Farmacy started with a flower Mark Veeder found in his garden and a cleansing balm that became its calling card. Here are twelve Farmacy products, from the balm to the honey line to the serums.
Farmacy, a PR Man's Garden Patch That Ended Up in Everyone's Bathroom
Farmacy is the rare beauty brand that started with a plant. Mark Veeder, a New York PR and events veteran with no formal skincare training, gardened obsessively in upstate New York and found a bright green variant of echinacea. He patented it as Echinacea GreenEnvy, after lab analysis showed unusually high chicoric acid. To turn a flower into formulas he brought in David Chung, the founder of Englewood Lab, plus Caroline Fabrigas, a former Clarins executive. The brand was conceived in 2014, launched in August 2015, and appeared on QVC that September under the farm to face banner. The product that made it famous was Green Clean, a cleansing balm that melts makeup away, and it became a top-selling cleanser at Sephora. Chung sold the company to Procter and Gamble in 2021. I like Farmacy because the story is specific and a little odd. It reads like someone who really did start with dirt. This edit walks the whole shelf, starting with the balm and its siblings, then the honey line, then the leave-on serums.
Honey, in four textures
The second grid is the sticky-sweet side of Farmacy, and honestly it is the part I use the most. Honey Milk is a milky essence with chamomile and ceramides that you pat on right after cleansing. The Wake Up eye cream pairs honey with vitamin C. Honey Grail is a face oil that absorbs quickly, and Honey Potion is a warming honey mask with ceramides, upcycled apple and cica. My tip for the mask is to use it on damp skin and leave it for ten minutes while you do something else, then rinse with lukewarm water. It warms slightly, which surprises people the first time. The face oil goes on last in the evening, two drops pressed in with your palms rather than rubbed. If your skin is oily, use the essence and eye cream and save the oil for the dry days of winter.
Serums and a lip balm
The third grid is the leave-on set. Filling Good is a hyaluronic serum with vegan collagen peptides, the 10% Waterless Vitamin C is a brightening serum in a water-free formula, and the 1% Vitamin A serum is Farmacy's retinol. The Lip Smoothie with vitamin C and peptides is the small one that rides in a coat pocket. What I would skip is starting the retinol every night. Begin twice a week, use a pea-sized amount, keep it away from the corners of your nose and eyes, and wear sunscreen the next morning. If your skin gets irritated, ask a dermatologist. Use the vitamin C in the morning and the retinol at night, and never on the same evening as an exfoliating toner. Ask a professional if you are unsure about combining actives.
Start with the balm
If I could only take one thing from the brand it would be how the balm works. Massage a small scoop over dry skin, add a splash of lukewarm water until it turns milky, and rinse. Everything else in this edit is optional and follows from that habit. Farmacy proves that a good story is not a marketing trick when the product keeps its promise, and a garden really can turn into a full shelf. Pick the balm first, add honey when skin is dry, and let the actives wait until your skin is settled. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together StriVectin Started as a Stretch Mark Cream and Ended Up on Everyone's Face and eos Lotion Started With a Lip Balm Egg and Ended Up on Every Bathroom Shelf.
