Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer.

Moisturizers

About this product

A calming, fragrance-free-style moisturizer from Paula's Choice's Calm line, designed to hydrate and help repair sensitive, irritated skin.

Full ingredients

Water⁠, C13-15 Alkane⁠, Glycerin⁠, Propanediol⁠, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil⁠, Cetearyl Alcohol⁠, Arachidyl Alcohol⁠, Stearic Acid⁠, Inulin⁠, Behenyl Alcohol⁠, Cetyl Alcohol⁠, Butylene Glycol⁠, Hydrogenated Lecithin⁠, Myristyl Myristate⁠, Arachidyl Glucoside⁠, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer⁠, Caprylyl Glycol⁠, Allantoin⁠, Tocopherol⁠, Ethylhexylglycerin⁠, Hexylene Glycol⁠, Xanthan Gum⁠, Alpha Glucan Oligosaccharide⁠, Sodium Phytate⁠, Glycogen⁠, Yeast Extract⁠, Laminaria Digitata Extract⁠, Albatrellus Confluens (Mushroom) Extract⁠, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Stem Extract⁠, Galactoarabinan, Schizophyllan⁠, Citric Acid⁠, Maltodextrin⁠, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8⁠, Phenoxyethanol⁠, Potassium Sorbate⁠

Guru Score

72%

Mixed

4 experts · Moderate agreement

What the gurus are saying

Does this green-packaged calming cream soothe irritated skin or leave it tighter? Experts split. Fans find it creamy and comforting, with a finish that isn't greasy or shiny, and like it at night because it sinks in. Sensitive skin is who it's meant for. The skeptics found it clumpy, foamy and drying, with a lingering cooking oil smell, and say it falls short of the older Calm moisturizers.

Synthesized from 4 expert reviews · most recent take December 2024

What they liked

Hydrating creamy texture
Finishes without greasiness or shine

What they flagged

Leaves skin feeling dry and tight
Clumps and foams on application
Odd cooking oil odor

Best for

Sensitive skin

Type

MoisturizersCream

Key actives

Vitamin EPeptides

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Sephora → Amazon → Google →

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Scan it in the shopFree iPhone app. Scores in the aisle.

What the experts use it for.

The concerns the experts tie this product to, in their own words. Paid and founder takes don't count.

Irritated or reactive skin1 expert

“It is pretty soothing, it never messes with my irritated skin.”

Doctorly, watch at 23:02

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

Doctorly

3.59M subs

~Yay

"It is pretty soothing, it never messes with my irritated skin. I find it like a really nice way to heal it up if it's irritated or damaged from other products. It's a lightweight moisturizer, [...] really meant for more sensitive skin. Anytime you see the green packaging with Paula's Choice, it's really that calm line for them."

Dr. Jenny Liu

324k subs

~Yay

"I have been using the Paula's Choice Calm line Rescue and Repair moisturizer fairly frequently in the morning. [...] The blend of sunflower seed oil, allantoin and prebiotics in a creamy texture is very hydrating and supportive, but it finishes nicely and does not make your skin feel extra greasy or shiny."

Dr Dray

2.69M subs

~Nay

"The rescue and repair intensive moisturizer [...] left my skin feeling dry, plain and simple, it was not good whatsoever, which really disappoints me because I loved their previous moisturizers in this Calm line. [...] I used to recommend that moisturizer, and now [...] I no longer recommend it since they changed it, so that was definitely a fail for me."

All 2 takes from Dr Dray

November 2022 FAVES & FAILS 👍 👎 Skin care & Hair care

DID PAULA'S CHOICE RUIN THE CALM LINE? *2022 NEW FORMULAS* 😬 @DrDrayzday

"The Rescue Repair Intense Moisturizer, don't buy this, it is not good. It has that clumping thing, it doesn't spread on the skin, it almost foams a bit which is very odd and not desirable. [...] I did not find this to be moisturizing at all, in fact my skin almost felt tighter and drier after using it. It also has an odd cooking oil odor that lingers a bit. If you were thinking about getting this, don't do it."

Gothamista

683k subs

~Yay

"This is such a perfect moisturizer for the evening before going to bed, especially when you need something more intense for your skin. For me, I don't really like going to bed with skin that is really sort of greasy or heavy with product that has not sunk in or doesn't dry down because [...] my hair will get into it and stick; I move around a lot in my sleep; I smear my face in the pillows; it's just disruptive."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Peptides

Peptides are short protein fragments meant to signal repair. The evidence for them is thinner than for retinoids or vitamin C, and it varies a lot by the specific peptide, so the category is more promising than proven.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer?

A calming, fragrance-free-style moisturizer from Paula's Choice's Calm line, designed to hydrate and help repair sensitive, irritated skin.

Is Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer worth it?

The gurus mostly approve it, but with enough reservations to keep it in the middle at a Guru Score of 72%.

What is Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer's Guru Score?

Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer holds a Guru Score of 72%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 4 expert reviewers we have collected.

Who is Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer best for?

Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer is generally suited to sensitive skin.

What is Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer good for, according to the experts?

In their reviews, experts say Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer is good for irritated or reactive skin (1 expert).

Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer.

72%

What the experts use it for.

Irritated or reactive skin1 expert

What the gurus are saying.

What the evidence says.

Humectants and emollients

Peptides

Vitamin E

Frequently asked.

What is Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer?

Is Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer worth it?

What is Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer's Guru Score?

Who is Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer best for?

What is Paula's Choice Calm Rescue and Repair Intensive Moisturizer good for, according to the experts?

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