Vivaderm Daily

When I was sent a tube of Vivaderm Daily cream to test, I wasn't initially very impressed. The plain white and blue packaging didn't look particularly luxurious or exciting or eye-catching so I was a bit underwhelmed. It got stashed in the "to be reviewed" box to be looked at another day while I oohed and aahed at all the more exciting-looking products I had to test.

Then last night, the Madhouse resident soothing cream-tester (aka Sophie) came wandering in from playing outside, saying that her arms and legs were really itchy. Sure enough, she had red patches on her skin, mainly from where she'd been scratching. She suffers from the odd outbreak of mild eczema but a few days with a soothing cream is usually enough to solve the problem.

OK, time to pull out the Vivaderm then ! The tube says that it is "a rich maintenance cream suitable for dry skin prone to patches of eczema and dermatitis" and that it contains no parabens, artificial perfumes, colours or paraffins. It does however contain flower oil and plant extracts. The blurb on the box tells us : "No other product combines nature's carers Calendula, Witch Hazel and Butcher's Broom in such a rich, yet quickly vanishing cream". I've never heard of Butcher's Broom but I know that nappy creams containing Witch Hazel and Calendual are always good at soothing nappy rash and quickly healing the skin so I had high hopes for the Vivaderm sorting out Sophie's sore, itchy patches.

She squeezed a little on to her leg and said that it felt nice as she rubbed it in (usually she complains about it stinging or feeling yucky and greasy). It did slightly stick to her clothes, which she said felt horrible, but there were no greasy stains on her clothing. Most importantly, she said that it felt nice and cold and stopped the itching - yay !

Vivaderm comes in two varieties, Vivaderm Daily, for keeping skin healthy and avoiding outbreaks of dry or itchy skin on a daily basis, and the richer, more intensive Vivaderm Ultra, to be used when your skin needs some serious TLC.

It may not have leapt out at me or impressed me with its bland packaging but the result is what counts and I can't fault that. Sophie has now claimed the tube as her own and put it in her bedroom for whenever her skin starts feeling sore or itchy. I love the fact that it works using natural botanical extracts, rather than harsh chemicals so it gets a thumbs up from both of us.

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £7.95 for 200ml