The Story Behind Malin Goetz
Malin Goetz was founded in 2004 by Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz, both of who had experience and education in the field of skin care and marketing. Matthew worked in the executive training program at Saks Fifth Avenue, then as a cosmetic buyer at Barneys New York, then overseeing global sales for Kiehl’s, and finally developing Prada’s beauty division and managing Helmut Lang Parfums. Andrew worked as US Marketing Director for the family-owned, Swiss-based design manufacturer Vitra for a decade preceding the launch of Malin Goetz.
Malin Goetz skincare uses advanced technology to formulate products with natural ingredients for the modern, design-conscious individual. The company’s products include a wide variety of items for the skin, body, and hair, as well as perfume, candles, and personal grooming items. Malin Goetz skincare products are suitable for all skin types and genders to help to heal and protect the skin without the use of detergents, dyes, or artificial fragrances that can irritate the skin. In this review, we’ll discuss a few of the brand’s best selling products, key ingredients, Malin Goetz reviews from real customers, and more.
The Top 5 Malin Goetz Skincare Products
Malin Goetz skincare products include cleansers, moisturizers, masks, serums, oils, eye care, lip care, and more. Let’s take a closer look at the top 5 best selling Malin Goetz skincare products.
Revitalizing Eye Gel
The most popular Malin Goetz skincare product is the Revitalizing Eye Gel. This lightweight eye treatment is said to help nourish the delicate skin under the eyes and help improve the appearance of dark circles and fine lines. The formula includes rice and soy peptides to help brighten the overall eye area while cucumber extract helps soothe dry skin and alleviate puffiness. There’s also an antioxidant-rich blend of marine algae extracts to help hydrate and replenish moisture.
Recovery Oil
The Malin Goetz Recovery Oil is a fast-absorbing facial oil that is said to nourish skin and help improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This product contains a blend of botanical oils and is claimed to be suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin. A few of the oils you’ll find in this blend include argan, evening primrose, jojoba, grapeseed, and rosehip.
Bergamot Hand + Body Wash
One of the popular body care products by Malin Goetz is the Bergamot Hand + Body Wash, a cleansing gel that lathers into a rich foam under running water to thoroughly purify skin on the hands and body. It is said to be a gentle yet effective formula that rinses residue-free and without drying or stripping the skin.
Grapefruit Face Cleanser
This Malin Goetz face cleanser includes natural grapefruit extract and amino acid-based cleansing agents in order to gently but thoroughly cleanses skin of dirt, oil, and makeup. The brand claims that grapefruit peel oil is a natural cleansing agent, but as you’ll learn in the next section, this ingredient could be doing more harm than good.
Vitamin E Face Moisturizer
The final best selling Malin Goetz skincare product we’d like to discuss is the Vitamin E Face Moisturizer. This moisturizer is suitable for all skin types, especially sensitive, and is recommended as a base for immediate makeup application or as an aftershave.
The formula combines vitamins E and B5 with soothing chamomile fatty acids to gently hydrate and balance skin.
What Are The Key Malin Goetz Skincare Ingredients?
Rather than using just one key ingredient throughout their product line, Malin Goetz focuses on using a variety of botanical extracts and oils. Below we’ll discuss a few of the key ingredients you’ll find in the best selling Malin Goetz skincare products we introduced above.
Malin Goetz Revitalizing Eye Cream features a pretty high concentration of diamond powder. Diamond powder contains light-reflecting particles that help to instantly reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles by giving the skin a diffused, “soft-focus” effect. However, the beauty benefits you get from diamond powder are temporary. This is because diamonds are inactive and do not penetrate the skin. When you wash your face, you’re washing off the diamonds, which prevents them from providing any sort of long-term benefit for your skin. While the effects provided by the diamond powder are only temporary, there are several ingredients in this eye cream that could provide long-term benefits, such as soy peptides, marine algae extracts, sodium hyaluronate, and cucumber extract.
Malin Goetz Revitalizing Eye Cream also includes a high concentration of Ascophyllum Nodosum, also known as Norwegian Kelp, a type of seaweed. Seaweed extracts provide numerous benefits to the skin because they are so rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and trace elements. For example, many of these nutrients function as antioxidants and therefore help the skin combat free radicals, the unstable molecules that contribute to the formation of premature wrinkles and fine lines on the skin. Seaweed extract also helps to improve skin hydration, which makes Ascophyllum Nodosum an excellent ingredient to include in an eye cream since the delicate skin around the eyes is prone to dryness.
Like we mentioned above, Malin Goetz Recovery Oil includes a blend of various botanical oils, with the highest concentration oil being argan oil. Argan oil contains several beneficial fatty acids that promote skin health, including oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. Oleic acid is an omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acid, which functions as a penetration enhancer by disturbing the skin barrier, according to the Journal of Controlled Release. Linoleic acid, an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid, possesses anti-inflammatory properties and also replenishes the skin’s barrier function. Palmitic acid and stearic acid are both saturated fatty acids that also aid in replenishing the skin’s barrier function.
The Malin Goetz Bergamot Hand + Body Wash formula is not very impressive. The majority of the formula consists of surfactants like ammonium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, the humectant glycerin, and fragrance. The brand claims that amino acids are key ingredients, and while the formula does contain amino acids, we’d like to point out that they are listed after the preservative on the ingredient list. This means that they are used in very low concentrations and probably aren’t doing much for your skin.
The Malin Goetz Grapefruit Face Cleanser also includes primarily surfactants and glycerin. Grapefruit peel oil is also included as a key ingredient because it is claimed to naturally cleanse the skin. It’s true that grapefruit peel oil has antibacterial and antifungal activity, but this oil also contains a few problematic components. For example, grapefruit peel oil contains about 90% limonene. According to the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, limonene is a potent skin sensitizer. In addition, grapefruit peel oil contains furanocoumarins that make this oil mildly phototoxic, meaning the skin becomes irritated after sun exposure.
Even though vitamin E is in the name of the Malin Goetz Vitamin E Face Moisturizer, the brand uses less than 1% tocopheryl acetate (synthetic vitamin E ester) in their formula. We know this by looking at the ingredient list (which is in order of descending concentrations). All of these ingredients are listed after the preservative phenoxyethanol, which cannot be used in concentrations more than 1%, according to the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS).
Where is Malin Goetz Skincare sold?
Malin Goetz skincare is sold on the brand’s website, as well as in the brand’s brick-and-mortar stores that can be found in the United States, Europe, and Hong Kong. Malin Goetz skincare products can also be found in luxury retailers, hotels, airlines, and gyms. You can use the store locator on the brand’s website to find a location that sells Malin Goetz skincare near you.
Is Malin Goetz Cruelty Free?
Malin Goetz is cruelty free and the products are officially Leaping Bunny Certified. Leaping Bunny Certification means Malin Goetz skincare products are free of animal testing at every stage of product development.
References:
1. Journal of Controlled Release Volume 37, Issue 3, December 1995, Pages 299-306”
2. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Volume 47, Issue 5, November 2002, Pages 709-714”
3. de Groot AC, Schmidt E. Essential Oils, Part IV: Contact Allergy. Dermatitis. 2016;27(4):170-175. doi:10.1097/DER.0000000000000197
