This product was sent to me for review purposes.
Vegan and cruelty free beauty has been a massive movement in the western beauty industry but – to be honest – we are still a fair while away in the k-beauty world. Aside from animal testing still being legally required in some countries (i.e. China, who is a massive market for Asian beauty) there are also a lot of famous and more traditional ingredients that are animal derived. It’s difficult to change an industry that has built itself on that knowledge and expertise so, to be honest, I feel like it will be a long time yet for k-beauty to be dedicatedly cruelty free.
However, there have been a number of new indie k-beauty brands that have really dedicated themselves to leading this movement – and they have been exceptionally great! One brand that I recently had the chance to test out is The Vegan Glow! They are 100% vegan and cruelty free, as well as being strictly formulated with EWG green products to ensure safe formulations that are suitable for even sensitive skin types.
They are currently in stock at StyleStory and have two essential products – the Good Morning Cream and the Good Night Cream. For this review, I had the opportunity to test out their Good Morning Cream and I have to say that I am very happy with this product! It does everything that I need it to do and also works amazingly underneath make up too (which is my number one concern when it comes to my morning routine). This is currently retailing for AUD$39.95 on StyleStory so jump on!
Before you do that though, let’s get into this review!
Product Description
This product is described as a “gentle morning moisturiser [to] protect your skin throughout the day and enhance the skin’s barrier.” It contains a number of enriching ingredients – such as Cacao Seed Butter and Panthenol (Provitamin B5) – to provide nutrition and hydration for your skin, as well as protecting against moisture loss during the day.
As per the brand’s core values, this product contains only EWG safe ingredients and also only contains the necessary ingredients – so you won’t find anything gimmicky or excessive here. And so, this product also contains no parabens, sulfates (SLS and SLES), phthalates, PEG or dimethicone. In fact, the actual ingredients list (which you can find on the StyleStory website) is relatively short and brilliantly doesn’t contain any fragrances either!
Taken from the StyleStory website, the star ingredients of the Good Morning Cream are as follow:
- Cacao Seed Butter: acts as a soothing barrier to repair skin and preserve its moisture balance.
- Panthenol (Provitamin B5): moisturises, softens and soothes irritated and blemished skin.
- Madeccoside: one of four principal bioactive compounds in the plant extract Centella Asiatica, it has antioxidant benefits when applied to skin, and serves as an antioxidant in its own right.
- Centella Asiatica: is rich in amino acids, beta carotene, fatty acids, and numerous potent phytochemicals. Extracts have been found to calm inflammation, speed wound healing, stimulate new cell growth, build collagen, and improve circulation.
- Ceramide: an anti-aging “powerhouses” responsible for supporting the skin.
- Allantoin: extracted from the root of the comfrey plant, this is a non-irritating ingredient that soothes and protects the skin. With the ability to help heal the skin and stimulate the growth of new tissue, it’s a great all-rounder.
Packaging
Aside from being vegan and cruelty free, The Vegan Glow really went above and beyond for their packaging too! The overall aesthetic is very simple, modern and actually quite beautiful. It is in-excessive, to suit their brand concept, and also highly functional. I love that it’s lightweight and stores easily. Beyond all of that though, the packaging is actually environmentally friendly too!
The unit carton has a natural, matte finish because it is made from recycled paper and soy ink printing. In addition, the actual bottle is also made from recyclable plastic and has an airless pump, which is hygienic and also ensures that you can use all of the product in the bottle – it minimises wastage. I love that they have gone this extra length for their packaging because, although we often think about formulation when we talk about beauty, the massive waste is also an environmental issue. As a designer, I know for a fact that using recycled paper stock and soy ink is an added cost so I commend them for doing this!
Overall, I find the packaging of this Good Morning Cream really practical and of great quality too. The pump dispenser is very smooth and the design is also modern and slick. I love that they have a symbol of the sun or moon on the cap (which you can see below) to differentiate between their night and morning creams.
Application & Personal Experiences
For my entire face, I tend to use around 2-3 pumps of this product (which isn’t as much as it sounds like). I used this product as part of my morning routine and I found that it gave my skin an instant boost of lasting hydration but with no greasiness. I also like that it is nicely soothing on my skin without having too much of a strong cooling sensation (since there is no alcohol) – this definitely helps with some of the redness I get in the mornings and ensures that this effect doesn’t dry my combination skin out.
The cream has a slightly whipped texture that is lightweight on application and also creates a soothing mask over skin – it locks in the hydration and also absorbs relatively easily. This is most likely due to the use of Cacao Seed Butter, which I find often has that sort of texture. There is also a very faint natural scent to the product but it dissipates quite quickly, so I don’t think that this will be an issue.
When used underneath my make up, I find that the hydration benefit this product gives me is long lasting. Even at the end of the day, my skin is feeling suitably plump and fresh (once that 12 hour long foundation is wiped off, of course), although this product does not help with any oil control. If you have combination skin like me, it is best to use an oil controlling toner underneath it to keep skin feeling its best.
In general, I really enjoyed using this product and felt that it was a great fit into my morning routine. The actual application of this product (with the airless pump) is very quick and simple, and the formula also spreads and absorbs easily – which is great when you’re constantly short on time like with me.
This product is recommended for all skin types but I feel like people with dry or sensitive skin will especially love this and can use this alone. For people who have combination skin, having this as part of your routine but also using other oil controlling products will make it perfect. For oily skin types, I feel like the use of Cacao Seed Butter will actually be too rich on skin and I would still recommend using gel-type moisturisers instead.
To be honest, my favourite thing about this product is that it is vegan, cruelty-free and uses environmentally friendly packaging! Although the latter two are more common in k-beauty now, it is quite rare to find a brand that fully dedicates itself to being vegan (and also isn’t using their cruelty free bunny logo as a bit of a gimmick). They are indie owned and so I respect that doing this costs a lot more money too so I am so happy to be supporting their brand!
Here’s the verdict!
SO WHAT IS IT?
A lightweight, super nourishing day cream that is cruelty free and vegan
THE GOOD
- EWG safe level ingredients
- Essential ingredients list with no excess
- Fragrance free with only a slight natural scent
- Suitable for all skin types, including sensitive
- Cruelty free, vegan and uses environmentally friendly packaging
- Airless pump dispenser (smooth and with no waste of product)
- Long lasting hydration benefits
- Soothing and helps to minimise redness
- Works well under make up and absorbs well
- No parabens, sulfates (SLS and SLES), phthalates, PEG or dimethicone
THE BAD
- A bit more expensive than other brands (but justified for the packaging type)
- Can be too rich for oily skin types
RATINGS
- PRICE POINT | 3/5
- PACKAGING | 5/5
- TEXTURE | 4/5
- ABSORPTION | 4/5
- HYDRATION | 5/5
- SOOTHING | 4/5
OVERALL RATING? 8.3/10
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
I really enjoy this product so I would be recommending it! I especially want to support a brand that seems to be taking a step in the right direction for the k-beauty industry. I feel like this cream would especially suit people with dry or sensitive skin, and can also be beneficial for combination skin used in conjunction with oil controlling products. However, this may be too rich for oily skin types.
WHERE TO GET IT FROM
The Good Morning Cream is available at StyleStory for AUD$39.95 and you can also check out the other products from The Vegan Glow, which currently only consists of their Good Night Cream, but they do have some masks that are on the market that I hope will be brought in soon!
What do you think?