It was after I noticed that my skin looked its best that I realized that maybe doing the most with my skincare isn’t always necessary. I have sensitive, very fair skin, and had remarkably bad acne from a young age. Bad enough that doctors put me on Accutane, a “nuclear option” drug that dried out my entire body, turning me into a sad little raisin for most of my seventh and eighth grades, though it did finally make headway in reducing my persistent acne.
As an adult, I studied skincare through my work and as a relaxing hobby. I wouldn’t say I necessarily have a Korean-style 16-step routine, but in my fastidiousness, I’ve accumulated multiple products worth hundreds of dollars, cumulatively. I’m serious about taking care of my skin. I say all this to illustrate how rare it is that a product impresses me. I recently tried a few of Earthley’s natural, vegan, and affordable products, and I can happily report that they work and work well.
Naturally Derived Skincare Works?
After using their Ultimate Skin Care Set, which included a solid cleanser, toner spray, serum, moisturizer, and clay mask, I noticed that the texture around my chin and cheeks, problems areas for my combination skin, improved as did the lingering redness on my cheeks. While my pores are still a problem area (You can’t shrink pores. That’s not how skin works, but certain products will fill them with silicone to give the appearance of being smaller, yuck), they weren’t clogged by the rich oils. I usually don’t wear much in the way of foundation, maybe a tinted moisturizer at most, but after using these products for a few days, I was not only OK with going out with a bare face, but confident in doing so.
Effective Botanicals, Never Diluted
Their formulations are incredibly simple, and don’t include synthetic fragrance, preservatives, colors, Parabens, Phthalates, or animal products. The oils they use are cold-pressed, meaning they’re as minimally processed as possible to retain their effectiveness and natural qualities. Take their moisturizer, Moisturize Me!, for instance. Its consistency was like nothing I’ve ever used before, it was viscous but not thick, somewhere between a serum and a gel. Formulated for dry skin, it’s almost entirely made from nourishing oils, and a tiny bit goes a long way. It also smells amazing if perhaps a little nutty which reminded me of russian tea cookies made from almonds my mother sometimes makes. When I first saw the tiny pot, I thought it was a week’s worth, but I’ve used it twice a day daily and I still have more than half left. It just works.
Part of why their products work is that they don’t dilute their botanical extracts with water. Frequently, you’ll find that the first ingredient of a skincare product is water. Water doesn’t actually do anything to your skin, in fact it actually dries it out, and when included in such quantities, synthetic emulsifiers, preservatives, and other ingredients have to be added to keep the product fresh and not seperated. Remember, oil and water don’t mix.
Their Deep Healing Skin Serum shows that with a few high-end and essential oils, you can balance your skin’s oil production, heal scars, and reduce fine lines. It has hemp seed oil, watermelon seed oil, cranberry seed oil, and organic herbs that all soothe and reduce irritation. I used mine just at night, as instructed, and it helped my skin rejuvenate overnight. It has an earthy green look and smell, but it never felt oily, even when layered underneath the also rich moisturizer.
Avoiding unnecessary fillers is also why their cleanser, Cleanse Me!, comes in bar form. I was skeptical at first, but its formula wasn’t drying at all, despite being a charcoal bar for oily skin. In fact, its superfatted formula (Meaning there’s extra oil left in the bar after it cures to act as a buffer the striping action of the soap. Most nice soap you find should have a superfat, unless it’s a laundry bar) created a nice minimal lather and never irritated my skin. It irritated my eyes ever so slightly when taking off makeup, but that’s to be expected for any soap.
A Few Well-Picked Ingredients ?
You want to know what minimal skin care looks like? Their Lavender Green Clay Mask has just a few ingredients: French green clay, water (clay is dry so they actually do need to add water in this case) and lavender essential oil. This purifying mask did make my skin feel tight afterwards, so I recommend following it up with your moisturizer of choice. Likewise, their Tone Me! Toner has just four brightening ingredients of organic herbs and organic alcohol.
Earthley’s mission is to make skincare that’s clean, simple, and effective, and they’re part of a growing movement of skincare companies that are sustainably-minded, vegan, and dedicated to natural effective formulas. Gone are the days that natural skincare meant scrubbing ingredients you keep in your pantry on your face or just hoping coconut oil will do everything (it doesn’t). My skin is happily standing up to the harsh winter air with just a few well formulated products without becoming oily, and that’s no small feat. This proves that more isn’t necessarily always more.
Disclosure: This post is proudly supported by Earthley. The writer’s opinion is their own. For more information about our policies, click here.
