This is a very thick, almost stiff cream, not runny. It has a pleasant, faintly medicinal smell (not noticeable and the smell fades quickly anyway), and is easy to scoop out of the container with the included spatula. I didn't notice any cooling or soothing sensation when applying it, but after it sinks into the skin, my blemishes do seem to calm down and get less itchy/inflamed. I'm using the cream on some scars, and while I don't see any obvious healing results yet, it does a good job of eliminating irritation and stopping the scar from getting worse. I think this cream would probably be most effective if applied during the initial healing process to prevent scarring, not after the scar has already formed.