[Ad – Gifted] Way back in late Spring 2020, just around the time of the first lockdown, I was contacted by Evolve Skincare about trialling some products from Evolve and was kindly sent five different items to trial out after describing my skin type and issues with them. Lockdown + life issues meant that my blog took a back seat and I didn’t end up pulling them out to photograph and review until late autumn time. Clearing the decks I started introducing each of the Evolve skincare products individually into my regimen as I finished up their predecessors and have some thoughts on five products from the line.
Evolve is an organic, vegan and cruelty-free beauty brand which is handmade in small batches within the UK. Based on using organic natural ingredients rather than synthetic sourced from as close to their studio as possible, focused also on sustainability with their packaging which is simple but effective – with an apothecary like feel, made up of packaging that is made from recycled and recyclable packaging. From the offset, they seem to hit just about every mark when it comes to creating the perfect line.
The price point seems a little higher than I initially expected, but on discovering that the products are handmade within the UK it makes a lot of sense. For the sustainability-minded skincare lover. Evolve Skincare can be purchased directly from their own website as well as being stocked on Feel Unique, John Lewis and Holland and Barrett amongst other places too.
I don’t want to end on a bum-note with this range – so I’ll slip this in here – I don’t know whether it’s just bad luck or whether it’s a theme with the packaging – but both the pumps on the eye cream and the HA Serum stopped working, with the serum I was able to easily get the remaining product out, but I’ve really struggled with the eye cream and I’m guessing I have around a third of the bottle left which is proving difficult to get out.
There are five products to chat about, so I’m now going to delve straight in with the reviews of each.
Evolve – 30 Eye and Lip Contour
First up we have the eye and lip contour – now I’ll preface this by saying I’ve generally never enjoyed these type of products on the lips due to the texture and this one has been no exception and have mainly trialled this as an eye cream. The formula of this is very light and thin, it’s very rare as someone with oily skin that I find an eye cream that I think I could wear on makeup for an extra boost of hydration, but this one has delivered well as it also sunk in quickly to the skin.
However as a nightly eye cream, and having just finished up the Beauty Pie Super Retinol eye cream prior to starting this, I felt like this wasn’t quite cutting it in comparison and noticed a deterioration in my super fine under my eyes after I finished the Super Retinol eye cream. I think for someone who needs light hydration this is a lovely formula but as someone in their now 30’s who is looking to keep those fine lines at bay for as long as possible it wasn’t quite as intense as I now need for my nightly intense choice, but was a good one for day time for something light feeling.
360 Eye and Lip Contour £26 – Buy From Evolve Here
Evolve – Daily Renew Facial Cream
Next up is the moisturiser, I’ve trialled this in several different ways over the past few months and unfortunately, I can’t seem to get this formula to work for me. The texture of this is thick and creamy, packed with peptides which act as a connector for good ingredients to get into the skin, HA an intensive moisturiser and argan oil, packed with good vitamins – this has a nice and light fragrance of coconut, but it’s very subtle and I barely notice it.
Evolve describe this as best for normal to dry skin, and as someone who is oily but dehydrated, I have to agree that I find the texture of this a bit much. It doesn’t seem to matter if I use this as a night cream or on makeup-free days at home to sink in through the day – but I find that it seems to leave a film over my face and I feel and look slightly greasy whilst this is on, no matter how little I use.
Daily Renew Facial Cream £28 – Buy From Evolve Here
Evolve Skincare – Liquid Radiance Glycolic Toner
Containing two forms of exfoliators with Willow Bark, which is a salicylic acid – great for treating spots, increasing cell turnover and exfoliating. Whilst the Glycolic Acid in this formula is derived from Sugar Cane and also contains two other forms of AHA to also aid exfoliation and increase brightness. The exfoliating ingredients are paired alongside Galactoarabinan, a hydrating ingredient derived from the Larch tree which helps lock in moisture by preventing transepidermal water loss.
This reminds me of Pixi’s Glow Tonic with conditioning ingredients which work alongside the exfoliating nature of. I am currently testing another Glycolic Toner which I notice more immediate effects of however it has very strong Glycolic Acid percentage – however just like Pixi’s iconic Glow Tonic with consistent use if you prefer something on the gentle side that you use consistently, then this is a nice alternative.
I really like the packaging of this with a pump top it can be applied easily directly onto a cotton pad, or I’ve also been tapping it into my skin with clean hands almost like an essence. Both ways work really well and I find that with continued use it helped improve my skin texture, increase the brightness of my complexion and kept my skin feeling soft and smooth.
Liquid Radiance Glycolic Toner £20 – Buy From Evolve Here
Evolve Beauty – Radiant Glow Mask
If you’ve been around my blog before you’ll know I’m a sucker for a face mask having written over 60 blog posts on just face masks, it’s difficult to keep this brief. But this is a really interesting texture an almost thick and paste like feeling that spreads across the skin like something food-like. Not only that but the raw cacao really does smell like chocolate and paired with vanilla oil too – I’ve left the cap off this in the bedroom and walked out the room for a minute or so and come back to the whole room smelling like Willy Wonka’s Factory. I can not wear this around the pets as they think it smells delicious enough to attempt to lick it off.
The paste-like texture is filled with fine exfoliating particles from coconut which when massaged into the skin whilst rinsing off leaves my skin feeling incredibly smooth – but not stripped with harsh particles as the granules are so fine and soft. I find after using this my skin feels very soft and looks quite glowing. The Radiant Glow Mask a great quick pick me up as it doesn’t need to stay on the skin long for it to work its magic at what I think it’s best at Exfoliating. For me, this is almost more like a scrub best used once a week in between chemical exfoliants – and I’ve found it particularly lovely through winter where I’ve had the slightest smidge of dryness.
Radiant Glow Mask £24 – Buy From Evolve Here
Evolve Skincare – Hyaluronic Serum 200
Hyaluronic Acids are available at just about every end of the market now and are a hot ingredient in skincare, I’ve tried a few “solo ingredient” HA’s from cheaper brands over the year paired with other moisturisers and found a lot of them “meh – okay” – but this one I’ve saved ’til last as it’s truly the star of the show.
A lot of cheaper alternatives I’ve found have been slightly sticky – this is a lovely silky formula that glides across the skin with ease and starts sinking in immediately. I lock it in with a moisturiser overnight and my skin in the morning feels soft, smooth and plump. I found I was using around 2 pumps at a time and whizzed through this bottle pretty damn quickly, but my skin seemed to adore it so much I didn’t mind and I’m considering getting another bottle when it runs out – which is very rare for me when it comes to skincare as I always like to try something new.
Is it the cheapest HA on the market? No. Is it the best I’ve tried? Yes. Consulting Evolve’s website I can see that this has been nominated for and won many awards and I can see why. A beautiful formulation.
Hyaluronic Serum 200 £30 – Buy From Evolve Here
Whilst, not everything in here was a complete hit for my skin type, I am very impressed with most of what I’ve tried and can see the items I didn’t love would work well for others. It has however made me very intrigued to try more from Evolve Skincare in future and I’m already eyeing a few formulations alongside repurchasing that stunning serum.
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Products gifted by Evolve Beauty for review consideration. Thoughts are based on my experiences with the products. Post contains affiliate links.
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Email: helplesswhilstdrying@gmail.com
The scent of that face mask sounds delightful! Glad the serum and the toner have been working out well for you too!
Lovely review!! The brand seems very interesting, I always look for organic and sustainable skincare brands with good formulas! The scrubs seems really nice, especially how you described the scent!!
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The scrub/mask is lovely – highly recommended for something very luxurious feeling!