After receiving an invitation to review an exciting skincare range due to launch in the UK, I had a quick scan online to see if it would be a good fit and found that Dr. Idriss had quite a cult following, as a Dermatologist, a YouTuber and for her skincare line, but I decided to avoid finding out much more about her before trying to products fully first, so I could judge them on their own merit instead of being influenced by the face behind the brand.
Having done that, I started to do a bit of digging to find out more about Dr. Shereene Idriss, and the first video I came across was of her filming her views on Black Friday deals whilst laying on her sofa, which is very much the level of casual content I aspire to create! Digging further still, I find that Dr. Idriss is an extremely well-respected, New York based Dermatologist with a particular interest in cleaning up all the messiness around skincare, providing informative and educational skincare advice with strong recommendations on what you do and do not need in your routine. This is demonstrated in her small and cohesive line, which focuses heavily on using a good active alongside supportive skincare to encourage clarity and glow without causing additional issues. I’m also very happy to report that, out of five products, only two have Niacinamide, thus proving that every single new launch doesn’t actually have to have the random inclusion of Niacinamide; I saw it in a blush launch recently…just why.
On to the products! As mentioned, there are five in total, starting with the gorgeous Soft Wash (£31 here) which is a very gentle, jelly cleanser (love a jelly cleanser!) that doesn’t foam at all and feels soft and silky on the skin; great for either an AM or second PM cleanse, and also to use alongside strong treatments. Speaking of strong treatments, next we have Major Fade Flash Mask (£50 here) which contains a trio of fabulous acids (Glycolic, Tranexamic and Lactic) and she is spicy and I like it, in fact I would say this is my favourite product in the line as I like how it’s just the right of strong, so it packs a punch whilst still leaving your skin barrier intact.
The Depuffer (£39 here) is such a cool idea – a mix of soothing ingredients that you can apply with a cooling metal roller on both your face and under eyes – but as it contains Niacinamide I can’t use it on my face as it’ll break me out, and I found the roller too big to use under the eye area (where I can actually use Niacinamide) so it was a waste for me and it would be better if it came with detachable rollers in two different sizes so you could use one on the eyes and one on the face.
The Major Fade Active Seal Moisturiser (£60 here – link) is a beautiful mix of humectants, soothers, hydrators and a healthy dose of brightening actives that all come together to form a kind of one-stop-shop of a product that does so much in just a single application; my skin looked so much brighter and softer the next morning, so I was gutted I couldn’t continue using it, but unfortunately it contains several ingredients that my very fussy skin struggles with (namely squalane and a couple of silicones) so I had to donate it to a very lucky friend.
Finally, we have the Major Fade Hyper Serum (£70 here) which is such a beautifully presented design that allows you to target specific areas (can be used under the eyes) providing an instant boost of illumination alongside more long-term skincare benefits. This one leads with Niacinamide, which I take to mean it’s the lead active, so I didn’t chance trying it but I’ve read very good things.
There we have my little introduction to Dr. Idriss skincare. If you have skin that doesn’t react to stupid things like mine does and you want to start with one product, then I would definitely recommend the Major Fade Active Seal Moisturiser or the Major Fade Flash Mask as these are both gorgeous.
Disclosure: unpaid ad – PR samples
