LaVigne Organic Skincare: be ingredient-aware!

I’m not just a product junkie when it comes to gear. I am an equal-opportunity consumer.

Skincare and makeup are also on my list of Things That I Have Too Much Of. I know it’s a problem, but I love comparing brands and trying new products that promise to make any part of my face or body appear younger. Or smoother. Or dewy.

Trust me, I’m not above Botox. But while I’m still in my 30s, I’m doing everything I can to avoid painful needles that go anywhere near my eyes. They’re a favourite feature and, you know, help me see and all.

And while I’m a complete freak about the products that go on my kids’ skin, I’m less particular about what goes on mine. It doesn’t mean I don’t favour natural and plant-based products but I don’t go into a tailspin if I put something non-organic on my aging skin.

But enter LaVigne Organics, a Canadian skincare company that sent me a few products from its line to try out. I’ll go through and describe and rate each product separately in the slideshow below, but first let’s chat about LaVigne Organic Skincare as a whole.

THE GOOD

As much as possible, I think we Canadians should support other Canadian businesses. The LaVigne cosmetics lab is in Vancouver, B.C., so it’s a very home-grown product line.

The packaging is nice and neutral enough. Fine for men or women, though it falls slightly on the feminine side. Not over the top in any way, but feels high quality in your hands and is good enough to sit out on the bathroom counter if you’re like me and rarely put anything away.

LaVigne skincare products use a Mayan ingredient called Tepezcohuite — an organic ingredient that comes from a Mexican tree bark and is known for it’s incredible skin-healing and -perfecting properties. It’s antimicrobial, antifungal, protects skin from the environment and regenerates skin cells. Tepezcohuite has been known to reduce scarring and acne, treat eczema and rosacea, and is apparently great for (sun)burns and fresh tattoos.

None of the products seem perfume-y, which I really like for two reasons: 1. Perfumed products compete with my own perfume, and 2. “Fragrance” is often a great place to hide really nasty ingredients because it’s not regulated by whatever governing bodies decide how brands need to disclose ingredients.

The prices are really reasonable. I mean, $20 for a cleanser that lasts two to three months? That’s pretty darn good.

THE GAFFE

When a company calls itself “organic skincare,” I kind of expect that every ingredient in every product is going to be, well, organic. In LaVigne’s line, this is not the case. For example, when I read the ingredient list on the Illuminating Facial Polish, there’s an asterisk beside the organic ingredients. This asterisk “legend” doesn’t seem to exist on the other products I tested but in its absence, it calls into question for me if ALL of the ingredients are completely organic.

You need to do your own research when you can’t read ingredients in a list, but I have major concerns about some of the ingredients in the LaVigne products.

Some of the products are more effective than others. I think you need to try the smallest sizes of the products in which you’re most interested and do a little trial and error to see what you like and can insert into your regular skincare regimen.

Overall, while I did not find the products irritated my skin in any way (a side effect of some of the ingredients), I also didn’t find that overall the line fixed any of my hormonal acne, which is one of the brand promises.

THE PRODUCTS

Instead of rating the line as a whole, I think it’s more fair to walk through each of the products I tried and give them THE GEARS individually: