Skincare
The Four-Step Skincare Routine You Will Actually Keep
A routine that fits in ten minutes: the four steps that matter, the order that makes a difference, and the reason most people quit after two weeks.
Beauty tech, without the hype
The gear is only half the routine.
NovoltGear is an independent guide to beauty devices, tools and the skincare that goes with them. We explain what a product is designed to do, who it actually suits, and when the honest answer is that you do not need it.
Latest guide
Vitamin C Serums: Forms, Packaging, and How to Tell a Good One
Vitamin C is easy to buy badly. How each form behaves, why the bottle matters as much as the formula, and how to spot a serious serum.
Read the guide → Start here
All articles Shop by what you're trying to fix
9 guides
Face Devices
LED masks, microcurrent, radio frequency and the tools that do the quiet work.
Browse → 7 guidesHair Tools
Dryers, stylers and irons, plus how to use heat without wrecking your hair.
Browse → 8 guidesSkin & Actives
The serums, moisturisers and SPF that make a device routine actually work.
Browse → 7 guidesBody & Tools
Massage devices, body care and the small habits that add up.
Browse → Editor's picks
Worth your time this week
Skincare
Moisturizers and the Skin Barrier: How to Tell When Yours Is Compromised
Ceramides, humectants, and occlusives do different jobs. Here is how to read a label, spot a damaged barrier, and reset your skin after over-exfoliating.
Hair & Body
Scalp Care: Treat It Like Skin, Because That Is Exactly What It Is
Flakes and itching are scalp problems, not hair problems. Here is what a sensible scalp routine looks like, and when hair loss needs a doctor rather than a serum.
Recommended categories
Browse everything
Devices & Tools
LED masks, microcurrent, rollers and the tools worth owning.
9 articlesSkincare
Actives, moisturisers and SPF that pair with your devices.
8 articlesMakeup
Base, colour and the tools that make them work.
6 articlesHair & Body
Styling tools, scalp care, body and fragrance.
7 articles Brands we write about
Names you'll see in our guides
We are not affiliated with these brands by being mentioned here. When we recommend something we explain the reason, and we say who it is not right for.
- Anastasia Beverly Hills
- Armani Beauty
- Batiste
- Beautyblender
- Braun
- Briogeo
- Bumble and bumble
- CeraVe
- Cooluli
- CurrentBody
- Dyson
- EltaMD
- FOREO
- Fresh
- Jo Malone London
- L'Occitane
- La Roche-Posay
- Maybelline
- Moroccanoil
- Mount Lai
- NARS
- NuFACE
- Nécessaire
- Olaplex
- Omnilux
- Paula's Choice
- Rare Beauty
- Sephora Collection
- SkinCeuticals
- Slip
- Sol de Janeiro
- T3
- The INKEY List
- The Ordinary
- Therabody
- Urban Decay
- ghd
The journal
View all Latest guides and explainers
Skincare
Vitamin C Serums: Forms, Packaging, and How to Tell a Good One
Vitamin C is easy to buy badly. How each form behaves, why the bottle matters as much as the formula, and how to spot a serious serum.
Skincare
The Four-Step Skincare Routine You Will Actually Keep
A routine that fits in ten minutes: the four steps that matter, the order that makes a difference, and the reason most people quit after two weeks.
Skincare
Moisturizers and the Skin Barrier: How to Tell When Yours Is Compromised
Ceramides, humectants, and occlusives do different jobs. Here is how to read a label, spot a damaged barrier, and reset your skin after over-exfoliating.
Hair & Body
Scalp Care: Treat It Like Skin, Because That Is Exactly What It Is
Flakes and itching are scalp problems, not hair problems. Here is what a sensible scalp routine looks like, and when hair loss needs a doctor rather than a serum.
Skincare
Retinol for Beginners: How to Start Without Peeling
A realistic first-retinol plan: how often to apply it, how to build up slowly, what pairs well with it, and the combinations that should never share a night.
Skincare
Niacinamide: Why 5% Is Often Better Than 10%
Niacinamide is one of the most useful and most over-concentrated ingredients on the shelf. Here is what it does, who benefits, and why a higher percentage is not a better one.
Devices & Tools
Microcurrent Devices Explained: What the Current Actually Does
Microcurrent tools promise a lifted look without needles. Here is what the published research suggests, why the results fade, and who should leave them on the shelf.
Makeup
The Five Makeup Brushes You Actually Need
Five brushes cover almost every routine, and the other twenty just add clutter. A practical guide to the shapes that matter, plus how to wash them so they last.
Makeup
How to Make Your Makeup Last Through a Long Day
Long wear is a method, not a product. How to prep, layer, and set makeup so it survives a commute, an office day, and an evening you did not plan for.
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Read this before you trust a review site
Most of what you will read about beauty devices is written to sell the device. Here is what we do differently, and what we cannot do.
We separate facts from opinion
Where a claim comes from published research or a manufacturer's specification, we say so. Where it is our judgement, we say that too.
We do not fake testing
We have not run clinical trials on these products, and we will never claim we did. You will not find invented ratings or made-up percentages on this site.
We label every commercial link
Paid links are marked and disclosed. Being an affiliate never changes what we recommend, and we are not paid to include a product.
We say when to skip it
Every guide names the person who should not buy the thing. A recommendation that fits nobody is not a recommendation.
Have a question we haven't answered?
Tell us what you are trying to solve and we will point you at the right guide, or say plainly that we do not know yet.