PSA: This iconic tan brand just launched their own skincare, so we tried it. Immediately.

It's not every day that one of your favourite Australian brands launches their own skincare range.  

Bondi Sands - known for their one-of-a-kind self-tan products, as well as their suncare and body care ranges - have now turned their attention specifically to our faces.

Our temperamental, ever-changing, very delicate faces.

The Bondi Sands Everyday Skincare range features 12 products, packed with natural botanicals and science-backed ingredients. From hyaluronic acid to Vitamin C to AHA to squalene to bakuchiol, these products aren't messing around. They've got the ingredients we know work, with the additional benefits of being suitable for sensitive skin, cruelty free and vegan. 

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Having put every single Bondi Sands product on my body or face at one time or another, it felt right that I try their skincare. Immediately. 

This is what happened. 

So, what are we working with?

Let's start with... the canvas. My face.

Ummm... hi. Image: Supplied.

As much as I hate to admit it, I have sensitive skin. One time I got a facial where the facialist used new products on my face, and I broke out in cystic acne for months. 

More recently, I used a different cleanser and developed dermatitis on my eyelids. 

WHY AM I LIKE THIS.

My skin is also dry, and to top it all off, I've got some fine lines. Happening. In a few places.

Fun. 

In particular, my eye area is not my favourite. I currently don't use any products specifically around my eyes because of the whole dermatitis incident, and I don't want anything too active that's going to cause irritation. But something to brighten or tighten or generally make that area a bit more 'HI I'M AWAKE AND READY FOR THE DAY' would be fab.

So I'm a firm believer in a) gentle products, that b) actually do something. I'm not here for hippy products that have extracts from a seed I've never heard of and just feel like literal water on my face.

If I'm using you, I want to know you're performing, you know?

The products

Enter: The Bondi Sands Everyday Skincare range. 

The range is divided into five categories: cleanse, treat, hydrate, protect, and mask. 

I tried four products - one from each of those first four categories:

• Fresh’n Up Nourishing Gel Cleanser (cleanse)
• Gold’n Hour Brightening Vitamin C Serum (treat)
• Eye Spy Brightening Eye Cream (hydrate) 
• Sunny Daze Hydrating SPF 50 Moisturiser (protect)

Get on my face. Image: Supplied.

Let's go through them one by one, shall we?

Fresh’n Up Nourishing Gel Cleanser ($14.95)

May I take a moment to have a word about cleansers.

Why, in 2021, do most cleansers not thoroughly remove my makeup? It's quite unhelpful and I don't mean to be rude but you have literally one job.

That's why I formed quite an intense relationship with Bondi Sands' Fresh’n Up Nourishing Gel Cleanser. 

With calendula extract, chamomile and aloe vera, it was gentle and left my face feeling clean but not... like it was burning (if you have sensitive skin, you know).

But it also removed every skerrick of my makeup - liquid eyeliner, several coats of mascara, foundation, sunscreen, all of it. 

Love a gel cleanser. Image: Supplied.

Even good, solid cleansers often leave me with panda eyes after a shower, so I was very impressed.

In consumer trials, 98 per cent of participants said they noticed a clearer complexion after using the Fresh’n Up Gel Cleanser for 30 days*. 

Gentle on sensitive faces, the MVP of removing makeup and bloody good at clearing up skin? Yes please.

Gold’n Hour Brightening Vitamin C Serum ($17.95)

Of all the ingredients that promise to make your skin 'glow,' Vitamin C is the one we know works. 

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that stimulates the growth of collagen, prevents premature ageing, brightens the skin, and can also help with hyperpigmentation, dryness, uneven skin tone, and more. 

Bondi Sands' Gold’n Hour Brightening Vitamin C Serum almost has the consistency of an oil. It has 10 per cent Vitamin C as well as Kakadu Plum and licorice root extract, and as soon as you put it on your face, it glows.

Bright and glowy. Image: Supplied.

The serum is instantly hydrating, sinking into the skin and leaving it glowy and bright.

Of all participants in a consumer trial, 90 per cent said their complexion looked brighter after 30 days, and 92 per cent noticed their skin tone was more even*. 

The Gold’n Hour Brightening Vitamin C Serum was perfect to slide on in the morning before my moisturiser and SPF, and sat beautifully under makeup. 

To be honest, something I love about this range is that there aren't 72 different serums. As a person who has many things to do that don't include applying products to my face, I crave simplicity. Tell me like, one proper ingredient I should be using and I'll use it. But tell me 32 and I'll wash my face with soap out of protest.

For my skin concerns, Vitamin C is probably the most appropriate serum I could use. And here it is in pretty, 100 per cent recyclable packaging and a formula that my over-dramatic skin drinks up?!

Eye Spy Brightening Eye Cream ($17.95)

Speaking of Vitamin C - Bondi Sands' eye cream has it, too. 

But unlike their Vitamin C serum, the Eye Spy Brightening Eye Cream is specifically designed to hydrate tired eyes (thanks to the addition of green coffee beans and carrot oil), and brighten and diminish dark circles. 

Brightens eyes. Immediately. Image: Supplied.

The most exciting thing about this product is that it works instantly. 

Seriously.

When it comes out, it's a glowy, bright, golden colour, and when you apply it under your eyes, you can see the difference immediately. 

The idea is that it creates brighter skin both in the short and long term, with fast-acting and slower-acting ingredients. 

In consumer trials, 100 per cent of participants said they would purchase this product, with 96 per cent saying their under-eye area appeared luminous and awakened*.

It's a winner in my books. 

Sunny Daze Hydrating SPF 50 Moisturiser ($22.95)

There's no point using fancy, effective products on your face if you're not going to protect it from further damage, am I right?

That's where a strong SPF comes in. 

Now, I've tried some bloody good sunscreens in my time, so I have very high standards. But the Sunny Daze Hydrating SPF 50 Moisturiser knows exactly what it's doing.

First, it's SPF 50, which... yes please. 

But what I really noticed about this product was the texture. It's light, and has a bright, glowy tint that means it won’t leave your face with that white sheen that other SPFs can. 

LOOK AT IT.

The. COLOUR! Image: Supplied.

It also smells like summer, and sat perfectly under my makeup, adding a glow that's just another very important reason to apply it every morning.

BUT that's not all. 

What you might notice about the Sunny Daze Hydrating SPF 50 Moisturiser is that it has the word moisturiser in it, and my lord does it behave like one. 

Enriched with Vitamin E, wild hibiscus extract and zinc oxide, it leaves your face feeling fresh and hydrated. I would like it on the record that this product made my normal daily moisturiser redundant - I simply used it as both an SPF and a day cream, and cut an entire step out of my morning routine. 

It seems others agree - with 94 per cent of participants in consumer trials saying their skin looked less dry after 24 hours*. 

The verdict

I'm a big proponent of the fact that good skin care doesn't need to be complicated or expensive. In fact, simplicity is usually the best thing for our faces.

Bondi Sands' Everyday Skincare is exactly that. Simple, reliable and effective, while being gentle on sensitive skin and catering to the skin concerns most of us have.

This range is affordable, backed by science, and focused on happy, healthy, real skin.

I'll be using these products again and again, and switching them up depending on what my very demanding face is asking for. 

A good skin day looks different to everyone, which is why Bondi Sands created Everyday Skincare: a range suitable for all skin types (even the sensitive ones). Shop them here.

For more from Clare Stephens, you can follow her on Instagram. 

SOURCES:

• Fresh’n Up Gel Cleanser: Based on an independent user trial of 50 participants, after 30 days of using Bondi Sands Fresh’n Up Gel Cleanser 150ml 
• Gold’n Hour Vitamin C Serum: Based on an independent user trial of 50 participants, after 30 days of using Bondi Sands Gold’n Hour Vitamin C Serum 30ml
• Eye Spy Eye Cream: Based on an independent user trial of 50 participants, after 30 days of using Bondi Sands Eye Spy Eye Cream 15ml
• Sunny Dayz SPF 50 Hydrating Moisturiser: Based on an independent user trial of 50 participants, after 24 hours of using Bondi Sands Sunny Dayz SPF 50 Hydrating Moisturiser 50ml

Feature Image: Supplied.