Pacifica Beauty is a 100% vegan and cruelty free brand that was founded in 1996 by Brook Harvey-Taylor. It all began in Brook’s kitchen, where she would create perfumes out of essential oils, eventually selling them locally in Eugene, Oregon. In fact, Brook told Well + Good that she would sell her perfumes at The Grateful Dead shows when they came into town.
What are the Best Skin Care Products of 2024?
Today, Pacifica has expanded to offer an extensive fragrance collection, as well as hair care, skin care, makeup, and more. In this review, we’ll focus on the Pacifica skincare products. We’ll review the product formulations through a scientific lens, meaning we’ll give you the research that supports (or doesn’t support) the ingredients that you’ll find in these products. We’ll also share Pacifica skincare reviews so that you can get an idea of what customers really think of these products.
What Are The Top 10 Best Pacifica Skincare Products?
Pacifica has an extensive collection of skincare products, including cleansers, scrubs, masks, serums, moisturizers, face mists, treatments, peels, eye care, lip care, and more. With so many products to choose from, you may not know where to get started with this brand. Don’t worry; below we’ll give you a breakdown of the top 10 best Pacifica skincare products.
Pacifica Pore Warrior Soft Scrub
- A gentle facial scrub that uses plant-based scrubbing beads to remove dead skin, dirt, toxins, and other impurities that can clog pores
- Key ingredients include sunflower seed oil, jojoba esters, niacinamide, vitamin E, cucumber fruit extract, and rosehip oil
- Contains fragrant essential oils
Pacifica Eye Bright Undereye Vitamin C Spot Serum Mask
- Bio-cellulose eye patches that are said to help brighten and boost hydration in the undereye area
- 2 individual single use undereye spot masks
- Key ingredients include aloe and glycerin
- Contains less than 1% of “key” ingredients (vitamin C and marine plant extracts)
- Contains fragrance
Pacifica Dreamy Youth Day & Night Face Cream
- Anti-aging facial moisturizer that is said to deeply moisturize and improve skin’s youthful glow
- For all skin types, especially dry
- Key ingredients include sunflower seed oil, acetyl hexapeptide-3, palmitoyl tripeptide-3, shea nut oil, grape seed oil, aloe vera, kelp extract, and vitamins C and E
- Contains fragrant essential oils
Pacifica Alight Multi-Mineral BB Cream
- A tinted BB cream that hydrates, primes, illuminates, and perfects, leaving a sheer bare skin finish
- Available in 3 shades (dark, medium, and light)
- The sheer application can be built up for just the right amount of coverage, while helping diminish the appearance of pores, fine lines, and uneven tone
- Mica and titanium dioxide reflect light from the face, creating the illusion of a smoother, softer, and more radiant skin tone
- Additional key ingredients include caprylic/capric triglyceride, jojoba esters, coconut water, kelp extract, and hyaluronic acid
- Contains fragrance
Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Face Wash
- Foaming, sulfate-free facial cleanser that is said to gently remove makeup, oil, and impurities
- For all skin types
- Key ingredients include coconut-derived surfactants, aloe vera leaf juice, vitamins C and E, papaya extract, lemon bioflavonoids, coconut oil, and coconut water
- Contains fragrance
Pacifica Vegan Collagen Overnight Recovery Cream
- A rich, anti-aging facial cream that is said to help revive and hydrate for more dewy, youthful looking skin
- For all and aging skin types
- “Vegan Collagen” refers to the ingredient sr-hydrozoan polypeptide-1, a certified-vegan marine collagen produced in a sustainable, 100% plant-based fermentation process using zero animal inputs
- Additional key ingredients include sunflower seed oil, vitamins C and E, and emollients
- Contains fragrance
Pacifica Vegan Collagen Recovery Eye Cream
- A rich, nourishing eye cream that easily absorbs into skin to boost hydration and help the delicate skin around your eyes feel supported and energized
- For all and aging skin types
- “Vegan Collagen” refers to the ingredient sr-hydrozoan polypeptide-1, a certified-vegan marine collagen produced in a sustainable, 100% plant-based fermentation process using zero animal inputs
- Additional key ingredients include caprylic/capric triglyceride, chamomile flower extract, calendula flower extract, caffeine, allantoin, and panthenol
- Contains fragrant botanical extracts
Pacifica Sea & C Love Vitamin Serum
- A vitamin C serum that is said to help fight the effects of blue light and aid in a brighter, tighter, healthier appearance
- The form of vitamin C in this serum is 3-o-ethyl ascorbic acid
- Additional key ingredients include aloe vera leaf juice, sea kelp extract, green tea extract, turmeric root extract, hyaluronic acid, and spirulina extract
- Contains fragrance
Pacifica Stress Rehab Coconut & Caffeine Facial Mask
- 100% cotton single-use sheet mask that is said to tone skin while reducing redness and puffiness
- All skin types, especially stressed
- Key ingredient is glycerin
- Contains less than 1% of green tea leaf extract, caffeine, coconut fruit extract, chamomile flower extract, and turmeric root extract
- Contains fragrance
Pacifica Sunscreen Coconut Probiotic SPF 30
- This Pacific sunscreen contains the mineral sunscreen zinc oxide to provide broad spectrum SPF 30 protection
- Water resistant up to 80 minutes
- Additional key ingredients include bentonite, bisabolol, and caffeine
- Contains fragrance
What Are The Key Ingredients in Pacifica Skincare Products?
Like we mentioned above, all Pacific skincare products are cruelty free and vegan. The brand also doesn’t use harmful ingredients like parabens, phthalates, SLS, or mineral oil in the Pacifica skincare products.
As for the key ingredients that you will find in Pacifica skincare products, you may have noticed from our product descriptions above that the brand doesn’t use just one key ingredient throughout their skincare collection. Rather, each product contains unique key ingredients.
Generally speaking, the Pacifica skincare products contain plant-derived emollients like sunflower seed oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, coconut oil, and several others.
There are also high concentrations of humectants in many Pacifica skincare products, such as glycerin, panthenol (provitamin B5), bisabolol, aloe vera leaf juice, and others.
Many Pacifica skincare products contain antioxidant vitamins C and E. Antioxidants protect the skin against free radical damage. This is important because the harmful effects of free radicals occur as direct chemical alterations of the cellular DNA, the cell membrane, and cellular proteins, including collagen. Damaged collagen manifests as signs of premature skin aging, including wrinkles, lines, and sagging skin.
In addition, vitamin C has the ability to stimulate the synthesis of new collagen in the skin. According to the Indian Dermatology Online Journal, clinical studies have shown that the topical use of vitamin C increases collagen production in both young and aged human skin. By increasing the amount of collagen in the skin, signs of aging will be diminished and the skin will appear more firm.
Vitamin C also has the ability to reduce the appearance of dark spots and improve uneven skin tone. Therefore, the Pacifica skincare products with vitamin C — such as Pacifica Sea & C Love Vitamin Serum — can help to tackle multiple signs of skin aging while improving skin tone and brightness.
Similar to vitamin C, the use of vitamin E in Pacifica skincare products helps to protect the skin from free radical damage that can lead to signs of aging. In addition, vitamin E is known to strengthen the skin’s barrier function and helps to reduce transepidermal water loss.
It’s excellent that the brand combines vitamins C and E in several of their products, such as the Pacifica Vegan Collagen Overnight Recovery Cream, Pacifica Dreamy Youth Day & Night Face Cream, Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Face Wash, and others. This is because these antioxidants are synergistic, which is why they are referred to as “network antioxidants”. A publication in the journal Dermatologic Therapy explains, “because vitamin C regenerates oxidized vitamin E, the combination in a cosmeceutical formulation is synergistic – particularly in UV protection.”
Lastly, it’s important to keep in mind that nearly all Pacifica skincare products contain fragrance ingredients, primarily fragrant essentials oils. And we understand why — remember that Pacifica founder Brook Harvey-Taylor began the brand by creating perfumes out of essential oils. While these fragrance ingredients do make the products smell lovely, they could be damaging your skin.
This is because all fragrance ingredients (whether natural or synthetic) impart scent through a volatile reaction, and this natural reaction almost always causes a sensitizing reaction on skin. In fact, according to a 2016 publication in the scholarly journal Dermatitis, nearly 80 essential oils have caused contact allergy.
Even if you don’t have a full blown reaction to the ingredient, the damage may still be occurring every day. Ultimately, this can cause mild problems for your skin in the short term and worse problems in the long term.
Where to Buy Pacifica Skincare Products?
Pacifica skincare products are sold on the brand’s website, as well as several third party online retailers such as Target, Ulta, iHerb, and more. Pacifica skincare products are also sold in physical retail locations. The brand has a store locator on their website so that you can find a location that sells Pacifica skincare products near you.
What is The Pacifica Return Policy?
The Pacifica return policy states, “At Pacifica, we want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase and experience. That is why we offer an easy return process. Returns are accepted within 30 days after purchase from Pacificabeauty.com only. Items purchased from a Pacifica retail partner will not be accepted. Bundles, samples & free gifts with purchase are not returnable. If you receive a promotional item with purchase, you will be charged for these promotional items if you return the qualifying item. We cannot accept returns from outside of the US. Shipping charges are non-refundable.”
Is Pacifica Cruelty Free?
Yes, Pacifica is cruelty free and is a PETA certified Beauty Without Bunnies partner.
Our Verdict
Overall, we think that most of the Pacifica skincare products are formulated well, with the exception of the fragrance ingredients in the products.
Pros
- Affordable (most products available for less than $20 USD)
- Many positive Pacifica skincare reviews
- Pacifica is cruelty free
- The brand uses beneficial key ingredients, such as emollients, humectants, antioxidant vitamins C and E, and botanical extracts with soothing properties
Cons
- Nearly all Pacific skincare products contain fragrance
- Some products contain low concentrations of “key” ingredients
What Are Some Alternatives to Pacifica Skincare Products?
There’s no need to compromise when it comes to finding skincare that’s effective and safe.
If you’re looking for effective skincare products that skip harmful toxins, one brand we recommend is Carrot & Stick.
References:
Well + Good “Meet the Woman Who’s Bringing Crystal-Infused Beauty Products to Ulta” June 2018
Dermatol Ther Sep-Oct 2007;20(5):314-21.
Indian Dermatol Online J. 2013 Apr-Jun; 4(2): 143–146.
de Groot AC, Schmidt E. Essential Oils, Part IV: Contact Allergy. Dermatitis. 2016;27(4):170-175. doi:10.1097/DER.0000000000000197
Patricia Gordon Original review: Jan 31, 2024.
since I want fragrant free it would have been helpful if you would have put the pacificas products I’ll have fragrance first then I wouldn’t have bothered to copy down all their products. but thanks for the carrot and Stick review