When I studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa ten years ago, I was taking a high dose of antibiotics for my cystic acne. The antibiotics cleared up my skin but left me feeling sick all the time. My immune system was shot. My throat was hurting all the time. And I developed a pretty bad case of dermatitis on my face and hands about three months after the last round of antibiotics ended. 

My skin was so incredibly itchy, red, blotchy, and uncomfortable during my senior year of college, after I had returned from study abroad. I scoured through Reddit trying to find a solution, and someone suggested a cream from Avène. I ran to my local Walgreens, bought the cream, ran home, and slather it onto my face basically before I walked into my front door. 

The face cream truly worked wonders on my perioral dermatitis back then, and ever since, I’ve been a staunch Avène-devotee. I absolutely love this brand because they cater to folks with sensitive skin (me!). They have effective products that work for all skin concerns, like sensitized skin, eczema, acne, rosacea, aging skin, and more. I’ve tried a ton of their products, and I’m here to share with you the best Avène products I can’t live without. Read on for my favorites. 

Best Avène Products

Avène Thermal Spring Water

This is the OG product that this brand is most recognized for. The Avène Thermal Spring Water is a healing water from Southern France that is infused with silicates, trace elements, and unique microflora. Once applied on the skin, it has incredible soothing properties and is a water that’s used in all the other Avène skincare products. 

I like to keep this spray bottle in the fridge and spritz it on my face when I need a bit of a pick me up. It’s also really nice to bring to the beach in the summer. You can put it in your cooler and spray it on your face when you need to cool down on a hot day. 

Available on Amazon ($19)

Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream

This product is one of Avène’s best-sellers, and for good reason—it really does a great job of repairing your skin. It’s one of the best Avène products for eczema. I like to use this cream in between seasons, when the weather is changing and my eczema and perioral dermatitis start acting up. This is a very thick cream, so you don’t really want to slather it over your entire face unless your skin is extremely irritated and sensitized. I like to use it as a spot treatment on dermatitis patches. It contains a copper-zinc sulfate complex—I’ve noticed that everytime I use a zinc-based product on my dermatitis, it really helps calm down the flare. 

Available on Amazon ($42)

Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Cream

This cream has been backed by the National Eczema Association and is ideal for those with sensitive skin. It’s the first product I ever used from Avène, back in college when I was desperate for relief after all those antibiotics wreaked havoc on my gut and face. This cream feels lightweight but offers an ample amount of hydration. 

Available on Amazon ($36)

Avène Hydrance Aqua-Gel

Something I’m learning about my skin is that I think I’ve been putting too-heavy moisturizers on it and clogging my pores. I always thought that I had really dry skin and needed to load it up with heavy hydration. Recently, I’ve been using water-based moisturizers and I notice that my skin looks and feels happier. This is a fabulous water-based moisturizer that’s lightweight, hydrating, and leaves a nice dew, too. I just wish it didn’t contain fragrance, as I feel like that’s unnecessary for folks with sensitive skin. 

Available on Amazon ($38)

Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Balm

So this cream comes in packaging that looks almost identical to the Avène Tolerance Control Soothing Skin Recovery Cream, but the formula is different. This balm is thicker and feels more emollient than the Recovery Cream. If you prefer a thicker consistency in your everyday moisturizer, you might want to opt for this pick. 

Available on Amazon ($36)

Avène XeraCalm A.D Lipid-Replenishing Cream

If you suffer from eczema on your hands or body like I do, you might want to consider reaching for the Avène XeraCalm A.D Lipid-Replenishing Cream. This pick features lipids to help restore your skin barrier back to balance. It soothes skin and helps to rebalance your skin’s microbiome. I find myself reaching for it a lot in the winter months. 

Available on Amazon ($34)

Avène XeraCalm A.D Lipid-Replenishing Cleansing Oil

This is one of my favorite Avène products of all time. Because my skin is so sensitive and acne-prone, I normally stay away from cleansing oils because I feel like they can get cloggy. Well, this pick is not one of them. The Avène XeraCalm A.D Lipid-Replenishing Cleansing Oil feels extremely lightweight and does such a fantastic job of removing makeup. I like to use this as my first step to remove makeup and impurities. Then I will use a foaming cleanser as a second cleanse to remove everything I might have missed. 

Available on Amazon ($29)

Avène Hydrance RICH Hydrating Cream

This is another great moisturizer I used to use often, especially during the winter months. It’s a bit different than the two other face moisturizers I listed above. It’s geared more towards folks who have dry skin, rather than super sensitized, really irritated skin. If you have skin that just needs some extra help in the hydration department, this cream is for you. 

Available on Amazon ($35)

Avène Tolerance Extremely Gentle Cleanser

This is a cleanser that I used a lot when I was in college and needed to be really careful with my insane perioral dermatitis outbreak. It’s an extremely gentle cleanser that is ideal for anyone who is going through a bout of dermatitis, eczema, or just a lot of irritation on their face. This is not a cleanser that is meant to remove makeup. I feel like this cleanser is more for folks who haven’t been wearing makeup often and just need a gentle cleanse that won’t strip their natural skin barrier. 

Available on Amazon ($23)

Avène Solaire UV Mineral Multi-Defense Sunscreen SPF 50+

There are so many sunscreens on the market that break me out or cause irritation. This is not one of them. I love the lightweight formulation of this product, and I also love the cute lil bottle it comes in. 

Available on Amazon ($31)

Avène Cleanance Concentrate Blemish Control Serum

This is definitely one of the best Avène products for acne. I use this serum as a spot treatment every so often when I’m breaking out. I like that it doesn’t contain any of your typical acne-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, or retinol. This formula features a stabilized extract derived from milk thistle (reduces the appearance of blemishes), silica (absorbs excess oil), and Avène Thermal Spring Water (calms redness and irritation). One thing to note is that it smells horrible once you apply it. But, the smell goes away after a few minutes. 

Available on Amazon ($27)

Avène Makeup Removing Micellar Water

This is just your basic micellar water that can act as a first step in cleansing your skin. This is great to use in the morning if you don’t want to fully wash your face with a foaming cleanser. Just dab some of this onto a cotton round, swipe it across your skin, apply the rest of your skincare routine and you’re out the door!

Available on Avene ($24)

Avène RetrinAL CERAMIDE Lipid-Replenishing Balm

Okay so I’ll admit that I haven’t actually tried this pick yet. But, it’s on my list of next moisturizers to test! The Avène RetrinAL CERAMIDE Lipid-Replenishing Balm is a newish product that works to not only hydrate the skin, but also offer anti-aging benefits, too. 

Available on Amazon ($76)

Avène Milk Cleanser

This product is kinda similar to the Avène Tolerance Extremely Gentle Cleanser, but slightly different. The Avène Milk Cleanser is a formula that doesn’t need to be washed off. Apply it to your skin and use a cotton pad to wipe it away. This cleanser allows you to skip any need for water and keep your skin’s microbiome balanced. 

Available on Amazon ($20)

Avène TriXéra Nutrition Nutri-Fluid Cleanser

This is a pretty basic cleanser that I like to use after the cleansing oil step. It removes the rest of any makeup or impurities that the first step might have left. I also like to use this cleanser on my back in the winter, when my bacne starts to flare up. 

Available on Amazon ($26)