Today I am sharing my 2019 cruelty free skincare favourites with you. If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to check out my 2019 cruelty free makeup favourites blog post that was posted before this. Also, if you want to support my blog, you can shop using my affiliate links, like Flora and Fauna, Nourished Life and Biome Eco Stores.
If I had to choose between skincare and makeup, skincare would win hands down. My skin is very sensitive, dry, dehydrated and I have eyelid eczema and rosacea on my cheeks. With my skincare routine, my skin is hydrated, not dry (normal), and my rosacea and eczema are controlled. I also get hormonal cystic acne on my chin, which was at it’s worst during 2019 as my body was trying to adjust after surgery to remove my endometriosis. Because of all of this, I am very particular about what I use in my skincare regime. All my cruelty free skincare favourites are products I have repurchased over and over again. I know these work well for my skin, so I never want to give them up.
Cleanser
The cleanser I know I can rely on to clean my skin, but not strip or aggravate it, is the La Mav Hydra-Calm Cleansing Creme. I’ve written a full review on it that you can read. I use this with my Eye Of Horus Bamboo Cleansing Cloths, they’re the softest face washers I have found, so they work well for my skin. When my acne was bad, I would us the Trilogy Active Enzyme Cleansing Cream on my T-Zone. If I was really unwell, or my skin was feeling irritated, then I would fall back on my trusty WotNot Ultra-Hydrating Natural Face Wipes. The ingredients are soothing, and the material is really soft. The wipes are biodegradable, but I have been trying to cut back on single use products. These are the only makeup cleansing wipes that I’ll ever use, and they are really useful when I’m having a rough time with my health.
Serum and Moisturiser
I rely heavily on my serums and moisturisers to keep my skin calm and hydrated. Every morning I use the La Mav Hyaluronic Acid Hydra-Max Serum and the La Mav Hyaluronan Daily Moisture Creme. I will always have a hyaluronic acid serum in my skincare routine for its hydrating and plumping effects, and the La Mav one has the nicest formula that I have tried. This pairs really well with the La Mav Daily Moisture Creme. The Moisture Creme makes my skin feel hydrated, but it dries down to a mostly matte finish, so it works well under every makeup product I’ve ever tried with it.
At night, I always use the Trilogy Very Gentle Calming Serum and Trilogy Replenishing Night Cream. I love these two products so much that I have multiple back-ups, that way I won’t run out. The Calming Serum feels cooling on my skin, it has helped bring my skin back from irritation many times now. The Trilogy Replenishing Night Cream is everything I want from a night moisturiser. It absorbs into the skin within a couple of minutes and continues to keep my skin moisturised for the whole night. I love the ingredients in this product, it’s really nice, I just wish it didn’t sell out every time it goes on sale. In winter I sometimes pair this moisturiser with the Trilogy Overnight Mask if I need an extra hydration boost, or I put the Trilogy Rosehip Oil on top to stop excess transepidermal water loss with the heating on.
If my rosacea is bad or my skin is reacting to something then I use the MooGoo Soothing MSM Moisturiser. If my eczema is flaring up, then I use the MooGoo Eczema and Psoriasis Cream with Marshmallow and Elderberry. If my skin is really irritated, my skin conditions are out of control or I have over-done it with the actives, then I know I can strip my skincare routine back to the La Mav cleanser, one of these creams and the MooGoo Full Cream Moisturiser until it starts to repair itself.
Actives
My main skin concerns are melasma (dark spots) and premature ageing, so I have chosen actives for my routine that help with that, as well as my general skin issues. As an exfoliant I use the Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid Treatment. I buy mine from Mecca, and it’s expensive, but I haven’t found another lactic acid product that works as well as this one does. I react to BHA (salicylic acid) and glycolic acid sensitises my skin too much. Sunday Riley’s Lactic Acid is as good as the hype around it.
2019 was the year of retinol for me. The one I love the most is the Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6. It has 0.06% stabilised retinol that works 11 times faster than classic retinol forms. The crystal encapsulation system slowly releases retinaldehyde into the skin to reduce irritation. This product really surprised me, and not just because the serum is a bright orange colour. I am still amazed at how well this works, and how little irritation it causes. Retinol is well known for its potential to irritate, but this Medik8 formula has reduced that significantly. I still wouldn’t put this on flaring rosacea, but I wouldn’t do that with any active. If you’re just starting out with retinol, they have Crystal Retinal 1 and 3, or if you’re a long time retinol user, they have Crystal Retinal 10 which is 0.1% retinol. The price goes up with each formula increase, and it is a hefty $153.60 for the 10, but the formulation makes this worthwhile for me. I couldn’t be using this strength of retinol in any other formulation. I alternate between Lactic Acid and Retinol each night to get the benefits from both. I also use a 20% Azelaic Acid cream, but the formula isn’t great so it’s not a favourite. If you want a blog post about my full skincare routine, let me know.
Sunscreen
I have tried a lot of sunscreens in my time, many chemical sunscreens irritate my rosacea, and many physical sunscreens irritate my eczema. So I have tended to go for physical products as my eyelid eczema covers a lot smaller area than my rosacea does. I have however finally found a facial sunscreen that doesn’t irritate either and is SPF 50+. The product is from a cruelty free Korean brand called Purito, and the product is called Centella Green Level Unscented Sun. The product is a chemical sunscreen that doesn’t contain the common irritants of other sunscreens, like Oxybenzone, Avobenzone, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, and 2-methylbenzylidene camphor. If you do have sensitive skin like me, make sure you get the unscented version and not the original. It’s not waterproof or sweat proof, but it is perfect for every day wear and works well under makeup. It has an SPF of 84.5, (50+) and a PPD of 22.59, which is easily within Australian sunscreen guidelines. I am going to purchase the Comfy Water Sun Block soon to see if their physical sunscreen is just as good.
Other
My health issues can have an impact on my eyebrows and eyelashes, so I was very happy to find the Long Lashes and Bold Brows serums last year. They have made a big difference in the hair growth, so I always use them. You can read my full review with photos to see the results.
Last but not least, my absolute favourite from 2019 was my pups. They’re always going to be my top favourite, but its a good excuse to share a cute photo of them with you. I spend all day every day with them. They don’t judge me for being sick or being able to do less, in fact they like that I get to be home with them all the time.
So, that’s all for my 2019 cruelty free skincare favourites. Are any of my cruelty free skincare faves the same as yours? What was your favourite skincare item from last year? Do you have a fave that I have to try? Are there any products in this post that you want a full review on? What do you hope to see from me this year? I know that’s a lot of questions, but I would love to know the answer to them all. Hopefully I will be able to upload more regularly soon. In the meantime, you can sign up to email updates to get my new blog posts sent to your inbox and find me on social media –Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.
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