Adore Beauty is known for its discerning collection of beauty, skin and hair care (and the Tim Tams that accompany each order). And after more than two decades of business, you can bet that the team has tried its fair share of “cult” products and holy grail formulas.
Last year, the beauty e-tailer launched its own in-house brand, Ab Lab, with a range of three sunscreens. Now it's adding to the offering with the release of five new products under the Ab Skin banner: three cleansers and two moisturisers.
“Over the last few years, the boom in skincare has been amazing but equally it has caused a lot of potential for confusion or overwhelm,” Adore Beauty’s head of brand Chelsea Healey says. “Ab Lab is about getting back to basics.”
In the same way that a capsule wardrobe can be built around a few key items of clothing (great jeans, a timeless trench etc), the team believes that your skincare routine doesn’t need to be complicated to work hard.
After surveying its Adore Society members about their “desert island” skincare products, Adore Beauty found that cleansers and moisturisers are the two categories their customers struggle with the most. Half of the respondents admitted they still haven’t found their “perfect” moisturiser and a third say they haven’t found their “perfect” cleanser.
“We know our community is extremely beauty literate – in fact, more than nine in 10 of them say they purchase skincare with their skin type in mind, and over two-thirds are incorporating different products for their AM and PM routines. Still, our survey insights tell us that many are still on the hunt for those ‘holy grail’ skincare products,” Healey says.
The range includes three cleansers: Dewy-C Enzymatic cleansing balm, a great take-the-day-off first step; B5 Bounce Conditioning Cleanser, which is designed with sensitive and dehydrated skin types in mind; and the B3 Balance Foaming Facial Wash that gently exfoliates thanks to an AHA/BHA complex.
Then there’s the B3 Balance Water Gel Cream, which is geared towards oily, combination and dehydrated skin, and the Dewy-C Luminous Skin Cream that offers more intense hydration for normal and dry types.
“Seeking advice from a professional [such as a dermal therapist] is the best way to ‘diagnose’ your skin type and understand what formulas will work best for you, especially because our skin can change with age and environmental factors,” Healey says. “It's also important to track changes in skin texture through the seasons so that you can interchange between products in your skincare wardrobe.”
You can shop the Ab Lab range individually or choose from curated bundles that are designed to nourish dry skin, help keep combo types happy, or offer oily complexions some relief.
When it comes to look and feel, the black and white packaging mirrors the pared-back approach. “Simplicity is a key pillar in the Ab Lab range. We’ve seen so many trends come and go but we really wanted to create something that’s timeless and won’t date – both in terms of the product and the packaging,” Healey says.
Shop the Ab Lab range now at adorebeauty.com.au.
We hope you like the products we recommend on Broadsheet. Our editors select each one independently. Broadsheet may receive an affiliate commission when you follow some links.
