As you guys know, I’m big on the eco-beauty picks. So Facetheory is right up my street. But is the brand good?? Is it worth the hype, and worth the money? To find out, keep on reading!
Facetheory are a UK-based skincare brand who combine science backed skincare with eco-conscious and sustainable ideas. This is fun because you can find great skincare ingredients such as vitamin c, hyaluronic acid, salicylic acid and different AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids), which are often absent from eco-friendly beauty products. Facetheory only use very little amounts of single-use plastic, and opt for more sustainable materials such as glass and aluminium. When they ship your package to you, they use 100% plastic-free packing materials (recycled cardboard)- which I absolutely love!
When I first tried Facetheory products a year and a half ago, they were already quite eco-conscious, but I can see a huge improvement that’s taken place over the last year. I love that they show it’s possible to get good, effective skincare that can be planet (and pocket) friendly.
Some of the products in this post were sent to me by the brand for review on my Instagram- but my opinions are all my own! This is in no way sponsored and I will be repurchasing these with my own dolla in future!
I don’t know too much about the brands ethics, but I know they’re cruelty free and have great customer service. I believe that they offer a 365 day returns guarantee. If a product doesn’t work for you, you have a year to get in touch with them, and they will offer you a refund or send you an alternative product which might work better for you. I had to do this once because a moisturiser which I bought was making my skin feel very sensitive and irritated. They gave me the option of receiving a refund or a different moisturiser, so I chose the 2nd option!
Ok, so now that I’ve told you my thoughts on the brand as a whole, let’s get into some reviews and recommendations.
Here are my top 3 facetheory picks:
Freshening Face Wash
Facetheory’s freshening face wash is a simple cleanser that just does its job, without any fancy tricks or gimmicks. This is a gel cleanser, which foams slightly with water (but not like a foaming cleanser), and it contains aloe vera and green tea. These ingredients can help with soothing, hydrating and revitalising the skin.
I don’t find that it necessarily revitalises my skin, but it’s just a good cleanser which cleans my skin and preps it for skincare without stripping it dry. After use, my skin feels happy and healthy, rather than squeaky clean.
If you’re looking for something to remove your makeup, I would recommend going in first with an oil or balm cleanser, or a bit of micellar water on a cotton pad.
Glycomide Body Cream (9% glycolic acid)
This body moisturiser really feels luxurious. It contains 9% glycolic acid, which is an AHA (alpha hydroxy acid), which exfoliates the skin. When you use products with AHAs, expect softer skin, as the product is sloughing off the dead skin cells, revealing newer, softer skin. For more information on AHAs, check out this post.
I was worried that this would be drying for my skin when I first used it, but this moisturiser is actually really rich and nourishing. It also contains Rice bran oil, organic cranberry seed oil, organic jojoba oil, vitamin e and ceramides which are great ingredients for nourishing, soothing and moisturising the skin. I’m a big fan of ceramides in my skincare because they help repair the skin barrier. As someone with eczema, I look for ceramides in my facial moisturisers, and I’m happy to have a body moisturiser which has them too!
As you can probably tell, this moisturiser is really rich, so I would recommend it to those with dry skin, or those who really like thick moisturisers. If you don’t like sticky feelings after applying creams, I don’t recommend this one to you! If you apply too much, you can be left feeling a bit sticky.
Because this product exfoliates your skin, you should wear sunscreen during the day on the areas you use it on, because exfoliation leaves your skin more vulnerable to sun damage.
Clarifying Cleanser C2
I think this is such a unique product. This cleanser comes in a glass jar, and when you first open it, I’m sure you’ll ask yourself ‘isn’t this a moisturiser?’. That’s because it’s a thick cream! This cleanser contains both BHA (salicylic acid) and AHA (glycolic and lactic acid), meaning it’s good at exfoliating as well as pore cleansing. Salicylic acid is great for acne-prone skin as it helps to unlock those pores, so I would recommend this to people with acne or congested skin.
When I use this cleanser, it leaves my skin feeling so soft. Although it contains exfoliating acids, I don’t find it to be drying (I do still nourish my skin well afterwards)! It tingles a bit when you use it, but it’s not painful and the feeling goes away once the product is rinsed off. This is common with glycolic acid products, so expect a gentle tingle. However, it shouldn’t burn!
Because this contains acids, I wouldn’t recommend this for use around the eyes, and I don’t think it’s gentle enough to use this as a daily cleanser. I think it could be used 2-3x a week for softer, more glowy skin- it’s important to not over exfoliate because that can lead to an impaired skin barrier, including eczema, acne, redness and general irritation.
To use this cleanser, scoop a little bit out, warm it in your hands and massage it into your wet skin as you would with any other type of cleanser. It won’t foam up at all, which is totally weird and fun haha. As usual, rinse off.
Those are my top 3 Facetheory products! But… I want to give an honourable mention to their cleansing pads/cotton rounds. These are the softest I’ve ever tried; they feel so gentle around the eye area. Mine have gotten a bit rougher with repeating washes, but that might be because I hand-wash them, rather than putting them in the washing machine with fabric softener.
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Overall, I recommend giving this brand a go if you’re UK based and you’re looking some eco-conscious skincare products! I will be repurchasing the Clarifying Cleanser C2, and the Glycomide Body Cream when they finish for sure. Comment below if you have any questions about any of the products mentioned here- or about anything at all!
Bye for now,
Jazmin 😊