Facetheory Skincare, Reviewed

It’s been six months since I started routinely using Facetheory skincare products in my beauty routine, so I thought it about time for a review! This year, Facetheory went through a big rebrand, and as part of that, I’m also going to review its sustainability credentials, and some new product launches too.

I’ve been reviewing cruelty-free and sustainable skincare for almost 10 years now, and while I tend to go for mid-range to luxury skincare (see my reviews of Dr. Barbara Sturm, Susanne Kaufmann, and Stella McCartney Beauty), I couldn’t pass up on trying out Facetheory due to its glowing reviews, and high sustainability standards. I had a taste of the brand back in 2023, and quickly became a fan of their Cera-C Toner and Lipabalm, so was excited to try more of their range.

Here’s an honest review on how I’ve got on using Facetheory skincare, and which products I’ll be repurchasing going forwards…

Who Is Facetheory?

Facetheory is an independent skincare brand, hailing from Sheffield, a city in the north of the U.K. It was founded in 2014, with a view to create vegan, clean and affordable skincare. It quickly became an industry disruptor, due to its low prices and overwhelming positive reviews, and today is a notable challenger brand.

Facetheory’s products are formulated, developed, and made in the U.K. This in itself is a marked difference to many other skincare brands, as it means they have full control of their supply chain. The brand maintains its affordable price tags due to this, as well as exclusively selling directly to consumer, via its website, facetheory.com, and its flagship store on Regent Street.

Is Facetheory A Sustainable Skincare Brand?

Since its inception, Facetheory has been a cruelty-free, vegan, and petrochemical-free skincare brand. It is both Leaping Bunny certified, and a PETA-approved company. As a business, they have also obtained B-Corp certification, highlighting their holistic approach to sustainability.

As previously mentioned, Facetheory also manufactures all of its products in the U.K., which will help to reduce its carbon footprint.

Earlier this year, Facetheory went through a dramatic rebrand, going from brightly coloured bottles and boxes to a more refined colour palette of green and white. They kept their brown bottles, which offer protection to the formulae inside, and introduced metal tubes, and brushed metal tins, to increase the recyclability of their range.

During this rebrand, they also introduced The Sustainable Skincare Standard, although it is unclear what this represents, and whether this will become a standard that other members of the beauty industry can obtain.

Facetheory Product Reviews

Earlier this year, I visited the Facetheory store on Regent Street to celebrate their rebrand, and discover some new product launches too. During my visit, I was gifted eight products to try. Since then, I have tried out all of the products, and some have made it into my daily skincare routine.

Glow-C Cream Cleanser & HydraCleanse Rebalancing Gel Cleanser

Let’s start with cleansers. Facetheory has three cleansers in its range – the Glow-C Cream Cleanser, the ClariCleanse AHA & BHA Exfoliating Cleanser, and the HydraCleanse Rebalancing Gel Cleanser. I avoid lactic acid as it’s too harsh for my skin, so opted to avoid the AHA cleanser, and instead chose the other two cleansers to try. Sadly I didn’t get off to a good start with either of them!

My main mistake was choosing these cleansers without reading the full ingredients lists. I had assumed the Glow-C Cream Cleanser cleanser contained vitamin C as the active ingredient (which it does), and the HydraCleanse Cleanser would be the gentlest formulation of the lot, but I hadn’t checked for any other actives. I started by using the Glow-C cleanser in the shower, after going to the gym, and decided to double cleanse because I felt like my skin needed it. Almost immediately, my skin started itching, and became visibly red. Not good! It turns out that ALL THREE cleansers contain lactic acid, an ingredient my skin gets very easily irritated by. So, I’m not able to really give a personal review for any of them.

I will say that my partner tried using these cleansers after me, and said his skin combination skin benefitted from the Glow-C Cleanser the most, staying oil-free for much of the day. He subsequently used this cleanser to completion.

My rating: N/A
Repurchase? N/A

Porebright Niacinamide Refining Toner

Next, let’s review the Porebright Niacinamide Refining Toner. This product was previously called the Cera-C Toner, and was renamed to help highlight the key ingredient – niacinamide – during Facetheory’s rebrand. (In fact, if you’re looking for Facetheory product and only know its previous name, you can use their product finder to help.)

I love this toner. I remember reading that Sali Hughes goes without toner, as it’s an unnecessary step in skincare, but if you have large pores, this toner is an essential. Within just a week of use, I noticed the appearance of my pores on my nose appeared reduced, and my boyfriend echoed the same.

This toner is a thin liquid that works well when applied to a reusable cotton round and swiped over the face. Since discovering it, we’ve gone through three bottles!

My rating: 10/10
Repurchase? Yes, I already have – twice!

Hyaluronic Acid 2% Plumping Serum

Another brilliant Facetheory product is their Hyaluronic Acid 2% Plumping Serum. This jelly-like serum is lightweight and absorbs easily into the skin, giving it instant hydration and plumpness. In fact, this serum is very similar to a number of other hyaluronic acid serums I’ve tried, with some of them being four times the price! I think it’s incredibly effective, and gets bonus points for the £22 price tag.

The one point that I have dropped for this product is the issue of the text slipping and sliding around on the bottle. I’m not sure if it’s the serum itself that causes this, or another liquid in my skincare routine, but I found that the product’s packaging became a literal alphabet soup with use (see pictures).

My rating: 9/10
Repurchase? Yes

Glow-C Daily Moisturiser SPF 30

Another product that I had some trouble with this year was the Glow-C Daily Moisturiser SPF 30. Like the aforementioned cleansers, this moisturiser contains lactic acid, albeit at a lower percentage than the cleansers. I didn’t realise this until I was on holiday, and a friend asked to borrow my moisturiser. I casually mentioned that it “wasn’t the best” as it made my skin feel a little prickly, and she said she had no issue. Turns out, it wasn’t the moisturiser’s fault, but my own skin’s!

For what it’s worth, this SPF 30 moisturiser is a steal, coming in at just £20. It’s lightweight, absorbs well, and has no cast that other SPFs do.

My rating: 7/10
Repurchase? No

Blemicalm Body Skin Clearing Spray

One of the new products to launch after Facetheory’s rebrand is the Blemicalm Body Skin Clearing Spray. Now, I have experienced bouts of bacne since I was a teenager. Nothing – and I mean nothing – has cleared them up better than this spray. I have tried expensive AHA lotions, topical sprays, and even prescribed medication. This spray is better. (It made it into my top body care products of 2024!)

It combines the power of 3% Azelaic Acid, Salicylic Acid, and Lactic Acid to reduce the appearance of spots and at times, beat them altogether. The only problem? This spray went out of stock a few months back, and I haven’t been able to order any since!

My rating: 10/10
Repurchase? Yes, if it ever comes back in stock!

Glow-AHA Refining Body Cream

Another body care product I’ve enjoyed using is the Glow-AHA Refining Body Cream. To help with my bacne, I was recommended to use the spray daily, while the body cream was to be used once a week. This body cream is comparable to the Paula’s Choice AHA Body Cream, but I find it to be a bit harsher on my skin, hence the reduced usage. This, in conjunction with the spray, led me to having the clearest skin on my back I’ve ever had.

One drawback to this cream is that it comes in Facetheory’s new metal tubes. These tubes are very hard to open. The cap doesn’t have the usual pointed end to help pierce the inner seal, and so for this cream I used scissors. DO NOT DO THIS! My scissors ended up tearing the metal seal, leaving small particles of metal in the cream. I had to squeeze a lot of product out before I felt safe to use it on my skin.

My rating: 7/10
Repurchase? Yes

My Overall Rating of Facetheory Skincare: 8/10

I’d love to know what you think of Facetheory, and any products you’d recommend I try next?

Advertisement