While celebrities might have access to the very best dermatologists, expensive skincare and luxurious skincare treatments (it takes a village to look red carpet ready, after all) you might be surprised that they actually have a few affordable skincare brands amongst their product arsenal. Yes, really. I’m talking under £20 brands that you’ll find dermatologists and makeup artists quick to recommend to their patients and clients, too.
One of those affordable brands that celebrities flock to is Avène. The brand is a French pharmacy skincare staple that has long been a favourite amongst those with sensitive skin. As a beauty editor who experiences eczema and acne, I often have the brand’s staple products on standby for flares, which were recommended to me by a number of dermatologists. But the beauty of this brand is that the products really work across skin types and conditions—and it seems that celebrities such as Hailey Bieber, Sofia Richie Grainge and Kendall Jenner can’t get enough either.
So what makes it special? Apart from being both affordable and efficacious, the brand’s key ingredient across all of its products has a number of studies on its ability to soothe sensitive skin. Avène uses thermal water from its namesake area within the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park in France, which acts as a post-biotic (i.e. it helps restore a compromised skin barrier by supporting your skin’s microbiome) and you’ll find within its skincare range to treat acne, rosacea, skin sensitivity and eczema to name but a few.
Scroll ahead for the Avène products that celebrities love, as well as some of our editor-approved products we’ll never be without.
In a video with Vogue, Sofia Richie Grainge had a number of Avène products in her bathroom.
This facial mist contains the brand’s iconic thermal spring water, which instantly soothes the skin. Perfect if you’re experiencing irritation—and it’s even better if kept in the fridge for warm days.
Richie Grainge also has a bottle of this soothing body moisturiser in her skincare remit. I used this religiously when I experienced an eczema flare on my body and it really helped to soothe the broken skin and provide instant comfort to the inflammation. It has a cocooning balm texture that locks in moisture on dry skin too.
The third product that Richie Grainge owns is what I would call Avène’s hero product. Think of Cicalfate as your first aid kit for your skin.The creamy texture creates a protective film on the skin, and contains the healing thermal water, as well as copper and zinc which are known to heal up recovery time, making it great to use on inflamed spots, sunburn, cuts, rashes and grazes. I always have one on standby.
While Hailey Bieber may have her own skincare line, Rhode, she’s happy to share her love for other beauty brands that she loves too—and it turns out that Bieber is also a fan of Avène’s Cicalfate cream, sharing on her Instagram Story that she likes to apply this product in her nighttime routine. “I love this product forever,” she wrote.
Sydney Sweeney recently shared that she likes to mix a gel cleanser with an exfoliant to help her makeup stay put on her skin. She uses Avène’s Cleanance Cleansing Gel Cleanser to help prepare her skin for makeup.
Avène’s Cleanance range is ideal for those with acne-prone skin or oily skin types. This cleanser helps to gently balance the skin by clearing breakouts without stripping the skin, leaving skin with a mattified yet comfortable finish.
Like Bieber, Nicola Peltz Beckham took to Instagram to share her love for Avène’s Cicalfate cream too.
“I love this product so much,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “My skin is sensitive and can be very dry. Sometimes (most nights) I put this on all over my face after I’ve done all other steps. I know everyone’s skin is very different and mine can be prone to breaking out from the wrong product but this one hasn’t broken me out at all and I’ve been using it for months.”
Both Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber were spotted with a bottle of the brand’s Thermale Avène Very High Sun Protection Spray SPF 50+ while sunbathing. If your skin is particuarly sensitive to sunscreen this is a great option to try. Not only does it provide SPF 50 and broad-spectrum protection against UVA and UVB rays, but it also has anti-irritation properties that help to keep reactive skin happy in the sun.
If you have very sensitive or reactive skin, I can’t recommend this kit enough. I picked this up when my skin was in a reactive phase and it was how I fell in love with the brand’s Tolerance range, which caters to skin sensitivity. It contains a travel-size cleanser, facial spray and moisturiser, which are ideal to try before you commit to the full sizes (but trust me, you’ll want to).
The celeb-adored and editor-approved Cicalfate cream also comes in a lip balm, which helps to repair cracked, dry lips and restore a healthy skin barrier. A must-have during winter months or for sunburnt lips in summer.
Dry skin? The Hydrance range is for you. This set contains both the Hydrance Hydration Booster serum and the Rich version of the Hydrance moisturiser, which help to plump, hydrate and cushion dry skin. You also get a 50ml size of the much-loved thermal water spray, too.
Those who are prone to redness or rosacea swear by this serum, which helps to alleviate skin flushing while hydrating and soothing, with almost instantaneous effects.
If oiliness or acne are concerns, then this kit is perfect for helping to clear breakouts and prevent them from reappearing. The cleanser gently cleanses while the moisturiser leaves a mattifying finish without clogging pores.
