It sounds like a real Goldilocks formula, no? Something as effective as the much-loved SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore, but lighter on your face and your wallet? As someone who’s been battling facial eczema their entire life—with a limited budget and even more limited patience for testing products—this sounded too good to be true. But nearly nine months incorporated into my routine, and three tubes later, I can wholeheartedly say this product delivers.
Apart from the amazing ingredient list, the product feel is unmatched. It spreads beautifully on the skin, and a little goes a long way. Its consistency is that of a cream that doesn’t feel heavy (and is non-comedogenic, so it won’t clog pores) so I use it in the AM and PM. It has occlusive properties (hey, skin care sluggers), so if you have skin on the oilier side, you may just want to use it at night. PS: The brand is coming out with a gel-cream moisturizer in 2023, specifically targeted to those with acne-prone skin who perhaps want something on the lighter side.
I find that it never pills under makeup and that it sits beautifully on top of my essence (by Tatcha) and toner, and underneath my SPF (also by Tatcha). The most important thing for me is that it’s allowed me to kiss steroids goodbye. Of course, this isn’t going to be true for a lot (or more likely, most) people with eczema, but I’ve experienced discoloration and skin-thinning from trying to solve my issues with topical prescriptions and this broke the cycle of flakey patches seemingly on its own. I thought I was hallucinating, or that I was overblowing its impact—but I have regular skin chats with my friend Bianca Nieves who also suffers from facial flare-ups, and in one of our many check-ins on how our faces were faring, she mentioned Instant Angel. We realized it was the common denominator in our better-than-usual skin. There’s nothing like affirmation from another person dealing with a similar problem to you, though if you’d rather have validation from a celeb, Hailey Bieber is a fan too.
In terms of downsides, I’m hard-pressed to come up with any other than the price. At $45, it’s certainly a prestige beauty buy, and one that’s more expensive than Embryolisse’s Lait-Crème Concentré (which I find to be a similar type of moisturizer). It also reminds me of the product I use on my baby: Mustela’s Stelatopia Emollient Cream—which Glamour contributor Sarah Wu swears by in winter, and rings in at around $15. That said, Instant Angel is a fraction of the cost of the aforementioned SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore (a whopping $136) or even the celeb-backed Augustinus Bader’s ‘Miracle Cream’ which is $175 on a good day. Something to help with the cost that I’ve actually done is get on Dieux’s prescription service for Instant Angel. Now that I know it’s my ride-or-die, the 11% off I get with recurring sends is worth jumping on.
I used to talk about eczema all the live-long day but I don’t as much anymore, and that is almost as relieving as calming my eczema itself. Hell hath no fury like an atopic dermatitis patch, but Instant Angel is my heaven-sent salve.
