If you live in New Zealand or Australia and are on Instagram or Facebook, it’s likely you’ve probably heard about Raw Kanvas as it has been everywhere lately! This skincare brand was created by two friends, a Kiwi and an Aussie, and offers a full range of natural skincare that’s also vegan and cruelty-free.
Now I’ll be honest, I’ve become quite picky about skincare in recent months. I think there are just so many brands out there now, that there had to be something incredibly special about a brand to make me want to try and use it. And after reading and learning more about the Raw Kanvas products I was 100% sold on trying them. They kindly offered to send me a couple of products, which I’ve been now trialling for a couple of months, so I wanted to share how things are going so far.
A few of you might think… first impressions….after two months? But in my opinion trialling skincare (especially advanced skincare like acids and retinols) can take quite some time. The skin takes a while to adjust to using new products, and in order to trial them thoroughly, 6 weeks+ is definitely required. I’ve been sharing how I’ve been getting on with these products so far over on my Instagram and have a video saved in my highlights from around the month mark, so feel free to check that out if you are interested!
First up, Raw Kanvas products are natural yet are designed to be effective. They’ve packed these products with effective botanicals which will actually make a difference to your skin. While there is a whole range of the usual suspects – eg toners, cleansers, and moisturisers, there are also products such as a Retinol & Vitamin C combo, a Probiotic mask & lotion and an AHA mask.
The website is also a fantastic skincare resource, where you can take a skin quiz to find out what products work best for your skin. You can then shop by skin concern and can also build your own sets, whereby if you buy two or more products you get a discount. Raw Kanvas is also a eco-friendly brand and their website has a lot of detail about how the products are made and sourced as well as packaging recycling.
So let’s get on to the products….. I spoke to Simona at Raw Kanvas and we discussed my skin type. I have fairly normal skin with a few closed comedones on my chin and a little bit of pigmentation at the top of my cheeks. She was so wonderful and recommended me the Luna Vitality: Restoring Moisture Cream to use as my night time moisturiser, and The Foundation: Flawless Retinol & Vitamin C Lotion to also use as part of my night time routine. Here’s how I’m finding these products after a couple of months ….
LUNA VITALITY: RESTORING MOISTURE CREAM
This bright yellow moisturiser has to be one of the most fun moisturisers I’ve ever used and certainly one of the most hydrating. You only need a tiny bit as a little goes a long way, so the 60ml jar is going to go quite the distance. This moisturiser is designed to be used on dry, combination or sensitive skins and is packed full of delicious rich oils to help boost collagen and elastin. The active ingredients include jojoba oil (my all-time favourite oil), Hyaluronic acid, and Vitamin B5 which help hydrate, plump and smooth.
I’ll be honest, using this cream is heavenly. It has a soft scent of Neroli and Pink Lotus which makes you feel like you are on a tropical island somewhere. I absolutely love the scent! Even though it’s an extremely hydrating cream, the cream itself isn’t very heavy and is super easy to rub into the skin. My face doesn’t feel oily, and in the morning when I wake up, my skin feels super hydrated and incredibly soft.
I know it’s early days, but I’d almost go as far to as to say this might be my favourite night time moisturiser ever. It smells incredible, leaves my skin feeling amazing, and is completely natural. What’s there not to love? This is a part of my nightly routine that I really look forward to!
RAW KANVAS – THE FOUNDATION: FLAWLESS RETINOL & VITAMIN C LOTION
I have wanted to try a retinol for ages now, but was a bit put off as many of them contained some pretty serious chemicals. As you guys might know if you’ve been following my blog for a while, I do try to use natural products where possible. I was really excited to try out the Raw Kanvas The Foundation as it is a natural version of a Retinol lotion and it also has the added bonus of Vitamin C. Both Retinol and Vitamin C are really good for helping to brighten the skin and remove pigmentation and dark spots. They are also known to reduce wrinkles, acne scars, sun spots, and fine lines – so are really the ultimate anti-aging ingredients! Both of these ingredients encourage cell turnover, which in return creates brighter and more smooth skin that is more even in tone.
This product is also a cool colour, with a pastel orange formulation. One pump is enough to do your whole face, so again this one is going to last a long time. I was advised to start off with this one slowly as your skin needs time to adjust to using Retinol, so use it only 2 times a week and then slowly build up to using it every second night. It’s also important to use it at night as Retinol can make your skin more sensitive in the sun – which means it’s also important to use a SPF during the day too!
I’ve only been using this one for eight weeks, which isn’t quite long enough to give a full report on how it affects the pigmentation, so I will be doing another post about this product after I’ve used it a bit longer. It’s not an overnight magic worker and my pigmentation hasn’t disappeared in just a few weeks, but my skin is already looking much brighter and more even and it’s feeling much much smoother.
For the first couple of weeks, I did have a few breakouts, but this was just my skin purging any blockages as the cells turnover so is completely to be expected. It’s important to just keep going with the product, although ultimately it can be a bit tough to mentally accept that your skin has to get worse before it gets better. I just kept telling myself the breakouts are caused by clogs under the skin that would have had to come to the surface at some stage anyway.
After about 4 weeks, the breakouts stopped and once they had subsided, my skin looked a lot smoother. The texture caused from breakouts lurking under the skin had gone and my skin looked a lot more even. Now at 8 weeks, I haven’t had another breakout since. I’m using the retinol now every second or third night, and I can honestly say my skin looks the best it’s been in a long time. I’ll keep you updated on this one!
OVERALL…..
So far I have to say I’m super impressed with this brand and I’m eyeing up the Exfoliating Powder and Luminosity Mask, as you guys know how much I love my natural masks. If you are looking for a hydrating moisturiser, I honestly can’t rate the Luna Vitality enough and at this has become a new favourite in my skincare lineup. I’m also super impressed with the Retinol so far, and as I’ve mentioned it’s still early days, so I’ll be doing an update on this one in a couple of months time.
Have you tried Raw Kanvas products? I’d love to hear your thoughts on them!
