I tried a dedicated skincare range for your 30s | ARK Skincare Age Defend review

I’m 30 in August (scary, I know!), which means I should start adapting my skincare routine for my skin’s changing needs.

ARK Skincare offers a dedicated skincare line for your 30s and 40s called Age Defend. The products in this range are designed to boost the skin’s natural collagen production and minimise redness for a calm, supple complexion.

I’ve previously tried quite a lot of ARK Skincare products and was overall impressed with the vegan and cruelty-free skincare brand. It offers a comprehensive portfolio of products, but the ranges are well thought-out so that building a skincare routine that works for you is uncomplicated.

This review will tell you what your skincare routine should look like in your 30s and how effective the ARK Skincare Age Defend range is.

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What should your skincare routine look like in your 30s?

Collagen production starts declining at around the age of 25 at a rate of around 1-2% a year, according to skin health expert Kate Somerville. This is around the time that the skin starts to show signs of ageing – i.e. fine lines and wrinkles.

Levels of elastin and hyaluronic acid also slowly start to decrease, which means your skin may feel drier or more sensitive and begin to lose its elasticity, plumpness, and smoothness.

For these reasons, your skincare routine as you hit your 30s and beyond should incorporate several key products and ingredients:

• Retinol (aka vitamin A): helps to visibly reverse signs of ageing.
• SPF: to protect your skin from harmful UV rays. Sun damage also quickly ages the skin. Although, SPF should be worn every day, without fail, before your 30s!
• Hydrating products: look for moisturisers with hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane to lock in nourishment.
• Anti-redness products: to help relieve your skin from any irritation it may be experiencing. Niacinamide and azelaic acid are brilliant ingredients for reducing redness.
• Exfoliate: to offset the skin’s cellular turnover slowing down as we get older to keep skin looking youthful, radiant, and smooth.

Products in this review

To see whether the ARK Skincare Age Defend range is worthwhile, I tested 4 products for around a month.

3 products are from the Age Defend line, and 1 is from the Skin Perfector line which provides a targeted treatment for all ages.

1. Age Defend Regenerating Night Cream Treatment
2. Skin Perfector Anti-Redness Serum
3. Age Defend Conditioning Cleanser
4. Age Defend Replenishing Moisturiser

Below, I review each product individually before sharing my overall thoughts on the ARK Skincare Age Defend line.

1. ARK Skincare Age Defend Regenerating Night Cream Treatment

£42 for 50ml

About the product

The ARK Skincare Age Defend Regenerating Night Cream Treatment is a night cream that’s designed to combat the signs of everyday stress, boost hydration and elasticity, soothe the skin, and reduce sensitivity.

It’s enriched with retinyl palmitate to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, nourishing shea butter, skin-soothing maracuja oil, hydrating hyaluronic acid, and Persian silk tree bark extract for antioxidant benefits.

This nighttime moisturiser contains fragrance.

Review

I really like the ARK Skincare Age Defend Regenerating Night Cream Treatment.

This night cream is rich and thick, but it doesn’t feel greasy on the skin. In fact, it’s surprisingly absorbent and plays well with other products. I’ve got combination skin, and this isn’t too heavy for me.

I love the fragrance in this moisturiser. It smells a bit like marzipan, and I adore gourmand scents. Of course, if you’re sensitive to perfumed skincare, this is one to miss.

It’s a shame that this night cream contains fragrance. Perfume is a known potential irritant to the skin, and the Age Defend line is marketed as being good for reducing redness. I don’t experience any irritation with this product and enjoy the scent, but the fragrance may put people off buying it, especially if they’ve got sensitive skin.

As for the benefits, this cream is wonderfully nourishing. By the morning, my skin feels so soft and smooth. The retinol in this moisturiser didn’t irritate my skin at all. As it’s in a night cream formula, vitamin A is typically more tolerable anyway. It didn’t aggravate my rosacea.

I think this night cream does a great job of making my skin look youthful. I don’t have many fine lines, but I think this cream has slightly reduced their appearance anyway. There’s no change in the sensitivity of my skin after using this cream.

Rating: 4.5 stars

I like the ARK Skincare Age Defend Regenerating Night Cream Treatment and think it’s worth the price.

2. ARK Skincare Skin Perfector Anti-Redness Serum

£48 for 30ml

About this product

The ARK Skincare Skin Perfector Anti-Redness Serum claims to calm sensitive and irritated skin. This serum reduces redness, itching, and inflammation while boosting moisture levels and reinforcing the skin’s natural barrier.

It features sweet almond oil which helps the skin retain moisture, echium plantagineum seed oil to repair and strengthen the skin’s barrier, and soothing sunflower seed oil and balloon vine extract.

This serum contains fragrance.

Review

I think the ARK Skincare Skin Perfector Anti-Redness Serum is pretty effective, but it’s not the most effective product I’ve tried for reducing redness or soothing my rosacea.

This is thicker than a standard serum but not oily whatsoever. It doesn’t pill and absorbs after gently patting it into the skin. I find it a little drying. But if I apply a hydrating toner beforehand, this offsets any dryness. I also think you can feel this product sitting on your skin for about 10 minutes before the sensation disappears. This doesn’t bother me, but it’s something I noticed.

I feel the same way about the perfume in this serum as I do about the night cream. It’s also particularly interesting that this serum is targeted at those with sensitive skin despite being fragranced. However, the serum doesn’t have a strong scent at all – or it’s not distinguishable at least.

This serum is effective at easing redness. While it doesn’t completely get rid of a rosy flush, within about 30 minutes, I can see that any redness on my skin has reduced. This is useful for when I have a rosacea flare-up. Despite this, I’ve used products that ease any irritation or redness on my skin more effectively.

I also wish this serum felt calming on the skin. I’ve used products in the past that provide instant relief for any sensitivity I may be experiencing. This doesn’t feel soothing on application.

Rating: 4 stars

This serum is good but not a standout. For the price, I’d probably opt for a different anti-redness product.

3. ARK Skincare Age Defend Conditioning Cleanser

£26 for 200ml

About this product

The ARK Skincare Age Defend Conditioning Cleanser is supposed to effectively remove makeup, dirt, SPF, and grease from the skin. It gently exfoliates, leaves skin clean and moisturised, doesn’t strip the skin, and calms any redness.

It’s formulated with moringa oleifera seed oil to calm the skin, retinyl palmitate to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, hydrating glycerin, and mild cleansing agent olive oil PEG-7 esters.

This cleanser contains fragrance.

Review

I like the ARK Skincare Age Defend Conditioning Cleanser.

I use this cleanser as the first cleanse as part of my evening skincare routine. The formula is like a thick gel, which lends itself well to being gently massaged onto dry skin and then rinsed off with water. This cleanser has to work a bit harder than others I’ve tried to break down makeup, dirt, oil, and SPF.

Fragrance in cleansers isn’t as problematic as fragrance in other skincare products, as the product is washed off your skin. I don’t think this cleanser has a particularly strong scent either.

This cleanser is pretty gentle and doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight, dry, or stripped. But I don’t find that my skin feels particularly nourished, soothed, or soft afterwards either. I also don’t think it makes any difference to redness on the skin. It does the job but doesn’t provide any other noticeable skin benefits.

I also prefer a typical cleansing balm or cleansing oil consistency, as they leave my skin feeling more nourished. Those consistencies also emulsify better with water, which makes them easier to rinse off.

Rating: 4 stars

This cleanser is decent and reasonably priced for the size, but I’ve tried others that are more effective.

4. ARK Skincare Age Defend Replenishing Moisturiser

£41 for 55ml

About the product

The ARK Skincare Age Defend Replenishing Moisturiser claims to hydrate the skin, boost elasticity and plumpness, and diminish signs of ageing. It promises to smooth the skin and make it appear firmer, more toned, and fresh.

It’s enriched with nourishing shea butter, peptides to make skin firmer and plumper, hydrating glycerin, skin-softening ethylhexyl palmitate, and retinyl palmitate to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

This moisturiser contains fragrance.

Review

I think the ARK Skincare Age Defend Replenishing Moisturiser is good.

This is marketed as a daytime moisturiser – or, more specifically, it’s not labelled as a night cream. This is interesting and a bit misleading because it contains retinol, which you’re not supposed to apply during the day, as it increases your sensitivity to the sun. With this in mind, this formula is best used as a nighttime moisturiser.

I have the same comments regarding the fragrance as I do for the night treatment in that it could be an issue for sensitive skin, which is a shame. I actually think the perfume in this one is reminiscent of French pharmacy skincare brands, as it has a slightly sweet yet clinical scent.

Although the Replenishing Moisturiser doesn’t seem as rich or thick as the Regenerating Night Cream Treatment, it’s actually less absorbent. I find it takes a fair bit of rubbing it into the skin before it melts in. Once it’s finally massaged in, it doesn’t feel oily, greasy, or heavy, though.

This moisturiser is nourishing, smoothing, and gives skin some noticeable plumpness and radiance. After using it, my skin feels softer and conditioned.

But seeing as both moisturisers in this review contain retinyl palmitate and thus warrant nighttime use, I prefer the Regenerating Night Cream Treatment to this one. It’s just that bit more sumptuous, luxurious, and absorbent.

Rating: 4 stars

This is a good moisturiser but not my fave.

Overall ARK Skincare Age Defend review

I think the ARK Skincare Age Defend range is effective and worth checking out overall. I love that the brand is vegan and cruelty-free.

It’s a shame that the products all feature perfume, as these can be unviable for those with sensitive skin. Interestingly, all of the products in this post are marketed as working for those with sensitive skin. While I’m fine with perfumed skincare, this can be a barrier for some people.

Despite this, all of the products work well and provide some great ingredients as my skin transitions into its 30s. ARK Skincare offers useful tips about skincare in your 30s and 40s in its product descriptions, which is very handy for consumers.

Sarah Sarsby is the owner of A Woman's Confidence. With over 6 years' experience of writing in the fields of beauty and lifestyle, Sarah is passionate about all things content, makeup, skincare, wellness, and lifestyle. She has oily skin, is obsessed with lip gloss, and loves cookie dough.