daily creams, serums, and gels from various collections to target fine lines, puffiness, dark circles, and crow’s feet.
Some products from Olay’s range include:
Olay was rated five stars for feeling on skin, consistency, packaging, and overall satisfaction. It got four stars for effectiveness and three stars for value for money.
For those looking to stop the clock, L’Oréal has plenty of day and night moisturisers, treatments, eye creams and serums. It also boasts a line of makeup products, including the L’Oréal Infallible More Than Concealer, to give a youthful look. L’Oréal claims it can help you look visibly younger without undergoing cosmetic procedures, with products like the Revitalift Laser x 3 Day Cream treatment described to act as a powerful anti-ageing moisturiser that supposedly ‘corrects wrinkles, re-densifies your skin and evens out your complexion’.
Other products from L’Oréal include:
L’Oréal received five stars for packaging design, and four stars for feeling on skin, consistency, effectiveness, and overall satisfaction. It got three stars for value for money.
The Ordinary is a subsidiary brand of DECIEM, with a stated focus on making advanced functional beauty more affordable. The brand offers a regimen guide on its website with suggestions on how to combine multiple formulations in a single regimen to target various skin concerns such as dullness and fine lines. The Ordinary stocks everything from peptides, retinoids, and vitamin C creams, to direct acids and skin powders.
Some products from The Ordinary include:
The Ordinary was rated five stars on value for money, and four stars for effectiveness and overall satisfaction. It got three stars in the remaining categories.
Founded in 1911, Nivea sells a variety of face and body skincare products for men and women. Its large arsenal of beauty items includes cleansers, makeup removers and toners, exfoliators, scrubs, masks, lip care, body creams, moisturisers and treatments. To fight the signs of ageing, Nivea offers a few creams, serums and ampoules to choose from. The brand also created the Q10 Power Anti-wrinkle + Firming Replenishing Pearls, which are said to reduce the appearance of wrinkles as well as firm and moisturise the skin.
Some products from Nivea’s range include:
Nivea received five stars for packaging design and value for money, and four stars for overall satisfaction and everywhere else.
Clinique has been producing dermatologist-developed skincare products since 1968 and offers makeup, skincare products, and fragrances, as well as a men’s collection and an acne line to suit different skin types. The brand also has a range of products to target fine lines and wrinkles. The Clinique Smart skincare line features ‘custom repair’ treatments and serums to address all visible signs of aging.
The range also includes:
Clinique earned four stars for effectiveness, feeling on skin, and overall satisfaction. It got three stars for consistency, packaging design and value for money.
As well as being the supermarket of choice for many Aussies, Coles also stocks its own branded range of cosmetic and skincare products. The supermarket giant offers various tinted and standard sunscreen options, plus facial wipes to remove makeup.
Here are some products from Coles:
Coles got five stars for effectiveness and packaging design, plus four stars for feeling on skin, value for money and overall satisfaction. It got three stars for consistency.
Garnier says its aim is to help people ‘feel their best natural selves through simple and sustainable beauty solutions’. Most of the items Garnier offers for your anti-ageing skincare routine are from its flagship Skinactive collection, which includes eye creams, BB creams, day creams with SPF15, plus more.
Some products include:
Garnier scored four stars for effectiveness, packaging, and value for money. It got three stars for overall satisfaction and everywhere else.
A brand under the Johnson & Johnson company, Neutrogena beauty and skincare products are sold worldwide, in over 70 countries. In the anti-ageing department, the brand offers several ranges including Ageless Intensives, Rapid Wrinkle Repair and Rapid Tone Repair, each containing night and day creams to target specific concerns. The Ageless Intensives line is claimed to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles in just two weeks, using a combination of active ingredients such as retinol SA and hyaluronic acid, to help accelerate surface cell turnover.
Some products from Neutrogena’s range include:
Neutrogena rounded up the scores on four stars for effectiveness, and got three stars in the remaining categories, including for overall satisfaction.
In addition to finding out which brands are rated best for anti-ageing treatments; our research also identified the following key drivers of customer satisfaction:
Other results of note from our survey include:
Effectiveness is the biggest driver of customer satisfaction when it comes to anti-ageing skincare products. According to our survey, 24% of people always buy the same brand of skincare products, suggesting many have found one that works for them. With plenty of products available out there, it may be worth trying a few to make sure you end up with something that works for your skin type/concerns.
According to our research, the consistency of a product is the second biggest driver of customer satisfaction. It can be difficult to find an anti-ageing skincare product that’s just right for you. However, brands typically offer a range of different types of products, which all have a different consistency, so there’s plenty of choice out there from serums to creams.
Getting good value for money is important for a product that’s usually used every day. Aussies spend an average of $37 per month on anti-ageing skincare, according to our survey, with about 22% of people only buying skincare products when they’re on sale. Some also buy products with specific ingredients, which can result in extra costs. For example, 19% try to buy ethically, looking out for brands that offer cruelty-free options or organic ingredients.
Feeling on the skin is lower on the list of drivers of customer satisfaction, which is surprising considering that nearly half of our survey respondents (46%) use some type of skincare product every day. It would make sense to want a product that feels good on the skin without drying it out or making it feel oily.
From face mask sheets to ampoules and tubs, anti-ageing skincare products come in all shapes and sizes. While it might not directly impact the end result, a product that’s well designed and easy to open can help make your daily routine a little less stressful and prevent creating a couple of extra lines.
So, there you have it – Olay was rated the number one brand for helping Aussies dip their toes in the fountain of youth just that little bit longer, being the only entry in our anti-ageing skincare ratings to earn a five-star rating for overall satisfaction.
In addition to moisturisers, serums and creams, experts strongly advise using the right daily sunscreen to protect your skin from sun damage, as well as other dangers. Making lifestyle changes to address major causes of premature ageing is also recommended.
With this in mind, we hope our 2021 review has proved useful in helping you to find a brand to try next!
This report was written by Canstar Blue’s Home & Lifestyle Content Lead, Megan Birot. She’s an expert on household appliances, health & beauty products, as well as all things grocery and shopping. When she’s not writing up our research-based ratings reports, Megan spends her time helping consumers make better purchase decisions, whether it’s at the supermarket, other retailers, or online, highlighting the best deals and flagging anything you need to be aware of.
Picture credits: Rido/Shutterstock.com, goodluz/Shutterstock.com.
Canstar Blue surveyed 3,000 Australian adults across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who have purchased and used a non-prescription/over the counter anti-ageing skincare product in the last 12 months (this includes eye creams, moisturisers, serums and cleansers marketed as anti-ageing) – in this case, 618 people.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.
Here are the previous winners of Canstar Blue’s anti-ageing skincare review:
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