ThisThatBeauty Reviews: Eighteen B

Starting new skincare always stirs my soul. I swear I’m not trying to sound fake deep. It’s truly true. Even after over 13 years of beauty writing and product testing, I still light up over newness. But, nowadays — it takes a lot to light my fire. At this stage of the game, before starting a new product I always evaluate a few things…because I can’t be slapping anything   and everything on my skin. Whew, the skin recovery hits different post 40. So I’m pretty choosy…

Something New

I always ask — Does this product fill a void in the market? Does the product claim address a skincare concern that no other product is currently meeting. Is there clinical data to support the claim? Is there a unique ingredient, formulation or delivery system? — Essentially, how is XYZ product so different from 373837737 other XYZ’s on the market.

Eighteen B

So this is how I started down the rabbit hole with Eighteen B, a new, woman-founded skincare line. First off, the offerings are pretty basic — two moisturizers. I’m not sure when “basic” became a bad thing, but the simplicity of Eighteen B immediately appealed to me because moisturizer is a concept that everyone can get behind. Sometimes I say “serum” or “sleeping mask” and people look at me like I have two heads. But “moisturizer”, we all understand. And since we’re being honest, I will admit that the branding behind the visuals also caught my attention — I saw women with dark and light skin tones and the skin looked like, well — skin. Obviously, this doesn’t speak to product efficacy, but, as a beauty writer/editor, my job is to evaluate product on all levels.

Let’s get down to the formulation and performance.

Currently, the collection consists of two products — Revitalizing Hydrogel Moisturizer and Hydrate + Restore Rich Cream. Maybe Eighteen B will offer more products in the future, but for now, just offering two moisturizers made diving into the line really easy and approachable.

It Factor

Most new brands have some sort of linchpin ingredient or proprietary sauce that is their point of difference. For Eighteen B, that sauce is b-silk™ protein, a lab-engineered protein that complements skin’s vital functions to help improve and strengthen skin’s collagen and elastin. The brand’s Chief Scientific Officer first witnessed the regenerative properties of silk while studying its applications in tissue engineering. This led the her to apply her scientific expertise and explore silk as a skincare ingredient. And so b-silk™ protein was born.

Here’s The Tea

I was immediately drawn to Eighteen B Hydrate + Restore Rich Cream because my skin loves rich creams. Dense and cushiony is always my personal comfort zone…summer, spring winter, fall — I always lean toward a richer cream. Hydrate + Restore Rich Cream absorbs really quickly. Sometimes rich textures take a minute to sink in, but this formula glides on and melts into skin in one step. Though the Eighteen B website promotes Hydrate + Restore Rich Cream as a night cream, I enjoy using it both day (with SPF on top) and night. I even use it midday as a skin refresh over makeup to give more bounce and liven up my foundation. Within 3-4 weeks of testing, I first noticed more plumpness to my skin. I don’t have deep creases but I do get fine dehydration lines (which can lead to wrinkles) when my skin isn’t properly nourished. While using Hydrate + Restore Rich Cream, my skin showed no signs of dehydration and my tiny fine lines refused to come out and play.

Because I like to be thorough, I also gave Revitalizing Hydrogel Moisturizer a whirl. My idea of a moisturizer with “gel” in its title is “hmmm, sounds too light for my skin”. But I was pleasantly surprised that Revitalizing Hydrogel Moisturizer actually has a slight salve-like quality. Richer than I anticipated, the lighter weight gel-based cream did not disturb my acne-prone skin…and I was thankful. I didn’t use it as dutifully as the Rich Cream (because I always prefer a heavier cream) but I can vouch for the protective quality of the product. My skin felt hydrated, protected and bouncy.

Stuck on the fence? Eighteen B has a starter set that offers the best of both worlds that includes Revitalizing Hydrogel Moisturizer and Hydrate + Restore Rich Cream in travel size.

With continued use of Eighteen B, skin keeps getting better and better. It’s just a matter of which formulation is right for you. Hopefully, I’ve been helpful.

*This post is sponsored by Eighteen B. Opinions are all my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help to make ThisThatBeauty possible*