Milk Made Skin skincare review

Remember in Season 3 of E!'s Kourtney and Kim Take Miami when Kim Kardashian applied her sister's breast milk onto areas of her skin that were experiencing psoriasis? While the beauty industry has seen some unique ingredients over the years, like many people, that reality television moment has always stuck out to me.

More recently, using breast milk as a skincare ingredient has received additional buzz, with Halsey announcing that it is "the best skin care ingredient ever" in an April 2023 interview with Nylon. Needless to say, when I caught wind that there was a new breast milk inspired skincare line in town, I was certainly intrigued. Often referred to as "liquid gold," breast milk is at the forefront of anti-aging skincare line Milk Made Skin. I tested the products out for two weeks—here's what you need to know.

What is Milk Made Skin?

Milk Made Skin believes that while breast milk is beneficial to growing babies, the ingredient is equally as powerful for the skin. According to the brand, the product is the first of its kind to harness the nutritional benefits of breast milk for hydrated, smooth, more youthful-looking skin.

Before we get any further, no, the products don't have real breast milk in them. Instead, they're infused with what the brand calls a Milk Peptide Complex, which is a proprietary blend of ingredients that mimics breast milk's composition in terms of water, lactose, proteins, essential fatty acids, antibacterial enzymes, and vitamin A, B, and C. Where the two differ is that natural breast milk also contains antibodies and stem cells, and the Milk Peptide Complex doesn't.

In any case, the products were made alongside a chemist and underwent five years of scientific trials before launching.

In addition to the Milk Peptide Complex, Milk Made Skin uses ingredients like cucumber essence water, mulberry root extract, caffeine, squalane, niacinamide, and rose water to moisturize, smooth, reduce wrinkles, and improve skin's elasticity. The line currently consists of three products: Milk Drench Exfoliating Gel Cleanser, Milk Drunk Peptide Rich Moisturizer, and Milk Boost Brightening Eye Cream.

How I tested Milk Made Skin

I tested the three products in the line for two weeks, alternating between applying them during the day and at night. I also used the products in conjunction with other favorites in my routine. For instance, if I was using the products during the day, I would use the cleanser first thing in the morning before applying the eye cream, moisturizer, and my own SPF the Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF 40.

When using at night, I followed a double-cleansing routine of first removing my makeup with a cleansing balm (right now that's the Ranavat Lotus Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm) before following up with the Milk Made Skin cleanser. I then applied my trusty Erno Laszlo Soothing Relief Hydration Serum followed by the Milk Made Skin moisturizer and eye cream.

What I like about Milk Made Skin

The products made my skin soft

I have severely dehydrated, flaky skin that experiences year-round dryness. Because of this, I also struggle with uneven texture on certain areas of my skin (namely around my nose), and my skin tone is uneven (the center area of my face is prone to redness). When I first tried the Milk Drench Exfoliating Gel Cleanser, I was impressed with how my skin felt afterward. It was soft, smooth, and the gel didn't feel drying or tight on my skin despite the gel formulation.

The Milk Boost Brightening Eye Cream was impressive—I used it daily every morning and every night during testing and it gave my scaley, lackluster under eye area a soft, hydrated appearance. I also loved how well my concealer blended out on top of the eye cream—it never pilled or clumped, and my under-eye area looked undoubtedly smoother when I used it.

The Milk Drunk Peptide Rich Moisturizer is extremely thick, almost like a body butter for your face. I find that a little bit of this product goes a very long way—when I first used it, I applied way too much and had trouble blending it into my skin. I've now learned to use only a tiny amount (about the size of a grain of rice) and it blends into my skin beautifully, leaving behind a super plush, velvety feel to my skin that's apparent even when I wake up in the morning.

The products smell nice

All three products are fragrance-free, leaving the natural scent of the ingredients to speak for themselves. The whiff of cucumber I get when using the Milk Drench Exfoliating Gel Cleanser is a nice pick-me-up on groggy mornings.

I also love the slightly sweet, almost vanilla-like scent of the Milk Drunk Peptide Rich Moisturizer and the super-subtle, refreshing scent of the Milk Boost Brightening Eye Cream. The fact that Milk Made Skin is committed to eliminating synthetic fragrances in their products makes them a good choice for those with sensitive skin types, since fragrance can often trigger breakouts.

The packaging is aesthetically pleasing

As much as I'm a firm believer that it's what's on the inside that counts, I display my products on my bathroom counter, so packaging is an important factor to me.

Milk Made Skin's product packaging is a hit in my book, specifically when it comes to the Milk Drunk Peptide Rich Moisturizer and the Milk Boost Brightening Eye Cream, which are housed in luxurious glass bottles with a strip of metallic gold where the top of the product seals shut. The tub for the Milk Drunk Peptide Rich Moisturizer actually has an ombre design and the bottom is clear glass, which I find helpful because it acts as a visual cue that it's time for a restock.

The only product I wasn't a fan of the packaging for is the Milk Drench Exfoliating Gel Cleanser. It's the only product in the line that's made fully out of plastic, and it feels a little out of place given the luxurious aesthetic of the other products in the line.

What I didn't like about Milk Made Skin

The face cleanser is too rough

Unfortunately, the Milk Drench Exfoliating Gel Cleanser was too rough on my sensitive skin. As a physical exfoliator, it contains tiny bamboo beads that feel like very fine sand—it almost felt like I was rubbing sandpaper on my skin. The brand states that the formula is suitable for everyday use, and even though I enjoyed how smooth it makes my skin feel, I could see the bamboo beads drying out my skin if I were to use this product every day.

It's easy to go through the face cleanser quickly.

Another con with the face cleanser is that the bottle only contains 1.7 fluid ounces of product, significantly less than other cleansers on the market, which are usually five to eight fluid ounces. While this small size makes the cleanser suitable for traveling or for throwing into a gym bag, for everyday use, I don't see the tube lasting a long time. You don't need a lot of product to cleanse the skin (a little does go a long way), but I find that the opening of the tube's hole is too wide for the viscosity of the formula—meaning, the product comes out quickly and it's difficult to ensure only a small amount gets dispersed.

Is Milk Made Skin worth it?

Yes, if you have dry skin

Overall, I think the Milk Made Skin products are worth it if you're looking to feed your skin with hydrating, skin-softening formulas that are fragrance-free. The products left my skin looking and feeling soft, radiant, and smooth. As someone who wears makeup daily, I also appreciate that the products layer nicely underneath makeup, yet they still manage to stand tall on their own as well.

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