I bought some items from Stratia late last year and just haven't gotten around to posting about them yet. With winter coming I felt I should talk about these two as both Velvet Cleansing Milk and Liquid Gold are perfect soothers for winter dried out skin. Stratia is a small indie beauty brand with five products (soon to be six) in it's arsenal. It's also a very effective and affordable line. I'll start with Velvet Cleansing Milk which is a creamy hydrating non-foaming cleanser. Details per Stratia:
Velvet Cleansing Milk is a moisturizing, non-foaming cleanser that gently removes dirt and grime without drying or damaging your skin’s natural barrier. Cleansing is one of the most important steps in any skincare routine. A good cleanser removes dirt, makeup, and residue from the surface of your skin without disrupting your skin’s natural lipid barrier.
Foaming cleansers can remove too much from your skin, leaving your face feeling dry, tight, stripped, or squeaky. Harsh cleansers can disrupt and damage your skin barrier, leading to symptoms like dehydration, flaking, acne, and increased sensitivity. For anyone who experiences these symptoms, a gentle non-foaming cleanser is crucial to keeping your skin healthy.
Velvet Cleansing Milk is a rich, emollient cream cleanser that effectively removes dirt, grime, and other buildup while leaving your skin’s natural oils in place. Its cleansing power comes from Olive Oil PEG-7 Esters, a water-soluble form of olive oil that gently bonds to grime on your face and rinses cleanly away.
Fortified with chamomile, aloe, and rice bran oil, it’s a soothing, purifying cleanser that won’t dry out your skin or leave a film.
pH: ~5.0
Ingredients
Water (Aqua), Olive Oil PEG-7 Esters, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Polyacrylamide, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7, Ceteareth-20, Matricaria Recutita (Chamomile) Flower Extract, Allantoin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Disodium EDTA, Propylene Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate
I love the easy pump. This is a creamy cleanser that doesn't foam or lather. It doesn't have much of a scent and it rinses clean. It's gentle, hydrating and never strips the skin. I like it as a morning cleanse the most, but have used it as a second cleanse at night. I couldn't get this to remove all my makeup. It's got olive oil and coconut derivatives, soothing and hydrating ingredients like rice bran oil, chamomile, glycerin, allantoin and aloe. It's a really nice milky cleanser. It has a slight gel texture to it so it's not a straight up milky creamy thick cleanser. I like the ones like this that have a bit of the gel consistency. Sometimes simple is better and this is a great simple, hydrating, non-irritating cleanser. And it's really affordable.
Liquid Gold is the cult favorite of the line and the reason I wanted to try Stratia to begin with. Details per Stratia:
Liquid Gold is a lightweight but powerful moisturizer that fortifies your skin’s moisture barrier to help heal, hydrate, strengthen, and soothe. Your skin’s moisture barrier (the stratum corneum, or outermost layer of the epidermis) has a bricks-and-mortar structure: the bricks are skin cells called corneocytes, and the mortar is a fatty mixture made up of ceramides, cholesterol, and free fatty acids. This mixture keeps your skin healthy, clear, and resilient. If it’s compromised, it can lead to skin that’s simultaneously dry and oily, extremely sensitive, or acne-prone.
Liquid Gold is formulated with ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids to mimic and strengthen your natural moisture barrier. By healing your dehydration and replenishing that fatty mixture in your stratum corneum, you can address the above symptoms and discover healthy, bouncy, resilient skin. Like all Stratia products, Liquid Gold is unfragranced, gimmick-free, and formulated based on hard science.
Ingredients
Water (Aqua), Propylene Glycol, Ethoxydiglycol, Niacinamide, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Rosa Mosqueta (Rose) Hip Oil, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Seed Oil, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Fruit Oil, Panthenol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Squalane (olive-derived), Cetyl Alcohol, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Phytosphingosine, Cholesterol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA
This moisturizer is liquid gold. Literally. Not only is it the color gold but it's a stellar moisturizer. The packaging was recently redone and this is the older glass bottle. I love the pump style of both the old and new packaging. You know I want my pumps. This is literally the best moisturizer for protecting and healing the skins moisture barrier. Liquid Gold contains ceramides, fatty acids and cholesterol found naturally in the skins moisture barrier. This helps replenish which in turn keeps your skin healthy and happy. Liquid Gold also contains other lovely things like niacinamide (the multi-tasker miracle worker), rosehip, cranberry & sea buckthorn oils (antioxidants, hydrators), panthenol (pro-vitamin B5, humectant), glycerin & sodium hyaluronate (hydrators), squalane (similar to natural sebum) & green tea extract (balances, antioxidant).
This has a light lotion like texture but it's intensely hydrating. And no it doesn't make your skin stain yellow. This sinks in and forms the best hydrating seal on your skin. What I love the most about this product (besides the stellar inci list) is the versatility. You can use this alone or layer this under another moisturizer during the winter as a hydrating serum. I loved this as a hydrating creamy extra layer in my routine and it really helped keep my skin from being affected by the winter cold and artificial heat. This is never enough moisture for me for a night cream but it can be a day lotion during the fall or spring.
I really liked Liquid Gold as that extra layer of hydration in my winter skincare routine. It's fragrance free, non-irritating and never felt heavy or broke me out. Writing this post is making me want to pull it out and get it all ready for winter now. If you're affected by any kind of winter dehydrated skin seriously go grab Liquid Gold, your skin will thank you. Your wallet will also thank you as it's only $24 for 2 oz and this lasts forever. This is one of those little gems you find on Instagram that lives up to it's cult status.
