Abyssine Cream is manufactured by Kiehl’s, a well known brand in operation for more than 150 years. It promises to minimalize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and reduce free radical damage, broad promises which most of the anti-wrinkle cures on the market now make. While the promises Kiehl’s makes are typical, the ingredients are anything but. They also provide a cream with SPF to protect the skin from the UV rays during the day.

Price: $42.00/50 ml bottle

Kiehl’s Abyssine Cream boasts something most anti-wrinkle creams cannot boast, a well kept reputation associated with a company that has been around for more than 150 years. And with this reputation, they still post a reasonable and affordable price of $42 for a 50 ml bottle. They provide a full list of ingredients for inspection by any consumer who may care to know, as well as unusual ingredients to set them apart from the average “innovative” wrinkle cream. It contains some well known ingredients that one might expect to see such as glycerin, beeswax, and adenosine. It also contains apricot kernel oil as one of its main ingredients, which has been well known to stand out in its ability to hydrate delicate, mature, or sensitive skin and reduce inflammation without a feeling of greasiness or oiliness.

While Kiehl’s provides a complete list of ingredients for inspection by the average consumer, the list is long and may demonstrate overkill. It leads us to believe that either there may be too many ingredients in the mix with extremely small and ineffective amount of each and/or the makers of Abyssine Cream are trying to hide something. As such, there are no studies to back up the claims made by Kiehl’s, whether specific or general. The 3 major ingredients are abyssine 657, otherwise known as Alteromonas Ferment Extract, apricot kernel oil, and corallina extract. Abyssine 657 and apricot kernel oil are advertised as moisturizers and emollients, designed to soothe the skin. Apricot kernel oil is also an anti inflammatory, which can aid the skin in its ability to absorb necessary moisture. Corallina extract, as described by the website is an antioxidant. But there is not one ingredient in those three that actually promotes the diminishment of wrinkles. As we have seen with many “anti-wrinkle” creams and serums, Kiehl’s Abyssine cream seems to use a number of moisturizers to aid the user in feeling immediate “results”, but does not provide any ingredients which would provide real long term results such as collagen or ingredients that would promote the synthesis of collagen.

If you have sensitive, mature, or otherwise especially dry skin, Kiehl’s Abyssine Cream would probably make a great moisturizer with the added benefit of working as a possible antioxidant. However, $42 is a lot to pay for a moisturizer, and it is unlikely to deliver on its promise to reduce wrinkles and other signs of aging.