Summarized from a consultation originally recorded on November 20th, 2024.
Annmarie Skin Care Skin Consultations are FREE, virtual group sessions, hosted live by our in-house skin experts, to provide personalized recommendations and directly answer any skin care related questions. Learn more about our skin consultations.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: So before we jump into each of your concerns the basic four-step routine that we recommend pretty much for everybody that we'll cover today is cleansing, toning using a serum, and then a facial oil or a moisturizer. Right now, all of our facial moisturizers are oils.
So that's kind of our basic four-step routine that we recommend people do morning and evening. I definitely think there's some flexibility there, you know, maybe you're somebody who wants a two-step routine. You can absolutely do that. You can just get a cleanser and a facial oil and then build from there. Or maybe you're somebody who wants the full routine, you want a six-step routine, you want all the most activated ingredients, etc. You can do that as well. So really just kind of finding what works best for you, for your lifestyle, for your skin.
And then also I will just talk really quickly about collections. Within the line, we have a few different collections. The two main collections are the Signature Collection. All the Signature Collection products have tan labeling. These products, a lot of them have been around since we first got started. A lot of them are our best-selling products.
And then we have our Wild Alchemy Collection. That's all the products with the black and gold labeling. This collection is our luxury collection. What makes it luxury is that the products in this collection contain higher levels of activated ingredients. So activated ingredients are things like hyaluronic acid, our bioactive A complex, our THDA, which is our pure vitamin C.
And then they also contain more exotic ingredients. So these are more globally- sourced ingredients. Things like baobab oil and mongongo oil and things like that. And then the crafting process too, the way they're made, is usually just a little bit more laborious than with the Signature Collection.
And then we do have some other smaller collections. Those are the two main ones we'll focus on, most likely based on concerns we might touch on the Essentials Collection a bit, and possibly the Estate Blend Collection. But those are the two main ones. So, does anybody feel like sharing a little bit about your skin, your skin concerns, maybe why you joined the call today, what you're looking to learn, anything like that? Or if nobody feels like sharing, that's fine too. We can, we can go that route as well.
Customer: I will share. I've actually used your products off and on for years. So I know all about them and I love them. But recently I have gotten a lot more acne prone skin. And very dry. It happened fast. It felt like overnight. I've always had more normal to combination skin and maybe even more toward oily, never dry or rarely. I think a lot of my acne and changes in my skin are hormonal. So I guess I'm just trying to figure out, I've used your products before, but it's kind of like which ones would be best for the stage I'm in now, because I haven't used your product in a couple of years and my skin has changed so much. So I didn't want to just go buy what I normally get because I'm not sure if that's actually what I need anymore.
Emily Haupt-Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Right. Okay. Perfect. Yeah. We can talk about that for sure.
Anybody else that would like to share?
Customer: Sure, I will. I am new to this. I've had a history of some acne, but when I changed my diet around to be less inflammatory and worked on some sensitivities that really helped with the acne, but I still have occasional blips when I'm really stressed at work. I'm in my late 30s now, so some of those, the dark undereye circles, which my mom has a lot of that, and so does my dad, so probably some hereditary there, but trying to work with that, the crow's feet, kind of around the eyes, sometimes a little itchy skin in the drier seasons and so just kind of working to develop what is a skin routine is for men as well. It may be the same because we're all humans. But if there's anything different that I should do or just kind of developing a routine and trying to get cleaner products that are really good quality. And then my only other question was that I also had learned about you guys on some health webinar with the, I think it's called Whole Food Revolution or Food Network Revolution, something revolution with the food. So they talk about another company called Purity Woods as well. And so I was also curious, maybe if there are any differences, I don't know much about either one of you guys, but it seems pretty similar about super clean, really transparent, good sources. So I just was curious if there's any information about that too. And that’s my main ones. I would like to get started on a budget if possible. I may not need the high luxury, just kind of the early prevention and clean because my diet and exercise is hopefully helping with the other aspects.
Emily Haupt-Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, absolutely. I actually have never heard of that other line, so I don't really know a whole lot as far as comparing the two.
As far as a routine for you versus a woman, honestly, it's pretty much the same. The basic recommended routine would be the same.
Customer: That's what I thought.
Emily Haupt-Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: We can definitely touch on those things. Awesome. Anybody else want to share? Or should we start there?
Customer: Well, my name is Kim and I'll just share real quickly because I have to step away at 11:30 for a few minutes. I am 56 and I think, you know, I have a fairly good skin care routine in the morning, not so great at night. But I think the skin problems that I have now are that I have like these little red dots on my forehead. I think they're like called PK or peak something, something with a P. So I don't know how to get rid of those. And I've tried your guys’ Coconut Honey Mask on it and I don't know that it has worked. And what else? And then I just have aging skin. And so what to do with aging skin and firming up the skin so it doesn't sag as much. And then I had hyperpigmentation after I gave birth to my kids. So anything to sort of help with that, like, I use vitamin C. And then I'm curious, the other line, I do have lots of your products and I love them. And I appreciate hearing how it all started because I didn't realize all of those details. But the other product line I use is called True Botanicals. And I'm curious if you guys know much about them because they're supposed to be fairly decent as well. But I'm curious if you have information about them.
Emily Haupt-Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Ok, yeah. I mean, I have heard of True Botanicals. I think a lot of their products are also Made Safe certified, but I'm not positive on that.
Customer: I think they are. Are you guys based out of California?
Emily Haupt-Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: So to me, I would assume if they're Made Safe certified that they're pretty clean. I haven't used their products myself before, so I'm not positive as far as comparison, other than the fact that they are also Made Safe Certified. As far as where we are based, the company was founded in Berkeley, but we all work remotely now. Kevin and Annmarie live on the East Coast in Connecticut. And we can definitely cover the concerns you mentioned, signs of aging, firming, and the look of dark spots and pigmentation.
I'm not sure what the red dots on the forehead are that you spoke about. Do you feel like it's more of an irritation or sensitivity, or do you feel like it's more like a breakout?
Customer: No, it's not a breakout and they're not an irritation that I'm aware of. They're just like these little pinpointed dots, they're under the skin like they don’t create a bump or anything. I kind of did some research years ago. And I think it's like when a capillary might break.
Emily Haupt-Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Oh, ok. So maybe they are broken capillaries? If that is the case there really is not a whole lot that you can do for that with product use. But usually, I feel like broken capillaries aren't necessarily like dots, they're more sort of spider webby and veiny looking. So I'm not positive on addressing that, I'm not positive what it is, but we can address some of the other concerns you mentioned.
Customer: Absolutely, thank you.
Emily Haupt-Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: And for that, I would maybe check with a dermatologist to find out exactly what it is and then you can proceed with trying to treat it properly.
Customer: Absolutely. Gotcha. Good idea. Thank you.
Emily Haupt-Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah. Of course.
Okay. And then just because, so we talked about collections, I'm going to mention one more really quickly, just because John did mention budget. So like I said, you don't have to go crazy, you know, you don't have to buy seven products all at once if you don't want to. You can always start small and simple.
Like I said, if you're going to start small and simple, you would want to have at least a cleanser and a facial oil. You kind of need at least a face wash and a moisturizer to start. And one of our collections, the Essentials Collection there's just two products in this collection. It's the Renew Facial Cream Cleanser and the Radiate Facial Oil. And these two products are actually offered at a lower price point than any of our other products. And the reason for that is just that they don't contain our herb infusions. So they're just really simple products. They're really simple formulas. They are still great products. Grace and I both actually really like and use the Radiate Facial Oil often. So we can touch on those products as well, but that's a third smaller collection of ours that we have.
So let's jump in with cleansers because no matter what if you're going to have two products in your routine or you're going to have 10 products in your routine, you're going to start with cleansing and cleansers. All of our cleansers are pH balanced, which I always mention as I think it is important. Choosing a pH balance cleanser is just going to ensure that you're not stripping your skin. You're not drying out your skin. You're not disrupting your skin's natural protective layer, your acid mantle. Your skin's pH is a 4.5 to a 5.5 on the pH scale and all of our cleansers have a pH of 5.5 to 5.6, which is printed on our labels. We also don't use any harsh sulfates, any harsh surfactants in our cleansers. A lot of conventional cleansers that tend to have more high foaming properties are more alkaline and they use things like sulfates, lauryl sulfates.
The surfactant that we use in our cleansers is sodium lauryl glucose carboxylate which sounds very fancy, but it's really just saponified oils and plant starches and sugars. So it has an excellent cleansing profile while being completely safe.
We do have several cleansers in the line. Well, four. We probably won't cover all of them. I think the Aloe Herb Cleanser is going to be an excellent choice for a lot of people in this group based on the concerns you shared.
This one is very popular. It's our best-selling cleanser. People love this one. It's a cream cleanser, so it's not drying at all. It leaves the skin feeling very nourished. There's some lemon oil in here, which is purifying and brightening. It gives it a nice uplifting citrusy scent. There's some coconut oil, which is moisturizing. There's some calendula, which soothes the appearance of temporary redness in the skin. And then aloe, of course. Aloe is rich in vitamins and minerals, phytonutrients, and enzymes. All of these things that are really nourishing the skin. Aloe also contains some naturally occurring saponins that act as mild cleansing agents on the skin.
So this one would be a great choice for probably anybody on the call. A lot of times I tell people, if you're feeling overwhelmed, if you're not sure where to start, this can be a good one to choose because you kind of can't go wrong with it. It's great for all skin types.
So a lot of you guys have mentioned breakouts/congestion as a concern, which is something that I personally have struggled with quite a bit. But, like many of you, now, though congestion is still a concern, I tend to be more normal to dry and focused on signs of aging.
So all that is basically to say that I use this Aloe Herb Cleanser and really like it and even though a lot of times typically you think for congestion you would want to choose a more purifying gel cleanser, like our Citrus Mint, I find that for skin prone to congestion that is on the more normal to dry side, the Aloe Herb is a great option. Though it is a cream, I do not find that it causes congestion and it still leaves skin feeling nice and clean.
Our Phytonutrient Cleanser is another really nice option for those most concerned with addressing signs of aging and brightening the look of dark spots. That one is in the Wild Alchemy Collection. It's great for brightening the look of skin. It's got apple extract in it, and that apple extract is rich in vitamin C and malic. That one is also a cream cleanser. It also has coconut oil in there, like the Aloe Herb, but it's also got a mango seed butter, so it's this richer, fattier texture. It's our richest cleanser, our most moisturizing cleanser, and then it also has the highest concentration of ingredients to address signs of aging and darkened areas. It has our signature serum blend, acai, etc.
I will also mention the Restorative Cleansing Oil. This one is also in the Wild Alchemy Collection. This one's a little bit different than the other two that we talked about. The others are cream cleansers and you use them like you would a traditional cleanser. You wet your face, pump your cleanser into your hands, massage it into the skin, rinse clean, and then just pat dry. This one is an oil. So you use it a little bit differently. You apply it to dry skin with dry hands. Just pump it in your hands and then massage it in. I like to use a pretty generous amount with this one, because you apply it to dry skin and you want that slip as you massage it in. You can just rinse it clean and that can be it. You can use it on its own. That can be your only cleanser if you would like. Some people do like to remove this one with a warm cloth or a warm towel. You can also use this as the first step in a double-cleanse routine. So if you wanted to do that, you would use this first. So you would apply to dry skin with dry hands, massage it in, rinse it off, and then follow up with your Aloe Herb Cleanser, or whatever cleanser you like.
I personally am a big fan of oil cleansing. And oil cleansing really is good for all skin types. So for dry and mature skin, it is very nourishing. Especially if you're just using it on its own and just rinsing it to remove, it does leave a bit of an oil on the skin. Some people like that. Some people don't like that. But it is very nourishing for dry and mature skin, but then also for more congestion-prone skin, it can be really helpful. It sounds kind of counterintuitive, but like attracts like so the oil is going to help to bind to oil-based impurities in the skin to wash them away. So this can be a really nice option. This is a jojoba oil base. I love jojoba oil. Jojoba very closely mimics the texture of your skin's natural sebum. This one also has some castor oil. It's got tea tree oil, which is purifying. It has manuka in it, manuka oil. I'm jojoba obsessed. I'm also manuka obsessed.
I was actually going to mention that as a cleansing option.
If my skin is feeling really out of balance sometimes I will do honey cleansing, so that could be an option too that some of you might be interested in trying. You can do it with any honey really, you can do it with raw honey. I prefer doing it with Manuka honey. As I said, I'm Manuka-obsessed. So you can get Manuka honey just at the health food store or Amazon or whatever. I always look for a UMF 15. And to do it, you just dampen your face, scoop out your honey, you can use a little spoon or something like that, or be sure that hands are clean and dry, apply, and massage it in. You can leave it on for a bit if you want to use it as a mask, and then just rinse it off. It sounds like it would be very sticky and messy, but it's actually not.
You could even do honey cleansing like twice a week and then maybe you wanted to use your Aloe Herb Cleanser a couple of times a week. You could do something like that. Just a fun, alternative option.
Okay, so questions about cleansers and cleansing at all?
Customer: Can you hold up the three bottles so we can see the labels?
Emily Haupt-Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, of course. I don't have the Phytonutrient Cleanser here at my desk, I left it upstairs. But this is the Aloe Herb Cleanser in the Signature Collection, and then this is the Restorative Cleansing Oil in the Wild Alchemy Collection, and then the Phytonutrient is also in Wild Alchemy, so it's the black and gold labeling.
Any other questions? Cleansing questions? No?
Okay, so then after you cleanse, the next step in your routine would be your toner. We have three different toners in the line. They are the Neroli Toning Mist, the Rosemary Toning Mist, and the Botanical Hydration Mist With Immortelle.
I might just quickly touch on each. The Neroli Toning Mist, this one is our most popular. It's our best selling. This one's good pretty much for all skin types: normal, a little bit of sensitivity, a little bit of dryness. I think part of why this one is so popular, similar to the Aloe Herb, is because people love the scent. It's a really simple formula. It's the aloe vera juice base, the neroli. The neroli is derived from fresh orange blossoms, so it has a really lovely scent. And then some aspen bark extract, which acts as a natural preservative and is also a natural source of salicins. So that could maybe be an option for a couple of people in this group.
Then the Rosemary Toning Mist, this one I love. This is my personal favorite and it seems like this could be a really good option for a few people in this group. This one again, it's a really simple formula. It's the aloe vera juice base, the rosemary which is purifying, and then the white willow bark, which is another natural source of salicins. So this one is just more of those purifying properties. But what I love about this product is that your toning mist is offering a dose of hydration. So you're still getting that boost of hydration when you're using this but you're also getting the purifying properties, with the rosemary and the white willow bark. So a lot of you mentioned that you’re experiencing some congestion, but that your skin is more dry. I feel like this is a nice option for that. So I personally love this one. That's my go-to.
Then another one that might be a good option for some people is the Botanical Hydration Mist With Immortelle. This one is in the Wild Alchemy Collection. This one is good really for all skin types, but it's especially good for very sensitive skin. So somebody had mentioned their skin gets kind of like itchy feeling so this one could be a good option for that. Like I said, it's great for sensitive skin types. It's got a blend of four different types of chamomile in it, so it's very soothing. There's also some rose in here. It's got frankincense, which is known to tone, tighten, and rejuvenate. So, more of those anti-aging properties. And then also the immortelle, which is a potent antioxidant. The scent profile on this one is much different than the others. The neroli, like I said, is that sweeter smell. The rosemary, of course, smells like rosemary. And then this one smells much more herbal with the frankincense and the immortelle in there. So just, if you're a scent person, that can be good to know.
This is one of Grace's Holy Grail products. Grace has very dry skin, very sensitive skin and this is one of her favorite products. So those are the toning mists. So after you cleanse, you know, you're going to rinse your cleanser, pat your skin dry, and then mist your toning mist over your face and neck.
Again, your toning mist is just offering a dose of hydration and skin-supporting nutrients. I believe on the packaging of all of our toning mists, it says to mist, let it dry, and then apply your serum and your facial oil. I actually don't love that recommendation. I would mist your toning mist, and then while your skin is still slightly damp from the toning mist, apply your serum. Applying when your skin is still damp is just going to help with absorption. Your skin is like a sponge, so it's going to absorb better when it's a little bit damp. And then you can also mist your toning mist throughout the day if you just want, like, that boost of hydration. Or if you want that boost of, like, the purifying properties from the rosemary. Even if you're wearing makeup or something, you can mist over it. It's not going to, like, disrupt your makeup or anything like that. So I personally am a big fan of toning mist in general. Any toning mist questions?
They're kind of straightforward. Okay, cool.
So then the next step in your routine would be your serum. We have several different serums in the line, so I’ll try to kind of pick and choose what we're going to talk about. But serums in general, are excellent hydrators. So there's the difference between dehydrated skin, which is skin that lacks water and then dry skin, which is skin that lacks oil. Most people have a little bit of both. They have a little bit of dehydration and a little bit of dryness. So we recommend using a combination of both types of products, hydrating products, and moisturizing products. Your hydrators are your toning mist and your serum. Your moisturizer is your facial oil.
So serums in general, are excellent hydrators. They also are made up of a smaller molecule than a facial oil, so they're able to penetrate deeply. They usually contain high levels of activated ingredients so they allow you to kind of customize your routine to target and treat your specific concerns.
So like I said, we have several different serums. I feel like for this group the Probiotic Serum With Tremella would probably be a good choice for some of you. This one is good for sensitive skin. It's also good for skin that's just kind of out of balance. This one contains tremella mushroom extract, which acts very similar to hyaluronic acid, really deeply hydrating the skin. And then this one's got a probiotic ferment in it. So that probiotic ferment is going to help to eliminate impurities on the surface of the skin. What else? This has astaxanthin in it, which is a powerful antioxidant. Some olive leaf extract in here. Now the scent profile on this one is different, some people don't like the way this smells. It smells earthy, is how I describe it. Some people say it smells like dirt. I think it smells kind of lovely.
A couple of other choices that might be good options for some in this group, the Wild Fruit Serum. This one is in the Wild Alchemy Collection. This is actually my personal favorite. I love this serum. I like the probiotic as well, but this is kind of usually my go-to. This one, I tend to refer to it as our do-it-all serum. So I feel like it's a very all-encompassing serum. It addresses a lot of different concerns. It's very hydrating, lots of hyaluronic in this one. Hyaluronic is a humectant, it holds 1,000 times its weight in water, so it's binding water to the skin. So it really deeply hydrates and plumps the skin. This one has a copper-infused water, which can be beneficial for more congestion-prone skin. This one has a really dense infusion of plant cells. We use plant stem cells in a lot of our products. These stem cells provide proteins, peptides, amino acids, etc. This one has Madonna lily plant cells. And like I said, a very dense infusion of those plant cells. This one has resveratrol in it, and then it's also got kakadu plum extract and apple extract. So the apple extract, it's the same apple extract that's in the Phytonutrient Cleanser. So that's going to be great for brightening the look of skin with the vitamin C and malic acid. And then it also has the kakadu plum. Kakadu plum is another very potent source of vitamin C. Kakadu plum also contains phenolic acid. So that's something for me that kind of sets this one apart. Phenolic acid behaves on the skin similarly to an alpha hydroxy acid. Alpha hydroxy acids dissolve the “glue” that holds the top layer of skin cells. So they have an exfoliating effect on the skin. So helping to improve texture, improve tone, etc. So that's the Wild Fruit Serum. So that could be another good option for the group. I feel like it is so versatile. It works well for all skin types. It can be beneficial for congestion-prone skin and it is also excellent for addressing signs of aging and brightening the look of skin.
Trying to think if I should mention any others.
I could mention the CBD serum. Our Activated CBD Serum may be a good option for some of you as well. Similar to the Wild Fruit Serum, this serum is good for all skin types. It is excellent for sensitive skin types or skin that is experiencing some temporary redness/irritation. This is Grace’s other holy grail product and like I said she has very sensitive skin, and dry skin, but also experiences some congestion from time to time. This one, it’s got the CBD of course. So CBD it's a little bit hard to say exactly what it does for the skin because it kind of works with your body's endocannabinoid system to go where it's needed to go, do what it's needed to do. But it is very good for soothing and calming any temporary redness in the skin. This one also has a bunch of powerful antioxidants in it, so great for addressing signs of aging. It’s got astaxanthin, superoxide dismutase, there's mangosteen oil in here, and some black cumin seed oil. The black cumin seed oil is great for addressing congestion. This one's very hydrating. It's got both tremella and hyaluronic acid. It has a little bit thicker, richer texture than some of our other serums. So it feels very nice and hydrating. I never know how to describe the scent of this one, but it just smells really lovely. It's a very light scent. It's not like heavy or overpowering.
Also, the scent profile on the Wild Fruit Serum is more fruity, obviously. Not sure if I mentioned that.
So I'll probably stop there with serums because I feel like for this group, those three would probably be great choices. As I said, we do have several others. Our Anti-Aging Serum is our best-selling, most popular. It's very hydrating, very antioxidant-rich. And then the Citrus Stem Cell Serum, that one's really good for brightening the look of dark spots with a combination of licorice root, uva ursi, and amla berry.
And I am going to go over our Activated Night Serum. Any questions so far on serums or anything else?
Customer: I just have one question on the serums. Can you use different serums together or do you just recommend one at a time?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, you definitely can use multiple serums if you would like. We have so many, a lot of people like to use more than one. We don't recommend mixing them, so you wouldn't do like a pump of the Probiotic Serum and a pump of Wild Fruit Serum and mix them together and apply them, but you can definitely alternate. So you could use one in the morning and one at night or you could use one on Monday and one on Tuesday, something like that.
Customer: Perfect, thank you.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah. Of course.
Customer: I had a quick question as well. So I think I'm most interested in either the Probiotic Serum or the Wild Fruit. And I think I'm leaning toward the probiotic, but like I said, mine's more for just preventing breakouts and just kind of balancing my skin back out. I think I need to just get something and stick with it at this point. So I think I'm leaning towards the probiotic, but do you think that would be a good choice if my number one concern is blemishes? Would that be a good fit?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, I think it would be a good choice for you from what you are describing. I think that probiotic ferment could be helpful for you because as I mentioned it can help to eliminate impurities on the surface of the skin and balance the skin’s pH. So I think that would be a great place to start. And then I think, you know, down the road, once your skin feels more balanced, if you wanted to give the Wild Fruit Serum a try, you absolutely could.
Customer: Okay, thank you.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: And like you mentioned, consistency can really be helpful. I know that in the past I was so desperate to find something that would work for my skin that I was trying all sorts of different things, but keeping things simple and consistent can be really helpful especially when you are trying to bring skin back into a state of balance.
Customer: I am wondering, between the two serums, the Wild Fruit and the Anti-Aging both sound great. Is there one that's better for fine lines?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: For me, I would say the Wild Fruit. The Anti-Aging Serum is a great one. Like I said, it's very antioxidant-rich. It's got buddleia extract and life everlasting flowers and then it's very deeply hydrating as well. I feel like the Wild Fruit Serum is just kind of a step up as far as addressing signs of aging because you've got those plant stem cells in there. And then, like I said, that kakadu plum really sets that one apart for me. You've also got those brightening ingredients, which you don't have quite as much of that in the Anti-Aging Serum. Also if you are a scent person, for me, I don’t love the scent profile of the Anti-Aging Serum, the floral with the vetiver. I prefer the more fruity scent profile of the Wild Fruit Serum.
Customer: Okay. Thank you.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Of Course. Good questions, guys. I love questions.
Okay, awesome. I am going to talk about one more serum, and then I might also talk about elixirs really quickly. So I'm going to talk about our Activated Night Serum because this one could be a great one as well for some of you. Maybe not if you're somebody who's feeling like your skin is really out of balance right now. You might not want to start with this, but down the road, once your skin is back to a place of balance then you could incorporate it.
This serum contains our bioactive A complex, which is our retinol alternative. This one is a night serum, so it's only to be used at night because it does have the bioactive A, which can make you a bit more photosensitive. You also do want to use this with an SPF during the day.
So we wanted to have an alternative to retinol. I'm sure that you've heard of retinol. It's kind of like the gold standard in anti-aging ingredients but it's not really great for you. It's not great for your health. It can be harmful to reproductive health and even for skin health, if you're using a retinol or a retin A over an extended period of time, it can start to thin the skin, which really isn't what we want as we age. We don't want to thin the skin. We want to have healthy, resilient skin. We want to support our skin's natural barrier versus stripping it to age beautifully. So anyways, that's kind of why we wanted to come out with this product, why we have this retinol alternative. So the bioactive A complex is derived from algae. So it's a completely safe ingredient. It's a Made Safe-approved ingredient. And it has a similar effect on the skin as you get with a traditional retinol. So that like resurfacing, renewing effect. And it can be helpful for a variety of concerns, signs of aging, brightening the look of dark spots, congestion, etc. And this serum has a nice balance. We've got that activated bioactive A and then we've paired it with some nice soothing, calming ingredients like lavender and blue chamomile. This one also is that thicker, richer texture, similar to the Activated CBD Serum. So it feels very hydrating on the skin.
Okay, so those are all the serums that we will talk about. Any other questions? How are we feeling? Good? Overwhelmed?
Alright, let's see. What do I want to talk about next? I might cover elixirs really quickly.
Our Concentrated Boosting Elixirs. These kind of fall into the serum category. I'm just going to touch on these quickly because I know that pigmentation was mentioned, and the Brighten elixir can be really helpful for that.
The Concentrated Boosting Elixirs come in a set of three, with the Hydrate, the Brighten, and the Revitalize. The Hydrate and Brighten are both available to be purchased on their own in a larger size. The Revitalize is not available to be purchased on its own, but it contains the same activated ingredient as the Activated Night Serum. So the reason that we came out with these, the reason that we created them was that we wanted to offer a clean alternative to these very popular activated ingredients that are so common in skin care products. We wanted to offer a product that would really deliver results that still held up to our standards.
So the Hydrate Elixir is a hyaluronic acid with vegan collagen prepeptides, the Brighten is a pure vitamin C with seabuckthorn. And then the Revitalize is the bioactive A complex with astaxanthin. These are kind of a fun extra product. They are not really a necessary product. They are never to be used directly on the skin. They are always to be mixed because they are very concentrated. So you mix them with your serum. If for some reason you weren't using serum, you could mix with a facial oil. And they come with a little dropper top. So you would just pump your serum into the palm of your hand. You would drop three drops of your elixir into your serum, mix it up, and apply it.
The Hydrate Elixir, as I said, is a hyaluronic acid with vegan collagen pre-peptides, so really deeply hydrating the skin, plumping the skin, and then strengthening with the peptides.
The Brighten, is a pure vitamin C with seabuckthorn. C. So there's a lot of different types of vitamin C out there. The vitamin C that we've chosen to use in this product is tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate or THDA. And the reason that we chose that particular form of vitamin C is because it's a really stable form of vitamin C. Many types of Vitamin C are not stable. So once they are mixed with a liquid or exposed to air they go rancid quickly and then they are not effective. So this vitamin C, the THDA, is a very stable form of vitamin C, it's a very non-irritating form of vitamin C, it has a pH of seven, which is the same as water. A lot of sensitive skin types can't use vitamin C products. It's also oil-soluble. So that's why we've chosen it.
This can be a great one to boost your routine if you’re concerned with darkened areas. And they really allow you to customize. So for example, maybe your skin is sensitive and you want to use the Probiotic Serum or the Activated CBD Serum, but you are also concerned with dark spots, you could add 3 drops of the Brighten Elixir (or one pump if you purchase the full size) to your Probiotic Serum or CBD Serum to add those brightening benefits.
And then the revitalize, this is the bioactive A complex that we already talked about with astaxanthin, which is that very powerful antioxidant.
Okay, so questions about serums, elixirs, anything?
No? Ok, let’s talk about facial oil. And then I might just jump around a little bit to a couple of my other favorite products to address some of the things that we talked about.
So all of our facial moisturizers are oils. We have several different ones. The reason that all of our facial moisturizers are oils is just because oils are more pure. They don't require any fillers or waxes to be used. Your skin's natural form of moisture is oil, so it's readily absorbed by the skin. Something I always mention that I feel like is a really easy thing for people to look for because a lot of times people don't know what to look for if you go get like a cream or a lotion or something from the drugstore or the department store or whatever, oftentimes the first ingredient is water. Usually, ingredients are listed by level of concentration. So a lot of times companies will market certain activated ingredients, but then that activated ingredient is at the bottom of the list and water is at the top of the list. So that is not ideal because water isn’t really doing much for you, for your skin. And then also if the product contains water, they have to include more preservatives because bacteria can grow more quickly. So you don't have that issue when you’re using a pure oil.
We have several different facial oils, like I was saying. We have our herbal facial oils. We have three of them. The Herbal Facial Oil for Oily Skin, the Herbal Facial Oil for Normal and Combination Skin, and the Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin. These, I tend not to go into too deeply because they're kind of self-explanatory as they're named for the skin type that they are designed for. All three of them are a grape seed oil base, which is a light-textured skin-balancing oil. And then they just contain an herb blend that's tailored for the particular skin type it’s made for. I actually love our Herbal Facial Oil for Oily Skin. Part of it might be because it has that more citrusy scent profile, which I like. But even though I tend to be a little bit drier sometimes I still will incorporate this into my routine If I'm experiencing some congestion. So if you wanted to try it you could always incorporate it and just see how it feels for you. Maybe on its own it is enough moisture for you or if you feel like you need more moisture you might want to incorporate it just a couple of times a week or perhaps just in the morning with a more moisturizing oil at night. The black cumin seed oil, the neem, and the white willow bark in this one are all really helpful if you are experiencing some congestion.
So I do really like this one even though it is a lighter oil.
And then another one that I really like that we already kind of mentioned for skin that's experiencing any kind of imbalance is the Radiate Facial Oil.
The Radiate Oil is not the one that I tend to recommend if your main concern is signs of aging and you really want visible results when it comes to fine lines and wrinkles and pigmentation because it is just a simpler formula and as I said it does not contain our herb infusions, but I do like this oil for more sensitive skin or skin that is out of balance. I use this one often and I know that Grace does as well.
We do also have the Herbal Facial Oil for Normal & Combination Skin. That one's very popular. There's some goji in here. So those potent antioxidants. It’s got blue chamomile, tamanu, and echinacea. It’s a balancing facial moisturizer.
And the Anti-Aging Facial Oil is very popular, one of our best selling products. This is a very nourishing, restorative facial moisturizer for dry and mature skin.
And then the Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin. That one has no added essential oils. So it's a good choice for sensitive skin. There's a bunch of really omega-rich oils in there, Sacha inchi, camellia seed oil, and squalane.
So I think those are all the facial oils that we will cover. Questions about facial oils at all?
Customer: Can you recap the first one?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Sure. I think the first one I talked about was the Herbal Facial Oil for Oily Skin.
Customer: That was it. Okay.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, so that's the lighter one. But I do really like it. And even though I tend to be more normal to dry, I will still incorporate it occasionally.
Customer: I have a quick question. So for more, I mean, right now, I am having more blemishes than usual, would you recommend the Radiate over the Herbal Facial Oil?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: You tend to be more dry?
Customer: Well, right now I would say normally I'm normal to combo and I used to use the Herbal Facial Oil all the time, but I haven't used it in a while.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: You used to use the one for normal/combo, yeah?
Customer: Yes
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: But now you're more dry?
I mean, I do feel like the Radiate feels a little bit more moisturizing to me than the Herbal Facial Oil. So yeah, I mean, that's a tough call.
Customer: Or I mean, could either one be okay? It would just be trying them to see what my skin likes.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Honestly. Yeah. It sounds like your skin, though, because you were saying before, it's sort of out of balance, right?
Customer: Yeah, I feel like it's more temporary. I am not someone who consistently has acne or breakouts. I just feel like I'm going through a stage right now where I'm having more hormonal stuff and more dry skin.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Right. Yeah, I would maybe lean towards the Radiate and just see how it feels for you. I think paired with the Probiotic Serum or even the CBD Serum and maybe the Rosemary Toning Mist and probably the Aloe Herb Cleanser, that could be a good place for you to start. I would try that combo and just see how it feels for you. We do have a pretty lenient return policy because we really want people to love the products and find what works best for them. So if you try one and it's not working well for you, you know, you do want to give it a little time because like we talked about consistency is important, but if something is not working for you, you can return or exchange it within 30 days.
Customer: Okay. Thank you.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, of course.
Cool. Okay, so those are facial oils. Then, like I said, I might just kind of jump around a bit to some of my other favorites.
So this product is actually going to be discontinued eventually, which I'm sad about. But I wanted to mention the Purifying Mud Mask, because a lot of people are talking about skin being out of balance and this is one that I actually really love. It's a dry powder, so you can just mix it with water, which is fine. But I like to mix it with honey. Specifically, Manuka honey, which we talked a bit about earlier. Honey is a humectant, so it binds moisture to the skin. To me, mixing this mask with honey vs water makes it more versatile. If you have more normal to dry skin using this mask mixed with water may be a bit too drying, but mixed with honey that is not an issue.
We do also have our Radiant C Mask & Polish, which is a newer product, but I am loving this one too. This is another really versatile product. It can be used as an exfoliant, a mask, or both.
Maybe we will talk about exfoliants really quickly.
So exfoliation is important in any routine, even though it's not one of the four main steps that we usually talk about. But exfoliation is important because if you don't exfoliate, sometimes you can get that layer of buildup on the skin, and then your treatment products aren't able to penetrate deeply to be absorbed properly and work effectively. It's kind of a fine line with exfoliation because you don't want to over-exfoliate. You don't want to cause any kind of irritation or inflammation or be stripping the skin or disrupting your skin’s natural barrier, but it's important to incorporate some type of exfoliation. It can be really helpful for addressing signs of aging, it can be helpful for congestion, and for dark spots and pigmentation as well.
We have several different exfoliants in the line. The Ayurvedic Facial Scrub, this could be a good option for some of you. If your skin is kind of more out of balance, this can be a good choice. This is a dry herbal exfoliant, so it's a powder. And it's very, very gentle, so all skin types can use this. And you can just shake it into the palm of your hand, mix a little bit of water, mix it up to create a paste, massage it in, and then rinse it. You can also mix it right in with your cleanser. It mixes really nicely with the Aloe Herb Cleanser. So that's a great way to use it as well. It's very mineral-rich. There's some clays in there, so any kind of clay is going to be purifying, and mineral rich.
Then we’ve got our Kaolin Micro Exfoliant. This is very popular. People love this one. This is definitely one of my go-tos. This is a cream exfoliating scrub. And this one, so both the Ayurvedic scrub and the Kaolin Micro Exfoliant are both strictly physical exfoliants, so they have that scrubby, gritty texture that is physically polishing the skin. In the Ayurvedic it's fenugreek, that is the exfoliating ingredient, and then in the Kaolin, it's a crushed bamboo powder, a bamboo stem powder. Along with the kaolin and the bamboo stem powder, this one has some lavender in it, so that is the scent profile. With the kaolin clay, again, any kind of clay is going to be very purifying, very mineral rich. And this one, I'd say it’s suitable for all skin types. I think on our website it says except for sensitive, but I know Grace still uses it. She mixes it with the Aloe Herb Cleanser, so it kind of makes it even more mild when you're mixing it with a cleanser. This one you would use, like, maybe two or three times a week. Kind of the same with Ayurvedic. I mean, the Ayurvedic is so gentle. If you wanted to mix it with your Aloe Herb Cleanser every day, you probably could, and it would be fine.
But those two are the physical exfoliants that we have. And then we do have one exfoliant that is strictly a chemical exfoliant. It is the Resurfacing Facial Exfoliant. So chemical in the way that it works on the skin, not that it contains a bunch of chemicals. This one has a honey-derived lactic acid. That is the exfoliating component. Lactic acid is a very gentle alpha hydroxy acid. So it's just a smooth gel consistency. There's no scrub or grit to it. You use it like you would a mask. You apply to clean skin, leave it on for two to three minutes to start, and then you can work your way up to leaving it on for up to 10 minutes. The level of activity with this one really depends. I mean, when I use it I do really feel it, it feels active, and I don’t have sensitive skin. But I also have had people on the call who say they don't feel anything when they use it. So you can just kind of gauge how it feels for you and how long you want to leave it on. This one is to be used in the evening and with an SPF during the day. This can be great for signs of aging. It can be really great for pigmentation and dark spots. It can be good for congestion-prone skin too. I would not choose this if you have more sensitive skin.
And then lastly is the Radiant C Mask & Polish. So this is a newer product. It's a really fun product. I love this one. I love it because it's a multitasker and I love multitasking. And it multitasks in a couple of ways. So it can be used as an exfoliant, a polish, or a treatment mask. So this one again is a dry powder. You can mix it with water, massage it into the skin, and rinse. You can mix it with your cleanser. Like the Ayurvedic and the Kaolin, it mixes beautifully with the Aloe Herb Cleanser. You can use it as a mask so you can mix it with water, apply it, leave it on for maybe 15 minutes and then rinse it. You can also mix it with honey, you can mix it with yogurt, you can mix it with another mask like our Illuminating Pearl Mask. So it's kind of fun because you can use it a lot of different ways. You can mix it with a lot of different things.
And it's also multitasking because it is both a physical exfoliant and a chemical exfoliant. So physical, it's got the bamboo stem powder in it, which gives it its grit. And then chemical because it's got hibiscus in it, so it's this, like, really beautiful fuchsia color. And the hibiscus has alpha hydroxy acids in it. And then also, it's just got all of these fruit powders in it. So it's got, like, strawberry and acerola cherry and kakadu plum and lemon peel powder and so all of the like acids and enzymes from the fruit powders. And then it's very, very rich in vitamin C. So excellent for brightening the look of skin. This does have some clays in it as well.
So those are all of the exfoliants. What questions do you guys have? We are getting a little low on time.
Customer: I have a quick question. You mentioned SPF during the day, especially in coordination with a couple of the products, but would you recommend a certain SPF? I see the one online that is an SPF 20, but I'm in the sun quite a bit with kids a lot throughout the year. I'm in Texas. So I get a lot of direct sun. Would you recommend that one or a different one?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, so I do recommend using our Sun Love Everyday Sheer Sunscreen. It is an SPF 20. SPF refers to the percentage of UVB rays that a sunscreen blocks. A broad spectrum SPF 20 blocks 95%, so I would say that it is sufficient. We use a non-nano zinc oxide. It’s reef-safe. As I mentioned it is a broad spectrum. I believe the standard recommendation for sunscreen is to reapply every two hours. To me, that feels a little excessive if you are just doing everyday things like working, running errands, etc. But if you are hiking, biking, swimming, sweating, or anything like that then yes will want to reapply. This has pumpkin seed oil and buriti fruit oil so it feels very nourishing. You can choose if you like to wear it on its own as your daytime moisturizer or overtop of a facial oil.
Customer: Can you just talk about your favorite masks?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, absolutely. So like I said, the Purifying Mud Mask I do use often. I mix it with Manuka honey, that’s the way that I like to use it. The other one that is my go-to is the Illuminating Pearl Mask, which is a hydrating, brightening treatment mask. It's got honey in it. So again, honey is acting as a humectant drawing moisture to the skin. And then it's got brightening ingredients. So it's got licorice root and uva ursi, which are both lightening and brightening ingredients and then it's also got a crushed pearl powder in it which is a really unique ingredient and gives it kind of this like nice radiance, this luminosity that it imparts on the skin. Its sort of a creamy, jelly texture and it feels nice and cool on the skin, so it is great to use in the morning when skin is sort of tired and puffy. You can also use it as an undereye treatment mask. Like I mentioned earlier, I love this one mixed with the Radiant C.
We also have our Coconut Honey Mask, which is great for dry skin or sensitive skin. It's like this thick balmy texture. It's a very simple formula. People really like that one in the winter months when it's cold and dry.
And then we have the Charcoal Cacao Mask. I could let Grace talk about this one maybe really quickly. I do like this one. I just feel like it's not like my go-to, but I think Grace uses it on a regular basis.
Grace Murray – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: I use it in the summer. Spring, summer, because I get really congestion prone during the summer months when it's hot and I'm like sweating and you know all that fun stuff and I use it then.
I will say it's kind of a little trippy how it works because it sort of sticks to your skin, obviously, I mean it's supposed to, but when you're taking it off it feels like it is hard to take off, but then your skin feels and looks amazing. It's wild.
But I also love the Coconut Honey Mask. I used it this morning and my skin is loving it. I have really dry skin right now, it's kind of crazy, so it has been a game-changer for me lately.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: So those are the treatment masks that we have, and masks are sort of fun. They really allow you to customize your routine even further and they add this sort of ritual element to your routine. I find that I tend to keep things very simple because I'm busy, I have two kids, and I just don't have time. But I feel like I actually mask more often because I can just put it on and work or clean or whatever.
Awesome, good questions you guys. Do you guys have any other questions? Are we feeling good?
If you guys do think of other questions, you can always email us at [email protected] Thank you guys so much for joining us, hanging out with us, and listening to me talk about skin care for an hour and a half. I hope that it was helpful. I hope that you learned something and I hope you all have an awesome afternoon.
Customer: Thank you so much.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: You're welcome. Bye guys.
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