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Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream.

Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream
Moisturizers

About this product

A lightweight gel-cream moisturizer with centella asiatica, ceramides, and soothing actives designed to hydrate and calm irritated skin.

Full ingredients

Guru Score

73%

Mixed

9 experts · Strong agreement
9Gurus
7Yay
1Mixed
1Nay

What they liked

  • Lightweight gel texture, not greasy
  • Absorbs quickly, sets to radiant finish
  • Works well under makeup and sunscreen

What they flagged

  • Not heavy enough for very dry skin types

What the gurus are saying

This gel-cream delivers barrier support in an unusually lightweight texture that doesn't feel heavy or greasy, earning praise from those with oily or humid-climate skin who want hydration without suffocation. The centella and ceramides calm redness and support healing, making it a solid choice for irritated skin or the day after treatments like microneedling. One catch: the centella concentration is fractional despite the prominent name, and peppermint extract may irritate rosacea-prone skin, so patch test first if you're sensitive to fragrance ingredients.
Synthesized from 9 expert reviews · most recent take June 2026

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
~Yay
"This is another like OG light ceramide product that I've been recommending for so many years on my channel, and I know so many of my oily friends out there love this moisturizer. It has ceramides. It has cholesterol. It has fatty acids. It also has some centella content in here which brings a lot of calming and soothing to the skin. Reduces inflammation, redness, irritation. It can actually be very healing for acne prone skin as well without stripping the skin or exfoliating it or making it feel even more irritated than it already is. Centella doesn't do that. It's actually lightly hydrating but really soothing and calming for the skin while promoting healing at the same time. This has this great cooling gel texture. This feels so refreshing, so hydrating, a little bit plumping. It's not like that really thin gel that just sits on top. It actually dives in deep with some nice plumpness and hydration deep down. So, if you're feeling that dehydration under that thick layer of oil, this is going to feel amazing. If your skin tends to overheat in the summertime and goes a little bit red and it just feels amazing."
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"Very very thin, very very lightweight, not sticky, not tacky. Incredibly breathable. Anybody who doesn't like weight on their skin, if you're living in a very humid climate and you just can't be suffocated by too many skincare layers, like this is the moisturizer for you. But what's interesting about the texture being so lightweight and breathable and not weighing your skin down is it's actually still very barrier supportive. Ceramides, cholesterol, fatty acid content in here. This is one of my classic recommendations for some barrier care for oily skin types. It's kind of rare to get a gel texture with these ingredients."
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"If you want a lighter expression of barrier care, something that is going to be more appropriate for maybe oily folks or a more balanced skin type that doesn't appreciate a lot of emolliency, a lot of moisture, a lot of richness, then you need to check out the Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream. I don't know why they call this a cream because it's so much lighter. It just disappears onto the skin in this really lightweight layer, so breathable, no occlusivity here. If you want something lighter, this is going to give you that breathability that you're probably seeking for, but surprisingly it is loaded full of barrier supportive ingredients. I find that those ingredients are not always the easiest to form into a lighter expression, and so this is a much lighter expression while still supporting that healthy skin barrier."
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"If you have a very oily skin type, you might like the Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream. This is an interesting formula because it does contain ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids, but it has this lighter gel texture and it is hard to find those ingredients in lighter gel type textures. So, I find this to be a little bit of a unicorn."
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"This is another like OG light ceramide product that I've been recommending for so many years on my channel, and I know so many of my oily friends out there love this moisturizer. It has ceramides. It has cholesterol. It has fatty acids. It also has some centella content in here which brings a lot of calming and soothing to the skin. Reduces inflammation, redness, irritation. It can actually be very healing for acne prone skin as well without stripping the skin or exfoliating it or making it feel even more irritated than it already is. Centella doesn't do that. It's actually lightly hydrating but really soothing and calming for the skin while promoting healing at the same time. This has this great cooling gel texture. This feels so refreshing, so hydrating, a little bit plumping. It's not like that really thin gel that just sits on top. It actually dives in deep with some nice plumpness and hydration deep down. So, if you're feeling that dehydration under that thick layer of oil, this is going to feel amazing. If your skin tends to overheat in the summertime and goes a little bit red and it just feels amazing."
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"I absolutely love to recommend this one as a great moisturizer for oily skin, but I also really love this product as a lightweight skin barrier cream. And that is kind of a rare thing. A lot of times the really great barrier repair or barrier strengthening moisturizers have a medium to thicker, really creamy, heavy, dense, occlusive texture. And this one from Skin1004 has all the great ingredients for your skin barrier, including lots of ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids, but it does it in a really lightweight texture that I find very appropriate for oily skin or combo skin that leans on the oily side. They're using different types of ceramides. And then we also have cholesterol and fatty acid content here. Those are the three main ingredients, the biggies that you need if your skin barrier is weak or damaged because these are the lipids that make up the skin barrier. Ceramides are 50% of your skin barrier and then 25% respectively of cholesterol and fatty acids. So these ingredients are incredibly effective at helping to heal that up and that is going to make your skin really strong. It's going to help fight the dehydration."
~Yay
"Skin1004 is another Korean brand that I think is definitely worth it. I don't think $24.99 for the two tubes is too too bad. I would go with this."
All 2 takes from Dr Dray
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"Skin1004 is another Korean brand that I think is definitely worth it. I don't think $24.99 for the two tubes is too too bad. I would go with this."
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"This brand I really like. So this has ceramides again, good for your moisture barrier. The two, twenty-four ninety-nine. This has a peppermint leaf extract in it though, so that might aggravate rosacea. Oh it's got licorice root and tranexamic acid, those are good for redness, provided the peppermint leaf extract isn't too potent. Maybe it'll be a good option, but yeah, do be aware if you have rosacea that that might aggravate it. But twenty-four ninety-nine is not too bad."
~Yay
"I love using this as an overnight moisturizer. Typically, I love to use the really rich, heavy creams, but it has been so hot here, every day like 97 degrees, and when it's that hot my skin does not need a super heavy thick moisturizer. I want something a little bit more lightweight but still packs a punch with the moisture and the hydration ability, and this one has done that. It's such a nice richer gel cream that feels like a super rich moisturizer and delivers all those benefits, but it's just not quite as greasy on the skin. It honestly has such a unique viscosity and consistency that I really haven't seen replicated in other products. You definitely have to try it out for yourself. If you're someone who's new to Centella Asiatica and you want to start integrating it into your routine, I definitely recommend giving this one a shot. Not to mention the price, that's one of the main reasons I love Skin1004. They just consistently have incredible price points and this one is definitely not excluded."
All 2 takes from Hyram
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"I love using this as an overnight moisturizer. Typically, I love to use the really rich, heavy creams, but it has been so hot here, every day like 97 degrees, and when it's that hot my skin does not need a super heavy thick moisturizer. I want something a little bit more lightweight but still packs a punch with the moisture and the hydration ability, and this one has done that. It's such a nice richer gel cream that feels like a super rich moisturizer and delivers all those benefits, but it's just not quite as greasy on the skin. It honestly has such a unique viscosity and consistency that I really haven't seen replicated in other products. You definitely have to try it out for yourself. If you're someone who's new to Centella Asiatica and you want to start integrating it into your routine, I definitely recommend giving this one a shot. Not to mention the price, that's one of the main reasons I love Skin1004. They just consistently have incredible price points and this one is definitely not excluded."
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"They have the Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream, one of my favorite Korean skincare brands, this one is an awesome moisturizer if you struggle with redness"
~Yay
"This is Skin1004's Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream. I've found that in times like post micro-needling, using this a little bit really helps calm the skin down. Really great, [...] and it's a good option as a moisturizer if your skin is feeling irritated from a retinoid."
All 2 takes from Darnell Cox | 50+ Healthy Aging Expert
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"One of them is the Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream by Skin1004. I have no affiliation with them, but this is something that they're also using in South Korea as like a calming balm after microneedling."
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"This is Skin1004's Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream. I've found that in times like post micro-needling, using this a little bit really helps calm the skin down. Really great, [...] and it's a good option as a moisturizer if your skin is feeling irritated from a retinoid."
~Mixed
"This is not my absolute favorite as a dry skin type, I'm going to choose a cream over this personally, but I still see the hype with this one. I definitely see how if you have normal to dry skin you could love this, it's surprisingly moisturizing for a non cream, for something that looks like a gel."
All 2 takes from AliceintheRabbitHole
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"This is not my absolute favorite as a dry skin type, I'm going to choose a cream over this personally, but I still see the hype with this one. I definitely see how if you have normal to dry skin you could love this, it's surprisingly moisturizing for a non cream, for something that looks like a gel."
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"This is one of only two or three cream options from this brand on the Ulta website, and I know it's a very popular option. This is one of those moisturizers where if you have a bit more of an oily skin type but you want some added soothing, this is going to be perfect, but as a dry skin type I would have liked to see something a bit heavier, though I'm sure there are reasons the brand chose not to include that."
~Nay
"This is not a 20% centella. The way the ingredient list works is that when an ingredient is right at the bottom you're looking at a fraction of a percent. And what they tend to do is they say oh it's a 20% solution meaning water plus this centella at a fraction of a percent, and then they call it 20% centella. And that's what I don't like. I don't like miscommunication. I like you to be really clear about what is in the product and what is not in the product. And the thing is because it's literally called Centella, you are thinking and hoping that centella is the main active in this product. Because it's basically got stem cells, centella, allantoin, panthenol, these all anti-inflammatories, plus of course niacinamide and glycerin. So actually quite similar actives to what they put in here. I think what's really important is that you're clear about what you put in the product and whatever the hero ingredient really is is the thing that's on the packaging and not to overhype something that's a very low percentage. Some other downsides with this particular product is they put in lavingula flour oil which is a disaster. It's a fragrance. It's such a shame."
All 2 takes from Dr. Vanita Rattan
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"This is a no."
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"This is not a 20% centella. The way the ingredient list works is that when an ingredient is right at the bottom you're looking at a fraction of a percent. And what they tend to do is they say oh it's a 20% solution meaning water plus this centella at a fraction of a percent, and then they call it 20% centella. And that's what I don't like. I don't like miscommunication. I like you to be really clear about what is in the product and what is not in the product. And the thing is because it's literally called Centella, you are thinking and hoping that centella is the main active in this product. Because it's basically got stem cells, centella, allantoin, panthenol, these all anti-inflammatories, plus of course niacinamide and glycerin. So actually quite similar actives to what they put in here. I think what's really important is that you're clear about what you put in the product and whatever the hero ingredient really is is the thing that's on the packaging and not to overhype something that's a very low percentage. Some other downsides with this particular product is they put in lavingula flour oil which is a disaster. It's a fragrance. It's such a shame."
~Yay
"This does have a really nice gel texture to it and I will say a little bit of it goes a long way. [...] I love gel formulas. [...] It absorbs pretty quickly and sets to kind of a radiant finish once it soaks in. It's not super shiny, it doesn't feel greasy, but it is a little bit of a shiny radiant finish, so some people might not like that, but for me I don't mind it as long as it's not feeling greasy. [...] You can use this morning and evening after cleansing, toning, and serums. It tends to work well under sunscreen and makeup and also works well over most serums, with the exception of certain serums I found that are oily or greasy feeling, then this ends up looking and feeling kind of greasy. But otherwise it's pretty easy to use. I like the texture of it, and maybe for drier skin types they're looking for more of a glowy finish, it might be ideal for them. [...] The star of the show with this one is centella asiatica. It's a wonderful ingredient. It's great for soothing, it's great for wound healing, it's great for hydrating, and it's a great antioxidant ingredient."
~Yay
"This cream needs a different name honestly, because when I see the word cream I think heavy and maybe a bit oily, and this is totally not that. It's super lightweight in texture, and when it dries down it leaves a very slight film on my skin that makes it look smooth, almost like a glass skin effect. I found this really calming and hydrating, it was really nice in summer, and it makes a fantastic makeup base."
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~Yay
"It's designed to provide really good hydration alongside those calming effects that we know from Centella asiatica, but we also have ceramides in here to help strengthen the skin barrier whilst the centella heals alongside allantoin as well to help the skin repair itself and provide relief to irritated and sensitized skin. This is one that's great for the colder months if you're looking for a slightly thicker ceramide repairing barrier healing supporting cream that also targets irritated skin, this is a really really nice one to go for."
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What the evidence says.

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

Tranexamic acid

Tranexamic acid has a growing body of clinical evidence for melasma and the stubborn patches of pigment that other ingredients struggle with.

Source: DermNet

Ceramides

Ceramides are part of the skin's own barrier, and moisturisers built around them have evidence for holding water in and settling the tightness and flaking that come with a damaged barrier.

Source: DermNet

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

Frequently asked.

What is Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream?

A lightweight gel-cream moisturizer with centella asiatica, ceramides, and soothing actives designed to hydrate and calm irritated skin.

Is Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream worth it?

The gurus mostly approve it, but with enough reservations to keep it in the middle at a Guru Score of 73%.

What is Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream's Guru Score?

Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream holds a Guru Score of 73%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 9 expert reviewers we have collected.

Who is Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream best for?

Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream is generally suited to dry skin and sensitive skin.

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