Canstar Blue’s anti-ageing skincare review has seen Neutrogena, The Ordinary, Nivea, Garnier, Olay, L’Oréal and Coles compared on their consistency, feeling on skin, effectiveness, packaging, value for money and overall satisfaction.
It’s the age-old question that only a few people like George Clooney 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 just causing a few more frown lines. To do this, we surveyed more than 700 adults who gave us their feedback on the anti-ageing skincare products they’ve used in the last 12 months. Seven brands received the minimum survey sample size (30 responses) to feature in our report.
There were barely any wrinkles for Neutrogena 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:
Neutrogena earned five-star reviews for effectiveness, feeling on skin, consistency, packaging and overall satisfaction. Notably, runner-up The Ordinary was the only brand to get top marks for value for money, while Nivea and Garnier also managed to get five stars for feeling on skin.
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.
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 earned five-star reviews for effectiveness, consistency, feeling on skin, packaging and overall satisfaction. It got four 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 overall satisfaction and most other categories. It got three stars for effectiveness.
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 serum-infused Q10 Power Sheet Mask, which is 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 feeling on skin and four stars for overall satisfaction and most other categories. It got three stars for effectiveness.
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 achieved a five-star rating for feeling on skin, and four stars everywhere else.
Olay features a range of products designed to suit the various skin needs of different women. 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, dark circles and crow’s feet.
Some products from Olay’s range include:
Olay earned a solid four-star rating for overall satisfaction and across the board.
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 SPF15 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 got four stars for feeling on skin, consistency, packaging and overall satisfaction. It got three stars for value for money and effectiveness.
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 rounded up the scores on four stars for value for money and effectiveness. It got three stars for overall satisfaction and everywhere else.
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, 26% 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, feeling on the skin is the second biggest driver of customer satisfaction. With half of our survey respondents (52%) using some type of skincare product every day, it makes sense you’d want a product that feels good on the skin without drying it out or making it feel oily.
According to our research, the consistency of a product is the third 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 also important for a product that’s usually used every day. Our survey found that 33% of people only buy skincare products when they’re on sale. Some also buy products with specific ingredients, which can result in extra costs. For example, 25% try to buy ethically, looking out for brands that offer cruelty-free options or organic ingredients.
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 – Neutrogena 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 2020 review has proved useful in helping you to find a brand to try next!
This report was written by Canstar Blue’s home & lifestyle journalist, Tahnee-Jae Lopez-Vito. She’s an expert on household appliances, grooming products and all things grocery and shopping. In addition to translating our expert research into consumer-friendly ratings reports, Tahnee spends her time helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services, while highlighting the best deals and anything you need to be aware of.
Picture credits: Rido/Shutterstock.com, goodluz/Shutterstock.com.
Our anti-ageing skincare review saw a range of brands perform well in different categories:
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 targeted for anti-ageing) – in this case, 784 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.
2019