Best wrinkle creams for mature skin: Lift, firm and smooth fine lines

The best moisturisers for mature skin can be a secret weapon in your skincare armoury as you get older, when the skin naturally loses elasticity and becomes drier. If laughter lines are beginning to show, or you’re dreading the sight of a new wrinkle in the mirror, the best creams will deliver a moisture boost to make your skin smoother, softer and more radiant. They’ll help to prevent new wrinkles from appearing, too.

Although wrinkle creams tend to be more expensive than standard moisturisers, they’re full of miracle ingredients that will specifically target fine lines and wrinkles. Peptides, ceramides, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C will help stimulate collagen production, brighten skin tone and protect your skin from external damage that could cause future wrinkles.

To help you decide which creams are worth the money, we’ve tested a wide range of wrinkle creams on our own mature skin to see if any really work wonders, looking for visible improvements in our lines, skin tone and firmness. But before you get to our recommendations, read our guide on what you should consider before buying a wrinkle cream for your skin.

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Best wrinkle creams for mature skin: At a glance

How to choose the best wrinkle cream for mature skin for you

At what age should I start using a wrinkle cream?

Surprisingly, it’s earlier than you think. You can add such a cream to your daily skincare routine at the point skin starts to age, which is usually around your late 20s. At this point, ingredients such as vitamin C and hyaluronic acid will boost collagen levels, plump the skin, and guard against damage from external factors such as pollution to give your skin the best chance of keeping wrinkles at bay. For those who are already beyond that point, it’s never too late to start using a wrinkle cream to improve the skin’s moisture levels, soften deeper lines and tackle any loss of volume.

What are the first signs of skin ageing?

Fine lines and wrinkles are the most obvious, appearing around the eyes, between the brows and on the forehead. But there are other signs, too, many of which appear at surface level, including dark circles under the eyes, duller skin or more visible pores. As the body’s own production of elastin and collagen slows with age, skin may lose its natural glow and appear less firm, while you might also develop dark spots on the skin. You may also notice that your skin is more sensitive to external factors, such as the cold or even central heating, as it becomes thinner and more sensitive.

Should my wrinkle cream include retinol?

There’s no doubt that retinol, a formulation of vitamin A, is one of the most effective wrinkle-busting ingredients around. It can help fight the signs of ageing and prevent further fine lines from appearing.

However, it isn’t for everyone – in particular, those with sensitive skin or allergies – and could cause further irritation and dryness. It can also make the skin more sensitive to UV rays, so must be used with broad spectrum sun protection. There are plenty of other anti-ageing ingredients that are just as effective and more widely tolerated, so this roundup comprises wrinkle creams that don’t contain retinol.

However, for an added boost, any of the products on the list can be paired with a retinol cream or serum applied only at night.

How much do I need to spend?

Wrinkle creams usually tend to be some of the more expensive skincare products on the market, with their powerful, high-strength ingredients and luxury formulations commanding a hefty price. However, the high street offers more affordable alternatives with similar wrinkle-fighting powers, so you don’t necessarily need to blow the budget in your quest for younger-looking skin.

How we test wrinkle creams

At Expert Reviews, we know nothing beats hands-on experience when it comes to finding the perfect product for your skin. For this round-up, we put a range of wrinkle creams to the test to find the ones that made the biggest difference. We used every cream on our skin, following directions closely when applying and repeating over several days to see which one worked the best.

For every wrinkle cream, we noted how easy and pleasant it was to apply, taking into account the smell and texture of the moisturiser and how quickly it was absorbed or if it left our face feeling sticky. We also observed if makeup could be used soon after and if the cream was designed for use during the day or night. Any renowned wrinkle-busting ingredients such as ceramides or hyaluronic acid were also taken into account and we checked if our skin felt smoothed and hydrated several hours after applying. After several days’ use, we judged if the tone and texture of our skin had approved and, most importantly, if our fine lines and wrinkles looked softer and less pronounced. We looked especially for creams that seemed to blur and plump wrinkles, making us look well rested and more youthful while using it.

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The best wrinkle creams for mature skin in 2023

1. Kiehl’s Super Multi-Corrective Cream: Best wrinkle cream for mature skin overall

Price when reviewed: £67 | Check price at Look Fantastic

On first application we questioned whether this silky lightweight cream would cut it for our dry skin – we usually opt for something heavier – but we were proved wrong. It absorbs in seconds, so we were able to apply makeup immediately, and our skin felt noticeably smoother and softer straight away. Even by the end of the day skin remained nourished, and within a couple of days of using this moisturiser, someone even commented that we looked particularly well. Best of all, following two weeks of use, skin looked more even-toned and existing wrinkles appeared softer.

Claiming to tackle seven key signs of ageing, including dullness and loss of firmness, the formula includes a trio of super-charged wrinkle-soothing ingredients. Phytomimetic vitamin A renews the skin’s surface, ProXylane GX lifts and reinforces skin, and chaga mushroom boosts radiance. Together, they’re a wrinkle game-changer in a jar.

Key details – Pack size: 50ml; Best time to apply: Day and night

2. Clinique Smart Clinical Repair Wrinkle Correcting Cream: Best wrinkle cream for the first signs of ageing

Price when reviewed: £67 | Check price at Lookfantastic

If you’re just starting to use a wrinkle cream, it’s likely you won’t want anything too heavy. Clinique’s Wrinkle Correcting Cream is ideal since it’s fragrance-free, suits all skin types – including oily complexions – and sinks in super-fast after application. It offers better value than it first appears, too, since a little really does go a long way; we were using half the amount of cream we’d normally use to cover the entire face.

Skin felt instantly refreshed on application, too; it seemed to visibly smooth the fine lines on our forehead and left skin looking plumped and healthy. The formula contains CL1870 Peptide Complex, which fortifies skin to make it stronger and fight wrinkles, while hyaluronic acid replenishes lost moisture. This is the perfect cream for when skin ageing begins, and beyond.

Key details – Pack size: 50ml; Best time to apply: Day and night

3. Olay Collagen Peptide 24 Max: Best glow-giving wrinkle cream for mature skin

Price when reviewed: £44 | Check price at Boots

Applying this super-creamy moisturiser felt as though we were giving our skin a much-needed drink. Formulated with dual peptide technology that blends collagen peptide and palmitoyl dipeptide-7, it’s clinically proven to hydrate skin for 24 hours, penetrating up to ten layers beneath the skin’s surface. Our skin continued to feel plump and moisturised at bedtime; in fact, we could have happily skipped our usual night cream.

Within days of using Olay’s formula, we noticed improvements to skin tone and texture. Fine lines were less noticeable, which meant we were happy to forgo foundation – our skin appeared to be glowing having just applied the cream. However, for those who wish to use makeup, we recommend waiting a few minutes before applying it to ensure the moisturiser is fully absorbed, since it can feel a little tacky immediately after applying.

Key details – Pack size: 50ml; Best time to apply: Day

4. No7 Restore & Renew Multi Action Day Cream: Best affordable wrinkle cream for mature skin

Price when reviewed: £33 | Check price at Boots

There’s no need to splash the cash to get your hands on a top-notch product with wrinkle-fighting ingredients. This high-street hero is packed with all sorts of skincare goodies, including ginseng extract to reduce the appearance of fatigue, vitamins A, C and E to protect the skin, and a blend of hibiscus peptides and hyaluronic acid to firm skin for a more youthful appearance.

It’s quite a rich formulation so may not be the best for those with oilier complexions, but ours was more than happy to absorb all its goodness. Skin tone appeared more even and, in particular, it seemed to blur the deepest wrinkle between our eyebrows, which makes it worth the price tag alone. We’ll definitely be keeping a jar in our bathroom cabinet from now on.

Key details – Pack size: 50ml; Best time to apply: Day

5. Perricone MD Cold Plasma Plus+ The Intensive Hydrating Complex: Best wrinkle cream for very dry mature skin

Price when reviewed: £117 | Check price at Look Fantastic

If you love lightweight lotions that you barely notice on your skin, then this probably isn’t the cream for you. Yet for dry complexions, it’s a dream come true, with a balm-like texture that feels so wonderfully nourishing, we caught ourselves stroking our skin in amazement several hours after applying it. It leaves cheeks pillowy soft and smoothes fine lines from the very first application.

Clinical results also found a staggering 100% of testers noticed a reduction in fine lines, wrinkles and pores after eight weeks of use. The formula includes top-notch age-erasing ingredients such as peptides, vitamin C Ester and vegetable triglyceride complex to help tackle a lack of elasticity, discoloration and the dreaded sagging, too. However, because it’s pretty rich, we’d use it only at night time through the warmer months.

Key details – Pack size: 30ml; Best time to apply: Day and night