The REN Perfect Canvas has my attention: A skin perfecting ‘ finishing’ serum-primer BUT with no silicone? This is pretty unusual and I can only name a small handful of decent skin perfectors without this ingredient.
REN are a skincare brand I have used on and off for over 10 years now. I have legit used their Ever-Calm (formally hydra-calm) face cream for this amount of time as one of my absolute pro kit skincare staples. It’s one of those creams I go to when I have problematic skin, redness and sensitivity and it immediately soothes and calms and everyone I put it on loves it (& often buy it!). They are a ‘natural’ brand which is a term I don’t like to use but I think most people understand this. REN is a a brand that do not use any parabens, mineral oils, synthetic fragrances, PEGS, petrolatum, synthetic colours or sulphates. The reason why I find ‘natural’ a tricky term is because anyone and everyone seems to throw themselves into this made-up category (because they can, you don’t need a certification) just because their products don’t contain parabens. EYE ROLL. In my eyes and mind, REN is a truly CLEAN brand, the one step before organic and a brand that truly uses plant extracts, nature and ingredients that are good for your skin function.
REN skincare are also a brand who do not swamp the consumer with endless and needless products, I tend to take note when they launch a new product as it is only handful of times a year and as a devotee of the brand, I am always interested to see what they bring out. Let’s get stuck into the Perfect Canvas:
Sidenote. Silicone, for me, isn’t a huge *no-no* : I am not reactive to it YET I make sure I am not using it on a daily basis directly onto my skin/ in my moisturisers etc as I do suffer from breakouts and congested skin and I know this won’t be conducive for me to having healthy skin longterm. I believe it to be an ingredient you should be aware of and the amount you are applying but whatever works for you. Common silicones in skincare include cyclopentasiloxane, cyclohexasiloxane, dimethicone, methicone, & phenyl trimethicone.
This lightweight and colourless serum feels like a typical serum and somehow *feels* like it does contain silicone because of it’s finish and smoothing abilities. It is a last skincare step, and is supposed to go over your moisturiser. It is a perfect product to use as a primer, solo or underneath your favourite base to give a flawless appearance. It smooths fine lines, reduces the appearance of pores BUT also contains actives to improve your skin over the longterm.
INGREDIENTS: It contains Pro-biotics that encourage surface cell renewal and Agave extract fills and tightens the skin and leaves a matte-finish which makes it perfect pre-makeup application. Alpha Glucans rebalances the skin & promotes the growth of friendly bacteria to improve skin health. Last up is a good dose of Hyaluronic Acid which hold water in the skin and has a plumping and tightening effect.
With all these fabulous ingredients, I feel like the only way to truly benefit from them is to possibly wear this underneath your cream OR if you have oily skin like myself, then I wear this solo as it gives me enough hydration and comfort on my skin. I mean , it’s great worn over your skincare (and this is how you should apply) as your primer BUT you won’t get all the benefits of the ingredients and for £50 it seems a waste? I think you should just wear it your way and see what works for your regime and skin type. I think it’s a really good product ; it works and it does make your base look utterly flawless without the pore-clogging silicones that can be an irritant for a lot of skins.
The REN Perfect Canvas launched just last week and is available at most REN stockists and the REN Website.
Have you tried anything from REN skincare yet?
