Some products show up everywhere — subway ads, Instagram, celeb endorsements. With this series, we're testing such products to conclude one thing: Does it live up to the hype?
What’s everyone talking about?
Keys Soulcare, a line of skin and “soul”-soothing products by award-winning singer and A-list celeb Alicia Keys. The affordable skincare collection includes seven face products, three body products, a candle, and a facial roller.
What’s the buzz about?
As of lately, just about every celebrity (seriously, every) has some form of beauty line, collaboration, or product that they're promoting. Though many of them don't live up to their hyped expectations, we finally found a line of celeb-founded skincare that we can't get enough of: Keys Soulcare, co-created by none other than famed crooner and soulful goddess Alicia Keys.
Created alongside the beauty experts over at e.l.f. Cosmetics, this line includes a total of 12 products to turn your usual skincare and shower routine into an indulgent ritual without the luxury price tag. Best of all, every product in this line is less than $40. The curated take on elevated skincare basics (think cleansers, moisturizers, exfoliators, and more) will make your skin and your soul feel zen and harmonious.
Where's all the hype coming from?
- Rave reviews from major lifestyle publications like Allure, Glamour, and WhoWhatWear.
- Over 112,000 followers on the brand's Instagram alone.
- Alicia Keys herself
So does it live up to the hype?
How’d we come to this conclusion?
I'm going to be fully transparent: Every time I see a new celebrity beauty launch, I immediately eye roll. As much as I love a good beauty launch, many of these new celeb-backed brands bring nothing entirely new to our vanities and contribute to the industry's undeniably shameful environmental impact.
But Keys Soulcare, the Alicia Keys-backed line of skincare products that are meant to nurture your skin and your soul, has proven to be a rather impressive beauty gem that just so happens to be co-created by an A-list celebrity.
Just about each and every product in this deliciously scented collection is as soothing as the next, and it’s genuinely a brand that your complexion and your conscience can feel good about using. Inspired by Keys’ own foray into skincare and love of ancient beauty rituals, the singer teamed up with dermatologist Dr. Renée Snyder to create a line of skincare products that are made with potent yet gentle ingredients. Dr. Snyder might sound familiar — she also cofounded cult-favorite beauty brand W3LL PEOPLE, an award-winning cruelty-free and plant-powered mineral makeup line.
The brand axed 1,680 substances restricted by the FDA and European Union Cosmetics Regulation Guidelines from the skincare collection and put a focus on fusing naturally-derived minerals and botanicals with modern skincare saviors like hyaluronic acid and ceramides. It is worth noting that most of the products (except for the fragrance-free version of the Skin Transformation Cream) do have fragrances, and while we do love a good scent, fragrances are known irritants to skin. So, if you're sensitive to them, you may want to skip most of the products in this brand.
Of course, what’s inside the bottle is important, but there are also a few details that Keys intentionally placed outside of the formulas. The beauty brand is considered a “soul care” line for a reason: Keys wanted to highlight the connection between “skin and soul” and wanted you to embrace your daily skincare routine as a calming ritual to start and end your day. Each recyclable glass package is labeled with a mantra to help you zen out, bringing all of your senses to the forefront and allowing you to mentally chill TF out.
It all sounds amazing on paper, but does it live up to its award-winning cofounder's name?
After slathering myself in every item in this line for thorough testing, I can honestly say that I'm fairly impressed with most of the products from Keys Soulcare. If you're intrigued and want to learn more about each product, here's some good news: I've ranked each and every product from Alicia Keys’ beauty brand (minus the deliciously scented Sage + Oat Milk Candle, for pretty obvious reasons) just for you.
I must warn you that I have very high standards when it comes to what I put on my skin, so here are the criteria that I kept in mind while testing out Keys Soulcare:
- What are the ingredients?
- How does it feel on my skin?
- Does it cause irritation?
- Will it cause acne/breakouts?
- Overall, is it doing what it promises to do?
Below, check out which products from Keys Soulcare made the cut into my heavily curated skincare routine and which ones fell short:
10. Keys Soulcare Obsidian Facial Roller
Overall Rating: 3/10
This face roller is made from black obsidian, which is a precious stone made out of quickly cooled lava that’s formed into volcanic glass — pretty cool, right? Its rotating head is meant to help you massage your facial muscles while allowing the product to get deeper into the skin, creating a more sculpted, lifted, and overall healthier look to your complexion.
But I'm not going to lie — this was the product I was most disappointed in. It just didn't have enough weight to it as most other facial rollers do, and it doesn't stay cool like other ones I've tried as well. It's fun to use, but unless you know how to properly use a facial roller at home (which you can find out here), you're not going to get much out of this product.
9. Keys Soulcare Rich Nourishing Body Cream
Overall Rating: 3.5/10
This body cream is meant to give your skin head-to-toe hydration and a soothing treatment. It contains natural ingredients like hydrating shea butter, cocoa butter, ceramides, calming oats, and “Rose of Jericho,” a Mexican plant that the brand claims is great for hydrating parched skin.
When I opened up this giant tub of cream, I expected a rich buttery texture that would glide right onto my skin. Unfortunately, this cream was too thick, almost like the consistency of a very sticky balm. It took forever just to seep into my skin, and as I type this, my legs are still sticking together from this cream about 2 hours after I applied it.
Yes, it does have a great smell (which might be a red flag for sensitive skin), and my legs do feel hydrated, but this formula is just way too sticky for my taste. From now on, this cream is dedicated solely to the roughest parts of my skin: my knees and elbows, and that's about it.
8. Keys Soulcare Reviving Aura Mist
Overall Rating: 5/10
This face and body mist is meant to hydrate, tone, and revive your skin while you indulge yourself in the scent of rose and the cooling sensation of each and every spritz. Made with a mix of Rose of Jericho (clearly a favorite ingredient of the brand) and exfoliating witch hazel, you should expect your skin to feel revitalized and awakened while it gently detoxes your pores of any congesting impurities.
This mist is nice, but that's just about all I can say about it. It's not bad by any means — it feels cool on the skin, which makes it nice for getting through hot summer days, it seeps into skin instantly, and its scent is far from overwhelming.
But to be honest, I rarely get excited about face mists because they don't really provide much beyond a light dose of hydration and a soothing feel. In fact, if a face mist has a harsh ingredient like alcohol, it can actually dry out your skin even more.
7. Keys Soulcare Sacred Body Oil
Overall Rating: 6/10
This body oil is infused with botanically derived ingredients like marula, baobab, and jojoba oils to give your body a deep hydration treatment. This oil also includes clarifying sea buckthorn and moisturizing manuka honey to help clear your skin of any blemishes while making every inch of your body feel soft, smooth, and supple.
I will say that I genuinely enjoyed this body oil way more than the body cream. However, I felt like it had the opposite problem: It's not as hydrating as I would like it to be. But I don't blame the brand because there's a very fine line between making a skincare oil that's too greasy and too dry, and this one just missed that sweet spot. While the formula does seep into skin instantly instead of leaving my skin a slippery mess, it just didn't give me that indulgent, quenched feel that other body oils provide. After half an hour of applying it, my arms actually felt like they could use a layer of lotion to rehydrate.
I'm sure you can counteract this feeling by putting more on, but who wants to eat up all their product in one sitting like that? Also, the dropper is very sensitive, and it did drip a lot of oil on my floors, so put a towel down before you apply.
6. Keys Soulcare Comforting Balm
Overall Rating: 7/10
The name truly says it all with this product: This balm is meant to comfort, hydrate, and soothe the parts on your skin that need some extra love (think your elbows, cuticles, heels, etc.). This lightweight and vanilla-scented balm is formulated with natural ingredients like hydrating camellia seed oil, Rose of Jericho, avocado oil, and shea butter to treat your complexion to an instant dose of moisture when it needs it the most.
I have to say — I really enjoyed this balm. It melted into my skin like butter, it instantly seeped into the pores of the roughest parts of my body (especially my heels), and it left behind a velvety-smooth feel. Unlike other balms, this one didn't leave a greasy feel on my skin, which was a major plus in my book. I was able to put this balm on, immediately step into my open-toed sandals, and head out the door without any greasy feel messing up my steps.
The only reason why this balm isn't higher up on the list is because of how tiny the jar is, albeit it is the cheapest product in the line. If the balm had come in the same jumbo size as the body cream, it might've earned the top spot on this list.
5. Keys Soulcare Be Luminous Exfoliator
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
This may be one of the gentlest exfoliators you could ever come across, but that doesn't mean it won't perform. This powder-to-foam formula works its magic through potent ingredients like antioxidant-rich green tea, gently exfoliating lactic acid, and hojicha powder, and texture-refining mung beans while soothing oats comfort your skin.
The Be Luminous Exfoliator is another one of my favorites from Keys Soulcare. I love the combination of exfoliating acids and gentle micro granules for gently washing away any dirt and debris on my complexion. I especially love that the micro granules are made out of naturally derived ingredients.
A little goes a long way with this exfoliant, too. With just a teaspoon of the exfoliating powder, I was able to scrub my face, neck, shoulders, and chest! It also had a slight tingling feeling, which I love since my skin can handle it, but I'd recommend patch-testing first if you're more of a sensitive skin type.
Once I rinsed it off, my skin did feel soft and supple, but it did leave my skin a bit tight, which is the main reason why it's earned the fifth spot on this list.
4. Keys Soulcare Golden Cleanser
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
This cleanser has a gel-like feel that turns into a deliciously foamy lather that feels calm and cool on the skin, making it the perfect summer cleanser for relaxing sunburnt complexions. It contains ingredients like moisturizing manuka honey, brightening turmeric, and calming chamomile to give your skin a trifecta of benefits in just one wash.
I usually find gel cleansers to feel a little too drying on my skin, but I really do like this cleanser. While this one did leave my skin feeling a little too squeaky-clean, it wasn't nearly as severe as other cleansers. The smell is also amazing, but again, sensitive skin types should patch-test to make sure the fragrance won't cause any reactions.
Though it works like a charm when I'm cleansing on a minimal makeup day, you may want to break out another cleanser if you're wearing a full face of makeup. After a day of my face coated in concealer, contour, blush, and full eye makeup, all I wanted was to rinse off my makeup immediately, but alas ... the cleanser just couldn't cut through it all. I had to break out another oil cleanser to help rid my face of stubborn waterproof mascara, so try opting for a more intensive cleanser if you wear a full face of makeup daily.
3. Keys Soulcare Renewing Body + Hand Wash
Overall Rating: 8/10
This dreamy gel cleanser lathers up and gives your skin a deep cleanse while hydrating it in the shower. This body and hand wash claim to pack on the moisture through its blend of shea butter, cocoa butter, and manuka honey, plus it has the calming scent of sage and oat milk to transport you to an exotic getaway (even if you're just in your shower).
I’m obsessed with this body wash, and it’s currently the only one I’m using at the moment. First off, my shoulders and back are extremely prone to breaking out, so I always approach new body washes with extreme caution. Thankfully, this cleanser actually helped with my body acne and has made inflammation and redness a thing of the past, which is perfect timing considering that it’s tank tops and bikinis season.
While it is supposed to be a hydrating body wash, it did still leave my body feeling a bit dry out of the shower, which is the only reason why it's earning spot #3.
2. Keys Soulcare Skin Transformation Cream (Fragrance-Free)
Overall Rating: 9/10
While the original formula of this gel-like cream is fragranced, I opted to test out the fragrance-free version in order to not upset my sensitive, currently acne-prone skin. Though you can't expect a whiff of sage and oat milk with this cream, you'll definitely be pleasantly greeted with a surge of hydration via hydrating hyaluronic acid and ceramides. But those aren't the only ingredients you'll find in this cream. Your skin will also get a detox treatment from malachite and a burst of bakuchiol, a retinol alternative that'll improve the tone and texture of your complexion without irritating it.
I usually don't vibe with gel moisturizers, but this cream just made me a full convert to them. Its bouncy texture felt cool the second it touched my skin, which helped calm down red patches and blemishes. Its rich-yet-airy texture left my skin feeling and looking dewy, radiant, and brighter without leaving a greasy film on my face like other moisturizers tend to do. The only reason why this moisturizer didn't earn the top spot is that I just love the number-one product that much!
1. Keys Soulcare Harmony Mask
Overall Rating: 10/10
If you're a fan of charcoal masks, then you absolutely need to give this one a try. This mask has the purifying powers of activated charcoal, but it stands out from other face masks in the beauty aisle for its moisturizing properties, which you can thank manuka honey for. And as an indulgent surprise, this mask is also infused with gold foil, which the brand claims Cleopatra herself used every night to brighten her complexion.
Oh, how I love this mask. It has that same detoxing feel as most charcoal-based face masks, but one of the best things about it is that it won't leave your skin feeling stripped of all of its natural oils, thanks to the hydrating manuka honey. Its formula has a cooling and creamy texture when I first applied it, and as it dried down, I noticed that the mask still had a bit of moisture in it, making it much easier to move around my lips and face.
After wearing it for a full 10 minutes (you can wear it up to 20 minutes if you want a more intensive detox), I rinsed off the mask, and my skin instantly felt plumped, hydrated, and cleansed. Most importantly, it calmed down my breakouts so much that I decided to slather this mask on my shoulders and back to see if it would also help calm down my body acne, and lo and behold — it helped! This is definitely going to be a staple in my weekly skincare routine.
What’s the bottom line?
Though there are a few products that miss the mark but overall, Keys Soulcare is one of the few celebrity beauty brands that I can actually vouch for. The clean formulas and sustainable packaging are major pluses, and though I'm not a fan of every product on this list, I'm definitely impressed and satisfied with how Alicia Keys brought this skin (and soul) soothing collection to life. The entire line may not take up my entire skin routine, but expect to see a few Keys Soulcare products pop up in my #shelfies.
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