Frankies Bikinis beauty review

As someone who would live on the beach if salt water wouldn’t destroy my laptop, one thing I don’t love is how I look coming out of the ocean. Ashy skin, wild hair and a salty pout are small prices to pay for a day in the waves, sure. But if I had a few key products to help soothe my weather-worn skin afterward, well … I might just risk mixing sand with hardware.

So I was excited when Frankies Bikinis new beauty line landed on my desk. The brand beloved by celebrities for itty-bitty swimwear dove into beauty with three vegan, cruelty-free products: a face mist, moisturizer and lip tint.

Frankies Bikinis sent me these products for free, but I haven’t been otherwise compensated for this review. These are my honest, unbiased opinions after giving the line a try.

Read my final verdict

Frankies Bikinis review

First impressions

Packaging

I adore the sky-blue bottles. But everything came in plastic boxes, which is a con for me. For a brand focused on using clean, vegan ingredients, it was disappointing to see so much plastic.

Glow Mist ($36)

A mist to set and refresh skin is always a nice step. Though it’s not something I spend a lot on, since I don’t think it makes a huge overall difference in my routine. That said, this contains pretty special ingredients. Coconut water, sea kelp and aloe tend to work well for my sensitive, acne-prone skin.

While I hoped for a fine mist, it squirted out — right in my eye. I didn’t see any difference after using this either.

Glow Moisturizer ($40)

This has an unusual scent — somehow the brand bottled a day at the beach. It’s light and clean — a bit like a chemical-free sunscreen. It did feel a little sticky on my skin but overall felt moisturizing.

The brand says: Apply evenly to clean face for an all-over glow, or focus product on the high points of the face to highlight. While I think this product would work great under makeup as a primer — hence the slight stickiness — I didn’t notice much of a highlight or glow. It does, however, leave a faint white cast until blended in.

Frankies Bikinis says the Glow Moisturizer is “nonirritating” and “allergy tested.” But I was disappointed to see isopropyl palmitate, a known pore-clogger, listed as the third ingredient. While I didn’t notice breakouts after using this product, those with acne-prone skin may want to do a patch test first.

Glow Tint

This looked just as I’d hoped: a sheer wash of coral-pink that bumped up my natural lip color. It felt cushiony and hydrating — perfect for dry days. I liked it had no scent too. But I much prefer a tube format to a pot — I hate dipping my fingers into makeup.

Where to buy

Shop Frankies Bikinis beauty online at frankiesbikinis.com, Revolve, Victoria's Secret Swim, Planet Blue and KITH.

Frankies Bikinis alternatives

My verdict

While I loved the concept of these products and the mostly-clean ingredients are a huge step in the right direction, they could use a little tweaking. First, there were a couple packaging issues. And Frankies Bikinis would need a few more products with key, innovative ingredients to compete with a brand with similar, popular brand like Glow Recipe.

While I’ll definitely stash these in my beach bag this summer, I probably wouldn’t purchase once I run out — except possibly the lip tint.