10 best minimalist skincare brands you need on your radar

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If you listen to most skincare experts, you need to complete a full 25-step routine every morning and evening, complete with retinols and vit-C boosters, second cleanses and night time oils. But what if you don’t have the time, money or inclination for such a marathon morning and night?

We’ve been trialling brands that claim to offer an antidote to skincare overdose. They emphasise fewer ingredients, less pressure on the buyer to understand the purpose and order of every step, with simpler instructions, and, most importantly, fewer products, so you gain back both money and time. If your skin is prone to breakouts or irritation, you may also find that stripping your skincare back to basics alleviates some of those symptoms and allows you to clearly figure out what works for you and what doesn’t.

These aren’t brands that launch a new product every few weeks to keep on top of endless beauty trends; rather they focus on doing a few things really well. Many of them are very reasonably priced, too, making decisions easy for your wallet as well as your skin. A lot of these products also have beautiful, appropriately minimalist packaging, too, which we love.

We’ve tested them with the same rigorous standards we apply to all brands, looking for a pleasant application experience, how our skin felt immediately afterwards and how the long-term effects played out.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps us to fund journalism across The Independent.