I know everyone has been curious about the new affordable skincare brand Naturium. Founded by influencer Susan Yara Naturium was meant to be affordable, high-performance, effective, skin compatible and thoughtfully formulated. They are made in the US, cruelty, paraben, gluten & fragrance free, vegan (minus two items) and have a clean beauty ideal. Affordable brands have really been making great strides in the skincare world making good skin care accessible to everyone. Whether or not anyone wants to be compared with The Ordinary is irrelevant, it’s going to happen. The Ordinary paved the way for all affordable brands and really innovated the idea. Just as Pixi Glow Tonic and P50 paved the way for acid toners, The Ordinary made the idea of skincare accessible for all by being affordable and effective.
Naturium is different for sure, their packaging is more luxurious and they have more well rounded products versus single ingredient formulations. I will say while they do have more than a single ingredient focus overall, they are still an ingredient focused brand. When you put an ingredient with a percentage on the label as the focus, it will be an ingredient focused product, even if you add other items in the formulation. Like The Ordinary and The Inkey List, Naturium has ingredient focused formulations. The products are separate allowing you to play chemist at home and mix them. It’s been a very appealing marketing strategy. It lets the consumer pick which target ingredient what they want to use more. The Inkey List also has more well rounded formulations versus the single ingredient formulations of The Ordinary but Naturium brings it up a level with more luxurious packaging and a bit more well rounded formulations. They still have an ingredient focus versus a target focus but overall I think they’re doing good things for the skin care industry. I have grabbed a few items but I only have two to review right now.
Mixed Greens Nutrient-Rich Cleanser is a gel cleanser. Of course I had to try it as I’m a cleanser addict and it sounded really nice. Details per Naturium:
Our nutrient-rich gel cleanser is formulated with a daily dose of mixed greens, vitamin C and nourishing superfruits to remove dirt, oil, makeup and other impurities while balancing skin’s pH. This gentle, yet effective cleanser features a powerful superfood blend of green tea, aloe vera and kakadu plum that leaves skin radiant and glowing, without stripping it of essential moisture.
Benefits
- Removes dirt, oil, makeup & other impurities
- Nourishes & balances
- Ideal for all skin type
Ingredients
Water, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Glycerin, Acrylates Copolymer, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate, Sodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Panthenol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium Hydroxide, Citrus Glauca Fruit Extract, Microcitrus Australasica Fruit Extract, Microcitrus Australis Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Panax Quinquefolium Root Extract, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Verbena Officinalis Flower Extract, Vetiveria Zizanoides Root Oil, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Hexylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate.
This has a medium to thick gel texture, light herbal scent from the ingredients only, a nice slip and foams lightly when water is added. It has a really fabulous texture overall. I wouldn’t use it to remove makeup but that’s true of all gel cleansers in my opinion. It has things I love like vitamin C, panthenol, aloe, green tea, ginseng, caviar lime, desert lime & rainforest lime. Unfortunately this has a pH of 6.5 and I find it drying. I like my water based cleansers at most a pH of 6 as anything higher can disrupt the natural skin barrier and cause irritation. Naturium lists this as having a pH level of 6.0-7.0. I prefer more of a 5.0-6.0 myself. Luckily this is such an affordable cleanser at $16 that I don’t feel bad having tested it and not having it work for me. I hope they can come out with some other cleansers some day that are less drying.
I also had to try the Quadruple Hyaluronic Acid Serum as I’m a hydrating serum addict. Details per Naturium:
Our serum combines very low, low, medium and high molecular weight pure hyaluronic acid to deeply hydrate skin on multiple levels for maximum, skin-plumping moisturization. This serum is formulated with four different molecular weights of skin compatible hyaluronic acid to hydrate all layers of the dermis and help restore the lipid barrier.
*Please note this formula is not vegan. It contains a low percentage of ethically-sourced honey.
Benefits
- Replenishes essential moisture for long term hydration
- Features 4 different molecular weights of hyaluronic acid to hydrate skin on all levels
- Visually plumps for more youthful looking skin
- Serum, gel-like texture creates a smooth canvas
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Propanediol, Hyaluronic Acid, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Apricot Kernel Oil Polyglyceryl-6 Esters, Polyglyceryl-6 Oleate, Caprylyl Glycol, Polyglyceryl-10 Oleate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Magnolol, Kaempferol, Phospholipids, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sphingolipids, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Phenoxyethanol, Sorbitan Palmate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Hydroxide, Glyceryl Polyacrylate, Xanthan Gum, Honey, Hexylene Glycol, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Citric Acid.
The serum has a gel serum texture. It’s light, not sticky and hydrating. I actually really like it. I think it’s a great product for the money. It comes with a pump now but I think this was dropper at first. The heavyweight pump bottle is really nice and adds to the overall product. It’s only $16 as well. It has glycerin, three forms of hyaluronic acid (including hydrolyzed which I love), apricot oil esters, phospholipids, sphingolipids, vitamin C & E and honey. It’s really a nice formulation. If you were looking for a product to replace Drunk Elephant B-Hydra this will do it. It’s not anywhere the same ingredient list but that doesn’t matter. It has a similar texture and the same light non-sticky feel on the skin. Naturium is actually a bit more hydrating than B-Hydra but I would call it a good substitute overall.
I see good things for the brand in the future, they already have quite a large range of products and SKUs. I can’t wait to see where they go from here and hope they keep up the pump versus dropper applicator. That really elevates a product for me. Despite what anyone says packaging does make a big difference in the overall feel to the consumer. It would be nice if in the future they could have some more combined ingredient products focusing on a target concern versus a target ingredient (say pigmentation serum with alpha arbutin, tranexamic & azelaic acids). I’m personally tired of applying five layers to get the same result as a more expensive well rounded serum. I think they have a good shot at that and an affordable line that’s able to do that is really missing from the market. Have you tried Naturium yet?
Yes Michelle. I just received my large order from them. I purchased items like Azelaic Acid, Rdinol, Hyaluronic acid, Alpha Arbutin, Niacinamide, Vitamin C… Yes, I overdid it, but the prices are so reasonable, I couldn’t resist. I am most excited to try the Tranexamic Acid, as we use this in orthopedic surgery everyday for blood conservation and Im curious what it can do to brighten skin. I tried it in SkinMedica’s Lytera product, and loved it!