Review: Kat Burki 5 Steps on the Go Set

Name a better way to return to the blog than by reviewing one of my all time favourite brands!

All time.

You heard that correctly.

Kat Burki, for the uninitiated, is a brand founded (obviously) by Kat Burki. She has a history in nutrition and has thus built the brand around “skincare as nutrition”. The brand is all about cold pressed ingredients, and the nutrients that the skin can derive from them. There is the temptation for a botanical-led brand to go down the “clean” route. Thankfully the brand has avoided this from what I can tell. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them refer to themselves as clean or anything of the sort. They’re botanically driven, but closer to the science-led end of the scale.

There’s no real way around this discussion, but Kat Burki is definitely moreso on the expensive end. It’s luxe skincare, in Australia it’s a Mecca Cosmetica exclusive, if that contextualises it for you. The reason for this is the premium ingredient quality, the cold pressed processes to achieve and utilise those ingredients, and the high quality packaging.

The ingredient processing is most exemplified by the KB5 complex which is present in every product. This complex is a series of plant extracts (Arnica, Gotu Kola, Lavender, Calendula, and Chamomile) which are individually cold pressed into essences and then combined into one big superessence. They use this ingredient complex as the solvent in their products. A solvent is used to dissolve other ingredients into in the formula. It’s a task usually performed by water (which is not a negative as some brands might have you think). Kat Burki’s approach means that your skin gets the added nutrients from those plant extracts. My skin happens to enjoy each of those extracts individually, so altogether? Oh she singsssss.

The brand also uses cucumber hydrosol across the line as one of their primary scent blends. If you’re a skincare product scent connoisseur, you know Kat Burki has one of, if not the best, scent across the line. It’s such a unique fresh/floral/herbal scent that just is intoxicating. it’s subtle, never gives you a headache, never overpowering, but addictive. It’s also skincare maven Caroline Hirons’ fave brand scent. Speaks for itself really.

Going back to the exclusivity at Mecca. It makes it tough for us Aussies to get products that Mecca does not stock (none of the Kat Burki retailers seem to stock the absolute entire line from what I can tell). Because Mecca has that exclusivity, no other retailer is technically allowed to ship those products to Australia. Your only option is really to use a parcel forwarding service from the states. Which is expensive. Duh. But if you’re a KB addict you’ll do almost anything.

Anyway, let’s get into the actual review before this descends into a horrendous stream of consciousness. A disclaimer; this pack was a press sample. It was not provided for review, there were no obligations or anything.

The pack consists of five products, forming a whole routine. It’s all travel sized, in luxe glass and metal packaging. What else would we expect?

The cleanser option you have is the Calming Gel Cleanser*. The brand offer this as their first cleanse, opining that it removes and destroys makeup and spf. I’d argue that this could be used as either a first or second cleanse. I personally prefer it as a second or a morning cleanse. It’s a gel to oil to lather format. With a decent oil presence of rosehip and olive oil. You’ll feel this on your skin as you massage it in, but it’s in no way as greasy as an oil cleanser, ya know what I mean? There’s some extra plants in there like Aloe, Borage, Burdock and Dandelion. All very lovely. This is a gorg cleanser, but I personally prefer the balm option that they sell (which Mecca RUDELY no longer stock individually – the irritation is real). But I get why the gel is in the pack – it’s definitely more universally popular than the balm.

Moving on, we have the Super Nutrient Elixir*. This is their mist option. It’s probably my least fave of the pack. The formula is lovely, I just wish the mister was finer? I’d love a cloud of this enveloping me. Instead it’s a very forceful spritz. I definitely recommend squirting into your hand and then applying. You’ll also notice that the product will foam a bit on the skin before it sinks in. This isn’t a reaction or a problem with the product, just how it is. Use this as your skin softening and hydrating prep step prior to serums and essences. It has a bit of an oil component to it – kukui, rosehip and raspberry oils – but it doesn’t feel in any way greasy. You don’t have to shake the bottle or anything, there’s no bi-phase, nothing like that. It’s just got a bit of extra nourishment to it. Bit of oleic acid to soothe, camu camu and noni for antioxidant help and colloidal silver to maintain the complexion.

The Ph+ Enzyme Essence* is a thicker gel essence option that will lightly exfoliate and prep the skin. Within the pack this is your hydrator option. It balances the skin quite well, providing hydration but without heaviness. Plenty of aloe, lots of orange hydrosol – which ordinarily I think would irritate my skin but it doesn’t seem to if my barrier is solid, witch hazel as a bit of an astringent, pumpkin seed oil nourishes, licorice extract brightens, and wild cherry and papaya enzymes to lightly exfoliate.

Let’s get into my two fave products in this kit – and the main reason you should be purchasing – the oil and the moisturiser.

The Power Trio Radiance Oil* is a product I always definitely have a backup of. It’s a truly gorgeous oil. The package looks quite small, but you do get quite a few good uses from it – about a week’s worth – so you can give it a proper try. It’s a simple, yet excellently formulated, blend of raspberry, tamanu and kukui oils. The high ingredient quality of Kat Burki is highlighted in this formulation. It feels gorgeous on the skin. A tiny amount goes a long way, and it sinks into the skin like nothing else. Utterly utterly beautiful.

Kat Burki’s most popular overall product is the Vitamin C Intensive Face Cream* so it makes sense that you’d have the largest and best value product be this. This is a 30ml product, which used to be sold individually at Mecca but no longer is unfortunately. It’s a beautiful mid-weight cream that obviously has the experiential Kat Burki scent. It doesn’t dry down awfully on the skin, it just melts beautifully. Sits perfectly under makeup, also has a good amount of vitamin c. Kat Burki uses “StayC”, their stabilised and water-soluble vitamin c. They say it activates only when absorbed into the skin. Quite honestly I’m not sure of the mechanism and how it would do this, but I’ve never been irritated by it. It’s not hectically spicy or anything. I wouldn’t do this with a vitamin c serum though of course. 15% vitamin c is quite enough to be getting along with thankyou! It’s sodium ascorbyl phosphate, so one of my fave derivatives. There’s also nourishing agents like safflower oil, shea butter and jojoba oil. They’ve included an ocean mineral complex and colloidal silver to maintain the complexion, panthenol to hydrate and horsetail as a fun antioxidant. If you purchase one Kat Burki product, start with this one. It’s a true joy.

If you want to shop the Kat Burki 5 Steps on the Go set you can do so from Mecca here. You can explore the rest of the Mecca Kat Burki range here. If you’re from outside of Australia, I’d just recommend going to the Kat Burki site and navigating from there to your preferred retailer.

What have you tried from Kat Burki? Make sure to let me know! Also follow me over on Instagram – you know you want to!

*Press sample.