Recently, a new (to me) skincare brand called Three Ships reached out to me to test out some of their products. As a lover of clean and cruelty-free skincare, I jumped at the opportunity. Named after the three ships that apparently discovered the mythical Fountain of Youth, Three Ships is a Canadian skincare company founded in 2017. The brand currently offers a modest line-up of products, all manufactured in Toronto, Canada. I've had a chance to try out three of their best sellers and wanted to share all about them with you today......
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| Three Ships Beauty | Purify Aloe + Amino Acid Cleanser |
Housed in a rather cumbersome glass pump bottle (I prefer a squeeze tube), the Purify Aloe + Amino Acid Cleanser is an alcohol-free, gentle, and hydrating cleanser containing an amino acid blend, aloe, and yeast extract. The light gel formulation has a lovely citrus scent and it creates a soft lather, leaving the skin clean but not dry or tight. Overall, this is a well-formulated hydrating cleanser perfect for everyday use but I am not impressed with the price. Cleansers vary in size but most standard formats are at least 150 ml. So for a small, 60 ml travel-sized bottle, the pricing is steep. For comparison, Sephora's current top-selling cleanser, the Youth To The People Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser (reviewed here) costs C$47 for 237 ml. So for the same unit price, the Three Ships Purify Aloe + Amino Acid Cleanser would cost a whopping C$102.7 for 237 ml! I'm sure Three Ships can make the argument that by selling such a small unit, they are making the product to be more "affordable" at face value but when you do the math, the price per ml is just insane!
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| Three Ships Beauty | Purify Aloe + Amino Acid Cleanser |
Ingredients: Aqua/Water/Eau, Aloe Vera Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Populus Tremuloides (Aspen) Bark Extract, Betaine, Saccharomyces Ferment (Yeast) Filtrate, Cellulose Gum, Hydrolyzed Jojoba Esters, Xanthan Gum, Inulin, Cellulose, Glucose, Fructose, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, PCA, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Proline, Threonine, Isoleucine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Citrus Auranitum Bergamia (Bergamot) Oil, Sodium Phytate, Citric Acid.
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| Three Ships Beauty | Dew Drops Mushroom Hyaluronic Acid + Vitamin C Serum |
Packaged in a teeny tiny 15 ml glass bottle with a dropper dispenser, this is a hydrating water-based serum formulated with tremella mushrooms rich in hyaluronic acid and kakadu plum extract rich in vitamin C. With a lightweight but mucus-like consistency which makes it a bit difficult to dispense from the dropper, the Dew Drops Mushroom Hyaluronic Acid + Vitamin C Serum has a very subtle, barely-there natural scent. It glides easily on the skin and absorbs quickly, leaving behind a slightly tacky but non-greasy residue. It layers well with moisturizers with no pilling or patching* and I love the instant hydration it provides to the skin. I'm impressed with the plethora of skin-loving botanical extracts and the clean formulation free of drying alcohols and silicones.
*Update*: Although this serum does not pill under a moisturizer, it pills significantly under makeup.
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| Three Ships Beauty | Dew Drops Mushroom Hyaluronic Acid + Vitamin C Serum |
My only gripe with this item is again the price. Usually, serums come in a 30 ml format but this comes in a 15 ml, making it considerably more expensive. Therefore, a 30 ml Dew Drops Mushroom Hyaluronic Acid + Vitamin C Serum would cost C$90, which puts it on par with luxury skincare brands. I'm not saying it's not worth that much but given that Three Ships advertises affordability, this can be misleading for those not well-versed in skincare. It's also worth noting that the serum has a fairly viscous, goopy formulation that doesn't dispense in distinct drops. Therefore, you need quite a bit each time to cover the entire face. so I do not foresee this 15ml bottle lasting me longer than a month.
Ingredients: Water/Aqua, Pentylene Glycol, Tremella Fuciformis (Tremella Mushroom) Polysaccharide, Terminalia Ferdinandiana (Kakadu Plum) Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Juice, Kappaphycus Alvarezii (Red Algae) Extract, Caesalpinia Spinosa (Tara) Fruit Extract, Sodium Levulinate, Sodium Anisate, Picea Mariana (Black Spruce) Bark Extract, Acer Rubrum (Red Maple) Bark Extract, Pinus Banksiana (Jack Pine) Bark Extract, Betula Alleghaniensis (Yellow Birch) Bark Extract, Salvia Miltiorrhiza (Red Sage) Root Extract, Butylene Glycol, Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil.
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| Three Ships Beauty | Radiance Grape Stem Cell + Squalane Day Cream |
Three Ships Beauty | Radiance Grape Stem Cell + Squalane Day Cream (C$45 for 50 ml):
Hands down my favorite of the three, the Radiance Grape Stem Cell + Squalane Day Cream is a lightweight facial moisturizer formulated with nourishing camellia seed oil, sugarcane-derived squalane, coconut oil, shea butter, and argan oil. The cream also contains grape stem cell extract, which is rich in antioxidants. Housed in the ever-so popular, press-to-dispense airless pump jar (that's actually reasonably sized), the lightly scented moisturizer feels nourishing but lightweight and non-greasy at the same time. Honestly, this is just an all-around great moisturizer that's not loaded with silicones. I have combination skin and I find the formulation appropriate for both day and night use. If there's one product you try from Three Ships, make it this one!
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| Three Ships Beauty | Radiance Grape Stem Cell + Squalane Day Cream |
Ingredients: Aqua/Water/Eau, Camellia Japonica (Camellia) Seed Oil, Cetearyl Olivate, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Squalane, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (Coconut Oil), Cetearyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Sorbitan Olivate, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil, Rubus Occidentalis (Black Raspberry) Seed Oil, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Cell Extract, Bisabolol, Opuntia Ficus-Indica (Prickly Pear) Seed Oil, Picea Mariana Bark Extract, Acer Rubrum Bark Extract, Pinus Banksiana Bark Extract, Betula Alleghaniensis Bark Extract, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Glyceryl Caprylate, Xanthan Gum, Citrus Reticulata (Tangerine) Peel Oil.
Availability:
Three Ships is available online at www.threeshipsbeauty.ca. The product is also available in stores at The Hudson's Bay, Chapters Indigo, Holt Renfrew, and Urban Outfitters in Canada.
