It’s a common desire to have healthy, glowing skin. However, finding a skin care routine that’s effective and appropriate for your unique complexion can be difficult and time-consuming. Bold promises guaranteeing complete transformation also make it hard to discern which products will truly live up to expectations, and many of these items are costly.
Ghost Democracy claims to offer a solution with its line of skin care products. The brand, which is passionate about creating clean moisturizers, serums and more, says it uses remarkably high concentrations of active ingredients for healthier skin. Ghost Democracy aims to deliver clear skin to everyone at affordable prices.
To see whether Ghost Democracy skincare products are not only clean and effective, but can also improve skin health, we put their “Complete Collection” to the test. Here’s what we found.
We tested Ghost Democracy skin care products with two individuals who have different skin types and levels of skin care knowledge. Each individual was given two skin care routines, implementing them separately for 10 days at a time.
Here are the six products we tested:
Our first tester used Ghost Democracy moisturizer in their morning and evening routines, adding their cleanser in the evening for the first 10 days. During the next 10 days, our first tester switched their routine to add the facial oil in the morning and the eye concentrate in the evening.
For the first 10 days, our second tester followed their regular routine in the morning while using Ghost Democracy cleanser, moisturizer and hyaluronic acid serum in the evening. The second 10 days consisted of their normal routine in the evening and the Ghost Democracy cleanser and vitamin C serum in the morning, followed by a facial sunscreen.
Ghost Democracy is a clean skin care brand known for delivering products with a high percentage of active ingredients at an affordable price. After working in big beauty corporations for over 12 years, the founder identified a need for change in the skin care industry and decided to fill that hole with Ghost Democracy. Their original product collection started with the six products we tested, but has since expanded to include sunscreen, toning mist and ceramide cream.
While you can pick and choose different products from Ghost Democracy to complement your current facial care, their Complete Collection is formulated to be a complete, advanced skin care routine.
Wash your face using Transparent: Gentle Exfoliating Daily Cleanser. This sulfate-free daily face cleanser is gentle enough to use day and night on all skin types. It exfoliates using 4.1% glycolic acid, 1.8% mandelic acid and 1.6% willow bark extract. It also includes niacinamide to strengthen the skin’s natural moisture barrier.
Apply a few drops of Floodgate: Hyaluronic Acid Serum if you need hydration or Lightbulb: Vitamin C Serum if you want brighter skin. The hyaluronic acid serum smooths, firms and moisturizes. The main ingredients include 2.1% pure hyaluronic acid, 4% niacinamide, 1.5% linden flower extract and 1.3% white tea leaf extract. The vitamin C serum claims to improve skin texture and tone with a light, non-irritating formula that absorbs into skin quickly. The star ingredient is 18% vitamin C. It’s suitable for all skin types and works best when used day and night.
Apply Clean: Lightweight Daily Face Moisturizer. This oil-free, lightweight moisturizer contains 12% probiotics, which are good bacteria that help balance the microbiome of the skin.
Gently dab Boomerang Firming Eye Concentrate around the eye area. This eye cream claims to reduce puffiness and the appearance of fine lines and dark circles.
As the last step of your routine, apply a few drops of Softglow: Facial Oil to your face and neck. This plant-based facial cleansing oil is designed to help wearers achieve healthy, glowing, deeply hydrated skin. Its formula of lightweight softening oils contains 10% cloudberry oil, 10% cottonseed oil and 10% meadowfoam oil.
Ghost Democracy’s skincare line is based on three guiding principles. The first is a higher standard of clean: The brand promises to go beyond simply “no sulfates and no parabens” and formulate with no silicones, essential oils, added fragrance, drying alcohols or other common chemicals found in skin care products.
Skin care products are notorious for marketing themselves around a specific “rockstar” ingredient while actually only using a small percentage of it in the product. Ghost Democracy touts transparency and claims to use a remarkably higher percentage of leading ingredients.
The brand’s final guiding principle is being accessible to everyone. Ghost Democracy provides affordable prices to consumers by cutting out the middleman to reduce retailer profit markups.
Here are a few other top skin care products worth considering.
Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant
Those who appreciate products with natural ingredients will like this exfoliant. It unclogs pores and gets rid of dead skin cells for clearer, smoother skin.
Sold by Sephora
Biossance Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Oil
This hydrating vitamin C oil is suitable for all skin types, and claims to brighten and firm skin to deliver a supple, glowing complexion.
Sold by Sephora
Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer
This moisturizer is formulated with protein to help the skin achieve better texture, firmness and tone. It contains no silicones, essential oils or fragrance.
Sold by Sephora
The Complete Collection includes six products and retails for $188. You can also purchase the products individually.
You can find all of these products on the Ghost Democracy website.
We appreciated Ghost Democracy’s clean, affordable products and the brand’s transparency about their ingredients. Being fragrance-free, the entire line is suitable for sensitive skin. We also liked that the Complete Collection was convenient, helped us learn the order in which to apply skin care products and allowed us to use products we might not try otherwise.
We were impressed with a few products and saw results in the short time we were using them. The daily cleanser lathered up well and left our skin softer and smoother, and the vitamin C serum faded a melasma spot one of the testers had been trying to clear with a prescription cream.
One of our testers enjoyed the hyaluronic serum and loved how moisturized it left their skin. We also appreciated that the facial oil dried quickly to allow for better makeup application.
We had an issue with a faulty vitamin C serum bottle that made the product drip all over the place and was inconvenient to apply. Also, even though all of the products are fragrance-free, we thought the under-eye cream had a very strong chemical smell.
Although it wasn’t our experience, some wearers have reported allergic reactions and were unsure which product was the culprit. Also, some consumers have questioned the use of a few ingredients, such as a thickener in the serums.
Based on our experience, we feel Ghost Democracy skin care products are clean and effective, and contributed to healthier looking skin. We recommend Ghost Democracy’s Complete Collection to anyone looking for affordable skin care products or just beginning their skin care journey.
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Bre Richey writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
