Overt Skincare - Transparent, Effective, Charitable - Official Affiliate Thread

[Overt]

Hey all,

After the warm welcome we had over in the Epaulet Official Thread, we have decided to become an official affiliate vendor for Styleforum. We are extremely pleased to be here. I have personally been a member of Styleforum for almost ten years, so for this to come full circle, is amazing.

We founded Overt because of a frustration with the skincare industry. The sourcing, manufacturing, and marketing of skincare products is often far too based on hype and ingredients that lack any form of scientific basis. So we decided to create Overt. A different kind of skincare company that’s transforming the industry through transparency, efficacy, and charity. Our products are fairly priced, and offer exceptional value. It goes without saying, no animal testing, an FDA/ISO/GMPC certified facility, a team of PhDs and chemical engineers, and properly sourced ingredients are the cornerstone of every single one of our products.

• Transparent: We talk about our facility where we make the products, which is just 45 minutes away from where I grew up. They have the credentials that put them head and shoulders above the majority of skincare and cosmetic producing facilities globally.
• Effective: Our products are full of effective ingredients without any unnecessary fillers or hype ingredients. We don't go for trends, we go for scientifically proven ingredients that have been lauded by dermatologists and scientific studies, in fact we link them on our product pages.
• Charitable: We donate 10% of our annual profit to fight slavery and human exploitation (oftentimes, sadly, a result of poorly audited supply chains - something that is pretty rampant in the skincare industry). We do this by working with Anti-Slavery International, our official partner, to bring accountability and fairness to the supply chain. Their work is really outstanding, and, we feel, supports our mission of transparency.

Since these products are gender neutral, effective, and really work for all skin types, I wanted to get on Styleforum to show them to all of you. Our collection features five essential serums that were made using sustainably sourced ingredients to produce world class, gender neutral products.

We also have duos, bundles of two full sized serums, that target specific, common, skincare problems right at the source, they also are offered at a discounted price. They are a great way to find the correct serums for your skin without having to do mountains of research. The easily navigable page, we hope, will make it clear what kind of serums would benefit your skin.

We've also created a Styleforum exclusive discount code. Enter STYLEFORUM at checkout to get 10% off the retail price of any of the products.

We are happy to answer any questions you guys may have about the products or skincare in general. Watch this space as we will be doing an educational video series, in depth product reviews and much more. We are so excited to join Styleforum as an official affiliate

Cheers,

Rory and Gigi

 

[Overt]

I received a picture from Eva over at Epaulet today, looking ? with the new nails. Glad she is loving the hydrator! It's one of our most popular serums, and is great for helping your skin retain tons of moisture (1000x its weight in moisture)

 

[rwtc]

Welcome to the forum.

Question: Why is your Vitamin C serum in a clear / non-tinted bottle? As per the SO, the Vitamin C is going to oxidize, especially at a 20% concentration. This is why we've literally never seen a VitC serum in a clear bottle from any manufacturer.

 

[edinatlanta]

Hi will you guys be expanding your range? Im thinking about cleansers mainly. Also you have a few small typos on your site like : Our team includes two PhDs dermatologists and as a style note you bounce back and forth on if chemical engineer is a proper noun. Also as another pedantic note aren't dermatologists medical doctors not fake PhD doctors (I am atting you @LA Guy)

 

[Overt]

Welcome to the forum.

Question: Why is your Vitamin C serum in a clear / non-tinted bottle? As per the SO, the Vitamin C is going to oxidize, especially at a 20% concentration. This is why we've literally never seen a VitC serum in a clear bottle from any manufacturer.

Hey, great question.

So this comes down to the type of Vitamin C, the majority of Vitamin C formulations use L-absorbic acid as their key active ingredient. It's the easiest to derive and thus used the most often. This is a less stable form of Vitamin C that needs to be shielded from light, so manufacturers will often package it in a brown or opaque bottle.

We don't use L-absorbic acid, but rather use its "cousin", magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (MAP). One major difference is that magnesium ascorbyl phosphate provides a stable, water soluble form of vitamin C. In contrast to L-ascorbic acid, it won't degrade and lose efficacy over time in water based formulations.

MAP is light-stable and oxygen-stable, which is great and makes our serums so much easier to store. Various studies of MAP in water based formulas indicate it retains over 95% of its potency at 40°C, so it doesn't have the same heat and light sensitivity that plagues L-ascorbic. MAP also penetrates more easily into the skin and is less likely to cause irritation than ascorbic acid. You can see other brands that use MAP (Glossier, etc) also package it in a clear, frosted bottle.

The really awesome part about our formulation is the simplicity of it. You are basically getting 20% Vitamin C (MAP) and a boost of Hyaluronic Acid. This makes it an amazing AM serum to apply after cleansing because it really addresses both brightness and hydration.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to dive into any ingredients

Rory

Hi will you guys be expanding your range? Im thinking about cleansers mainly. Also you have a few small typos on your site like : Our team includes two PhDs dermatologists and as a style note you bounce back and forth on if chemical engineer is a proper noun. Also as another pedantic note aren't dermatologists medical doctors not fake PhD doctors (I am atting you @LA Guy)

Hey Edinatlanta,

So the eventual goal is definitely to expand our range. Cleansers are fantastic, but can be game-changing in terms of routine, what are you using right now?

Thanks for pointing out the typos, I'm on it now

 

[edinatlanta]

Hey, great question.

So this comes down to the type of Vitamin C, the majority of Vitamin C formulations use L-absorbic acid as their key active ingredient. It's the easiest to derive and thus used the most often. This is a less stable form of Vitamin C that needs to be shielded from light, so manufacturers will often package it in a brown or opaque bottle.

We don't use L-absorbic acid, but rather use its "cousin", magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (MAP). One major difference is that magnesium ascorbyl phosphate provides a stable, water soluble form of vitamin C. In contrast to L-ascorbic acid, it won't degrade and lose efficacy over time in water based formulations.

MAP is light-stable and oxygen-stable, which is great and makes our serums so much easier to store. Various studies of MAP in water based formulas indicate it retains over 95% of its potency at 40°C, so it doesn't have the same heat and light sensitivity that plagues L-ascorbic. MAP also penetrates more easily into the skin and is less likely to cause irritation than ascorbic acid. You can see other brands that use MAP (Glossier, etc) also package it in a clear, frosted bottle.

The really awesome part about our formulation is the simplicity of it. You are basically getting 20% Vitamin C (MAP) and a boost of Hyaluronic Acid. This makes it an amazing AM serum to apply after cleansing because it really addresses both brightness and hydration.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to dive into any ingredients

Rory



Hey Edinatlanta,

So the eventual goal is definitely to expand our range. Cleansers are fantastic, but can be game-changing in terms of routine, what are you using right now?

Thanks for pointing out the typos, I'm on it now

I help brands communicate and **** its my job. Using shiseido basically exclusively. Sunscreen exfoliator eye cream and moisturizer

 

[Overt]

I help brands communicate and **** its my job. Using shiseido basically exclusively. Sunscreen exfoliator eye cream and moisturizer

Well if you see anything else I am all ears, we are pretty early stage so anything that jumps out at you I'd love to hear .

I'm happy to see you are using sunscreen on a daily basis. That is so important to protect your skin, it also is one of their iconic products!

Shiseido makes great stuff. Their main serum, the "Power Infusing Concentrate" uses plant derived polysaccharides (they derive from Reishi Mushrooms) which is very similar to our plant derived polysaccharide based The Hydrator (derived from Cassia Angustifolia Seed). In fact, I'd encourage you to give ours a go if you were interested. They are both formulated to achieve the same purpose, hydrate, nourish, and protect.

In general it sounds like you have a great routine down. I am planning on doing a video on building a basic skincare routine that I hope to post here later this week or early next week.

Cheers,

Rory

 

[rwtc]

Hey, great question.

So this comes down to the type of Vitamin C, the majority of Vitamin C formulations use L-absorbic acid as their key active ingredient. It's the easiest to derive and thus used the most often. This is a less stable form of Vitamin C that needs to be shielded from light, so manufacturers will often package it in a brown or opaque bottle.

We don't use L-absorbic acid, but rather use its "cousin", magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (MAP). One major difference is that magnesium ascorbyl phosphate provides a stable, water soluble form of vitamin C. In contrast to L-ascorbic acid, it won't degrade and lose efficacy over time in water based formulations.

MAP is light-stable and oxygen-stable, which is great and makes our serums so much easier to store. Various studies of MAP in water based formulas indicate it retains over 95% of its potency at 40°C, so it doesn't have the same heat and light sensitivity that plagues L-ascorbic. MAP also penetrates more easily into the skin and is less likely to cause irritation than ascorbic acid. You can see other brands that use MAP (Glossier, etc) also package it in a clear, frosted bottle.

The really awesome part about our formulation is the simplicity of it. You are basically getting 20% Vitamin C (MAP) and a boost of Hyaluronic Acid. This makes it an amazing AM serum to apply after cleansing because it really addresses both brightness and hydration.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy to dive into any ingredients

Rory



Hey Edinatlanta,

So the eventual goal is definitely to expand our range. Cleansers are fantastic, but can be game-changing in terms of routine, what are you using right now?

Thanks for pointing out the typos, I'm on it now

Thank you very much for the thorough explanation. I am unfamiliar with MAP and it's very interesting to learn about innovations in the skincare industry. Do you ship to Canada by any chance? As well, can your products be used in conjunction with Retin-A?

 

[edinatlanta]

Well if you see anything else I am all ears, we are pretty early stage so anything that jumps out at you I'd love to hear .

I'm happy to see you are using sunscreen on a daily basis. That is so important to protect your skin, it also is one of their iconic products!

Shiseido makes great stuff. Their main serum, the "Power Infusing Concentrate" uses plant derived polysaccharides (they derive from Reishi Mushrooms) which is very similar to our plant derived polysaccharide based The Hydrator (derived from Cassia Angustifolia Seed). In fact, I'd encourage you to give ours a go if you were interested. They are both formulated to achieve the same purpose, hydrate, nourish, and protect.

In general it sounds like you have a great routine down. I am planning on doing a video on building a basic skincare routine that I hope to post here later this week or early next week.

Cheers,

Rory

Thanks for the info. I'm not really wedded to them (other than sunscreen) it's just sort of happened that I currently use only their products.

I have been wanting to add a serum and I'll give you guys a whirl. I'd be lying if I didn't say the number one reason I use skincare products is to not look old.

 

[Overt]

Thank you very much for the thorough explanation. I am unfamiliar with MAP and it's very interesting to learn about innovations in the skincare industry. Do you ship to Canada by any chance? As well, can your products be used in conjunction with Retin-A?

Hey! No worries, I'm happy to 'talk shop' whenever, especially when it comes to ingredients. We do ship globally although our distribution is here in the US. Happy to arrange a shipment up to Canada whenever you like. Since you are already using tretinoin (Retin-A) I would avoid the smoother and the restorer (both contain retinols).

What I would recommend is using our Vit C in the AM while maintaining the use of tretinoin in the PM. You may also want to layer in a low irritation moisturizing serum in the AM as well, as tretinoin can be fairly irritating.

We have had customers with a lot of success using our glowing duo. AM routine looks like cleanse, the brightener (vit C), the hydrator (botanical hyaluronic acid), further moisturizer as needed. PM cleanse, tretinoin, then moisturize.

 

[Overt]

I have been wanting to add a serum and I'll give you guys a whirl. I'd be lying if I didn't say the number one reason I use skincare products is to not look old.

If you are looking for anti-aging benefits you might want to look at adding a retinol to the mix - it increases skin cell turnover by accelerating the turnover of your skin cells. I use it for forehead lines for instance.

It's really best to apply in the PM and start slow (2-3 times a week) building up a tolerance before slathering it on every night. Our includes jojoba oil, green tea, aloe vera, and centella asiatica to all help prevent any irritation that can happen with cheaper retinoids. Check it out here.

 

[Epaulet]

Welcome to the forum! I've been using "The Hydrator" for the past three weeks, and it's been really excellent. It's great that it goes on lightly and absorbs quickly.

Question for Overt... what do you recommend for a daily facial sunscreen?

 

[edinatlanta]

Welcome to the forum! I've been using "The Hydrator" for the past three weeks, and it's been really excellent. It's great that it goes on lightly and absorbs quickly.

Question for Overt... what do you recommend for a daily facial sunscreen?

You didn't ask me but UVA/UVB broad spectrum is a must. There's really quick diminishing returns on SPF above like 20 (the charts are all over the internet) but basically it's not worth paying more for a higher SPF.

My guess is you also want a clear, lightweight/fast-drying cream judging from your post. I am going to say this one from Shiseido is right up your alley and also what I use. If you want that I'll send you my referral code for a discount.

Ultimate Sun Protector Lotion SPF 60+ | SHISEIDO

Invisible broad-spectrum SPF 60+ sunscreen with higher protection strengthened by heat and water.* For face and body.

www.shiseido.com

 

[Overt]

Welcome to the forum! I've been using "The Hydrator" for the past three weeks, and it's been really excellent. It's great that it goes on lightly and absorbs quickly.

Question for Overt... what do you recommend for a daily facial sunscreen?

Shisheido (already mentioned) makes a great sunscreen. Personally I am partial to Bioré, they are a Japanese sunscreen, easily found on Amazon. Their Aqua Rich sunscreen covers both UVA/UVB and is PA++++ which is the highest measurement of UV protection (scale developed in Japan). It also helps that absorbs quickly and doesn’t run and sting your eyes, even when doing exercise.

Until we make our own, that’s what I recommend

 

[mhip]

I've been on the bioré train for awhile.
Love it, and can't even tell it's on my face.