If you follow skincare news as obsessively as I do, you already know that Drunk Elephant is launching at Cult Beauty and Space NK on 3 October. From then on, this amusingly named skincare line will be easily accessible for people in Europe (and beyond, but it depends a bit on the customs situation at your location).

Why is it important? Well, in the grand scheme of things, it isn’t, of course. It will not topple Trump or free Crimea. In beauty terms, however, it is a big event and I’m excited. My relationship with DE’s philosophy is complicated, as they talk too much about ‘toxins’ for my taste (it is nonsensical, dear brands, please stop). You can read all about it here. That said, I do agree that leaving out essential oils or alcohol will make products less likely to cause irritation and therefore suitable for a bigger audience. I also applaud that they do not claim that natural ingredients are always superior, because they aren’t (essential oils are much more problematic than, let’s say, hyaluronic acid). And they aren’t necessarily better for environment either.

The reason I want to talk about the brand isn’t the philosophy, it’s the products. Because they are (generally) great. I thought you might appreciate an overview before the launch, so that you can analyse if and what you might be interested in. I haven’t tried everything, so the first post is about the things I’ve used and I’ll do a follow-up with the rest once the products are available here.

1. Beste No 9 Jelly Cleanser. I love jelly cleansers, I like the texture and I find them nicer than gel cleansers. So it’s no surprise that I like Beste, too. It’s lovely to use (it has a slight ‘bounce’ to it), it cleans and purifies and you get a decent amount. There are a couple of things to keep in mind, though. I would not use this for makeup removal (although you can), it is a second/morning cleanse for me. It can also sometimes leave my skin a tiny bit dry: nothing drastic and I follow up with products immediately anyway, so it’s not a big problem for me. But if your skin is already dry, this might be too much for you.

2. B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum. It may sound like a secret Nazi organisation in a mediocre action movie, but B-Hydra is possibly my favourite hydration serum of all time. It’s not that it does anything revolutionary, but it just nails every element of what it does. First of all, it hydrates well: if you aren’t dry and (very) dehydrated, you might be able to use it as your summer moisturiser. The texture is absolutely beautiful, there is zero tackiness, it absorbs instantly and it can be layered without any issues. It’s also easy to mix with other things, my favourite way to use it is in fact mixed with the next product on the list. It is scentless and gentle, I cannot imagine this one irritating anyone’s skin (although I’m sure it happens, skin being skin). There are certainly much less expensive hyaluronic products what will get the job done. There are also many that are more expensive and not better. If your budget allows, this one is very much worth a try.

3. C-Firma Day Serum. To be frank, I cannot tell you weather this works better than my other favourite antioxidant day serums (by Dr Dennis Gross, for example). I tend to use many potent products in parallel, and it’s difficult to say whether my skin is looking good because of my night-time retinol or day-time vitamin C. Or both (likely). I am not too worried about it, though, as my main aim with my day time products is to prevent and protect. The formula of C-Firma (vitamin C, ferulic acid, vitamin E, other antioxidants, peptides, enzymes) is exactly what I’m looking for in a day serum and I trust the ingredients to do their job. The concentrations are high enough to be effective, but not quite as high as in my evening skincare. The thing to note with C-Firma is that its texture is rather oily (it includes marula oil). This is one reason I love mixing it with B-Hydra, it adds some oomph to the lightweight hydrating serum. In its pure form, I imagine it would be wonderful for someone with dry skin.

4. T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Night Serum. Of the three DE serums, this is my least favourite: I did in fact gave it away, as I wasn’t reaching for it. This is not to say it was horrible, I just felt it didn’t do much for my skin. What you need to keep in mind is that this is an acid resurfacing serum and my skin is used to some serious resurfacing. It’s perfectly possible that it’s just not potent enough for me, although it should be relatively strong. The mix of acids (glycolic, lactic, salicylic, tartaric, citric) in the formula sounds very good and I’m willing to believe that the product works wonderfully for other people. It just didn’t do much for me.

5. T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial. I guess this mask is what I wanted the Framboos serum to be: it has all the same acids, just about twice the amount. And this one I can feel alright. Some people find it way too strong, I find it exactly right for twice-weekly exfoliation (it tingles, but doesn’t hurt). Once you wash it off, your skin WILL be smoother and brighter, the only question is whether it will also be annoyed. I think it’s one of the best masks in its category on the market. Sometimes I wonder, though, would happen if I left it on overnight…

6. C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream. This is a very good eye cream. I could stop there, but as a good blogger I should probably be saying a bit more. Similarly to B-Hydra, C-Tango (possibly an even worse name) just gets everything right. The formula is full of vitamin C derivatives, peptides, ceramides and what have you. It’s not too rich, it’s not too light. It moisturises, it refreshes, I think it even brightens. I spend too much time looking at beauty chats online and I haven’t seen anyone who doesn’t like this product. The only situation where you might be disappointed is when you have more mature skin and you are looking for some hardcore retinol action. Even then, I would consider using the antiageing heavyweight at night and this one during the day.

7. Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil. This is the product that started the entire DE story. Unfortunately it’s also one I’m not fully qualified to review. I’m not big on oils, there are only a couple that I really like and I don’t use them regularly. I think DE marula oil is nice, there is nothing bad I have to say about it – lovely texture, it moisturises and soothes. But is it better than, let’s say, The Ordinary marula oil? I don’t know. Some people whose opinion I trust say that it is, so I hope they will bring the travel/sample sizes to Europe as well and you can find out for yourself without going bankrupt.

These are my thoughts on the seven DE products I’ve tried, I hope it’s useful. I plan to get most of the rest in late October (I’m dying to get my hands on Protini and very interested in the sunscreens, too) and report back. Have you used Drunk Elephant? What did you think?