STEAMCREAM, a relatively new company that just made its way over to the U.S. this fall, launched first in Japan back in 2007. It’s been building up steam ever since, zipping from Japan over to the U.K., and now over to us here.
Their entire catalog consists of one product — an $18 face, body and hand moisturizer made with what they call their “steam-infused manufacturing process.”
We use STEAM during the manufacturing process to bind ingredients together in a process called emulsification… STEAMCREAM’s emulsion is held together very loosely allowing each ingredient to break down to its purest form on contact with the skin for maximum moisturization.
The product, which is vegan as well as cruelty-free, comes in a cute 2.6-oz. collectible tin, so it’s also TSA approved. Being collectible, the tin comes in different designs, and the one I have is called Kaleidoscope.
The very first item on the ingredient list is oatmeal, known for its soothing and hydrating properties, but there are also parabens listed among the natural and plant-derived compounds, which I find a little odd. I guess they couldn’t figure out a way to leave ‘em out. For what it’s worth, they appear way down at the bottom of the list, which should imply they’re here in low quantities.
I’ve kept the tin on my desk all week and have been regularly using the lightweight, almost whipped cream on my hands a lot. Not only does it absorb quickly and thoroughly, but I love the light lavender scent.
I still have yet to try it on my face because I’m nervous about it causing breakouts, but not because there’s anything specific about it that worries me. I’m just always a little apprehensive about trying new lotions on my face.
I have, however, used it all over my body and hands, and so far so good. No breakouts. STEAMCREAM feels surprisingly hydrating for such a light lotion. It works like Aveeno but feels like whip cream.
Because the brand’s still small, it can be a little hard to find (the website lists only six retailers in the U.S.), but they do have an online store and offer international shipping.
If you’re into indie lines and (mostly) natural body products, you might want to give STEAMCREAM a shot.
PRICE: About $18
AVAILABILITY: At select stores and also online.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
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Pretty packaging!!! The tin would be a great place to store earrings after
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Totally, Appu!
interesting! i was surprised to hear they only have ONE product in their entire catalogue but if they’re making it far, im guessing this product cant be that bad! but im with you on the whole face cream thing karen, even though you say its lightweight, it ‘looks’ a bit thick to be applying on the face… at least my face since i have oily skin and am prone to breakouts! >< thanks for sharing though! i do love the packaging
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You’re welcome, Agnes. I feel your pain about having to worry about breakouts. What are your tried-and-true faves that you use on your skin and love?
It looks like whip cream from your photo…
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Totally! I want to put it on top of ice cream, haha!
Okay, I totally <3 this packaging (even though I'm not usually much of a pink fan!) The fact that this is 'cone-free makes it particularly tempting…. hmmm.
P.S. May I ask what you're using as a facial moisturizer right now, just out of curiosity? Your skin always look so fab!
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Hi Rae,
I have oily, dry, break-out prone skin, and I absolutely love Clarins Hydraquench Cream!
Karen, I love that you have been reviewing cruelty-free drugstore lines and now this lately. That is something that is really important to me, so thank you so much!
This lotion looks really good, do you think the texture is similar to Philosophy’s hope in a jar?
Hi Hannah,
You’re welcome! It’s really great to see how many drugstore lines have adopted a cruelty-free policy.
The texture feels very similar to Hope in Jar. It’s a teensy, tiny bit more dense though, but not by much.
ive read about that product in a magazine, i think. ive always been curious about it!
Hi Nina,
It’s really nice cream, especially if you like products with a whipped consistency.
Pretty tins. Even one called Rita! I could always use another hand cream.
It’s meant to be! You need to get the one named after you.
Ah, I’ve seen this in BeautyBay.com. Been very tempted to get it as a girl can never have too many moisturizers
Thanks for the review Karen!
I’m very cautious about face moisturizers as well as I break out really easily. Currently I’m alternating between Clarins Hydra Quench Creme Gel and Kiehl’s Ultra Moisturizer. They both work quite well – no dry spots despite the biting cold winter here.
Hi Fieran,
I’m a huge, HUGE fan of Clarins Hydraquench. I literally go through jars of it. I’ve never tried the gel formula, but it sounds great!
That sounds nice! I’m always a fan of lotion/creams that absorb quickly. I think everyone hates that slippery/greasy feeling that some lotions leave. I don’t blame you about being cautious about what you put on your face. For some reason, if it’s good for your hands and body, I can’t quite believe it’s good for your face, and I wouldn’t be willing to risk a breakout to find out!
It’s pretty interesting that they play up using steam in the emulsification process. Now I’m interested to find out how other companies emulsify. I’ll be asking our chemist today. Thank you for improving my mind with science in the morning!
I wish I could listen in on that conversation! I know that lots of lotions use waxes and chemicals as emulsifiers, but I’m curious to know what else.
I’ll summarize, though it’s still kind of long!
He said that if all the ingredients are liquid at room temperature, they use a cold emulsion process. These emulsions can be done with mechanical force and with the presence of the appropriate emulsifiers (as you mentioned). Without emulsifiers, the results will be unstable, as with Italian salad dressing (it separates).
However, many ingredients in lotions/creams are solid at room temperature. They need to be melted and mixed together to get a homogeneous phase before being emulsified. To do this, manufacturers use jacketed tanks to heat and blend the water and the oil phases separately. They do this by injecting hot steam into the outer chamber of the tank. He feels that directly injecting hot steam into the ingredients has no advantage, other than to create a marketing claim.
On a side note, he said that hot steam can be replaced by a different hot medium, depending on the facilities of manufacturing plant.
I like the we only have one product and its a multi-tasker business model. It’s the kind of thing that gets a really devoted cult following.
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I have a feeling this could become the next big cult thing too, like Rosebud Salve.
sounds fab, but I can’t get with the lavender scent
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Really? I love lavender.
I posted about STEAMCREAM on my blog last week, as it is affiliated with LUSH (http://www.lush.com) cosmetics, which is one of my favorite cruelty-free cosmetic companies.
I have been using this as an inexpensive face moisturizer, and I’m enjoying it very much! I bought the “Oriental” tin as I love green. The quality of the product in relation to the price can’t be beat!
I would recommend giving it a try as a facial moisturizer. I’ve got very sensitive skin and it’s been treating me right!
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Hi Karen,
I’ve been intrigued all day after reading this post. My hands are dying right now because of the cold! It’s -30C where I live right now and there’s tons of snow outside. My hands and face are suffering, I have all these dry patches on my cheeks and t-zones. Do you think this stuff will rescue my skin? It’s not that expensive so I might give it a shot depending on how good you say it is. Do you think it will “pill” if I put it on my face. That’s my biggest pet peeve is face creams that pill like a sweater on your face and leaves a bunch of balls on your face if you rub it after putting cream on.
Thanks for your help!
I live in the Netherlands and gone through 3 jars of it! I love it! I have very sensitive skin and this is great! I use it on my face (day and night)
Sorry for my bad English but I had to write something
Just wanted to say I have the most sensitive, outbreak-prone skin in the world, and I’ve been using Steam Cream on my face with no problems. I actually have the same tin design as you, Karen – and I’ve bought the blue rose one for my sister for Christmas
Has anyone tried Nu skin products?
they have wonderful skincare products for all types of skin, including sensitive skin and acne skin !!
also for anti aging etc and all their products are very natural and use botanical ingredients!
I’m a distributor for the line and if anyone would like to try out their products please message me at nihal.nuskin@yahoo.com
I can recommend which are the best for your skin type:)
Milla they have products for sensitive skin as I read your blog and you can purchase it online in the Netherlands from their website! please message me if you are interested
Holly its also great for outbreak prone skin if you’d like to try it out:)
just wanted to share with everyone!