I Tried £220 Of Wild Science Lab Skincare & Here Are My Thoughts

So you’ve fallen hard for Facetheory, are a diehard fan of The Ordinary and your beauty routine includes a solid rotation of The Inkey List's bestsellers. Now meet your new skincare favourite: Wild Science Lab.

As beauty brand names go, it’s pretty self-explanatory. This is skincare that brings together the best of the natural world with science. Dermatologist-loved ingredients like vitamin C, skin-brightening tranexamic acid and exfoliating azelaic acid are combined with powerful natural ingredients like bakuchiol (a plant-based retinol alternative), betaine (a moisturiser derived from sugar beet) and astragalus root, which is anti-inflammatory and said to boost collagen production.

What sets Wild Science Lab apart from its competitors is the inclusion of allergy-friendly oils in each product. From an invigorating mix of grapefruit, orange and clementine oils in the Juice Boost Brightening Serum, which wakes up both your skin and mind in the morning, to the soothing combination of lavender, ylang ylang and magnolia oils in the Night Watch Moisturiser, this is skincare made to be an experience as much as anything.

Price-wise, it’s not quite in the same ballpark as The Ordinary and The Inkey List, with individual products ranging between £12 and £38 for individual products. Happily, though, we’re far from spenny, luxury brand, Augustinus Bader territory.

The real question, though, is does Wild Science Lab’s impressive cocktail of ingredients work? I tried seven of the brand’s bestsellers to find out and here are my honest thoughts.

Truthfully, I haven’t used an exfoliating scrub since St. Ives Apricot Scrub was knocked off its pedestal thanks to concerns over micro-tearing. I always thought my dry, sensitive skin fared better with a gentle chemical exfoliant but with Power Smoothie I’m a convert. You’re greeted with its bright orange colour and a waft of zesty fragrance, which reflects all the citrusy and plant-based goodness in this stuff; it is packed with stabilised vitamin C to brighten, carrot tissue oil to repair sun damage, sweet almond oil (rich in vitamin E) and deeply nourishing sunflower oil. As someone whose skin doesn’t react well to fragranced products, I was pleasantly surprised that none of these irritated my face.

At first Power Smoothie has a gel-like texture, loaded with exfoliating bamboo to slough away dead skin cells, but it swiftly transforms into an oil on your face. It doesn’t feel scratchy or too rough, unlike other scrubs, and my skin doesn’t just feel clearer and cleaner but has a glow to it. I’ve popped mine in the shower as a morning wake-up for my complexion.

According to Wild Science Lab’s website, this serum does it all, helping to soothe irritated and stressed skin, calm redness and inflammation, brighten dullness, lessen the look of fine lines, and hydrate. I can’t speak yet to whether the fine lines around my eyes and forehead are smoothed but my skin definitely feels intensely refreshed each time I apply it, and the redness I usually experience around my nose and on my cheeks, thanks to commuting stress has lessened. I also really like how this uses a natural retinol alternative (moth bean) as my sensitive skin often struggles with too intense a retinoid. It’s become one of the most soothing nighttime serums in my arsenal.

Let me introduce you to my favourite serum. Disclaimer: I’ve been a fan of Juice Boost for quite some time now, having been sent a sample last year. When I run out, I definitely notice it. Juice Boost doesn’t just smell divine (juicy and citrusy, like an orange smoothie) but it also really does quench my dry, thirsty skin. It feels thick and oily but sinks into the skin beautifully, leaving my complexion glowy and my skin tighter and bouncier. It’s probably down to all the goodness packed into the formula: vitamin C, vitamin E, aloe vera and hyaluronic acid.

Night Watch is a nighttime product and uses bakuchiol, another natural retinoid alternative, which means your skin isn’t irritated as you sleep. It claims to calm redness at the same time as refining skin texture and plumping fine lines. Again, I didn’t really notice a massive difference in my fine lines but my skin did feel soothed, calmed and hydrated by the hyaluronic acid. I’ve definitely enjoyed waking up to calmer, dewier skin.

I'm happy to report that this light, cream-to-foam cleanser didn't leave my dry skin feeling tight or 'stripped', though I would recommend it for those with oilier skin than myself. It's super gentle and also lightly exfoliates the skin of excess oil, and dead skin cells, makeup and dirt with plant-derived AHAs and BHAs. Basically, it just keeps everything in balance.

Now, I’ve been a little sceptical about eye creams ever since Refinery29's beauty editor, Jackie, revealed that many are essentially useless. Since turning 27, though, I’ve definitely noticed my fine lines and dark circles more than ever so I was keen to try out Night Shift. It’s thick and creamy but sinks into the skin quickly, leaving it refreshed — a dream after a long day. This product also uses bakuchiol to help lift, firm and brighten delicate skin, plus hyaluronic acid to hydrate. After using it for a few weeks I have noticed a difference: my under eyes are distinctly firmer and less puffy, although my dark circles haven’t really been lightened (but as Jackie explains, that's largely down to genetics).

I've only been using this for a short while, but I've definitely noticed that past acne scars are lighter and less red — all thanks to the anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial niacinamide and bisabolol (a component of soothing chamomile flowers). I'm excited to see how it fares with my monthly period acne.