I’m honestly a little mad I didn’t hear about Avya Skincare sooner. They are based in Texas, and do a fantastic job mixing innovation/technology with natural ingredients. What’s so interesting about this brand is they have a unique differentiator in the marketplace: they created a skincare line specifically for people who have higher melanin levels.

Why is this exciting? I’m not sure if you knew this, (I didn’t) but people who have more melanin in their skin are more likely to have issues with hyperpigmentation, produce more oil or sebum and can struggle with an uneven skin tone. Most brands focus on specific or general concerns, like wrinkles or anti-aging versus concerns relating to people with higher melanin levels. I didn’t realize my oil and hyperpigmentation issues were probably due to my olive-toned skin. Needless to say, I was very excited to try this collection.

In regards to ingredient, they’re not an all-natural brand but they do however blend traditional ingredients with new technology. I love that they’ve formulated their own blend of peony (anti-inflammatory and antioxidant), neem (antibacterial, soothes and exfoliates), and turmeric (targets inflammation and free radical damage) that’s seen throughout their collection. Basically my face smelled fantastic without the peony smell taking over.

What about formula and texture? I have some pros and cons for each product, which i’ll outline below. Overall I was pretty impressed with the collection. My top two favorite products: Eye Bright Cream and their Night Moisturizer.

Note: I was gifted their signature skincare set. You can check out their full collection here.

Review

Gentle Cleanser
I used this cleanser about three times a week since it contained salicylic acid — want to make sure my face didn’t become red/irritated. This is a gel-like cleanser that did a great job of removing makeup, even waterproof, without totally stripping my face. This product contains salicylic acid (acne fighting, anti-inflammatory, exfoliator), witch hazel (astringent that helps soothe and reduce the appearance of pores) and aloe vera (anti-aging antioxidant, moisturizer, improves elasticity, calms redness and hyperpigmentation). Overall, I did find that it did a great job of keeping the oil in my face balanced, would recommend purchasing!

No real “negatives”, but I will call out that it does foam a little, despite what the package says.

Side note: Because the formula is more liquid-y, I wish the packaging was a pump or the top snapped off/on. With the current screw top, you have to balance the bottle on something so the product won’t drip out while you’re washing your face. Not a big deal, but just an inconvenience.

Eye Bright Cream
This eye cream contains caffeine (improves circulation and reduces puffiness) and cassava (tightens fine lines). Other ingredients like hyaluronic acid, mushroom extract, almond extract and goji berry extract are also present in this product. My first impression based off the texture was meh. The texture was pretty watery or more like a serum than an eye cream so I was skeptical. But I actually really love this product. After one week of using it, I noticed the fine lines around my eyes started to blur. It did a great job at hydrating and tightening the skin. If you wanna read more, I did a full review on this product here.

I don’t typically have puffy eyes, so i’m not sure if this product works for that. But I will 100% say it’s a great anti-aging product.

Day Moisturizer SPF 20
This light weight moisturizer helps protect your skin from free radicals, it contains zinc oxide SPF, and targets inflammation and hyperpigmentation. Ingredients included are snow mushroom extract (anti-inflammatory, hydrating, wrinkle reducer), hyaluronic acid (helps reduce fine lines/wrinkles due to it’s ability to lock in moisture), niacinamide/vitamin B3 (reduces appearance of pores and improves skin texture), zinc oxide (chemical free sun protection), beet root exact (fights free radicals) and coconut extract (detoxifies the skin and prevents the formation of new acne scars).

Felt like this was an incredible primer for makeup! The day moisturizer did a fantastic job at making my skin feel incredibly soft, hydrated and helped with my hyperpigmentation. However, this maybe was my least favorite in the bunch due to the physical SPF. If the formula could be tweaked a bit to make sure the SPF can blend better into the skin, this would be a winner. I kept finding white flakes or residue on my face or around my hairline.

Night Moisturizer
This night moisturizer is a new favorite! It’s formulated to help with cell turnover, targets hyperpigmentation, and reduces fine lines/wrinkles. It contains hyaluronic acid, vitamin A (a retinoid for glowing skin), hydroxyproline (a peptide that promotes collagen production), beet root extract, contact extract and astaxanthin (antioxidant to prevent aging). If you were to get one product from their collection GET THIS. Any time I applied this moisturizer (about 3-4 times a week due to potential sensitivity), I woke up looking amazing! My skin was even in tone, no redness, just bright and fresh. This moisturizer helped reduce the appearance of my post inflammatory hyperpigmentation — always looking for help in this department. Overall, my skins reaction to it was quite positive: dew, hydrated, felt soft and looked smooth.

Routine

Morning
Avya Gentle Cleanser
Toner
Face Mist
Avya Eye Bright Cream
Avya Day Moisturizer SPF 20

Evening
Avya Gentle Cleanser
Toner
Avya Eye Bright Cream
Avya Night Moisturizer

Ingredients

Gentle Cleanser
Water, Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Witch Hazel, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Bis-Hydroxyethylglycinate Coco-Glucosides, Crosspolymer, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Salicylic Acid, Peg-12 Glyceryl Dimyristate, Melia Zzadirachta Neem) Leaf Extract, Paeonia Albiflora (peony) Root Extract, Tetrahydrocurcumin (turmeric), Propanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium Sorbate, Fragrance

Day Moisturizer SPF 20
Water, Zinc Oxide, Coco Caprylate/Caprate, Coconut Alkanes, Tremella Fuciformis Sporacarp (Snow Mushroom) Extract, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Polyglycerol-3 Polyricinoleate, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Ethyl Ascorbic Acid (Vit C), Mica, Silica, Fragrance, Hypnea Musciformis (Red Algae) Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Beta Vulgaris (Beet) Root Extract, Niacinamide, PEG-12 Glyceryl Dimyristate, Melia Azadirachta (Neem) Leaf Extract, Paeonia Albiflora (Peony) Root Extract, Tetrahydrocurcumin (Turmeric), Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate,Triethoxycaprylsilane, Glycerin, Magnesium Sulfate, Propanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium Sorbate

Eye Bright Cream
Water, Zinc Oxide, Coco Caprylate/Caprate, Coconut Alkanes, Tremella Fuciformis Sporacarp (Snow Mushroom) Extract, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Polyglycerol-3 Polyricinoleate, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Ethyl Ascorbic Acid (Vit C), Mica, Silica, Fragrance, Hypnea Musciformis (Red Algae) Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Beta Vulgaris (Beet) Root Extract, Niacinamide, PEG-12 Glyceryl Dimyristate, Melia Azadirachta (Neem) Leaf Extract, Paeonia Albiflora (Peony) Root Extract, Tetrahydrocurcumin (Turmeric), Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate,Triethoxycaprylsilane, Glycerin, Magnesium Sulfate, Propanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium Sorbate

Night Moisturize
water, cetearyl alcohol, behentrimonium chloride, polyquaternium 37, dimethicone and dimethicone crosspolymer, neopentyl glycol dicaprate, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, peg-12 glyceryl dimyristate, lycium barbarum (gogi berry) extract, angelic polymorpha sinensis (dong quai) root extract, cynara scolymus (artichoke)leaf extract, ceratonia silique (carob) fruit extract, sodium hyaluronate, hydroxyproline (peptide), acetyl glucosamine, melia azadirachta (neem) leaf extract, paeonia albiflora (peony) root extract, tetrahydrocurcumin (turmeric), ethyl ascorbic acid (vit c), tocopherol (vit e), retinyl palmitate (vit a), glysine soja oil, polyurea, retinol (vit a), niacinamide, propanediol, ethylhexyl glycerin, potassium sorbate, fragrance, astaxanthin, beta carotene

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