PSA Skin: Overview

PSA Skin was one of the brands I really wanted to try this year. PSA stands for Purposeful Skincare by Allies. It was created by one of my all time favorite brands–Allies of Skin. Allies of Skin is a phenomenal brand, it’s effective and has really good formulations. It’s not affordable for everyone however, which is what I love about PSA Skin. Everything is $38 or under. And that’s without single ingredient focused skincare. Each product is well rounded and serves a purpose or focus. You get an effective product without having to have 6 separate serums. I bought everything minus the facial oil.

I’m going to start with HEROINE. Beautiful Heroine in a fiery red bottle. This is the brands acid toner. Details per PSA:

This acid toner has a slippery hydrating light gel texture. It’s not a waterlight toner, and actually is hydrating enough like an essence. This acid toner has a 6% mandelic & lactic acid blend plus licorice, kombucha, pomegranate, centella asiatica, hyaluronic acid, panthenol, camellia, glycerin, niacinamide and allantoin. It’s purely an alpha hydroxy acid toner so it will help exfoliate & resurface the skin, refine texture & pores, hydrate, brighten & even the skin tone, help with pigmentation plus signs of aging like wrinkles/lines.

The best part about this toner is that it’s completely not sensitizing at all. It’s hydrating and soothing plus it exfoliates gently. You get antioxidants as well so it’s a win win. I could actually use this almost everyday because it’s gentle enough at 6% (listen to your skin, everyone is different and watch for irritation). I really find a 5-8% acid toner is my sweet spot for tolerability. I’m done trying to overdo it with strong acids and burning my face off causing irritation. This one is great. It has no fragrance beyond the natural ingredients and no alcohol. The scent is really nothing discernible. Heroine combines an essence, toner and acid toner step into one. Think of this as soothing, brightening and an antioxidant acid toner.

Honestly I really love this one, it’s one of the best acid toners I’ve tried in some time. I would actually put it in my top 3 at this point because it’s really a fabulous, special product. I get no irritation at all when using this product, it’s well done. I also really enjoy mandelic (great for pigmentation) and lactic acids as they’re both gentler than glycolic. If you like acid toners this one is a must have that won’t break the bank.

GOALS is the brands acid serum. Details per PSA:

This serum has a creamy gel serum texture and straw like color. It’s a medium gel serum texture that does leave a slight tacky feeling. It goes away when you add something on top. It has a 12% acid blend with glycolic, lactic, pyruvic, salicylic and poly hydroxy acids (gluconolactone) plus probiotics, niacinamide, tamanu oil, rose hip oil, centella asiatica, sodium PCA, camellia, hyaluronic acid and shea butter. It’s purpose is to brighten, refine pores and reduce appearance of imperfections. This is a nice multi-acid blend with AHAs, BHA and PHAs. It ticks all the boxes there. 12% is not the strongest acid serum ever but this one really packs a punch. It says on the site you can use this daily but I would advise against that. I tried it and it’s too strong for daily use. This would be more of a 1-2x a week serum for me.

By now most of you know what all the acids do however pyruvic acid is not as common. It’s an alpha keto acid commonly used in peels in treatment offices, but it converts to lactic acid on the skin. It has hydrating, antimicrobial and keratolytic properties plus it helps build collagen. This serum also has probiotics, niacinamide for barrier repair and pore/texture refining plus soothing and healing tamanu oil. The scent is light as it’s fragrance free minus the natural ingredients. It’s one of the more scented products from the line but it’s really very light, maybe slightly berry like. The bottle is a metallic silver plum gradient glass with a dropper. I’d prefer a pump but the dropper did do OK for this serum in particular. I do really enjoy this serum, it’s too strong for me to use all the time but once a week is great. Or I might do this like 2-3 nights in a row (no retinol) as a boost, then do a hydrating routine for a few days after skipping acids. If you like a well rounded acid serum, you’ll love it.

LIGHT UP is the brands mask. Details per PSA Skin:

This has a gel-oil texture and functions as a wash off mask. You can actually use it as a cleanser as well. I love this as a morning cleanse/leave on mask/treatment. Massage onto the skin and leave it for five minutes (brand says 5 or longer if you like, I’ve done ten), rinse and do your routine. It hydrates and brightens in one. It has that glycerin oil based texture with 11% ascorbic acid, 2% vitamin E, grapeseed oil, hyaluronic acid and astaxanthin. This is a genius product. It has a orange color and very faint citrus scent but it’s really not that noticeable. I had to sniff hard to try to smell it. It’s kind of like a gel oil cleanser with vitamin C and it makes a really great morning product, not saying you can use it at night but I just really enjoy it in the morning. Then you can skip your vitamin C and move onto your routine with brighter, hydrated and soft skin. This doesn’t offer life changing profound brightness after using use (nothing does), but it does manage to brighten a little after one use, more like a good glow. Hands down would repurchase again and it’s a must try.

THE MOST is the brand hydrating serum. Details per PSA Skin:

This serum has a light creamy hydrating emulsion texture. The bottle is a cool sea green gradient glass with dropper. The serum has no real discernible scent, smells very much like natural ingredients. It’s nothing worth noting. The texture is medium light and non-greasy. It does leave a slightly tacky feel at first but it doesn’t bug me because it lasts longer than a waterlight hydrating serum. It does go away eventually. It’s not your lightest weight hydrating hydrating serum, but it’s not a heavy one. It has a hyaluronic acid complex, panthenol, bisabolol, sodium PCA, allantoin, kombucha, acai berry, glycerin, safflower oil, madecassoside, licorice, red algae and jojoba esters. This product does a great job at hydrating, soothing and replenishing the moisture in the skin.

You’ve got fatty acids, hydrators and soothers all in one. The licorice is likely soothing in this formulation (it’s usually soothing or brightening depending which you’re using) plus madecassoside which is one of the principal bioactive compounds in centella asiatica. When it’s listed alone it’s usually just that isolated soothing compound versus the whole plant (usually means you’re getting more of it which is great in this type of product if you want soothing). I really enjoy this serum it’s a great one. If you have sensitive skin you’ll love it because it’s got no fragrance or essential oils. I think it will suit all skin types.

My only gripe with this product is the dropper. While it worked OK with the other serum it doesn’t so well with this one. It spurts out when I put the dropper back in spilling product over the edge every time. I have to clean the edge up a lot and it’s wasting product. This would be better served with a pump. Once they fix that I could see myself repurchasing as the product is pretty amazing, definitely one of the better hydrating serums I’ve tried this year to soothe and give long lasting moisture.

You can see the textures below. The Light Up mask is the orange gel, Heroine is the clear liquid, Goals is the creamy liquid in the middle and The Most is the creamy serum at the bottom near the dropper.

Shortly after I bought the above PSA launched their cleanser RESET. Details per PSA:

Your skincare routine starts with your cleanser. Why waste an opportunity to treat your skin? This sulfate-free, creamy cleanser removes daily grime and makeup while infusing the skin with essential moisture and nutrients, without ever stripping the skin. Its nutrient-rich formula works to brighten the appearance of skin, replenish moisture and nourish skin.

This cleanser is amazing. It’s a light creamy gentle cleanser with gentle surfactants, acai, pomegranate, manuka honey, yoghurt and grapeseed oil. It has a hint of vanilla fruit extract but the scent is light, fragrance and essential oil free. It really smells like vanilla yoghurt or something, really nothing discernible or big. The pH is great coming in at 5.5. Think of this as an antioxidant, gentle, creamy cleanser with nutrient rich honey and yoghurt. You want to buy it now just after that don’t you? You should, plus it’s easily my favorite creamy cleanser in a long time. And I don’t like creamy cleansers in general. So that should tell you something.

It leaves no residue like many creamy ones can, so don’t worry there. Great as a morning cleanse or second cleanse. I would not use this to remove makeup, I know everyone says that their cleanser removes makeup but it just never works for me so I don’t even bother trying anymore. This is really great after Deviant Cleansing Balm at night they make sure a pleasurable double cleanse duo. Like holy grail combo. For myself I can say the Allies of Skin gel cleanser was the best gel cleanser launch in quite some time, this is the best creamy one. Hands down. My only complaint is that the cap might need to be changed, it’s runnier so it leaks out a little. This might be best in a flip top cap as it can get a little messy around the edge.

You can find PSA Skin on their website and they do ship globally, Beauty Bay, ASOS or Beautylish. I would go for Heroine, Reset, Light Up and The Most. Honestly I like Goals too I just don’t use it as often but for acid serum junkies it’ll be popular. So far they were all hits, no duds in the line. I didn’t try the oil as I just have too many and really don’t use retinol oils that much. I’m hoping they come out with a killer SPF, cleansing balm and moisturizer one day. PSA Skin is most definitely a brand to keep your eye on. I see them being a big hit. This is how you do well rounded affordable skincare without having a million products to layer. Save 20% off with code MICHELLEN.