Carol Priest

Carol Priest makes plant-led skincare, the kind that leans on named botanicals rather than long synthetic ingredient lists. This collection keeps things simple with three face-care products. Because the range is small, it is easy to use all three together: the scrub to exfoliate, the toner to refresh, and the lotion to treat. If you prefer a short, natural routine over a ten-step regimen, a tight line like this is the appeal.

The Manuka Toner is a 100ml liquid step that comes after cleansing. Manuka is best known for its soothing, comforting reputation, and a toner built around it is meant to refresh the skin and prep it for whatever you apply next. Sweep it on with a cotton pad or press it in with your hands after washing, before the lotion. The 100ml size lasts a while at one or two uses a day.

The Rosa Damascena Intense Lotion is the treatment and moisture step, also in a 100ml bottle. Rosa Damascena is the damask rose, valued in skincare for its gentle, conditioning feel and soft scent. As an intense lotion it is the richer step in the routine, applied after the toner to seal in hydration. Use it morning and night, or just at night if your skin only needs the extra moisture then.

The Almond & Lemon Balm Facial Scrub is a 50g exfoliating step. Almond brings a gentle physical exfoliation while lemon balm is a calming herb, so the scrub is aimed at smoothing the skin without feeling harsh. Use it once or twice a week on damp skin, massage gently, then rinse. It is a weekly step rather than a daily one, so a 50g jar goes a long way.

A simple Carol Priest routine runs in order: scrub once or twice a week to exfoliate, then on every wash follow your cleanser with the Manuka Toner, and finish with the Rosa Damascena Intense Lotion. On the days you skip the scrub, you still tone and moisturise. That gives you a complete short routine from three products without anything competing or overlapping.

This line suits anyone who wants a pared-back, botanical routine rather than a long shelf of actives. The soothing Manuka toner and calming lemon balm scrub lean gentle, which tends to work for normal to slightly sensitive skin. The intense rose lotion adds enough moisture for drier skin. If you specifically need strong actives like high-percentage acids or retinoids, this is not that kind of range, but for everyday natural face care it covers the basics.

What ties the collection together is its named botanicals. Manuka is associated with soothing, comforting skin. Rosa Damascena, the damask rose, is a long-standing skincare ingredient prized for its conditioning feel. Almond gives a mild physical scrub, and lemon balm is a herb used for its calming reputation. If you like knowing the headline plant in a product rather than reading a wall of chemical names, this brand is built around that idea.

The toner and lotion are 100ml each and the scrub is 50g, which are sensible everyday sizes for face care. Because the scrub is a once- or twice-weekly step, it outlasts the daily toner and lotion. If you are new to the brand, buying all three at once gives you the full routine, but you can also start with the lotion or toner alone and add the scrub later.