Melissa nailed it in her Dawn Lorraine review when she described her tester as smelling of sunshine, “the Caribbean in a jar.” My trial of Dawn Lorraine Pomegranate Lift Crème ($59) began with exclaiming “wow, this is divine.” This pot of whipped cream just makes me feel happy — I couldn’t quite put my finger on why, but thanks to Melissa I’m going with sunshine.

Pomegranate Lift Crème goes beyond a superficial feel-good factor though. This is a potent formula and a great anti-aging moisturizer. I very much like its hydrating effects — it gives my skin some instant luster. Over time, I have noticed some firming.

A little goes such a long way that I have been using a few dabs as my hand cream. The result is smooth, ridgeless nails and plumper, less crepey skin. My hands look younger.

Don’t think for one second that this is a greasy cream — it is light and absorbent — but I did skip it on days that were super humid and hot. Note my skin is naturally a little oily. For my test, I tried Pomegranate Lift Crème mostly on its own, but I also experimented with layering it over serums and it worked well in both cases.

What I love about this cream is that there are amino acids, an essential part of the synthesis of collagen and elastin. As I have said many times, my skin responds very well to amino acid formulations, looking smoother and supple. Other anti-aging heavy hitters here are DMAE, an anti-sagging ingredient, and the antioxidant CoQ10.

Argireline and Syn-ake are not my favorite peptides. They are expression line inhibitors that work by mimicking a protein that activates muscle contraction. I prefer my peptides to be collagen builders. But here they are part of a well-rounded formulation including those collagen-building amino acids and vitamin C, so I am happy to let them play their part.

Pomegranate Lift Crème gives a nod to just about each key benefit for good skin, so there are hydrating ingredients in the form of royal jelly, squalene and hyaluronic acid. Botanically-derived acids act as an exfoliant. Of course, there is the eponymous pomegranate, an omega-rich antioxidant.

I am very glad that Dawn Lorraine came on our radar. I also love the cleanser and from our other community reviews, it seems that this brand is consistently good. I would compare it brands like Sevani and La Vie Celeste that focus on quality ingredients, eshew nasties (the only thing to dislike here is the preservative phenoxyethanol) and are results-oriented. Highly recommended for anyone looking for an effective, natural anti-ager at a decent price.