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- THE FACE WIPES -
Swap the Kylie Skin Makeup Removing Wipes |$10 | for the Glossier Milky Oil Cleanser | £10
I honestly don't think face wipes have any place in your skincare routine. Or the world. I get that a lot of people do still use them and - particularly given that Kylie's fan base and target audience are so young - I guess I understand why they were included because whatever market research was carried out by the brand would've said people want face wipes. The ingredients they actually advertise in these wipes are overall pretty decent; Vitamin E, aloe and glycerin are all hydrating, however these wipes do also contain fragrance, which can irritate the skin, particularly if you aren't thoroughly cleansing off the residue afterwards. Plus, you don't know exactly what's in there, as American brands don't have to list out known irritants; they can just group it all together and call it 'fragrance', meaning you don't know what's causing a reaction if you have one and therefore what you're meant to be avoiding. Face wipes also contain all sorts of harsh, drying preservatives to stop bacteria growing on them when they're moist in a pack for weeks or even months on end. My biggest problem with face wipes, though, is that they don't remove your makeup. They just don't! You're just going to end up tugging and pulling at your skin (especially around the delicate eye area), spending a lot of time doing with and not really getting all of it off. It's especially bad when people only use a wipe and don't cleanse afterwards. Please don't do that!
I am a big advocate of the double cleanse, but I get that we don't always have time for that. If you want something on-hand for those occasions then check out the Glossier option. This dual-phase cleanser contains micellar water and a milky oil so just dab a bit onto a cotton pad and delicately remove your makeup. The oil component melts the eye makeup so you hold the cotton wool pads over your eyes as opposed to having that tugging, rough motion you inevitably use with a face wipe.
- THE FACE SCRUB -
Swap the Kylie Skin Walnut Scrub | $22 | for the Pixi Peel & Polish* | £26Lordy lordy lord. If there's one product that caused the greatest ruckus; it's this face scrub... I'll start by saying I rarely recommend a physical exfoliator for anyone. At most, I have one on-hand and reach for it maybe once a fortnight, primarily during the winter months on areas like my nose when things are a little dry and patchy. What makes this scrub really, really not good for your skin is the fact that it includes crushed walnut shell. No matter how fine the particles can seem; they're very rough on a microscopic level, making them incredibly sharp and harsh on the skin. Not only that but the inconsistent size and surface texture of crushed walnut shells mean they aren't going to exfoliate evenly - you may end up over-exfoliating in one area and still having dry patches in another. There are also citrus fruit extracts in there, making this extra-unfriendly for sensitive skin, which can react to these sorts of ingredients at the best of times but they can be even more damaging when your skin has been roughly scrubbed and is going to be inflamed anyway. I think most of us (bar those who were very lucky) had problem skin as teenagers to some degree - whether that was incredibly painful cystic acne that left blood on your pillow at night or a persistent few spots you'd cake makeup on top of. And most of us reacted to this by scrubbing our faces to death, like we could scrub the spots right off! With the target market for this brand being teenagers, I'm not surprised to see a product like this in the mix but (in case any teens with spot-prone skin are reading this!) something like Salicylic Acid is far more helpful and gentle.
That rant over; if you like physical exfoliation, I'm not going to rob you of that! Instead my suggestion combines a chemical exfoliation treatment with gentle micro-buffing. The idea with the Pixi Peel & Polish is that you leave on the fruit enzyme complex for a few minutes before rinsing off using a gentle buffing motion to fully remove those dead skin cells (don't use it like a normal physical exfoliator with a scrubbing action). It's a gentle treatment that doesn't cause my skin any irritation and can be used once a week if you so wish.
- THE FOAM CLEANSER -
Swap the Kylie Skin Foaming Face Wash | $24 | for the Dr Roebuck's Kibosh Weightless Foaming Cleanser* | £22The Kylie cleanser contains glycerin, Vitamin E, hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C and is probably one of the most harmless products in the range. This does contain fragrance, so again, won't be great for sensitive skin. Vitamin E is a really nice protecting and moisturising antioxidant and hyaluronic acid draws hydration into the skin. I'm not convinced the Vitamin C is going to do a lot in here for several reasons; first of all, this is a wash-off product and most actives aren't going to be that effective when they're on the skin for such a short amount of time and, secondly, this is in clear packaging. Vitamin C is a notoriously unstable ingredient and this packaging doesn't protect it from deteriorating. In short; this will probably do the trick and cleanse the skin without stripping it but I'm not convinced it's going to have amazing skin benefits.
I recommend checking out the Dr Roebuck's cleanser as an alternative; it has a lovely light, fluffy texture, it's very gentle on the skin and does the job. It leave my skin clean without stripping it or being too much. It might not be nourishing enough for dry skin but if you're looking for something fuss-free that does the job; it's worth a look. I think it's a really good one for young skin in particular.
- THE HYDRATING TONER -
Swap Kylie Skin Vanilla Milk Toner | $22 | for the Dr Jart + Ceramidin Liquid Moisturising Toner | £33If I were to try anything from the Kylie range, I actually think it'd be this toner. I think it's something a little different in that it's aiming to be very hydrating and looks to have an almost lotion-like consistency. The ingredients the website highlights in this product are: apple fruit extract (for its antioxidant properties), squalane, avocado oil, apricot kernel oil, sodium hyaluronate (a hyaluronic acid derivative) and jojoba seed oil. I'm not convinced from what I've read that you're going to get any more skincare benefits from putting apple on your skin than eating it, but it's probably not going to do your skin any harm. Squalane is a plant-derived moisturising oil that could potentially protect the skin from free radicals - it's also fast-absorbing and is suitable for even people with acne as a moisturiser. The avocado and apricot kernel oil are non-fragrant plant-based moisturisers. Hyaluronic acid acts as a humectant, pulling water into the skin. The jojoba seed oil is a really good moisturiser for dry skin. The only drawback is that it again contains fragrance (they actually advertise this as a 'selling point' on the website, which I found bizarre!) so this entire line really isn't going to be the best thing for your skin if you have any sensitivity. That aside; I don't think this is a bad product and I would be open to picking it up if it was easier to get hold of.
My alternative is actually more expensive than Kylie's product but I personally just don't have the time or patience to order from her site in any event, so I decided to include it in this post regardless. This is obviously a mini, which I got in a little Dr Jart + set for £12. This toner was all I used during my holiday in Italy a few weeks back; it's a light lotion that melts into the skin and it's formulated with ceramides. Ceramides are a wonder ingredient for me because they're incredibly hydrating and fortify the skin's natural barrier.
- THE VITAMIN C SERUM -
Swap the Kylie Skin Vitamin C Serum | $28 | for the Pixi Vitamin C Serum* | £26Honestly; a lot of skincare experts are doubtful of the effectiveness of Vitamin C serums because this ingredient is super-unstable and many of its forms are water soluble so - although it does have skin brightening and evening properties - you might not be able to deliver those to your skin because it can't penetrate beneath the surface or because it's oxidised. However, that doesn't mean it isn't a great antioxidant to protect, hydrate and soften your skin. The Kylie serum contains tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, which is a less widely-known and researched form of the ingredient. It isn't an acid, so is a little gentler than most Vitamin C derivatives. It's also oil-soluble, so it's more likely to get into the skin's layers. Whilst I think Vitamin C is great for skin health and can give a nice glow, I don't tend to get an amazing from it in terms of getting rid of hyper-pigmentation. However, I'd still say that overall I think this is a really good price for this type of product and it's one I'd try if I got the chance. It doesn't contain fragrance, which is a good shout for a product that could irritate the skin in and of itself.
I would still say that Vitamin C isn't for everyone; it can be irritating to the skin, however I like the Pixi serum a lot (be aware this does contain other citric extracts, so again maybe isn't one for sensitive skin). However, for myself personally, I really like stuff. It has a very light, fluid texture that makes it fast-absorbing. For me it is more about getting that plum, healthy, dewy glow than trying to fade dark spots, and this does exactly that!
- THE BASIC MOISTURISER -
Swap the Kylie Skin Face Moisturiser | $24 | for the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Ultra Moisturiser* | £18.50This moisturiser is fragrance-free and there's not a lot in the ingredients list that I think could be problematic, bar the citric extracts (some people also really don't get along with shea butter, however I find it an amazing moisturiser). It seems pretty basic but who says that's necessarily a bad thing? Particularly for a line geared at teen skin, I think something that's not too rich and doesn't contain active ingredients is preferable to use on an everyday basis. The only thing I find a bit odd is that they're really trying to push the kiwi oil in their marketing of this product, but it's literally the last ingredient on the list, meaning that it likely makes up less than 1% of the overall formula.
My alternative to this is an old favourite of mine; the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Ultra. This is a non-oily but still nourishing lotion-textured moisturiser specifically formulated for sensitive skin. Like the Kylie moisturiser it contains glycerin and shea butter as its primary moisturising agents. It's straightforward and it works for me!
- THE CAFFEINE EYE CREAM -
Swap the Kylie Skin Eye Cream | $20 | for the Inkey List Caffeine Serum | £8.99I'm never really convinced on these 'cooling applicators'; personally I just feel like they're going to pull on the delicate skin around the eye area and deliver minimal benefits. That aside; this product contains some nice antioxidant-rich ingredients like caffeine, green tea and pomegranate extracts. It also contains Vitamin E and Vitamin C, which we've already discussed at length, alongside moisturising shea butter and jojoba seed oil. Again, this one is touted as fragrance-free and I really don't have much of an issue with it other than the fact that, again, many of the ingredients emphasised as having beneficial effects on the skin are way down at the bottom of the ingredient list, so I do question how beneficial they can really be. The only other slight concern is whether Vitamin C is too harsh to use around the eyes, because our skin is so thin in this area.
It's definitely a bit more pared-back in terms of ingredients, but I like it, so my recommendation is this lightweight eye serum from the Inkey List. I'm really not a fan of rich eye creams so - in keeping with the Kylie product - this is refreshing and fast-absorbing. I think there's something about caffeine that makes us feel like it's 'waking up' the eye area, even if it's in our minds! I personally find this serum hydrating, softening and de-puffing.
Have you tried Kylie Skin? If so - what are your thoughts on the products? If not - what held you back?
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