Oliveda is a skincare brand by Olive Tree People, which is a multi-level marketing company (MLM). The company describes itself as "The Pioneer in Waterless Beauty."
But does Oliveda skincare contain research-backed ingredients for improving skin appearance? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Did Olive Tree People get a warning from the FTC? And is Oliveda better or worse than other popular skincare brands?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in the brand's Green Retinol Face Elixir to give our take on whether or not we consider it likely to improve skin quality, and whether or not we consider it healthy.
We'll also share our concerns about the MLM model of this company, and compare it to other popular skincare brands to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Contains at least one anti-aging ingredient
- Contains fragrance
- We do not currently recommend Oliveda Skincare
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Oliveda Skincare F82 Green Retinol Face Elixir are shown below:
Olive oil is the first-listed active ingredient, and was shown to have anti-inflammatory and restorative effects on skin in a clinical trial published in the Dermatology Research and Practice journal.
Bakuchiol is clinically shown to have anti-aging effects, as we documented in our Dermelect reviews article.
These are the only two ingredients we can find research backing for.
Fragrance is an ingredient that we recommend consumers avoid. A medical review of fragranced consumer products published in the Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health journal concluded the following:
“Results of this study provide compelling evidence that everyday fragranced products can impose serious risks to human health, environmental quality, businesses, and society.”
Limonene and citronellol are additional fragrance ingredients which may have sensitizing effects.
Overall, we consider Oliveda Skincare F82 Green Retinol Face Elixir likely to have an anti-aging effect, but we do not currently recommend it given the inclusion of fragrance.
Questionable Business Model
As we've stated in many Illuminate Health reviews, we have concerns about the MLM business model.
In 2024, the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) submitted a formal complaint to government agencies such as the FTC in regard to Olive Tree People's marketing practices.
The DSSRC is a subsidiary of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and the complaint was in regard to earnings claims made by influencers/affiliates.
Our bigger concern is that we cannot find any data made available by Olive Tree People about the income/earnings of their "Consultants" (who sign up to the MLM to sell their products).
The Become a Consultant page on the company's website does not appear to have this salient information.
Many MLM companies (even other brands we don't recommend like Isagenix) currently publish transparent income data of their consultants.
Is Hydroxytyrosol Good for Skin?
Many of Oliveda skincare's marketing claims are based on the potential benefits of hydroxytyrosol, which is an antioxidant compound in olive oil.
When consumed orally, this compound "shows a variety of pharmacological activities such as antioxidant properties, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective activities" according to a 2014 medical review.
This is why olive oils rich in this nutrient may have additional health benefits, as we documented in our review of Gundry MD olive oil ingredients.
When applied topically, this compound has been clinically shown to prevent photoaging.
While the skincare product we analyzed in the first section of this article did not contain hydroxytyrosol, consumers planning to purchase from Oliveda may wish to seek out formulations containing this compound as an active ingredient.
Oliveda Skincare vs. Popular Skincare Brands
Here's how Oliveda compares to other popular skincare brands in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness, in our opinion:
Dermelect
Another skincare brand marketed as a luxury option that includes bakuchiol in their formulations.
Dermelect uses a preservative combination which is clinically shown to have harmful effects, however, we still consider this inactive ingredient combination to be better than fragrance-based formulations from a health perspective.
Winner: Dermelect
Introstem
Highly potent formulations which are more impressive from a potential efficacy perspective than Oliveda.
Brand uses some questionable inactive ingredients, but both formulations we reviewed were fragrance-free, as we documented in our Introstem review article, which gives this brand the edge from a health perspective as well.
Winner: Introstem
JLo Beauty
The formulations we reviewed contained multiple ingredients we consider unhealthy.
From a potential effectiveness viewpoint, we consider the brands equivalent, so Oliveda gets the edge from a health perspective.
Winner: Oliveda Skincare
High-Quality Packaging
One positive element to the Oliveda brand is that the products are packaged in glass, rather than plastic.
This is beneficial from a health perspective, particularly for liquid products, because plastic bottling is clinically shown to leach contaminants into liquid.
Compounds in plastic bottling like microplastics and endocrine disruptors can have damaging effects on human health and the environment, so we always recommend choosing liquid products which are packaged in plastic-free packaging where available.
Oliveda Skincare Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Research-backed active ingredients
- Should have anti-aging effects
- Some formulations contain hydroxytyrosol
- Packaged in glass
Cons:
- MLM business model
- Product analyzed contained fragrance
- Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
- Unclear Consultant income
