Honest Three Ships Skincare Review (After Trying Out 10+ Products)
I’ve now tried over ten skincare products from Three Ships Beauty and have been using their products everyday for over two years. Here are my first-hand experiences and in-depth Three Ships skincare review of their best-selling cleansers, serums, moisturizers, eye masks and lip products.
About Three Ships Beauty
Three Ships was started in 2017 by two women from Toronto. Their mission is to create the most effective natural skincare products. They create toxin-free skincare products that are effective, affordable, and made from natural ingredients.
No green-washing. Full ingredient transparency. No 10-step skincare routine. Affordable. That’s basically what they’re all about.
What Makes Three Ships Beauty So Awesome?
Three Ships Beauty is becoming a rapidly growing clean skincare brand, and here’s exactly why they’re beating other brands:
1. Commitment to Clean Beauty
In a world where ingredient lists often look like a chemistry experiment, Three Ships prioritizes the simplicity and efficacy of natural ingredients. So, you don’t have to worry about hidden chemicals, endocrine disrupters, or fragrances.
2. Ingredient Transparency
Transparency is a key aspect of Three Ships’ philosophy. The brand goes above and beyond to provide detailed information about each ingredient used in their products. On their website, they offer an ‘Ingredient Glossary’ page where you can see exactly what each ingredient is, where and how it was sourced, and the benefits it adds to the product. There’s no confusion and no hidden ingredients.
3. Affordable Prices
Natural skincare products are expensive. Clean beauty and skincare is becoming ‘trendy’, unfortunately bumping prices even more. Before finding Three Ships, I was shipping my cleanser and moisturizer from the US, paying hundreds of dollars.
Now? I can get all my skincare needs for the same price as my last cleanser. That’s pretty awesome.
Clean, natural skincare should be accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy. Three Ships’ reasonably priced products make that more than possible. It is one of the only affordable natural skincare brands.
My Experience With Three Ships Beauty
I’ve been using Three Ships Beauty for over two years now (the ONLY skincare products I now use), here are my honest thoughts on ten of their most popular products!
You should also know, I’m VERY selective of skincare products (hence, the blog!). Skincare should support your natural skin barrier and be made with natural but effective ingredients.
There should be absolutely no toxic ingredients and it should do what it claims – so here are my honest (and strict) thoughts and ratings of each.
Three Ships “Harmony” Kombucha Microbiome Balancing Cleanser
My Rating: 10/10
Bottom line: Super gentle formula, cleanses well, hydrating, affordable, all-natural plant-based ingredients.
My Thoughts: This was the very first product I bought from Three Ships and I’m not onto my third bottle… I love it that much.
This cleanser has a soft, milky consistency that is super gentle on the skin. For reference, I have very dry, sensitive skin and this formula is SO nice to cleanse with. No dryness, no irritation.
It doesn’t foam up or create that ‘sudsing’ you see with conventional cleansers but still gently cleanses your skin without leaving your skin feeling dry or tight. It leaves your skin feeling clean yet hydrated, which I LOVE.
The scent is super minimal – I’d say it almost has no scent at all, making it a great choice for people prone to sensitive skin (or those who simply don’t wan’t scented skincare!).
I loved this cleanser so much that I switched to it permanently. It’s gentle, cleanses well, leaves your skin feeling clean, hydrated, and best of all it’s affordable.
Three Ships “Refresh” Papaya + Salicylic Acid Cleanser
Rating: 8/10
Bottom line: Gentle, foaming cleanser that brightens, evens and balances.
After loving the Harmony cleanser so much, I purchased the Refresh cleanser for a family member. He has combo skin, so their skin quiz recommended this salicylic cleanser.
This cleanser was a hit! It has a mild, almost citrusy scent and a nice foaming quality.
His Thoughts: He’s been loving this cleanser. He claims that it cleanses well, leaving his skin smooth, brighter, less oily throughout the day, and helps with appearance of pores. He likes that it does everything he needs without irritating and drying out his skin.
What’s so great about this cleanser is that it uses Aspen Bark Extract as a natural source of salicylic acid. There are hundreds of cleansers with salicylic aid, but very few use a natural plant source!
Salicylic acid’s plant-based form has natural anti-inflammatory properties, making it great for breakouts and acne-prone skin.
The only “con” he mentioned was that you needed a couple of pumps per cleanse so he went through the cleanser pretty quickly.
Three Ships “Skin Hero” Bio-Retinol Serum
Rating: 10/10
Bottom line: A perfect silky, hydrating bio-retinol serum that brightens, evens skin tone and deeply hydrates the skin.
Just recently I tried another product of theirs – the “skin hero” serum. It’s one of their best sellers with 4.8 star review (and 800+ glowing reviews!). So, I just had to get in on this amazing product.
Turns out, it’s pretty darn amazing too.
This serum is formulated with a natural plant-based source of retinol called bakuchiol, also nicknamed “natures retinol”.
Retinol is all the rage in skincare these days for its anti-aging and smoothing effects; however, many commercial retinoid skincare products can cause irritation, dryness, redness, flaking, and increased sensitivity to the sun.
I absolutely love that this serum uses a natural retinoid so you get all of the benefits (smoothing, evening of skin tone) all while naturally supporting collagen production, hydrating your skin and supporting your skin barrier.
Essentially, this serum gives your skin all the TLC it deserves.
Love this serum! It’s now become a permanent staple in my nighttime routine.
Three Ships “Boost” Rosehip Oil Serum
My Rating: 7/10
Bottom line: A soft, lightweight serum that adds extra hydration.
I have very dry, sensitive skin – so I usually need to be very careful with serums, but this one has worked well! It’s gentle, hydrating and non-irritating.
My Thoughts: The Boost serum is great. It’s lightweight, absorbs nicely into your skin, and gives your complexion a very light glow.
It really does leave my skin feeling hydrated and soft, even during dry winter months! It’s not greasy or heavy and is very easy to apply. I love the formula, lightweight consistency, and how it can easily be added to my moisturizer for extra hydration.
The only “con” I would say for me is that I find the scent is a little stronger than I usually prefer in my skincare. It has a citrusy-floral scent from the Geranium oil.
Three Ships “Glow” Jojoba Oil Serum
My Rating: 9/10
Bottom line: Soft, lightweight serum that for glowy, supple skin.
This is the second serum I purchased after Boost. Although it is listed for oily + combo skin, it works wonders for my dry, sensitive skin too!
My Thoughts: I love this serum—more than the Boost serum. The scent very minimal. It’s extremely lightweight, quickly absorbs into the skin, and leaves it feeling incredibly soft and supple.
I really like the formula of this serum. Jojoba oil is almost identical to your skin’s natural oils (sebum), making it great for reducing excess oil production and minimizing pores.
The combination of vitamin E and Camellia oil adds an extra ‘oomph’ to your skin, leaving it hydrated, silky and glowy.
This serum definitely lives up to it’s name! It gives your skin a beautiful, healthy glow.
Three ships “Brighter Days” Biodegradable Eye Mask
My Rating: 9/10
Bottom line: Hydrating and refreshing – jelly eye masks that brighten!
My Thoughts: I love these eye patches!
Their shape has been perfected so that it fits comfortably on the under-eye area, and they brighten and refresh your eyes if you have dark circles or bags from lack of sleep (nightshift, anyone?? 🙂
This is one of the coolest eye masks I have EVER seen!
Not only is it made with all-natural ingredients, but it also fully dissolves in water, making it 100% biodegradable.
The Brighter Days mask comes with 60 gel under-eye patches. They’re made with red algae extract, a strong antioxidant and hydrating ingredient, and avocado extract, which helps brighten dark circles and reduce the appearance of eye puffiness.
I’ve already repurchased!
How Do You Use The Three Ships Eye Mask?
Although Three Ships calls this an eye mask, they are actually jelly under-eye patches.
They are incredibly easy to use! After cleansing your skin, gently place them on your under-eye area, press lightly to adhere them and let them work!
Leave them on for 10-20 minutes. Once removed, pat in the left over serum into your under-eye area.
Are The Hydrogel Eye Patches Biodegradable?
Three Ships Red Algae and Avocado eye patches are some of the coolest eye masks I’ve ever seen, and they’re safe for the planet. Once you finish using them, you only need to place them in warm water for 5-10 minutes. They’ll completely dissolve!
Three Ships “Radiance” Squalene Day Cream
My Rating: 8/10
Bottom line: Easy and lightweight, the perfect everyday day moisturizer.
My Thoughts: This day cream is really lovely. It’s a lightweight, hydrating formula that applies seamlessly, is quickly absorbed by the skin and leaves my skin feeling soft and supple. (I’ve had several people ask me how I get my skin so soft, haha).
As someone with dry skin, finding a good day cream that actually hydrates my skin is challenging. A lot of formulas are just so heavy and sticky.
This cream is excatly what I was on the hunt for: non-sticky, non-greasy, but hydrating… and Radiance is exactly that!
The consistency of the cream is very silky and feels more water-based, making it lightweight, non-greasy and definitely non-comedogenic.
It’s the perfect everyday moisturizer.
One super unique feature that Three Ships Beauty includes for all their creams is the dispenser! I’ve never had a cream like this before, but it makes it so easy to get the perfect amount I need for every application.
Plus, it serves as a mixing palette for adding serums and helps prevent bacteria from being introduced into the whole product. The dispenser lid is removable so you can use the product that way, too, if you prefer.
Three Ships “Dream” Bio-Retinol Cream
My Rating: 10/10
Bottom line: Soft, rich, and hydrating but non-greasy. The best cream for deep hydration, brightening and smoothing.
After really liking the “Radiance” cream, I just recently tried the “Dream” cream – oh my goodness, it’s SO good!
I actually think I love it even more than Radiance, and I love that cream.
Their Dream cream is also made from natural bio-retinol plant sources just like Skin Hero. It’s also made with shorea butter and squalene, both of which support, nourish and deeply hydrate the skin barrier.
I fell in love with this cream with the first try. I think because I have dry skin, this cream is just one-step more hydrating and nourishing then Radiance.
I’ve also noticed it’s really evened out my skin tone, and just gives my skin a brighter, smoother appearance.
This cream has quickly become a staple in the routine.
Three Ships Lip Exfoliator + Lip Mask
My rating: 8/10
This lip duo is a great way to refresh your lips. The lip exfoliator uses fine sugar crystals, moisturizing vitamin E, jojoba, and coconut oil.
My Thoughts: It’s a very gentle exfoliator that helps remove dry, flaking skin. I like the exfoliator because it exfoliates well and leaves my lips feeling soft. Plus, the scent is a delicious vanilla!
The buttercream hydrating lip mask contains vitamin E, shea butter, coconut oil, and avocado oil. Although it exfoliates and leaves my lips feeling soft and hydrated, I likely wouldn’t repurchase.
I liked both products but I felt like other natural balms could do the same.
Is Three Ships A Good Skincare Brand?
Three Ships Beauty is revolutionizing clean skincare (I’m serious!). Their commitment to natural ingredients, ingredient transparency, affordability and eco-friendly initiatives is quickly pushing them beyond the competition.
Three Ships Beauty pays attention to detail and constantly asks for and uses customer feedback to improve their products. They have products for every skin type and specific skin needs – sensitive, hypoallergenic, and mature skin.
They have products for every skin type and need.
With high-quality products, affordability and commitment to toxin-free, natural ingredient formulas, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better brand than Three Ships Beauty.
Is Three Ships Vegan? Cruelty-Free?
Yes! Three Ships Beauty’s skincare products are cruelty-free and vegan, and their ingredient list is 100% transparent. Each of their product listings has a picture legend high-lighting all of the features.
They also have an ‘Ingredient Glossary’ on their site where you can alphabetically search for any of the ingredients they use in their products.
Under each ingredient, you’ll find information about its type, where and how it’s sourced, why it’s used, and what it helps with for skincare.
This is a super unique feature! I have NEVER seen any other natural skincare company provide so much detail about each of the ingredients they use in their formulations.
Is Three Ships Good For Mature Skin?
Yes! Three Ships Beauty offers natural skincare products for different skin types, concerns and needs. They currently offer 11 products that are suitable for mature skin!
On their website, they have a page dedicated to products for mature skin. You can also use their intuitive skincare quiz to find the best products for your skin type.
How Long Does Three Ships Take To Ship?
Three Ships Beauty has one of the fastest shipping times I’ve ever experienced.
It only took two days from the time I made the purchase to receive my product on my doorstep. I live in Canada, so I can’t speak on the shipping times to the US. However, knowing how diligent this company is, I will bet it’s just as fast!
I even made an order on Black Friday. We all know how chaotic Black Friday can be, right? My order came within three days despite the crazy number of orders they likely received that weekend.
Their shipping and customer service are impeccable. It’s very clear that they really value their customers and are there to help whenever you need them. I have only great things to say thus far!
Is Three Ships Beauty Worth It? Final Thoughts
100% yes. If you’re on the fence, give them a try. I promise you’ll fall in love with their skincare.
With their high-quality products, affordability and commitment to toxin-free, natural ingredient formulas, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better brand. (Plus, they’re affordable!).
Skip the toxins and simplify your skincare routine!
Where To Shop Three Ships Beauty
If you want to try Three Ships Beauty’s products, there are a couple of places you can find them now! You can buy directly online from Three Ships Beauty and earn rewards points, or you can shop The Detox Market, your local Whole Foods Market, Indigo, and even Holt Renfrew.
They are constantly expanding to new retailers, and the best way to check where you can find them near you is through their online store locator!
