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Is Volition Beauty worth the hype?
A review for those who dream of creating their own skincare.
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Beauty & Makeup
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I love a breakthrough beauty concept. So when I learned Volition Beauty offered crowdsourced products, I knew I had to try some.
Instead of creating products on its own accord, Volition Beauty sources ideas from its online community. Once a product idea garners enough votes, it’s created in the lab and sold through the company’s website — with a growing selection available at Sephora.
Its products scored Sephora’s Clean seal of approval and contain ingredients derived from strawberries, snow mushroom and celery. How could I not be intrigued?
I tried the Strawberry-C Brightening Serum and Illuminating Body Milk.
Shop at SephoraFirst impressions
Right away, I was impressed by the heavy-weight glass containers. Not only do they look beautiful on any bathroom vanity, they’re reusable — unlike much of the beauty industry’s single-use plastic packaging.
I was struck by how fresh the serum smelled and felt on my skin — true to the product’s marketing, it felt almost as if I rubbed juice from actual strawberries on my skin. I applied it at night, and the next morning my skin looked calmer and clearer without any dryness or irritation.
The serum’s ingredients list also caught my attention right away. I love that it contains sea water, since swimming in the ocean always calms my skin. And it does, in fact, contain extracts from fresh strawberries, as well as cucumber water and Kakadu plum.
Complete ingredients list
Strawberry-C Brightening Serum
- Water
- Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Water
- Glycerin
- Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
- Fragaria Ananassa (Strawberry) Seed Extract
- Fragaria Vesca (Strawberry) Fruit Extract
- Sea Water
- Sodium Hyaluronate
- Panthenol
- 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
- Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract
- Propanediol
- Bentonite
- Picea Abies Extract
- Carbomer
- Aminomethyl Propanol
- Sodium Citrate
- Sodium Phytate
- Leuconostoc Ferment Filtrate
- Citric Acid
- Iron Oxides (CI 77491)
- Iron Oxides (CI 77499)
illuminating Body Milk
- Water
- Dicaprylyl Ether
- Titanium Dioxide
- Mica
- Octyldodecyl Olivate
- Glycerin
- Behenyl Alcohol
- Isopropyl Palmitate
- Octyldodecanol
- Beeswax
- Cetyl Alcohol
- Hydrogenated Lecithin
- Palmitic Acid
- Propanediol
- Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
- Xanthan Gum
- Caprylyl Glycol
- Phenoxyethanol
- Hexylene Glycol
- Disodium EDTA
- Sodium Hydroxide
As for the body milk, I was surprised to find a chunky, pudding-like texture in the jar but pleased when it glided onto my skin. It’s unscented and feels luxurious and hydrating.
At first it’s a pearlescent shade that blends into a gilded pink. It’s definitely pinker than it appears on the brand’s product page.
After the honeymoon period
I’ve used the Strawberry-C Brightening Serum two to three nights per week for about three months, and it’s kept my skin clear. It didn’t noticeably fade hyperpigmentation I have on my cheeks, but overall my skin looks smoother and clearer than it usually does after a muggy summer.
The Illuminating Body Milk may not be an everyday body lotion — it definitely has a bit of a holographic finish — but it’s great for strobing down the center of your legs, décolletage and tops of your shoulders. It also made my skin feel really soft and smooth.
I don’t recommend it for olive skin tones and deeper, though. The pale, frosted finish seems best-suited for fair-to-light, cool-to-neutral skin tones.
The verdict
I’d definitely recommend giving this brand a try, based on the two products I reviewed. The quality ingredients, packaging and innovative products are definitely worth a look. And if you’re in the market for a new serum or lotion, these two are top picks in my book.
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