First Impressions: Hera Signia Vital Lifting Cream

 Cost: StyleJolly, 10ml in a set of six products, total price $19 ish.

Full size: $170 for 60ml from SJ, or $170-85 in a set from Koreadepart (depending on the set). Review of the Hera Signia Vital Lifting Cream

Packaging

It's in a jar. Immediate sigh.

Although despite the sigh, I am reassessing my general preference for tubes: you can see how much you have left with a jar.

It can be harder to know how much exactly is left with a tube or airless pump (depending on the translucency of the bottle) and I get separation anxiety when I'm coming to the end of a product and I don't know how much I have left.

Yes, of course I can stock up - which is what I did with the Hera set anyway - but things take a while to be delivered.

I had thought I was buying too soon as usual (note the everlasting samples of Isa Knox cream), except the serum started to pump unevenly the same week that I got my next two trial kits.

At this point, I still had a reasonable amount of the cream left in the pot but then I've been using the serum twice daily and the cream less often. (I have now finished my first 10ml of cream).

Nonetheless I was getting edgy about running out of the cream in any case, so I'm pleased it arrived before I ran out.

Back to the packaging: it looks like a mini version of the full size, which, whilst being slightly lighter on the deco stylings than the serum, is still nicely done.

Another point to consider about jars is that I find it unpredictable as to how much I scoop out and what is the right amount to use. Probably a me-issue what with my general problematic spatial awareness and proprioception. And possibly also because I have different shaped spatulas. I'm getting better at judging it for certain spatulas.

Whilst a tube doesn't solve this, an airless pump does - one or two pumps is a simple and repeatable metric.

Although another point to consider is that responsive pumps that dispense more or less depending on how much you depress the pump but I still find it easier to deal with than a jar.

Texture

This is one of my favourite textures of all time: soft to silicone.

It spreads really nicely and then dries super smooth to that delightful siliconey finish.

It doesn't feel sticky, unless I've used a sticky product underneath (such as more than a tiny amount of the I'm From Honey Serum)

I would definitely argue it's too siliconey for AB Muse, though.

It dries so quick, though! I've mentioned this in the serum review and I'll talk more about it below.

Ingredients

The cream shares a lot of ingredients with the serum and I'm kind of tempted to just repeat myself.

Link to serum review: https://commercialpoemferments.blogspot.com/2025/03/first-impressions-hera-signia-core.html

The Narcissus is called out again and there's plenty of peptides here too.

I'm gonna skim through most of the ingredients, there's plenty of cool things in it that have a variety of effects. There's also lovely silicones and some oils. All excellent news, indicating the kind of formulation I like.

Interestingly, there are also claims about improvements in skin texture on the Hera International site. I am yet to judge this for my skin fully but I have noticed more bumpiness in general (I sub in and out products unpredictably so it could be from anything: just random hormonal, diet or weather too). I found The Ordinary's 5% lactic acid sorted out the bumpiness. I stopped using TO in order to test the cream and I have noticed that the bumpiness hasn't come back. 

Fragrance

For this section, I am definitely almost exactly copying what I wrote for the serum with slightly differences.

Complexity: 3/5

 Perfumey: mid

Strength: mid

Floral: bottom end of mid 

Spice: nil-low 

Herbal: low 

Earthiness: nil-low 

Citrus: faint 

Fruit: faint 

Fresh: mid 

Impression: fresh floral with herbal notes that balance it out in a lovely manner. I needed an extra fragrance category for this because the key thing about it is its freshness. It is a bit floral but there's nothing cloying, powdery or white flowers about it to me. It's quite a subtle complexity but it's there. The fragrance is more noticeable than the serum but it's not super dramatic, compared to Whoo or Sulwhasoo.

Using more than one product from this line boosts the fragrance and catch the odd scent when I move my head around. Because I enjoy the fragrance, I like that I can smell it after application.

Experience

The texture itself is so part of the experience that I decided to write the details here rather than under texture.

The absolute first thing I noticed about this cream is that it smooths on lovely, yes, and then immediately becomes, well, stiff.

Kind of?

It smooths on like most good creams do: a nice amount of slip, easy to spread.

But as soon as you've finished ensuring it's been evenly distributed, with a very slight amount of rubbing it in, it's dried.

Some creams, you can go round and round rubbing it in and they never quite dry, which is my least favourite cream type.

However, I was a bit thrown by this at first! I went back to rub it in a bit after the initial distribution: there was friction.

Weird.

Whilst the cream feels weightless when dried, just like the Sekkisei Medicated Cream, to the touch it's different.

The Sekkisei feels like it's evaporated, whilst leaving behind reasonably moisturised skin.

To the touch, the Hera feels like it's turned to putty!

But only to the touch: I want to be super clear that the Hera doesn't feel at all heavy or sticky, I don't even notice it once I've applied it.

And by the time I go to apply sunscreen (almost immediately), there's no weird putty feel. The sunscreen spreads fine but also feels like it's sinking in extra quick, no oily feeling like it's swimming on top of my skin.

The Sekkisei is the same: sunscreen dries really well, no oily feeling.

In contrast, the Missha Chogongjin Youngan Jin Cream doesn't dry down fully and it feels like I'm mixing sunscreen into it, rather than applying it on top as a separate layer.

Link to Missha review: https://commercialpoemferments.blogspot.com/2025/02/first-impressions-missha-chogongjin.html

Usually I would feel, as a PM step, that the Missha would rub off my cheeks although my skin is fine, no dryness or discomfort, when I wake up. But I vastly prefer the more shrink-wrap effect of the Hera, although this is particularly useful for AM.

I also want to compare the texture and finish of the Hera Essential Balancing Emulsion to the cream.

The emulsion has a much more familiar feel to it, similar to other luxe creams: you apply it, distribute it, rub it in a little and it dries quickly to the usual moisturiser finish; it's weightless and my skin feels soft. 

But beware, AB Muse, I did feel the emulsion gets a bit siliconey if you use too much. That was like one time, though, no issues otherwise.

I think the finish of the cream is why I felt that it wasn't as moisturising as the Missha to start with; that immediate dry down is confusing and definitely didn't feel moisturising enough without an emulsion.

I'm not exactly sure what my complaint is here - I always use some kind of light cream, emulsion or otherwise, and then something that's more occlusive.

I think requiring more than one cream is just more obvious with the Hera and maybe for the price I expected the Hera to just do it all?

I haven't expected any cream to do it all so far, whether luxe or not, and I haven't even expected that from Whoo creams (although I will say that the Whoo Bichup Ja Yoon cream is more moisturising by itself but it also doesn't dry quite as perfectly as the Hera, and it has that super strong fragrance).

The Hera cream is my absolute favourite cream so far even though the application takes a bit of adjustment, conceptually.

I suspect it's a triangle thing - you can have cheap, fast or high quality but not all three. Pick two.

For creams, I'm not sure what the three things are (I'll think about it) but I suspect whatever the three are, you can't have all three!

However, given the exceptional results from the serum, I am hoping the benefits stack up, so I've got plenty of incentive to use it.

My main concern is that I use quite a lot of cream generally and I can see this becoming a bit out of budget.

However, I have a solution for this: Stratia Interface (one pump), a small amount of the Missha and a small amount of the Hera.

This is perfection and the Hera still dries fully, even over the Missha.

I often find that the gel to oil formulations, or any formulation that doesn't dry down completely, derails the efficacy of lock-it-all-in product applied on top.

I did notice this to some extent when using what I consider to be a full portion of the Missha with the Hera but it's no problem at all with a smaller amount of the Missha.

Plus let's face it, I'm using three creams. I really don't need that much of each of them!

Another thought about the Hera cream is whether it'll work when it's warmer weather.

If it's all sweaty and humid, I know a cream that feels refreshing and that seems like the wet part of it literally evaporates, like the Sekkisei, will be seriously desirable.

I should note also that, with further trialling, I've moved to using the Hera emulsion AM instead. This helps stretch the cream and gives the emulsion a spot in my routine. I'm glad it works fine, otherwise I'd have a backlog of the emulsion. 

I quite enjoy an emulsion, if moisturising enough, for AM and, down the line when I'm purchasing full sizes, it means all my AM moisturisers (this and the Stratia Interface) are all pumps! This is great because I prefer a pump AM for convenience. 

Going back to the warmer weather thing, I also strongly suspect I'll need to switch sunscreens, although the CNP Sunquid will work great because it's more of a milk texture than a cream texture. I've got a backup of the CNP in any case.

Anyway.

The cream is up there with the best occlusives I've used, it might be the actual best when I consider the fact that it's fit for purpose, cosmetically elegant and, hopefully, boosts the efficacy of the serum.

Granted, that "fit for purpose" comes with the caveat of me personally needing extra underneath but hey, I use what amounts to two thicker emulsions AM plus moisturising sunscreen so take my needs with a pinch of salt and then some!

It's effective at preventing TEWL imo, and, if your skin is very dry, you're probably used to layering up moisturisers anyway.

I feel like the way I've written the last few paragraphs feels like I've already summed up the review but there's an important bit missing: time savings.

Whilst I'm still trialling the Hera water (toner), using the serum, emulsion and cream are major time saving options in several ways.

Firstly they all dry super quick (as does the water). This immediately means I save a ton of time because they really do properly dry very quickly.

Second, it avoids executive dysfunction. I've got two steps AM and two steps PM down to a T.

With the Stratia Interface as my light, first cream AM and emulsion step PM, that's all of my moisturising done and dusted.

For hydration at the moment, I'm mostly using the teeniest drop of the truly odd I'm From Honey Serum (review coming on that) and the Hera water. But I'll sub in other stuff depending on my mood and how much time I have to do my routine.

The I'm From plus Hera water (in that order) works fine and that saves on executive function as well.

It's my quick routine, my not-thinking-about-it routine. Done and done in about ten minutes (or less, I haven't timed it).

One last point: on the recurrent sleep creases. The cream has a middling performance. It does help cushion them to some degree but it's not as impressive as the Whoo Cheongidan Cream, Sooryehan Chunsam Sanghwang Regenerating Cream or the Whoo Hwanyu Imperial Youth Contour Eye Cream. 

Adding the Hera eye cream doesn't make much difference. For the foreseeable future, I'll expect that I'll be using the Hera eye cream in the day (it dries very well so it seems doable) and one of my more balm-like creams PM.

First post that mentions sleep creases and rave about the Cheongidan: https://commercialpoemferments.blogspot.com/2024/08/categorising-cream-textures-and-texture.html

Sleep creases and the Sooryehan: https://commercialpoemferments.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-sleep-crease-saga-continued.html

Review of the Whoo Hwanyu: https://commercialpoemferments.blogspot.com/2025/01/micro-first-impressions-whoo-hwanyu.html

Final Thoughts

I love it I love it I love it I love it I love it!

I'd already ordered two backup trial sets at the time of posting the Hera Signia Core Lifting Serum review and now I've finished one 10ml cream pot, I've ordered another two trial sets.

Yeah ok, that's $80 of skincare in not much time. I know.

But it'll have me sorted for ages and then the fun comes from switching other stuff - that I already own - in and out of my routine.

Even if these products become serious HGs (I have a bit of a habit of throwing that term around) and it does mean I'll have less reviews to post, I'll still be able to post updates and shopping my stash reviews, as I do have a big box of products to trial / finish up.

It's a weird sensation: I'm always hunting for forever products but then when I find them, I'm somewhat disappointed for the blog because it means less reviews!

I also haven't mentioned the Hera Signia Youth Firming Eye Cream yet either, although I am trying to use it more consistently.

The Hera Essential Balancing Emulsion will be my next Hera review and I haven't tried the Recovery Concentrate yet, but I don't think the latter will be a serious review because you're meant to use it for 4 weeks and I won't have enough in the sets to do that.

The Cream, however, has a firm place in my routine and I'll post an update once I've finished some more jars of it.