Here's how I think about our over 40 skincare: to me it's roughly 50% hydration and 50% actives. Hydration is the constant — the water, the barrier support, the everyday comfort your skin needs regardless of what else is going on. Actives are the other half, and they're personal. What you need depends entirely on what you're trying to achieve — brightening, firming, renewal, calming — and that's why "actives" isn't one thing. It's a category, and the right ones for you might be completely different from the right ones for your sister or your best friend.
RRP £85
This is the star of the box, lovely, and the biggest single-item value we've ever included. A proper renewal serum, built for sensitive skin, that works while your skin repairs itself.
The actives: The hero here is Siliphos — a natural phyto-retinol extracted from milk thistle seeds, clinically shown to act directly on collagen production to smooth and firm skin, without the irritation traditional retinol can bring. It's boosted by bakuchiol for texture, hyaluronic acid for hydration, and Votary's Super Seed oil blend to nourish. Three renewal actives working together, all in one bottle.
RRP £34.70
This is your everyday anchor — the cream that does the quiet, steady work of protecting and hydrating while the more targeted actives in this box do the heavy lifting elsewhere in your routine.
The actives: Formulated with SPF15 built in, plus ingredients designed to protect the natural lifespan of skin cells and support your skin's own collagen renewal — the two things that quietly slow down as we get older. It's a rich, rehydrating formula, so it's doing double duty: shielding and replenishing at the same time.
RRP £21.99
I love including UpCircle in a box like this — a smaller, values-led brand doing brilliant things with upcycled ingredients. This oil is your finishing step, sealing everything in and leaving skin properly nourished, not just treated.
The actives: Coffee oil, made from upcycled Arabica grounds, is naturally rich in vitamin C and antioxidants that help brighten and fade the look of dark spots. Rosehip oil brings vitamin A and vitamin C to support skin regeneration, sea buckthorn improves elasticity, and jojoba provides deep, lasting hydration. As a 100% oil-based finish, it also works through occlusion — sealing in everything you've applied underneath.
RRP £21
Bakuchiol is the gentler cousin of retinol — a plant-derived active that supports skin renewal and improves the appearance of texture, firmness and tone, without the irritation retinol can bring. That's exactly why I wanted it near your eyes, where skin is thinnest and least forgiving.
The actives: Bakuchiol does the main renewal work, backed by a peptide complex that targets the look of fine lines, niacinamide to brighten and even out tone, and panthenol with allantoin to soothe and hydrate. It's a proper little cocktail, all in a hydrogel patch.
That's the whole point of EVOLVE 14 — not a random collection of nice things, but a genuinely considered routine you can actually follow, one active at a time.
And in your box, you'll find the full brochure where I go through each product properly — when to use it, how to use it for maximum results, and exactly what it will do for your skin. Think of this post as the introduction, and the brochure as your day-to-day guide sitting right there in your bathroom.
Karen x
is all about the actives — the ingredients that genuinely do something. Not fillers, not "nice to haves," but the four products I'd reach for myself if I could only pick a handful to build real, visible change into a routine. This box brings together some of the best actives out there, and I wanted you to know exactly what they are and what they're doing for your skin — not just take my word for it.
And that's the whole design of this box: four proper actives, chosen so they work with each other rather than fighting for space on your skin. Remember — rota, not a recipe. You don't need to pile all of these on at once. Let them take turns, and your skin will thank you for it.
Here's what's inside your £162.69 edit:
BEAUTICAL VolumFizz Peptide Bubble Serum 50ml – RRP £69.95
A clinically proven peptide powerhouse designed to boost collagen production and replenish hydration. Its proprietary peptide complex helps reawaken the skin’s natural renewal processes, while Centella Asiatica and soothing botanicals calm and strengthen. Advanced liposome technology drives active ingredients deeper for visible firmness, radiance and improved skin density.
SKINSENSE Hydranet Collagen Hydrating Gel 100ml – RRP £42.00
A lightweight gel that melts into a water-like serum, delivering intense hydration while forming a protective collagen-supporting layer on the skin. With plant-based Acacia collagen and a powerful mushroom complex (Reishi, Maitake and Shiitake), it strengthens the barrier, prevents moisture loss and supercharges elasticity. Perfect for layering and ideal for midlife skin that needs both comfort and structure.
KATE SOMERVILLE ExfoliKate™ Cleanser Daily Foaming Wash 50ml – RRP £23.00
Collagen thrives in well-prepped skin. This gentle foaming cleanser uses glycolic and lactic acid, plus fruit enzymes, to refine texture, smooth the surface and clear debris without stripping. By improving cell turnover, it helps create the optimal environment for collagen-supporting actives to perform at their best.
RRP £85
This is the star of the box, lovely, and the biggest single-item value we've ever included. A proper renewal serum, built for sensitive skin, that works while your skin repairs itself.
The actives: The hero here is Siliphos — a natural phyto-retinol extracted from milk thistle seeds, clinically shown to act directly on collagen production to smooth and firm skin, without the irritation traditional retinol can bring. It's boosted by bakuchiol for texture, hyaluronic acid for hydration, and Votary's Super Seed oil blend to nourish. Three renewal actives working together, all in one bottle.
RRP £34.70
This is your everyday anchor — the cream that does the quiet, steady work of protecting and hydrating while the more targeted actives in this box do the heavy lifting elsewhere in your routine.
The actives: Formulated with SPF15 built in, plus ingredients designed to protect the natural lifespan of skin cells and support your skin's own collagen renewal — the two things that quietly slow down as we get older. It's a rich, rehydrating formula, so it's doing double duty: shielding and replenishing at the same time.
RRP £21.99
I love including UpCircle in a box like this — a smaller, values-led brand doing brilliant things with upcycled ingredients. This oil is your finishing step, sealing everything in and leaving skin properly nourished, not just treated.
The actives: Coffee oil, made from upcycled Arabica grounds, is naturally rich in vitamin C and antioxidants that help brighten and fade the look of dark spots. Rosehip oil brings vitamin A and vitamin C to support skin regeneration, sea buckthorn improves elasticity, and jojoba provides deep, lasting hydration. As a 100% oil-based finish, it also works through occlusion — sealing in everything you've applied underneath.
RRP £21
Bakuchiol is the gentler cousin of retinol — a plant-derived active that supports skin renewal and improves the appearance of texture, firmness and tone, without the irritation retinol can bring. That's exactly why I wanted it near your eyes, where skin is thinnest and least forgiving.
The actives: Bakuchiol does the main renewal work, backed by a peptide complex that targets the look of fine lines, niacinamide to brighten and even out tone, and panthenol with allantoin to soothe and hydrate. It's a proper little cocktail, all in a hydrogel patch.
That's the whole point of EVOLVE 14 — not a random collection of nice things, but a genuinely considered routine you can actually follow, one active at a time.
And in your box, you'll find the full brochure where I go through each product properly — when to use it, how to use it for maximum results, and exactly what it will do for your skin. Think of this post as the introduction, and the brochure as your day-to-day guide sitting right there in your bathroom.
Karen x
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