Care, a skincare line where every product is less than $50 (!!), was launched by a husband and wife duo to provide “a curated line of essentials designed to deliver outstanding results with minimal daily effort.” Sign us up!  Their core line of five products, including The Everything Multi-level Moisturizer, Eye + Lip Nourishing Cream and Tireless Retinoid Night Serum, aim to address everyone’s basic skincare needs in an uncomplicated, yet effective, way. No overwhelming list of options or weird applicators, and only formulas that are non-toxic and fragrance and cruelty free. We had been looking to test out this brand, and Care generously sent us a few products to try for ourselves.  After using them for a month, we’re ready to share our thoughts.

Price: The Everything Multi-level Moisturizer $40, Eye + Lip Nourishing Cream $30, Tireless Retinoid Night Serum $45

Find them HERE, HERE and HERE (respectively)

Tested February-March 2020

Liz:

The concept of this brand, a small group of focused skincare products that are easy to use and good for the skin, is sort of my skincare dream.  Lea is definitely the skincare guru between us, and although I diligently use and love skincare items, I have struggled in the past to pick out the right products.  The endless sea of serums and creams that all sound kind of the same and are very often out of my beauty budget have left me feeling overwhelmed on numerous occasions.  So when I first explored Care’s website, I was so excited.  There were five products and a few bundles of those products, and that was it!  Plus, it looked like my day-to-day needs could be pretty easily met with just these offerings.

I have been using The Everything Multi-level Moisturizer every morning for a few weeks.  Although the directions recommend using on clean skin both morning and evening, I am sticking to my routine with the RoC Retinol Correxion® Sensitive Night Cream before bed (read my review of that product here).

The Everything comes in a 1.7 oz. bottle with a pump applicator, which is great (the fewer pots and jars we have to dip our fingers into day after day, the better, in my opinion).  When I first pumped this onto my fingers, I did have a moment of concern when I saw that it was definitely yellow.  I’m used to most moisturizers being white or cream colored, so this was a little weird; as I thought about it further, however, it probably means that The Everything doesn’t contain any colorants or other ingredients that are unnecessary.

The first time I used this, I did as instructed on the bottle and applied 1-2 pumps to my face.  I think this is waaayyyy too much.  My skin was incredibly tacky (think gripping makeup primer tacky) for a solid hour.  This might be a bonus for some people (think skipping the gripping makeup primer), but I did not enjoy it at all.  The next day, I used a lot less product and was much, much happier with the result.  I recommend using about half a pump of product for the face and neck, which is what I settled on for daily application. 

With a smaller amount of product, The Everything leaves a balmy finish on my skin.  In other words, I don’t think this is a weightless cream that immediately sinks in to the skin by any means.  It takes me a little bit to really work this product in and feel like it’s fully absorbed.  This isn’t a deal breaker, but I will say that I have to wash my hands after using this because I don’t like the residue it leaves behind on my fingers.

In terms of ingredients, this moisturizer contains Hyaluronic Acid to keep skin hydrated, along with Turmeric Root Extract, an antioxidant that works to improve “skin tone and clarity”, and peptides to reduce lines and wrinkles. 

I’ve been wearing this on no-makeup days recently, so I have really been able to see how it holds up throughout the day without any other products on top.  It does a great job of keeping my very dry skin hydrated; no tight feeling in the cheeks or need to use a hydrating mist in the afternoon.  To the touch, my face is actually really soft as well.  All in all, it does everything (no lie, I wrote that without even thinking about the name!) I want a moisturizer to do.

I also tried Care’s Eye + Lip Nourishing Cream, which contains 0.5 oz. of product in a traditional skincare jar and is meant to use around the eye and lip area.  Around the lip area, don’t use this on the lips like a lip balm.  Describing this as a cream for both the eye and lip area is so interesting to me, and I think it’s the first skincare product I’ve seen do this explicitly.  The delicate area around the lip is a hugely neglected section of the face in terms of skincare, and I think it’s safe to say that many people abuse this skin more severely than the area around the eye (think waxing, drinking out of straws, etc.).  Fine lines don’t just appear around the eyes my friends, and I know that fading lip lines and little creases around the lips just waiting for lipstick to migrate into them is often a concern for maturing skin.  Doesn’t it make so much sense to use a cream in the area around the lips in much the same way we do around the eyes??  I can’t believe I wasn’t doing this before I started using Care’s cream, but you better believe I will keep doing it now.

The Eye + Lip Nourishing cream is very lightweight.  It’s formulated with caffeine and ascorbic acid, which provides a boost of antioxidants.  I tap it onto the under eye area and around the orbital bone in the morning and at night and this has helped with my under eye dryness, a plight that becomes the enemy of many a concealer.  Another few taps around the perimeter of my lips and these areas feel smooth and hydrated.  I notice a pleasant cooling effect for a few minutes after I apply this product, which is an added bonus on early mornings when I’m still a half-asleep zombie standing at the bathroom sink.

I’m all-in with Care’s philosophy as a brand, and I am really interested to see if I would like their Deep Moisture Fix Hydrating Water Cream and their Soft Sweep Micellar Cleanser + Toner.  Plus, they just released Soft Sweep Towelettes that come in a pack of 20 biodegradable wipes that can be used to cleanse in the morning and wipe away dirt at the end of the day.  My and Lea’s last foray into biodegradable wipes was not so successful (check out our review here), so seeing these Towelettes makes me want to try them out too.  Maybe there’s more Care in my future.

Liz’s Verdict: The Everything Multi-level Moisturizer is good, and the Eye + Lip Nourishing Cream is better.

Lea:

I’ve been on a quest to find a retinol product that didn’t irritate my sensitive skin for a while now. When I saw the Tireless Retinoid Night Serum from Care in the package for Best Coast Beauty I called dibs!

My skin is sensitive so the fact that Care is a clean beauty brand (no: fragrance, parabens, phthalates, mineral oil or alcohol) is a huge draw for me. I love the idea of a product that treats from the inside out especially if it can do so without irritation.

Care’s Tireless Retinoid Night Serum does exactly that- I experienced zero redness, peeling or irritation of any kind (all things I have definitely fallen victim to with other retinoid products). The difference is no doubt due in part to the fact that Care Skincare uses a state of the art granactive retinoid (recently dubbed “the novel retinoid”). In short this new technology binds directly to retinoid receptors in skin cells, eliminating the irritation associated with traditional retinoids. Care Skincare actually has a great article on their blog detailing Everything You Want to Know About Retinoids.

I have to admit that I was so excited to use this serum that I squirted WAY too much all over my face. Essentially an entire dropper-full, oops. Don’t do this. The directions (which I obviously read later) say to use a few drops. Even with my over-zealous application I still didn’t experience any irritation, just a few clogged pores which may or may not have had anything to do with this noncomedogenic formula. Once I backed off and followed directions I really enjoyed adding this serum to my nighttime routine. Also, if you’re only using a few drops I could see this bottle (1 full ounce) lasting many months.

The bottle and dropper are of great quality, heavy milk glass with a simple and elegant label. Utilizing the dropper keeps the product sterile and you can really tailor the amount you want as opposed to other brands that come with a pump. Though the Tireless Retinoid Night Serum doesn’t have any added fragrance, the formula smells clean and not at all like chemicals. Once applied it dries down quickly and leaves no trace. I took a few additional drops down my neck and décolletage wiping any excess on the backs of my hands. I didn’t feel like I needed to wash any residue off of my palms and the moisturizer I followed with sunk in just as well if not better than usual.

I do think it took a few weeks of regular use to see smoother, brighter skin but that would be the case with anything that works from the inside out actually causing your skin cells to turn over. In the short term, being diligent with regular use of this serum for the sake of a review meant my skin was more hydrated and supple due to the extra attention. Additionally my neck and décolletage (both areas I ignore but know I shouldn’t) have seen improvement. I’m hopeful that with continued use I’ll see some fading of sunspots and decrease in forehead lines.

I really hope Care Skincare looks into vitamin C serum because I’d love to find a no nonsense, non-irritating formula in this stylish white glass bottle.

Lea’s Verdict: Finally a retinoid with ZERO side effects. A little goes a long way and she’s cute.