As a beauty editor, my phone is always buzzing with friends and family asking for skin-care recommendations. There are a lot of brands out there, so you can imagine how hard of a task it is to pick favorites. I never want to recommend something too pricey, but I also want it to make sure I’m suggesting something I know will be effective. Enter The Inkey List, a U.K.-based brand that made its way to Sephora shelves worldwide back in 2019. Brand founders Mark Curry (who is also the brand’s lead chemist) and Colette Laxton took the beauty industry by storm when they launched their “everything under $15” brand. There are more than 30 affordable, ingredient-centric products in its lineup, and I got to try the two newest ones — Fulvic Acid Brightening Cleanser and SymBright Moisturizer — first.
The Inkey List believes in guiding its customers to have their best possible skin, and Curry and Laxton are all about making those customers happy. “We don’t expect every customer to stick around with us forever,” says Curry in an exclusive interview with Allure. “If we can teach them something about a certain ingredient that they will take with them to another brand, we’ve done our job.”
Each product is named after its main ingredient, making it easy to shop, and the brand has something for any skin type. If you’re confused about what your type is, the brand offers a service called #askInkey, where customers can ask for advice prior to adding products to their cart. Talk about customer service, right? And to celebrate the newest launches, there will be a live Ask-a-Thon Event on Thursday, February 18, from 2 to 6 p.m. ET, where fans near and far can ask the founders about their skin concerns and The Inkey List’s products — including the two latest launches.
Fulvic Acid Brightening Cleanser, $11
With Fulvic Acid Brightening Cleanser, The Inkey List welcomes its third cleanser to the family. As the name indicates, this face wash’s main ingredient is fulvic acid, a natural exfoliant that comes from the nordic peat plant in Finland (you can actually see the particles in the gel). “This ingredient is found in soil and works as an antioxidant and may provide anti-inflammatory benefits,” says cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson.
Inside the tube, you’ll also find Kakadu plum extract, which is rich in brightening vitamin C, licorice root to reduce redness, and aloe vera to calm and hydrate. All this to say, what you see is what you get with the Fulvic Acid Brightening Cleanser, says Robinson.