Etos Skin Secrets – Hydra Skincare

The Dutch drugstore Etos is renewing beauty products of their own brand and as you might have seen on Snapchat (username TheBeautynerd) and Instagram (@thebeautynerd_nl), I’ve become an Etos Friend as of last month. This means that I get to work with Etos for at least six months, test some of their newest products and review them for you. The kick-off event was a few weeks ago where me and some other influencers were introduced to the products. During the event, I’ve received some Etos Skincare Products which were chosen depending on the skin type. The products that were picked out for me were the Etos Hydra Day Cream, Hydra Night Cream and the Hydra Eye Cream. A very noticeable thing about these products is that they’re super affordable, only €11 Euro in total for all three products. I’ve used these products every day for three weeks straight to give you an in-depth review.

Etos Skincare offers several lines depending on your type of skin like Young, Hydra Normal, Hydra Dry, Hypo Allergenic, Q10 Anti Wrinkle, Phyto Lifting and Advanced Firming. I have a Normal to Combination skin, I received products rom the Hydra Normal line. All packaging is in Dutch so I will translate the description of the products according to Etos in English. Since I have an educational background in Biotechnology/Biomedical Research, I can explain things a bit more in detail. However, Biochemistry/Cosmetic Chemistry is definitely not my specialty and is a whole different of Science on its own, so I can’t explain the exact purpose of each ingredient but I will try to touch upon the key ingredients of each product.

Etos Hydra Day Cream for Normal & Combination Skin

The Etos Hydra Day Cream for Normal to Combination skin mainly focuses on hydration and regulation of tallow (in Dutch: “talg”) of the skin and provides SPF15 protection.

I find the SPF in this cream a little vague, it doesn’t explain if it provides protection against both UV-A and UV-B or UV-B only. UV-A rays penetrate deep into the skin and accelerates the aging process which can lead to wrinkles. UV-B rays hits the superficial layers of your skin which is can cause burns. A good cream with a broad SPF should protect against both, but from the packaging, this isn’t clear.  Keep in mind that there are also beneficial properties for being exposed to sunlight like Vitamin D. Walking around doing your normal routine shouldn’t be a problem. The SPF in this Day Cream should be good for those days but always be careful when being exposed for a longer period like on the beach, you will definitely need more protection than SPF15.

The Etos Hydra Day Cream comes in a transparant, glass jar, contains 50 mL of product and has a shelf-life of twelve months after opening. The key ingredient of this product is Hyaluronic Acid.

Hyaluronic Acid boosts the elasticity and hydration of the skin and in moisture, which can give the skin a more youthful appearance. This ingredient also provides protection against UV-B (so that’s at least one of the two). What you also see often with this ingredient are preservatives like alcohol, which you can also find in the full ingredients list.

The full ingredient list is displayed on the box. Ingredients are always listed from most to least present:
“Aqua, Isostearyl Isostearate, Octocrylene, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Sorbitan Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Cyclopenstasiloxane, Allantoin, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Sodium Polyacrylate, Parfume, Cyclohexasiloxane, Tocopheryl Acetate, Xanthan Gum, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Piroctone Olamine, Tocopherol, Sodium Hyaluronate.”

What I always love to see is that the jar is sealed. The jar looks very luxurious but I personally like my skincare to be in a tube with a pump de to hygiene and oxidation of the ingredients. You can easily scoop out some product using your clean finger or a spatula.

I really had to get used to the feeling of the Etos Hydra Day Cream. After applying, it leaves a non-greasy layer on my skin feels smooth. The reason why I felt so weird about this day cream is that I usually have an oily T-zone, so forehead and nose. That completely disappeared using this day cream. I didn’t have an oily T-zone at all. It almost felt uncomfortable not having that but not drying. Be aware that an oily skin can still lack moisture, these are completely different things! The regulation of tallow is actually one of the properties of this day cream, which is not described on the packaging but it does on the website. Since I only read the description on the packaging, I only found out about that after writing this review, which now makes a lot of sense that I have experienced this. So if you’re struggling with an oily skin, I would highly suggest to try out this day cream. Etos should really consider describing the tallow regulating effects on its packaging, because I have never had this experience in any other skin care product before!

I don’t know if I like this day cream on it’s own because of that because I do like a bit of a natural dew and not a complete matte face. I do like to wear the day cream underneath my make-up. The scent in this cream smells clean and strong. If you’re sensitive to that, I would suggest to try out another product of the Etos Skincare line. After using the Etos Hydra Day Cream for three weeks, I don’t find my skin to be any different, just a bit less oily.

Etos Hydra Night Cream for Normal & Combination Skin

The Etos Hydra Night Cream for Normal to Combination skin focuses on hydration and skin repair. This comes in the same transparant, glass jar, contains 50 mL of product and has a shelf-life of twelve months after opening. The only difference is that the lid is blue instead of white. The key ingredients of the Etos Hydra Night Cream are Macadamia Oil and Shea Butter.

Macadamia Oil contains a wide variety of fatty acids, which have many benefits like anti-aging , moisturizing and regenerating properties. This oil is also non-greasy and can penetrate deeply into the skin.

Shea Butter also has a variety of properties. It heals and soothes the skin, reduces redness and stimulates skin to produce more collagen. This ingredient is a bit more thick and rich, which is probably the reason why this is added in the Night Cream and not in the Day Cream.

The full ingredient list is displayed on the box and goes as follows:
“Aqua, Isostearyl Isostearate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Dibutyl Adipate, Alcohol Denat., Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Sorbitan Stearate, Sorbitol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Cyclopenstasiloxane, Sodium Polyacrylate, Allantoin, Perfume, Xanthan Gum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopherol, Sodium Hyaluronate.”

The ingredients in the Etos Hydra Night Cream are similar to the day cream, like slight differences in the order where the ingredients are listed. For example, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, which is the fatty acid in Shea Butter is much more present here than in the Day Cream. The Etos Hydra Night Cream is a bit thicker, and also seems like the perfume scent is stronger. I don’t mind though because I love strong scented things. The scent is soothing to me before I go to sleep. My skin feels tacky and moisturized after application but isn’t oily when I get up in the morning. Again after three weeks, I don’t find my skin to be any different than before. I have a lot of redness on my cheeks, which is unfortunately still the case. I might have to use the Night Cream for a longer period before I can really see if there is any difference.

Etos Hydra Eye Cream for All Skin Types

The Etos Hydra Eye Cream for All Skintypes is parfume-free and focuses on extra nutrition for the skin around the eyes, decreases eye bags and crowsfeet. The Eye Cream comes in a plastic, non-transparent blue tube, contains 15 mL of product and has a shelf-life of twelve months after opening. The key ingredients of the Etos Hydra Eye Cream are Bisabolol and Shea Butter. Since I covered Shea Butter in the Night Cream section, I will only explain Bisabolol.

Bisabolol is an ingredient typically extracted from the Chamomile Flower, but also can be created synthetically. This ingredient reduces skin inflammation and has anti-irritant properties.

The full ingredient list is displayed on the box and goes as follows:
“Aqua, Isostearyl Isostearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Sorbitan Stearate, Sorbitol, Cyclopenstasiloxane, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Sodium Polyacrylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Triethyl Citrate, Xanthan Gum, Bisabolol, Tocopheryl Actetate, Benzoic Acid, ocopherol, Sodium Hyaluronate.”

Whats noticeable to me is that the ingredient Bisabolol is rather low on the list. However, since I’m not a Cosmetic Chemist, I have no idea how concentrated this ingredient needs to be to properly work. The Etos Hydra Eye Cream feels lightweight and almost instantly blend into the skin. The area around my eyes is a bit sensitive since I wear much eye make-up, but the eye cream does not irritate my skin. I personally like my eye cream to be a bit more thick, especially since I’m starting to get wrinkles around my eyes, but this Eye Cream should suffice if you’re  not wearing eye make-up daily and not experiencing any trouble around the eye area.

Here are the Etos Hydra Day Cream, Night Cream and Eye Cream next to each other. After using these for three weeks straight, I find that the products are indeed moisturizing.  I can’t judge the long-term properties like skin healing and wrinkle reducing, three weeks is just not long enough.

If you have a normal skin that tends to be oily or even an oily skin, the Etos Hydra Skin Care Products might be an option for you. This line is extremely on the affordable side, especially for Skin Care. So if you’re on a budget, you should definitely try these out. My skin isn’t that troublesome but if you’re sensitive to perfumes/alcohol or need something extra for your skin, you should definitely check out the other Etos Skincare lines.

Like I’ve mentioned before, these products are very affordable and available at the Etos Stores and Etos.nl. The Etos Hydra Day Cream and Hydra Night Cream are available for €3,49 each. The Etos Hydra Eye Cream is available for €3,49.

Which Etos Skincare line would you be interested in?