Ever since I went on that oh-so-fabulous beauty shopping session in Paris my daily skincare routine has featured pretty much only the products bought on that trip. As lovely as it’s been (trust me, it’s been divine! I can’t wait to write all the reviews for you.), I recently had the opportunity to try out Environ’s vitamin based AVST range*, and my curiosity jumped to say yes. Environ isn’t a brand I was familiar with, but after meeting the team at the Professional Beauty Show and hearing about the results they claimed, I was eager to give their products a go.

At the Professional Beauty Show I went through a skin consultation with iiaa, Environ‘s parent company, where they looked at my skin sans-makeup, discussed my cleansing, makeup and dietary habits, and then photographed my skin with a special camera so we could see how my skin was doing was in terms of sun damage, hyperpigmentation and spots developing under the skin. Now, while this was interesting to see in a picture, it’s nothing that I couldn’t have told you about my skin by looking in the mirror under correct lighting. But ultimately the tool helped them figure out which products would suit me best, and that’s fine by me!

The Environ AVST Cleansing Lotion*(approximately £29.95 for 200ml) is designed to remove excess oils and makeup without stripping the natural oils from the skin. When I brought this into my routine I used it as a morning cleanse, and I found that my skin felt more balanced and didn’t get as oily throughout the day. I haven’t seen any direct results in terms of it clearing up my acne, but it cleanses well and my skin wasn’t irritated with the swap and that’s what matters.

After cleansing I toned with the Environ AVST Moisturising Toner* (approximately £32 for 200ml), and I felt like it did exactly what it said on the tin! The product description says that ‘it assists in improving the appearance of uneven skin tone,’ and while my skintone appeared a bit more even what was really noticeable was how soft & hydrated it was. No patchy makeup here, thank you!

The last Environ product that I tried with the AVST 1 Moisturiser* (approximately £38 for 50ml), which is a lovely light formula. (It comes out looking thick and creamy, but a little goes a long way and it spreads nicely.) The idea with this range is that you ‘step up’ with the system to increase the levels of Vitamin A, starting at 1 and finishing at 5. Now, I’ve not gone through the whole system or read the research on this so can’t say if that really works or not, but what I can say is that my skin feels wonderfully moisturised and, again, wasn’t irritated by the switch.

All in all these products are great and I’ve loved trialling them. However, they aren’t available to buy without a consultation (even though they aren’t pharmaceutical), which isn’t practical for everyone. The brand’s reasoning is that some people react to strong levels of vitamin A if their skin isn’t used to it, and the consultations help prevent people from using a product that’s not right for them. While that’s admirable and understandable, I found that, for me, the right mix of alternative cleansers / serums / moisturisers from other brands that are widely available in store & online got me comparable results for a similar price tag.

The bottom line? They work well, but the purchasing process is kind of a pain.

Have you tried the Environ AVST range? What did you think?

Please note: while the products marked with a star (*) in this blog post were gifts, the views expressed are my own.