Review: Garnier Aqua Defence Intensive Moisturising Essence (Gel)

When Garnier first came out with this moisturiser in the Aqua Defence range several months back, it became quite the rage with many comparing it to the ~H20+'s holy grail of a moisturiser - Face Oasis.

Many hailed it as a great dupe and naturally, I wanted to try.

So try I did. But after a few uses, I found that it did not really meet my expectations as being the dupe for Face Oasis, which I've grown to love immensely, and so this little tub of moisturiser ended up sitting in a corner by its lonesome self.

Until perchance several weeks back I noticed it again, and decided to give it another go. And this time, I was pleasantly surprised.

Every now and then I turn into a slacker, and wind up being too lazy to bother slathering on moisturiser at the end of the day. Even though I sleep in an air-conditioned room. Bad, I know.

And so it was after a stretch of a few such days, when I started feeling the consequence of my neglect, that I picked this tub up and thought, "Heck, why not?". I wasn't expecting a miracle, but when I woke up the next morning, I could instantly tell the difference.

My skin felt smooth, supple and happy. It felt well-hydrated. I was very pleased.

"This thing works after all!" I thought.

This double take stemmed from the fact that prior, Kahani and I had actually arrived at a conclusion that it didn't really work for either of us. For her, it was possibly because of the dimethicone ingredient. For me, it was probably because I had initially set the expectations too high up.

But no matter, I stand corrected. Garnier's Aqua Defence gel moisturiser does a pretty decent job. And this green, translucent gel smells great to boot.


Enriched with anti-oxidants, Fruit Waters and Vitamin E, it claims to build an invisible barrier on your skin which instantly replenishes moisture and repels external aggressions and free radicals.

And to help your skin recover from daily stress and external aggression, this range features 3 Active Natural Ingredients known for their protective properties: Grape water containing sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and zinc to help protect skin from damage caused by free radicals; apple water for its anti-oxidant properties; and Vitamin E to effectively smooth and protect skin from cellular damage.

While Kahani has been worried about the dimethicone breaking her out, I've had no such problem. It's been working fine, and I've also not noticed it causing me to grease up anymore than usual.

So while it hasn't knocked Face Oasis off my Holy Grail pedestal, I'd say it's a pretty darn good dupe. Especially since it only costs RM19.90 for a 50ml tub, when Face Oasis costs about 8 times more at RM159 for the same amount of gel.

Can't complain about having a cheaper alternative, can I?