Origins is a brand I’ve been a fan of for many years now, but I have to admit that I pretty much always repurchase the same few things from them and hardly ever try anything new. So when I came across their ‘Just the Essentials’ set back in May of this year, I just knew I had to pick it up so I could give some of the other products a try!

The set is priced at £15 and contains 4 of Origins’ best-selling skincare products – their Checks & Balances Frothy Face Wash, Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask, Modern Friction Nature’s Gentle Dermabrasion and GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer. Now, I’d actually tried 2 of these products before, but the others were new to me and as I’m sure you can imagine I was super excited to try them out.

Each of the products in the set comes in a squeezy tube, and I found that this made dispensing quick and easy. I also noticed that they are all formulated without any parabens, phthalates or propylene glycol, and that Origins do not test their products on animals. They get a big thumbs up from me for that, but what did I think of the actual products …

Checks & Balances Frothy Face Wash
This cleanser claims to balance out combination skin, keeping any oily parts drier and any drier parts hydrated. I have to say that I totally agree with this claim, and found that the cleanser did a really good job of keeping my combination skin ‘in-check’. In the past I’ve found similar products have left my skin feeling super dry and looking horribly dull, so I was really pleased that this was different. I also found that you didn’t need to use much of this at all to get a good lather, which is fab, and I love the minty-fresh scent that it has. The full sized tube costs £18.50 for 150ml and I would definitely buy it again.

Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask
One of the Origins products I’ve been using for years is the Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask. I absolutely love it! It is without a shadow of a doubt the best mask I have ever used. It clear pores, controls oil and leaves my skin looking and feeling brighter. Just like the Checks & Balances Cleanser, a little of this goes a long way, so one full sized tube lasts a long time, and it rinses off so much easier than most other masks I’ve used do. The full sized tube of this costs £23.00 for 100ml and of course I will be buying it again!

Modern Friction Nature’s Gentle Dermabrasion
I’m going to be brutally honest here and say I didn’t find anything too extraordinary about this product – it’s just your typical exfoliator. The product itself is quite creamy, smells great, and the micro-beads inside are really gentle on the skin, but I just don’t think it’s worth the hefty £33.00 price tag. I’ve used similar products from the drugstore at a fraction of the price and found they’ve done the same job without breaking the bank. That said, if you have super sensitive skin (which I don’t) I would recommend trying this out as like I mentioned before it’s really gentle on the skin. I definitely won’t be repurchasing this one though. Sorry Origins.

GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer
This is a good, basic moisturizer that I actually bought once before. I have to say that I wasn’t at all impressed by this to begin with, but I’ve seemed to get on with it much better this time around! The moisturizer has a zingy, citrus scent to it and it absorbs into the skin really quickly thanks to its light, gel-like formulation. It’s definitely worked better for me during the summer months, and I think that’s because my skin has been a lot oilier than usual this year. I’ve also noticed that my skin looks a lot glowier since I’ve started using this again, which is great. The only slight downside for me is that a full sized 50ml jar comes in at £24.00. So would I repurchase? I think so, but not until next summer. I’ll definitely be trying out some of the other products from the GinZing range though.

Overall, I’m really glad I picked up this set. It’s allowed me to try out some popular Origins products without having to buy them all at full price first. I can definitely see me picking up 3 of the products in full size once these little beauties have run out.

Origins Just the Essentials Set – £15.00 ||link||

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*Product purchased with my own money