Reviewed by Shirley

The Stages of Beauty brand builds its products around the changing needs of skin at different ages and “stages”: 20s (“Radiance”), 30s (“Harmony”), 40s (“Elegance”), and 50s and beyond (“Grace”). Being 52 this year, I was offered by TIA a chance to review The Grace Treatment Cream.

The Grace Treatment Cream is “the cornerstone of the Grace line,” according to the company website. It has some ingredients of which I have never heard, such as monk’s pepper berry extract, sorghum, and a Chinese botanical blend. The cream is snowy white and unscented. There is nothing to dislike about it: It has a light texture that sinks into the skin and moisturizes without being greasy. It doesn’t rub off in little flakes, even after I apply sunscreen. It absorbs quickly and leaves my skin smooth and comfortable.

On the other hand, there is nothing to particularly like about it either. It’s a pretty good cream, but not an exceptionally good cream. I think I could get better ones for $53, plus shipping. I took an unusually long time deciding where I fall on this cream, and finally decided it’s too pedestrian to recommend. At my age, so-so just won’t cut it.

Now that I’ve gotten the product review out of the way, allow me to quibble about the name “Grace” for the 50s. It sounds so… retiring, like the beauty equivalent of being put to pasture. I am past “Radiance,” “Harmony,” and “Elegance,” but I am still raising teenagers, running a business, managing a household, and supporting my elderly parents. I’m too busy to feel “graceful,” “gracious,” or grace-anything. I realize it’s hard to capture the 50s in a single word because it is an age of unprecedented divergence between our outer appearance and inner substance, but I don’t think “Grace” is the best word. I took an unusually long time to review the Grace Treatment Cream because I wanted to make sure I was reviewing the product and not its name. I hope I did it justice.

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate Dicaprate, Pentylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Dimethicone, Cetyl Palmitate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Vegetable Oil, Xanthium Sibiricum Fruit Extract, Cyperus Rotundus Root Extract, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Sorghum Bicolor Stalk Juice, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Alcohol, Carbomer, Steareth-21, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Polyacrylamide, Sodium Polystyrene Sulfonate, Ceteareth-20, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Laureth-7, Cyclodextrin, Tocopherol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Lecithin, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, Adenosine Triphosphate, Vitex Agnus Castus Extract, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Tetrapeptide-21, Acetyl Tyrosine, Proline, Sodium Hydroxide, BHT, Tetrasodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol