Meghan Markle and Drew Barrymore Swear By This Derm-Approved Brand To Banish Dark Circles, Dry Skin, and More

If it’s good enough for Meghan Markle, it’s good enough for me. That was my first thought when I began using Kate Somerville products a few years ago. The Duchess of Sussex, as well as A-list celebs like Drew Barrymore, have been fans of the brand’s offerings and aesthetician founder over the years—and for good reason.

For those unfamiliar, Kate Somerville began as a skin-care studio in Hollywood, CA. Somerville, an aesthetician, served a number of celeb clients, and eventually branched out into creating her own skin-care line in 2005. Today, most of Kate Somerville products mirror her clinic treatments. This mean they’re generally very robust in their formulations. Additionally, many uniquely focus on exfoliating and hydrating the skin to increase its glow and radiance. 

If you’re wondering where to begin, we asked dermatologists to tell us their top picks—these are the products they’d add to their own beauty cabinets.

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Best Kate Somerville Products

Kate Somerville Goat Milk Moisturizing Cleanser — $40.00

Face washes can be tricky, especially if you have sensitive skin. You want to find one that’s strong enough to cleanse the dirt from your pores, but that won’t totally destroy your skin’s moisture barrier, or cause any redness. Thankfully, that’s something that this cleanser does near perfectly. Its secret is goat milk, which is an ingredient that has a ton of fatty acids to soothe and soften the skin. Also, it contains manuka honey and jojoba and avocado oil to give your skin a major hydration boost during and after you cleanse.

“I can’t tell you how many problems the wrong cleanser can cause,” says board-certified dermatologist Dr. Rachel Nazarian, M.D., F.A.A.D. ‘When people clean their skin too aggressively, irritation, inflammation and lots of underlying damage can be caused. I love that this cleanser is incredibly gentle, and soothing, and is non-foaming so won’t strip the skin of its natural oils.”

Kate Somerville Retinol Firming Eye Cream — $88.00

What makes this eye cream derm-approved is how gentle and moisturizing the formula is. Although it contains retinol (a derivative form of vitamin A that helps to promote cell turnover and stimulate collagen), this can potentially lead to dry skin and irritation.  However, this formulation poses less of a risk, according to Dr. Nazarian. “This gentle version is combined with hyaluronic acid which is moisturizing, which makes it more tolerable, and comes with a really wonderful applicator to make application easy and simple.” Use it to help reduce fine lines and brighten the skin under and around your eyes.

Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Glow Moisturizer — $70.00

This moisturizer is really an exfoliant and hydrator wrapped into one. It has hyaluronic acid for hydration and glycolic acid and lactic acid. These two chemical exfoliants help to smooth your skin and clear away dead cells on your skin’s surface. It’s pretty lightweight and absorbs easily into your skin.”[The] Exfolikate glow moisturizer is a nice product because I love adding in a touch of glycolic acid in a hyaluronic acid based moisturizer,” says board-certified dermatologist Dr. Nava Greenfield, MD. “Glycolic acid is a chemical exfoliator and if used correctly and in a gentle and hydrating product the correct balance of exfoliation and moisturize results which leaves bright and fresh appearing skin.”

Kate Somerville Wrinkle Warrior Eye Visible Dark Circle Eraser — $70.00

This eye treatment is all about targeting dark circles, fine lines, and under-eye puffiness. It does this using not one, not two, but three different sizes of hyaluronic acid. The extra moisture helps to plump the thin and delicate skin under the eye. “I like the Wrinkle Warrior eye cream,” says Dr. Greenfield. “I find that it’s not easy to find a gentle but extra hydrating eye cream that works for almost all skin types and it has added botanicals which provide extra nutrients to a very sensitive area of skin.”

Kate Somerville DeliKate Recovery Cream — $70.00

A moisturizer that helps treat redness and skin tightness? Sign me up!  This cream really packs a punch because of the Peptide Complex and ceramides. Both peptides and ceramides are naturally found in the skin and help to protect it from damage.  Additionally, there’s some ginger root inside that has a ton of antioxidants to calm the skin. “Nighttime is a period of recovery for the skin,” says board-certified dermatologist Dr. Brendan Camp, MD. “Using a moisturizer that assists in the healing and recovery process will prepare the skin the next day ahead. It is especially helpful for people with redness concerns.”

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