hada labo gokujyun alpha lift cream

i was about to go to japan and even though i like sana wrinkle cream, i thought it would be nice to try something else. so i decided to try hada labo one. i thought since it's called "lift cream" and targeted for anti-aging, it would have retinol or other anti aging ingredients. but not until i was about to write this review that i found out that i was wrong! anyway.. i'm halfway through the cream, so better write this review quickly or i might finish it first.

the description from rakuten website: cutting-edge anti-aging cream to make your skin resilient! gokujyun alpha series dedicated to anti-aging skin care. this is an anti-aging cream with thick texture containing low molecular weight elastin (moisturizing ingredient) that makes the skin resilient and 3D hyaluronic acid (moisturizing ingredient) that creates moisture nets on the skin. focuses on a mechanism that works on horny cells that support the fundamental of skin. seals moisture into skin, and makes your deeper skin resilient.
mild acidity - it is essential for healthy skin. gentle on skin - fragrance free, color free, mineral oil free, alcohol free. patch tested (not guarantee that skin irritation will not occur for all individuals).
ingredients list: water, glycerin, BG, glyceryl tri (caprylic acid/capric acid), squalane, glyceryl tri (caprylic acid/ capric acid/ myristic acid/ stearic acid), DPG, PPG-10 methyl glucose, behenyl alcohol, isostearic acid PEG-20 sorbitan, sorbitan stearate, hyaluronic acid crosspolymer (3d hyaluronic acid), sodium acetylated hyaluronate (super hyaluronic acid), sodium hyaluronate, hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid (nano hyaluronic acid), hydrolyzed elastin (low-molecular-weight-elastin), tetrapeptide-5 (erasugurou), hydrolyzed collagen (low molecular weight collagen), lactic acid bacillus and soy milk fermentation liquid, macadamia fatty phytosteryl, lauroyl glutamine acid di (phytosteryl/octyldodecyl), phellodendron amurense bark extract, meadowfoam oil, pentylene glycol, pullulan, carbomer, hydroxyethyl cellulose, aciratescopolymer ammonium, EDTa-2Na, TEA, methylparaben.

the box

all text in japanese

the packaging: i don't know why but japanese creams come in a box. that's unusual since usually they just seal the bottle of tub without any other packaging. so, this one comes in a red box with the picture of the tub on it. inside, they don't seal the tub but it's okay during travelling. no spilling. there's some text on the box but everything is in japanese. the tub is also red with gold rimming, all made from plastic. there's another text on the tub, also in japanese. all the anti aging line comes in red packaging, and i think there are two more creams that come in similar tub, so make sure you read the name correctly. this one only has gokujyun alpha cream written on it.

another text in japanese

the scent: this one is also scentless. but you might smell something due to the ingredients, but it's barely detectable.

the tub

another text in japanese

the product: the cream is pale yellowish and has gel-like texture, similar to sana wrinkle cream. but it's not as gel like as sana one. it spreads easily on my skin and leaves watery traces as well. the cream is considered pretty lightweight for an anti-aging cream. but although it becomes watery, it still takes awhile to be completely absorbed.

the cream inside

the result: it definitely moisturizes my skin as well as the sana one. it's not clogging my pores even though it has a lot of moisturizing ingredients such as glycerin, butylene glycol, and a bunch of hyaluronic acid as well as collagen and squalene. usually my skin don't like squalene, but somehow this one seems okay for my skin. i don't notice any difference but sometime i do feel that it's not enough on some days.

on my hand

after blending it in

i want to like this cream, but somehow i like sana one better for now. i also repurchase sana one and i will compare it again, so i will update about it if i feel differently.