My Honest Thoughts on Thirsty Turtl’s Full Range
From Someone with Combination, Acne & Hyperpigmentation-Prone Skin
Image: Article banner of the Thirsty Turtl products displayed next to an image of Praise using the Forest Therapy cleanser while holding the bottle next to her face.
Most of us have tried a lot of K-beauty and J-beauty products, but I think we need to highlight and celebrate more Australian beauty (A-Beauty).
Enter Thirsty Turtl; a First Nations co-founded brand that focuses on combining Indigenous knowledge, cosmetic science and sustainable agriculture.
The company’s team is comprised of 3 incredible women whose vision has resulted in what has become one of my favourite skincare brands to use, talk about and recommend.
Read: Aussie Brand Thirsty Turtl is Offering Skincare With Incredible First Nations Ingredients
I continue to be impressed by the way Thirsty Turtl makes products that look and feel luxurious and can be seamlessly incorporated into any routine.
I also love how they’ve managed to perfectly balance science and nature with their formulas.
Image: Thirsty Turtl skincare products side by side in their delivery box, which has First Nation’s artwork.
I was sent their range in October of last year and I have been using them in and out of my routine since then.
This is not in any way a first impressions - these opinions are based on months of experience and trialling.
Going beyond that, these are products that I would happily spend my own money on and I fully intent on doing so when I empty the ones I’ve been using.
Thirsty Turtl’s current line-up consists of 3 products:
You can buy all 3 products in a bundle
Forest Therapy Balancing Cream Foam Cleanser, $45.00
Image: Praise squeezing out the Forest Therapy Cleanser onto her hand.
I have been a skincare fiend for going on 8+ years now so I have tried a lot of different products.
I can tell within the first use if I like a cleanser or not and this cleanser was an instant love for me.
Foaming cleansers scare a lot of people (myself included) because they can be very drying and leave your skin feeling super tight and uncomfortable.
With this cleanser, you need maybe a pea-sized amount for your entire face and it creates a lush, woody-smelling lather that leaves you clean but not stripped.
Image: The Forest Therapy Cleanser gently foamed on Praise’s face. The lather is light and not overly bubbly.
The secret is in the hydrating betaine and 10% glycerol as well as the Australian white cypress hydrosol which has anti-inflammatory/ anti-redness and anti-microbial properties.
My holy grail cleanser for many years now has been the Fenty Skin Total Cleans’r because of its ability to lather, hydrate and last you at least 6 months of twice daily use.
Image: Praise using the Forest Therapy cleanser while holding the bottle next to her face.
The Forest Therapy Cleanser has joined that club for all of the same reasons and I love that the packaging is a little more compact for when I’m on the go.
Application does require you to squeeze the bottle so if you have arthritis or dexterity issues, that’s something to keep in mind.
Desert Glow Brightening Gel-Creme, $65.00
Image: The two creams swatched on Praise’s cheek. The Desert Glow Gel-Creme is on the top, and the blue-hued Pacific Dusk Overnight Cream is swatched below.
The Desert Glow Gel-Creme is my example of the perfect year-round moisturiser for true combination skin.
It is both lightweight and incredibly moisturising and it leaves you with a beautiful glow.
It’s made with 5% niacinamide as well as antioxidants such as green tea extract and Australian desert tomato extract.
Like many other acne-prone individuals, my skin is prone to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation so this product’s actives would be perfect for helping with that.
Image: A texture shot of the Desert Glow Gel-Creme.
Like the cleanser, this moisturiser is lightly scented by its key botanical but the scent is not overwhelming or overpowering in any way - you won’t smell like a tomato bush I promise.
Gels in the past have been much too light for my skin, leaving it wanting more, this formula perfectly straddles that balance and it also helps prime your face for makeup beautifully.
Pacific Dusk Overnight Barrier Cream, $65.00
Image: A texture shot of the Pacific Dusk Cream.
The blue-tinged Pacific Dusk Cream was my first love from the brand because it is the lush, thick, barrier-restoring moisturiser of my dreams.
It even made it into my 2024 end-of-year beauty favourites round-up.
Its colour and scent comes from polyphenol-rich grape skin extract and it also includes soothing colloidal oatmeal and seaweed extract.
This is the kind of moisturiser that would be perfect for dry skin types or those with combination skin that sometimes throws tantrums (like mine).
Image: A group photo of the three hero products on top of green foliage.
This delivers all the hydration of a barrier repair cream but it’s so easy to blend in and unlike a lot of those, it doesn’t leave a white cast on my face so I can wear it during the day as well.
If fragrance is something that irritates you, this brand might not be for you, their products are lightly (and in my opinion tastefully) fragranced by some of their active ingredients.
Their product packaging is made of 30% PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastic and their cartons are made from responsibly sourced cardboard.
Final Thoughts
Ranging from $45 to $65, the price point is higher than some of your favourite products but in my humble opinion, it’s worth it.
You’re paying for the incredible formulas, the packaging, the sustainably sourced Indigenous ingredients and the peace of mind that comes from supporting a brand that cares about making a positive impact on the planet.
Thirsty Turtl is committed to supplier transparency and their use of white cypress oil is helping restore biodiversity to the Dubbo region of Central West NSW and the desert tomato in their formulas is sourced from a First Nations-owned eco-conscious farm in the South Australian Riverlands.
I’ve been trying to make more of a conscious effort to purchase from and support small, local, minority-owned brands whose values align with mine and Thirsty Turtl is a perfect example of one such brand.
They have an incredible team, high-quality products and their commitment to leaving the world better than they found it inspires me.
You can shop all of their products directly from their website where they also have a blog that helps answer common skincare questions.
