My Best Skin Yet | Happy Carrot Skincare Review

Finally, at twenty-five, I’ve found that the secret to clearer skin is fruit and veg.

We all know that vegetables are good for us, but how many of us had ever considered introducing it into our skincare? Enter Happy Carrot Skincare. They’re the vegan beauty brand working hard to keep skincare minimal but effective.

Here’s a brief introduction to the brand;

• their products are made with 10 ingredients or less
• their formulas are consciously palm oil free
• all their products are registered with the vegan society

Before we get any further, it’s important for you to know that I’ve been paid to share my honest thoughts on this skincare through a blog post.

Incredible for Combo Skin

I’ve always struggled to find skincare to suit my tricky combination skin. I’ve spent years searching for products to tackle all main skin concerns; oily, dry and spotty. Treating one problem often is at the detriment of another, which can be the ultimate frustration; clearing spots meant drying skin and hydrating skin led to clogged pores.

All Happy Carrot Skincare products have been created with combination skin in mind; they use simple, natural ingredients that help with sensitivities, acne and dry patches too.

I grew up believing that you’d feel, upon application, skincare being effective – maybe a slight tingle or effervescence deep in your pores. So I was sceptical that these super gentle balms and oils would be of much benefit. But day after day, I found my skin clearing; less spots, less redness, less congestion.

Incredible Carrot Healing Balm

I think this balm in particular is the one to thank for my fresher looking skin. It’s really soft and gentle to apply and melts easily into the skin. I can really feel it ease out any gunk in my pores or makeup off of my face. It feels like it’s working with my skin, not against it.

I switched to this balm after trialling out some new skincare which did not work well for my skin at all and left my face very irritated. I was so surprised how quickly this product reset and calmed my skin. Even better, it continued to clear and heal my skin to look and feel better than it’s been in over a year – in fact my skin is only ever this clear after I’ve come back from a week in the sun!

I really urge anyone with combination skin to try this out, I see so little formulated for this skin type and can’t believe how quickly this worked on my skin.

How to use

Knowing how to use a cleansing balm properly is just as important for clearing your skin as the product itself. I love that this is a multipurpose product – it helps keep clutter down in my bathroom and is better for the environment too!

Face cleanser | Scoop out a small clump of the buttery vegan balm. Let it melt away as you massage it into your face. Take the time to really massage it in, particularly in areas where your skin gets congested. For me, this is the t-zone. During this phase you can soften dry patches and uplift any dirt, sweat or makeup. Dampen a face cloth or flannel with warm water and gently rub the balm off of your face – this step doubles as an exfoliation. Blot your skin dry using a clean towel.

Makeup remover | I love using this to remove my makeup – particularly eye makeup as it’s super gentle. Instead of letting the balm melt on my face, I rub a small amount between my finger tips instead. I use this to gently coax any makeup off my eye area. I follow this up with a warm, soft, wet cloth or reusable cotton round.

Face mask | Massage a thicker layer of balm onto clean skin and leave on for twenty minutes before removing with a cloth. This is a great, intensive treatment for calming and hydrating your skin.

Terrific Tomato Facial Oil

I know, the humble tomato doesn’t sound as glamorous as half the ‘secret ingredients’ in the beauty aisle – but that doesn’t mean it’s not effective. It’s loaded with nutrients and antioxidants that are great for the skin. In this facial oil it’s paired with watermelon seed oil, for quick penetration and papaya seed oil to help clear dry, dead skin.

I’ve struggled before searching for moisturisers that are simultaneously lightweight and hydrating. So I was sceptical over how much I’d enjoy this product. However, it sinks into the skin beautifully and feels really gentle too. I love using this in the mornings, as it absorbs super fast – easy for me to continue with my makeup straight after. In the evenings I usually use this oil plus a small amount of balm in any drier patches for extra hydration.

Although, I was oddly disappointed that it didn’t smell like pasta sauce.

extracting the oil

One thing I didn’t enjoy about this product is the dropper – I found it really difficult to extract the oil from this. It wasn’t a huge issue though, I found it was easy to remove this plastic dropper. Instead, I now pour the oil straight from the bottle into my palm before massaging into my face. I just have to keep a steady hand.

I got in contact with Happy Carrot Skincare to pass on my feedback. They responded letting me know that they’ll check the droppers as it may have been a mix up with the suppliers (receiving droppers for thin oils rather than thick) in a more recent batch. When I asked why they didn’t opt for a pipette instead they told me;

The dropper is for three reasons, one it´s less waste than the usual glass pipette as the squeezy head bit is usually not recyclable. Secondly it´s less likely to leak in the post (no need for a separate lid or shrink wrap to seal it in) and thirdly, yes it seems more hygienic to me. I always end up touching the glass pipette thing with wet fingers, then that introduces who knows what into the bottle.

Happy Carrot Skincare

So that taught me a little something about packaging. I think I’ll now start asking all the skincare brands why they use a pipette instead of a dropper. Let’s see if I can make them switch over!

Awesome Apricot Lip Balm

I haven’t yet managed to get much use out of this lip balm. It’s only when we get really hot or cold weather than I can properly test out it’s healing and hydrating powers. Unfortunately the Great British Summer just isn’t setting me up here.

With the two main ingredients being mango butter and apricot kernel oil this is deliciously fruity. I sometimes mix this with my bolder lipstick colours to dim them down for an everyday look whilst adding a lovely hydrating gloss.

Overall Verdict

Easily my new favourite skincare brand and I can’t wait to see what they release next. I’d love an exfoliator, eye cream or a spot treatment next from them. All these products have really hit the mark and feel like they were made just for me.

I also love the focus on local ingredients. It’s far more sustainable for us to use products made with carrots or tomatoes as the hero ingredient rather than oil from a rare flower from the other side of the world that blooms once in a blue moon (a slight exaggeration of the beauty industry’s obsession with rare, exotic ingredients). Bring on the garden veg!