The raved about Dr. Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream and the A’pieu Madecassoside Cream 2x both harness the healing powers of centella asiatica to soothe and moisturize acne-prone and sensitive skin. One costs $29 less than the other. Read on as we compare the two formulas.
Centella asiatica is a skin savior for all seasons, but it can be particularly useful during extreme weather times like the winter. It’s the ingredient we always reach for when we’re experiencing irritation and/or redness since the herb is incredibly healing and anti-inflammatory.
While they’ve been around forever, the ingredient and its compounds (like madecassoside, madecassic acid, and asiatic acid) gained popularity in 2018 and have pretty much been all over beauty shelves ever since.
Dr. Jart was early to the game with its Cicapair collection, a line of soothing products formulated with a centella asiatica complex. The Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream ($48) is one of the most popular of the group. Fun fact: The herb is nicknamed Tiger Grass because in nature, tigers are known to roll around in it to heal their wounds.
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Our friends at Brandefy, an app that helps consumers compare beauty products and find dupes, recently pointed out that the Dr. Jart cream is very similar to the less expensive A’pieu Madecassoside Cream 2x($20).
Both moisturizers are formulated to soothe, repair, protect, and hydrate sensitive, dry, and acne-prone skin and come packaged in 1.69 oz tubes.
The A’pieu cream contains 40% centella asiatica leaf water and 0.1% masecassoside, plus centella asiatica extract and asiaticoside. Comparatively, the Dr. Jart cream has centella asiatica leaf extract, asiaticoside, asiatic acid, madecassoside, and madecassic acid (the exact percentages of each are unclear). Both also contain the anti-aging ingredient adenosine.
One of Brandefy’s “Beauty Gurus” named Taylor who has rosacea reviewed both products. “Both showed an improvement of dry skin and redness and calmed my rosacea,” she said. “The A’Pieu cream felt slightly more watery than the Dr. Jart cream. The Dr. Jart cream is a little thicker and more oily. They both have a very similar fragrance and are not overpowering.”
The A’Pieu cream is especially popular among Soko Glam shoppers with combination skin since the formula is moisturizing but not heavy, and helps calm inflamed and red breakouts.
Of the cream one reviewer said: “Not only is my skin wonderfully moisturized and so so soft, the breakout that I’ve been struggling with for the past few months is healing more quickly and the scarring is rapidly fading.”
Bottom Line
Considering the A’Pieu formula is a third of the price of the Dr. Jart cream and contains the same star ingredients as well as a similar emollient texture, the choice seems like a no-brainer.
And bonus – a portion of the proceeds are currently going to a good cause. A’pieu collaborated with Autistar, a Korea-based organization that supports individuals with Autism, on special edition packaging in support.