The INKEY List’s signature black-and-white bottles are synonymous with affordable yet effective skincare. Its formulas come with straightforward guidance on who should use them, when and how often – a welcome fuss-free respite from the often overwhelming noise of the beauty industry.
As if this wasn't enough, the brand offers an askINKEY service, a live chat that gives you access to a dedicated skincare adviser 24/7, 365 days a year. From skincare for acne or pregnancy to building a complete everyday routine on a budget, its expert skin coaches are on hand around the clock for all of your queries, and best of all they won’t charge you a penny for their knowledge. Not gatekeeping skincare advice? We’re extremely here for it.
Intrigued, we asked an askINKEY advisor some of our own most burning skincare questions. Here are the best tips we picked up along the way.
Sussing your skin type is simple
Finding the right products is 10 times harder if you don’t know what your skin type is, but our askINKEY advisor shared a super-quick hack to help you find out. Cleanse your skin and leave it for five minutes without any product. If it feels tight, you likely have dry skin – you might even see flaky skin, although this isn’t always obvious, so look closely. If your skin feels greasy to the touch, you have oily skin, while combination skin types will see a mix of both. We used this trick to identify our dry, sensitive skin, and so our advisor recommended products rich in hyaluronic acid, like The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Cleanser, £9.99, and Peptide Moisturiser, £14.99, for extra hydration and nourishment.
Patch test, patch test, patch test
Usually open a new tube and slather it across your face without a second thought? Hold up – our expert told us we should be patch testing any new products we buy, just like we would before getting our hair coloured. ‘We know a lot of people are excited to add that new product into their routine straight away, but even if the product is designed for your skin type, everyone’s skin sensitivity is different,’ they said. Apply a dab of product to your inner arm and wait 24-48 hours to see if any irritation occurs – you’ll thank yourself for your patience if it does.
Shop smart, not spenny
We also tested the genius askINKEY recipe builder, which gave us an instant skincare starter kit, recommending products like the brightening Caffeine Eye Cream, £8.99, and the Retinol Serum, £9.99, to target our particular concerns. The average price of these four-step regimens is just £29 – and when you order yours, the brand will throw in a free Hyaluronic Acid worth £5.99 as well. Considering other brands’ individual items often cost upwards of £29, we’d say building a recipe of your own is well worth your time.
Cleanse, tone, moisturise is old news
When we asked what the bare minimum we could do on time-poor (or let’s be honest, lazy) days was, our coach voted cleanse, hydrate, protect instead. The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid, £5.99, mentioned above, is ideal for the hydration step because you can use it on damp skin, cutting down the time of your routine even further, and it’s suitable for every skin type. That said, it’s not ideal to go this minimalist every day, so when you have time, try to follow a five-step plan: cleanse, hydrate, treat any skin concerns, moisturise, SPF.
Don't sleep on new ingredients
The brightening benefits of using vitamin C are well documented, but there are other up-and-coming options worth having on your radar too. Our advisor said they wished more people knew about the virtues of the kakadu plum extract in its Fulvic Acid Cleanser, £10.99. ‘It contains 50-100 times more vitamin C than an orange, and is great for boosting skin’s radiance and luminosity,’ they explained. ‘It's also high in antioxidants to support clear and calm skin. We love it.’ *adds to basket*
If you’ve got a skincare question you need an answer to, The INKEY List is here to help. Head to theinkeylist.com to create your profile, have a free askINKEY consultation and use the recipe builder to make your own starter recipe.
The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid
The Inkey List Caffeine Eye Cream
The Inkey List Retinol Serum
The Inkey List Salicylic Acid Cleanser
The Inkey List Peptide Moisturizer
The Inkey List Niacinamide Serum
The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm
