The Inkey List: Part 1

People! For a while, I've been trying an affordable brand that I've mentioned before. Today, I'm here to do a full dedicated overview of the products that I have. I certainly don't have all of the products because there's quite a few. I have some really good ones to share though so, let's talk Inkey List.

​I first got acquainted with Inkey List via Caroline Hirons and Gothamista videos. I love simplistic skincare, no ridiculous claims, no crazy names, simple packaging, and transparency. Inkey List checks all those boxes. They made their way to Sephora this year and I couldn't wait to try them out.

I try A LOT of skincare and makeup. So I worked this in very slowly. As always, I wanted to see how they play with other brands and other products, I want to see what they do on their own, I want to try them one at a time before mixing them with other products, basically I try to do everything possible. As you know, I test skincare for a long time before talking about it because I feel like it takes at least a month to see how skincare works for my skin. So I've put these through the ringer.

The first product that I picked up was the Vitamin C. Everyone should be using Vitamin C. It's the main antioxidant widely available for the skin. I don't care how old you are you need to get with the antioxidants, they maintain the skin and also protect your skin from environmental damage. This is a 30% L-Ascorbic Acid which is the pure form of Vitamin C. It's quite thick and has the slip feel of silicone due to it's base. Usually pure Vit C that is stable (meaning there's no water in the formula) can feel gritty kinda like sand, this one doesn't feel like that very much. It can cause the skin to tingle some because it is strong but it doesn't happen a lot with me. I sometimes will mix in a serum or moisturizer to buffer it a little more and make sure that is doesn't ball up on the skin from me rubbing all my products in too much. (Cause you know I like to layer. ) It's done really well and does better if you allow it to sit and absorb for a few minutes before doing whatever you're gonna do next. I use it every night and it's still going strong. You can use it AM and PM but I prefer this particular one at night. You get 1 oz for $10. You can't beat that price for how potent of a product it is. It's A+ in my book.

Next I was sent a lovely care package while sick from Caroline Hirons that literally made me cry. I don't know about you but when I'm super sick, I'm very emotional. Anyway, she sent me a few more things from the Inkey List in the package. Which was the Hyaluronic Acid Serum, Lactic Acic Serum, and their Retinol. You know by now that I love the treatment part of skincare. It's my favorite steps and my favorite products to try.

Starting with the Hyaluronic Acid Serum. This is so nice. It's 2%  HA that plumps the top layer of the skin and also plumps from within the skin at the same time. It's a thin gel type consistency. You'll be surprised by the size of the bottle that some of these come in because they look kinda small but they're still going strong. I use this mainly to buffer products like Retinol, etc. Because there's another hydrating serum I use to fight dehydration within the skin that I will get to. It's straight to the point and a solid product. It's $8 for 1 oz. So once again don't be fooled by the size of the bottle.

Next the Lactic Acid Serum. This is in liquid form even though it says serum. It's 10% Lactic Acid with 1% Hyaluronic Acid. I put this on with a cotton round. It says you only need 2 drops but people....you know I put like 4 on there because I don't feel like it's enough with just 2 little drops, it doesn't even feel like I've gotten the cotton pad wet with 2 drops. So I'll probably go through mine faster than I should but I haven't so far. This is really nice! I can feel it, meaning I feel a little tingle when I use it. It's very gentle because it's Lactic Acid which is a great resurfacing exfoliator for the top layer of the skin. So if you notice that you have texture that you can feel when you touch your skin or your makeup isn't applying as smoothly as it should, Lactic Acid with help that. It's also ideal for the drier skin types. It's the second most popular AHA, with the first being Glycolic Acid. Sometimes certain people can't use Glycolic because it's too much but they can usually use Lactic Acid. I find that at this time people are actually preferring the more gentle route when it comes to skincare, instead of the harsh products that were so popular a few years ago. Again it's a solid product. It's one of the first that I would recommend from the line. It's $13 for 1 oz and remember it comes out as a liquid.

Retinol. It's 1 % retinol and .5  Granactive retinoid. This one is pretty potent but the formula has been done so well that it's actually pretty gentle on the skin. There aren't many retinol products sold in stores that can make my skin flake but this did. However, it didn't flake very much and wasn't super noticeable. I like to buffer this into the skin though, and I use the HA serum for that as I mentioned above. It just helps make the process more gentle. It doesn't tingle or anything. It didn't leave my skin sensitive like most retinol products can, just some minor flaking. It's definitely more like a creamy serum to me. It's quite thin which isn't bad because I think the thinner formulas work better and faster, but that's just my opinion. This is a squeeze tube. It's 1 oz for $10 which is a freaking steal.

Inkey List themselves later reached out and sent me a few more products to try. Which are the last two I'm going to talk about.

Polyglutamic Acid. This is a pump packaging and the consistency is a serum in my opinion. This is the one that I use as my hydration most of the time instead of the regular Hyaluronic Acid because its 4 times more hydrating than regular HA. If you're unaware HA penetrates deeper into the skin than say a moisturizer because of it's molecular weight and absorbs very quickly. It plumps up fine lines and helps smooth out wrinkles. It's main focus for me has always been that it fights dehydration in the skin from within. Even if you're considered "oily" (although I don't really believe in skin type labels all that much because the skin changes constantly) I would still tell everyone who asks to make sure you're using some form of Hyaluronic Acid. Most people strip their skin in attempts to make it less "oily" or produce less oil, or to clear up bumps and such. You're not doing yourself any favors by striping it. You're only making the skin more vulnerable. It needs to be as hydrated as possible. This has done a very good job. I'm currently working on Halloween looks, nearly everyday, and have been for the last month. I think I've done about 15 looks so far and that is very rough on my skin. Usually, my skin will feel very tight and raw almost after the first few. I've packed in so much hydration and used such gentle cleansing methods to get all the paint off that I've not had a single problem so far. This has been in my routine for a month or more and therefore I feel like it's helped. I do kinda feel like it would probably be ideal for someone who is really noticing fine lines more or a loss in elasticity. I don't think you need it if you're under 30 unless you are just extremely dry and dehydrated. It's goal is to plump so when you already have plump skin, you might not need something that's this hydrating. It's 1 oz for $15. I've not seen Polyglutamic Acid in any other skincare product thus far.

Lastly is Q10 Serum. This is a potent antioxidant and it often gets overlooked. I don't know why but I don't see it in routines all that much or in very many products. If it is in a product it's usually a product that is dedicated to Q10 or Co-Q10. This is a nice consistency of a serum, not super thin. It has "Syn-Tacks: A dual peptide that provides collagen-boosting benefits and Squalane: Hydrates and protects skin." So you're getting hydration, protecting the skin, and a collagen boost. It's going to plump the skin up where you have fine lines. It's a really nice choice if you have Dry skin although it will work for pretty much every skin type. It's a great product to put into your routine at any age I feel, but it's definitely a product that is going to be helpful before you really start seeing "signs of aging" for lack of a better term. It's extremely light weight and it also mixes in nicely with other products. It's kinda like a "no brainer". It's 1 oz for $7.

All the products that I've tried spread evenly, and a little goes a long way with the serums especially. They've given me no problem what so ever. The brand is extremely helpful in making sure you find the right products for your skin if you need to contact them or just ask a question. I see them answering questions all the time. They now have sets available at Sephora for specific skin concerns. They keep expanding, therefore I'm going to try and expand my knowledge along with them. I want to try their cleansers, their newer products that I'm not familiar with in the slightest. I'm looking to replace some of my current products with another brand or formula, right now so I think I'm going to go to them first before I shop around with other brands. They're pretty much doing the most when it comes to easy and simplistic skincare. I really can't complain. The price is right and the results have been really good so far. So hopefully in a few months I'll have a part two for you that discusses their newer products.