Summarized from a consultation originally recorded on May 15, 2024.
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Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: The basic routine that we recommend for pretty much everybody that would be your morning and your evening routine is cleanse, tone, use a serum, and then a facial oil or a moisturizer. And this is just kind of the general recommendation. I always like to tell people that it's really best to find what works best for your skin. Find what works best for your lifestyle. So if you are currently somebody who has no skin care routine, you're probably not going to jump into a six step routine and do it really consistently morning and night. At the very least, you want to have a cleanser and a facial oil or a moisturizer. Those are kind of the two products that you need to have to start and then you can always build your routine from there.
So we will start with cleansing and cleansers because whether you have two steps in your routine or 10 steps in your routine, either way, you're going to start with cleansing. So cleansing just helps to remove makeup and impurities. It helps to prep the skin so that your treatment products can be better absorbed.
All of our cleansers are pH balanced. I always like to mention this. I think it's important to choose a pH balanced cleanser so that you're ensuring you're not stripping your skin, you're not disrupting your skin's natural protective barrier, your acid mantle. Your skin's pH is a 4.5 to a 5. 5 and all of our cleansers, the pH is a 5. 5 to a 5. 6, which is printed on the labels. And like I said, that's just going to ensure that you're not stripping your skin, you're not drying out your skin. A lot of conventional cleansers that have high foaming properties tend to be more alkaline. A lot of times they'll use things like lauryl sulfates. We don't use any harsh surfactants in our cleansers. The surfactant that we use is sodium lauryl glucose carboxylate which is a safe, low foaming surfactant. And though it sounds very fancy, it's really just saponified oils and plant starches and sugars.
And we have four different cleansers in the line. And before we even jump into those, I'll kind of stop and talk about collections. So within our line, we have a few different collections. And the two main collections that we'll focus on are the Signature Collection. And the Signature Collection, that's any of the products that have the tan labeling. Those products, a lot of them are our best sellers or products that have been around since we got started. And then the other collection that we'll talk about is the Wild Alchemy Collection, so all of those products have the black and gold labeling. And the Wild Alchemy Collection that is our luxury line.
So what makes it our luxury line? It's just that the products in the collection contain higher levels of activated ingredients. And they also contain more exotic ingredients. A lot of times the crafting process to the way those products are made is just a little bit more laborious. than with the Signature Collection.
So those are the two main collections. We do have some other smaller collections as well, like the Essentials Collection. I usually mention that one. It's just two products. It's the Renew Cream Cleanser and the Radiate Facial Oil. And those 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 really simple formulas but they're still great products and I do like to mention it just because Grace and I both really love that Radiate Oil. And this collection can be a good option if you're somebody who's more sensitive or maybe you're just getting started on a skin care routine. It can be good for a teen or something like that. But that's the Essentials.
So those are the collections. Now back to the cleansers. So the first one that we'll talk about is the Aloe Herb Cleanser. That one is our most popular cleanser. It's our best selling cleanser. This one if you've ever gotten one of our starter kits or trial kits, you've probably tried this one.
It's a creamy cleanser. It's good for all skin types. So I like to tell people if you're kind of feeling overwhelmed or you're not really sure where to start, this can be a good option. Because you can't really go wrong with this one. Like I said, it's a creamy cleanser. So it's got some coconut oil in there that kind of gives it that creamy texture. It's got some lemon essential oil, which is purifying and brightening. This one has calendula, which is really good for minimizing the appearance of temporary redness in the skin. So this can be a good choice for sensitive skin. I'm trying to think. Aloe, of course, aloe is rich in vitamins and minerals as well as phytonutrients and enzymes.
And then the Citrus Mint Cleanser this one is also in our Signature Collection. This is a purifying gel cleanser, so better for normal, combination, or oily skin types. Again, just a more purifying herb blend in this one. It's got some rosemary and some neem as well.
And then in the Wild Alchemy Collection, we have two different cleansers. The Restorative Cleansing Oil and the Phytonutrient Cleanser, which I think I left downstairs and the Phytonutrient is actually out of stock, but We'll still talk about it because I love it. So the Restorative Cleansing Oil, this one is a little bit different.
This one is an oil as the name suggests. So with any other typical cleanser, all of our other cleansers, you're going to dampen your face with water, massage your cleanser in, and then just rinse it off. This one's a little bit different because you're going to use it on dry skin. So you would pump it into the palm of your hand and then massage it in. So dry hands, dry face. And then you can just rinse it off and that can be it. Or you can use it as the first step in a double cleanse routine. And if you wanted to do that you would massage it in, rinse it off and then follow with a second cleanser, whichever one you like. This product is actually good for all skin types. I love this one. I love oil cleansing. So for dry and mature skin, it feels very nourishing. It actually leaves like a bit of an oil on the skin. And then for oily skin or congestion prone skin, this can be a really great choice as well because like attracts like, so the oil is going to help to really kind of soften up and break down excess oil and congestion in the skin. So if you're using it for that purpose, when you're massaging it in, just really focus on those areas that get congested, like a lot of times kind of around the nose or the forehead, down around the chin and mouth area. But I love that one. And it's a jojoba oil base. So jojoba very closely resembles the texture of your skin's natural oil. So as a company, we say that jojoba is a great choice for dry and mature skin. I kind of think jojoba is a great choice for anybody. I just love jojoba oil. This one also has some castor oil in it. It's got some tea tree oil in it, which is purifying. Manuka oil. I love Manuka. Manuka is going to be really deep cleansing and calming to the skin as well. So that is a great one.
And then the Phytonutrient, like I said, that one I left downstairs, but that one is also in the Wild Alchemy Collection.
It's good for all skin types. It's a creamy cleanser, like the Aloe Herb, but it has a little bit thicker, kind of fattier texture than the Aloe Herb. It's got coconut oil in it as well, and it has mango seed butter in it. That gives it kind of that thick, rich texture. And that one is great for brightening the look of skin, if dark spots or pigmentation or anything like that are a concern of yours. It's got an apple extract in it. So the apple extract is going to be rich in vitamin C and malic acid which are great for brightening. And then it's got some acai oil in there as well, which gives it an antioxidant property. I really love that one. And especially with that one, I just like to encourage people to really take their time as they cleanse, thoroughly massage the product into your skin so that those activated ingredients can really be on the skin for a minute versus just, quickly putting it on and then washing it down the drain, you know?
So those are the four cleansers. So questions about cleansing or cleansers?
Customer: Yeah, are your cleansers, can you use them on your eyes to take mascara off or not?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Depends. So the Restorative Cleansing Oil, yes. This one is excellent for removing makeup, for removing eye makeup, sunscreen, even waterproof mascara.
The Aloe Herb I would say for most people is fine as well to use around the eye area. The Citrus Mint I would not use around the eye area and the Phytonutrient, I feel like it would be fine. I don't know because to be honest if I have eye makeup on I always use the Restorative Cleansing Oil. Have you ever tried the Phytonutrient to remove eye makeup Grace?
Grace Murray – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: No, I have only used the Aloe Herb and it works beautifully. But I know Kate uses the Phytonutrient Cleanser. She's another one of our licensed estheticians. She's lovely. But she uses it on eyes and she doesn't have any issue.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Perfect. So unless you're really sensitive in that area, it should be fine. But definitely Restorative Cleansing Oil for sure should be good. Any other questions about cleansers?
Customer: I know you talk a lot about oils and you said oil attracts oil, so the Restorative Cleansing Oil won’t cause congestion?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: No, I actually have congestion prone skin. I struggled with breakouts for a long time and I'm all about oils.
Which, it was not always that way. I used to use oil free everything-don't let oil touch me. But like I said, it's going to help to really soften up and kind of break down excess oil and congestion in the skin. And it's kind of about using the right types of oils. So like I mentioned, jojoba oil, I feel like my manuka and my jojoba obsession started when I was struggling with my congestion and kind of learned about both of those things and they can both be beneficial even for congestion prone skin.
Customer: And that was the Restorative Cleansing Oil that we're talking about, right? With the jojoba?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes. So this one I’ll sometimes use in the morning, but most of the time I will use it in the evening and then I’ll use the Phytonutrient in the morning. That is just my personal preference. You can kind of play around with it, but yeah, I really like that one and I'm congestion prone for sure.
Any other cleanser questions? Good question. Okay. So the next step in your routine is toning, which is kind of straightforward, but we have three toning mists in our line. They are the Rosemary Toning Mist, the Neroli Toning Mist, and the Botanical Hydration Mist With Immortelle.
So your toner is going to just help to complete the cleansing process. It's going to offer a dose of hydration and skin supporting nutrients. Traditionally, toners were made to rebalance the skin after cleansing, which all of our cleansers are pH balanced, as we talked about but the pH of water is still a seven, so it's still nice to kind of rebalance your skin after you cleanse.
The Neroli Toning Mist, this one is our best selling toning mist. It's good for all skin types. It's got a really nice scent to it. I feel like that's part of why this one's so popular. Same with the Aloe Herb Cleanser. I feel like a lot of people like that one because they like the way it smells. It smells sort of citrusy from the lemon essential oil in there. And this one, the neroli, is derived from fresh orange blossoms. So it has that really nice scent to it. And then this one has aloe vera juice in it. It's got some aspen bark in it, which acts as a natural preservative and also is a natural source of salicins. So a really simple formula, but again, people really love this one. It's just going to be kind of hydrating, soothing. Then the other one in our Signature Collection is the Rosemary Toning Mist. This is my personal favorite, but again, I'm kind of more congestion prone. And this one again, it's a simple formula. It's an aloe vera juice base. It's got rosemary in it, of course. White willow bark, which is another natural preservative and natural source of salicins.
And then lastly, the Botanical Hydration Mist With Immortelle. This is the one in our Wild Alchemy Collection. It's a bigger bottle too, but this one is good for all skin types. It's especially good for sensitive skin. This one is a hydrosol. A hydrosol is like this watery runoff that you get when you create an essential oil through a steam distillation. So it gives it this really nice kind of soft texture and it's got a blend of four different types of chamomile, so it's very calming and it's got the immortelle or life everlasting flowers, which gives it that antioxidant component.
The scent profile is definitely a little more herbal from the essential oils in there. But this one is probably the favorite amongst the team besides me because I like my Rosemary. But I know Grace loves this one and she's very sensitive. And so after you cleanse, you're going to rinse, pat your skin dry, mist your toning mist over your face and neck. You can even use it throughout the day if you want a little extra hydration. You can mist it over makeup if you wear makeup. It's not going to hurt your makeup or disrupt your makeup. So questions about toning mists or toners?
Customer: Yeah, I think I heard you say at the very beginning, because one of my concerns is just budget. I love Annmarie products, but, you know, it's a budget issue. So you were saying if there were only two things to do, if one was going to choose two, it would be the, the cleansing, and then the, the oil or moisturizer. So this toning could be let go, right? It's not as essential, I kind of gather from what you'd said. I mean, obviously if I could do it all, I would.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah. You definitely don't have to have a toner. I mean, I'm sort of toning mist obsessed, so I really like having one, but you definitely don't have to have one.
And if you are going to just choose two products, those are the two I would choose: the cleanser and the oil. And then you could always add a toning mist down the road if you wanted. So definitely sort of optional, I guess. I feel like a lot of people don't use a toner. The only thing I would say if you don't use a toner…because all of our toning mists actually say on the packaging to mist, let it dry, and then apply your serum and your facial oil. I don't love that recommendation. I always like to apply my serum and my facial oil when my skin is still slightly damp from my toning mist. So if you're not using a toning mist, I would just apply it when your skin is still a little bit damp, like with water after you cleanse. And I am also the esthetician that does the least with my skin because I have two young kids and I'm just tired and I don't have time.
So I feel like there are a lot of times where I just shower and cleanse in the shower and then I just apply my facial oil afterwards while my skin is still damp. And so I'm not always using a toner and a serum and all of the things. But also, our COO uses all the things all the time and she has beautiful skin! So, I feel like it's just kind of whatever you can do, you know?
Customer: Can I ask one more question? I have used the toner before, and I'm pretty sure that it was the Neroli, but I had a problem with the spray. It was getting clogged.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes, we did have a problem with that, but I don’t believe that is an issue now. It was just an issue with a certain batch I believe.
Customer: Okay and are they all a spray like that, all three of them?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes, they are all a spray. A lot of toners, like conventional toners you would use with a cotton pad or something, which you could do if you wanted to.
Okay. So then the next step in your routine would be your serum. So serums in general are excellent hydrators. There's the difference between dehydrated skin, which is water dry skin and dry skin, which is oil dry skin. And so that is why we recommend using a combination of hydrating products and moisturizing products. Because most people have a little bit of both, a little bit of dehydration and a little bit of dryness. And so using that combination is going to help to treat both and achieve optimum moisture levels in the skin. So your hydrators are your toning mist and your serum. And then your moisturizer is your facial oil.
So in general, serums are excellent hydrators. They usually contain high concentrations of activated ingredients so they allow you to really kind of customize your routine to target and treat whatever your specific concerns are. They are made up of a smaller molecule than a facial oil, so they're able to penetrate more deeply, like those activated ingredients are able to penetrate deeply to work effectively. And we have several different serums in our line. I feel like serums are where things get a little bit confusing just because we have so many but hopefully we can make it not so confusing.
So we'll start with our Signature Collection Serums. In our Signature Collection we have the Anti-Aging Serum, the Probiotic Serum With Tremella, and the Citrus Stem Cell Serum.
Okay, so the Anti-Aging Serum, this is the first one we'll talk about. This is our best selling serum. It is one of our best selling products always, so people love this one. It's very popular. I tend to tell people, kind of similar to the Aloe Herb Cleanser, if you're overwhelmed, if you're not sure where to start this can be a good choice because you just can't really go wrong with it. It's great for all skin types. I like to refer to it as a daily dose of overall skin nutrition. It's just very hydrating. It's very antioxidant rich. It's got life everlasting flowers and buddleja extract. This one has some rose in it as well. So soothing and nurturing. And then it's got hyaluronic acid. So we use a non GMO vegetable sourced hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is a humectant that binds water to the skin, so it's going to deeply hydrate the skin and have kind of like a plumping effect on the skin. Hyaluronic in particular holds 1,000 times its weight in water, so it's considered a super hydrator.
Then the Citrus Stem Cell Serum, that one is the next one in the Signature Collection. That one, again, is good for all skin types. But especially for like thicker textured skin, skin that's had a lot of exposure to the elements or sun damage. That one is great for brightening the look of skin. That one has a brightening combination of amla berry, which is very rich in vitamin C. And then it's got licorice root and uva ursi in it. Licorice root is often used in natural products as an alternative to using hydroquinone. And then that one's also got citrus derived stem cells. So we use plant stem cells in a lot of our products. And those stem cells are going to provide proteins and peptides and amino acids and things that are going to help to really strengthen the skin.
And then lastly we have the Probiotic Serum. So this one is the last one in our Signature Collection. This one again, good for all skin types but it's especially good for sensitive skin or skin that's out of balance.
So the probiotic serum has tremella mushroom extract, which works very similar to a hyaluronic acid. So very deeply hydrating. That one has olive leaf extract in it. It's got astaxanthin, which is a really powerful antioxidant. That one has a probiotic ferment in it, which helps to eliminate impurities on the surface of the skin and helps to balance the skin's pH. Questions?
Customer: Yes, so this might be a silly question, but I'm gonna ask it anyway. So how do you know if your skin is a thicker texture? Because I know you mentioned that with the last serum you were talking about.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah it's more for people who are like, I don't know, I feel like this isn't a nice way to put it, but have you seen people who have kind of leathery skin? Who've been out a bunch in the sun and the elements. That is what I'm referring to with that one.
Customer: Okay. Okay. I think that makes sense. Thank you.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Any other questions?
Customer: No, I think that's it for now.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Okay, cool. I think there's one in the chat. How long before you can see results once you start on the regimen?
I mean, I guess it kind of depends. I would say you want to be consistently using your products for like at least a month before you'll see results. But also some products, I feel like you can almost instantly see a result.
Like we'll talk about the CBD Serum. And I always let Grace talk about it because it's her favorite product. And I feel like she always says you kind of see an instant result when you use that one. So I feel like really I would say like at least a month of using the product consistently. But I think you do get a little bit of an instant result as well. And I mean, I just feel like myself, of course, I haven't done anything with myself yet today. But if I do like my little routine, I do instantly see that my skin looks and feels better.
Grace – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: For dry skin too, it's pretty fast to see results in the sense of feeling moisturized and hydrated. Especially if you're going from a traditional moisturizer to a facial oil, it's very quick. Like, you'll feel very plump and hydrated very quickly. But, another thing that I always like to say, you'll probably see results quicker, but someone you're friends with or someone you're hanging out with frequently, it'll probably be anywhere from 30 to 60 days before they notice a difference. You yourself will feel it very soon. I would assume.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Awesome. And as far as a clean foundation, we do have one in our Favorite Brands Marketplace on our site. Where we recommend products from other companies that we love, and we do have the Au Naturale foundation. But it's just the mineral powder foundation. I don't know if it would be the best choice for you since you have dry skin. And we are going to be doing a makeup shopping event where we'll talk about a bunch of different makeup lines, but I do really like the Kjaer Weis foundation. I used to do wedding makeup and I used their foundation and I really liked it. Another good one would probably be RMS. I think that their foundation is very hydrating as well. I mean, there's so many out there, but those would be a couple that you could check into if you wanted.
Awesome. Okay, so those are the Signature Serums. And then in the Wild Alchemy Collection, we have a few different serums there as well. So the Wild Fruit Serum, that one is in our Wild Alchemy Collection. I love that one. That one is good for all skin types. That one, I like to refer to it as our do-it-all serum because it's hydrating, it's brightening, it's anti-aging. It's all the things. That one, let's see, what is in that one? It's got the apple extract. So the same apple extract that's in the Phytonutrient Cleanser. So again, brightening the look of skin with vitamin C and malic acid. This one has madonna lily plant cells. So like we talked about with the plant stem cells this one has a really dense infusion of those plant cells. It's got 1.5 million in every little bottle, I believe. This one has copper infused water in it. And then it's got knotweed extract in it, which is rich in resveratrol and kakadu plum extract as well. So kakadu plum is another brightening ingredient. It's very rich in vitamin C. It's also got phenolic acid in it. So phenolic acid behaves on the skin similar to an alpha hydroxy acid. And alpha hydroxy acids help to kind of dissolve the glue that holds the top layer of skin cells. So they have a resurfacing effect on the skin. So for me, that's one ingredient that kind of sets this serum apart.
Also, I just really like the way this one smells. I feel like I'm a big scent person and the Anti-Aging Serum is our best selling serum, but it's not my favorite smell. I love the Wild Fruit Serum.
And then the Activated CBD Serum. This one is Grace's favorite. Although I think she recently started to love the Wild Fruit too. So the Activated CBD Serum. This one is kind of an offshoot of our Wild Alchemy Collection. It's sold in its own little boutique on our site just because of the legality of selling a CBD product. When we created this product, we partnered with Ojai Energetics to source our CBD because we wanted the best, of course.
They are really a leader and a pioneer in the CBD space. It's a little bit hard to say exactly what CBD does for the skin because it really works with your body's natural endocannabinoid system to kind of go where it's needed to go and do what it's needed to do. But I will say overall this serum is very hydrating. It's got both the tremella mushroom extract and the hyaluronic acid in it. So it has a thicker texture than our other serums. This one's got a little bit creamier texture, whereas our other serums are a little bit more aqueous. And then this one also has a very calming effect. So if redness, sensitivity, anything like that is a concern, this is a really great choice. It's got both a water soluble CBD and a fat soluble CBD in it, which is kind of unique and I feel like it sets it apart a little bit from all the other CBD serums out there. So the water soluble CBD is absorbed more quickly to have more of an instant effect. And then the fat soluble CBD is absorbed more slowly over time to have more of a cumulative effect. And Grace, take it away. I always let Grace talk about this one because she likes it so much.
Grace Murray – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: What a way to transition to me. Right? That was funny.
So, Emily kind of touched on it a little bit, but I have really, really dry skin, and it's extremely sensitive. There's usually a lot going on. And the CBD serum has been, I say this all the time, but it's been a game changer for my skin, that and the Botanical Hydration Mist. When I started using the line I had such sensitive skin that I didn't know what I could use on my skin without it flaring up. And the CBD specifically has been a game changer in the sense of keeping my skin hydrated and also kind of cooling down the redness that I get frequently. My skin is so sensitive to the point that if I have spicy foods, if I have wine, if I have certain foods, it's just immediate and I'm, like, a red tomato. So, sometimes I'll even just put it on my cheeks if I'm eating spicy foods because it just helps keep it cool. And I keep the Botanical Hydration Mist in my gym bag for the same reason.
And the hydration of it is fantastic, like I said. But, like what we were talking about earlier, it's almost an immediate effect with the redness. You put it on, give it a little bit of time to soak into your skin, and you'll kind of just see your redness wash away a little bit. And it's so lovely. The smell is also fantastic. But especially if you're really consistent with it, you'll see a noticeable difference pretty quickly. And if you're itchy at all it helps with that, sometimes with extremely sensitive skin it can feel itchy. It's really just beautiful for anything.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Awesome. So that's the CBD Serum. And then our Activated Night Serum. This is our most recent serum launch. And it's pretty fantastic. So this one is good for all skin types. It's to be used at night only, as the name suggests, because it contains our bioactive A- complex.
So this is our version, our alternative to a retinol. So retinol, I'm sure you've heard of, it's kind of like the gold standard in anti-aging ingredients. But vitamin A derivatives are really not great for your health. They're not good for reproductive health. They're really not great for your skin health. If you're using a retinol or a retin-A over an extended period of time, it'll start to kind of thin your skin which really isn't what we want. As we age, we want to have healthy, resilient skin. We want to support the skin barrier, not thin it. In this formula the bioactive A-complex is paired with really soothing ingredients as well. It's got lavender and blue chamomile in it, so it's a really nice combination of that kind of more active bioactive A-complex with those calming ingredients. And the bioactive A, like retinol, it's gonna have that kind of resurfacing effect on the skin. You know how a traditional retinol helps with increasing cell turnover. So it has a similar effect. Let's see what else with this one. I'm trying to think. This one's similar to the CBD Serum in that it has that kind of thicker, richer texture to it. So it's very hydrating as well. Like I said, you do want to use this serum at night and you want to use it with an SPF during the day, because it can make you a little bit more sensitive to the sun. But even sensitive skin types can use that one, like a traditional retinol, a lot of times people with sensitive skin cannot use it and it'll really increase sensitivity, cause some inflammation and irritation in the skin like I already mentioned, we've added those calming ingredients in there so even sensitive skin types can use it. I know Grace will use this one like every other day or a couple times a week and is still fine with it. Her skin still is okay with it. Cool. So that's the Activated Night. Is that all the serums? Okay. Let's stop there for questions and then I'll do the elixirs next. Cause they're kind of in the serum category, but we'll stop there. Questions about serums?
Customer: I have one…How do you ever choose? I mean, you know, as you were reading these off, it's like, well, yeah, I'll take one of those and I'll take one of those. And you know, and I don't think it's probably good to layer serums. So how do you ever choose?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: It is very hard to choose.
I feel like a lot of it is personal preference. So I like to say that the Signature Collection Serums, which are the Anti-Aging Serum, the Citrus Stem Cell Serum, and the Probiotic Serum, I kind of think of them as a little bit more like targeted, a little bit more specific. And then I think of the Wild Alchemy serums, like the Wild Fruit Serum and the CBD Serum as a little bit more like overarching, a little bit more all encompassing.
And so I think a lot of it is what your main concerns are. So if you're super sensitive you probably are going to want to get the Probiotic or the CBD serum. Or like if your main concern is aging, then you probably are going to want to do either the Anti-Aging Serum or the Wild Fruit Serum. So you can kind of narrow it down a little bit based on your specific skin concerns.
Another thing I think is scent profile. I don't know if you're a scent person, but like I said, I don't love the smell of the Anti-Aging Serum. It's very vetiver heavy. I mean, again, most people do like the scent because it's our best selling serum, but the Wild Fruit Serum smells a little more fruity. And I like that. Also the Probiotic Serum, for example. Some people don't like the way that one smells because they say it smells kind of earthy. People say it smells like dirt, but I like how it smells.
And if you do want to use multiple serums, you can, we don't recommend layering them, but you could use one in the morning and a different one in the evening, or you could alternate, using different serums on different days so that you can incorporate different ones.
We do have a trial pack on the website that you can purchase that has the three Signature Serums in a little travel size. So you could always do that if you wanted to try all three. We also do have a pretty lenient return and exchange policy. Like if you wanted to get whatever one and then you're like, “Oh, I just don't love it. It's not for me.” You can always reach out within 30 days and return or exchange if you want a different one, because it can be a little bit hard to find the perfect one that you love.
But hopefully that's helpful. Like I said, I feel like if you can kind of gauge what your main concern is, and then it can help you narrow it down a little bit.
Any other serum questions?
Customer: Okay, yeah, I do have one real quick. So the Activated Night Serum, that's part of the same collection as the Wild Fruit Serum is in, right?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes, they're both in the Wild Alchemy collection.
Customer: Okay, so is it recommended that you use the Wild Fruit Serum in the morning and then use the activated night one at night? Or do you have to use, I guess my question, I'm sorry this is confusing, my question is do you have to use both of those serums to get the maximum benefit since they're both part of the same collection?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: No, so you can mix and match from either collection and really any of the products can be used anytime like morning or evening except for the Activated Night Serum and the Resurfacing Facial Exfoliant.
So if you wanted to, you could use the Wild Fruit sSerum, just that serum morning and night. I mean, using the Wild Fruit Serum in the morning and the Activated Night Serum at night is an excellent combination and it's gonna give you, I would say, really good results because they both contain high levels of those activated ingredients. But yeah, you can kind of mix and match, like you don't have to use everything from the Signature Collection or everything from the Wild Alchemy Collection, I definitely have favorites in both collections.
Customer: Okay. Thank you.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Mm hmm. Any other questions?
Are there certain serums that you're thinking of that you want me to try and help you decide between?
Customer: No, I just liked certain things that you said for every serum. And so I'm like, man, this would be really hard. I mean, I liked what Grace said about the CBD and, you know it's just going to be a tough decision. I just have to try and see if I like it. Right? I think it was the Anti-Aging Serum that I used when I first started, when I first used Annmarie products, and it was fine, but I wouldn't mind trying something different just to try something different.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, absolutely. I feel like a lot of people start out with that Anti-Aging Serum because, like I said, it's what comes in all of our starter kits and trial kits. It's usually the Aloe Herb Cleanser, the Anti-Aging Serum, and the Anti-Aging Facial Oil, so a lot of people do start there and then, you know, maybe decide later on that they want to try something different.
Customer: One more question if I could. So I'm just wondering if the Probiotic Serum with the tremella, I'm wondering what you said about, you know, thicker skin does that not go along with anti aging that type of skin?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: It does. So the one that I was mentioning for thicker textured skin and skin that's been exposed to the elements and all of that, that was actually the Citrus Stem Cell Serum.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: And yes, I mean really all of our products technically are anti-aging, like even the Herbal Facial Oil For Oily Skin, you know, it's geared towards oily skin, but it's still going to have anti-aging properties as well because all of our products contain high levels of antioxidants and herbs and extracts that are going to be beneficial for supporting skin health.
Does that answer your question?
Customer: Yeah, I feel similar to the other woman. It's very overwhelming because it's like, well, they kind of overlap a bit, but yet each one's a little bit different. So it's like, where do you even begin? There's just too many and I had no idea you had this many choices.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Right. I mean, like I said, that is why I feel like things get a little confusing and overwhelming once you get to serums just because there's so many options. As I mentioned before the serum trio might be a good way to go because then you can sample all 3 of the serums in the Signature Collection. I believe that we also have the Wild Fruit Serum and the Activated CBD Serum available separately in a travel size.
Customer: So how long do you have to use a serum to see if it's doing anything?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: I mean, I would say you want to give it at least a month or so, especially with something like the like the Citrus Stem Cell Serum, if you have dark spot that you are really working to lighten the appearance of or something specific. You need to be very consistent with it and give it a full skin cycle before you'll see results.
And it's kind of that combination of you're going to see a little bit of instant result just from the moisture and the hydration and all of that. But then as far as minimizing the appearance of fine lines and brightening the appearance of dark spots, those things might take a little bit longer. And it's really just, I think, being really consistent with it for those types of things.
Any other questions? I know it's so overwhelming. It's so much information and so many products.
Okay. So I'll touch on elixirs really quickly, I guess, even though I feel like this isn't going to help with the overwhelm. I don't know, maybe I should skip elixirs. Okay, the elixirs, this is just kind of a fun extra product. Like, you do not need the elixirs. But, they're kind of fun. So they come in this set of three. They are the Concentrated Boosting Elixirs. They come with the hydrate elixir, the brighten elixir, and the revitalize elixir. So these are not to be used directly on your skin. They are always to be mixed with a serum or if for some reason you're not using a serum and you want to use these you could mix them with your facial oil.
They're a very aqueous, liquid consistency and the way that you use them is you would pump your serum into the palm of your hand like one or two pumps, whatever you use. And then you would drop one to three drops of your elixir, mix it up, and apply it to the skin. So these were made just to, as the name suggests, boost your routine. So they allow you to customize your routine even further. They also allow you to really boost the level of activated ingredients. So again, these are not a necessary product, but for somebody who maybe is like the skin care guru who wants the super full routine with all the products and all the activated ingredients, they can be a fun option.
So the three in the set, the Hydrate, this is a hyaluronic acid with vegan collagen pre peptides. We already talked about the hyaluronic acid, so very deeply hydrating and plumping to the skin. The Brighten, this is a pure vitamin C with seabuckthorn. So this is going to be great for brightening, obviously. The vitamin C that we use is a tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate. The reason that we chose that form of vitamin C is that it's a really stable form of vitamin C. So a lot of vitamin C products on the market are not stable. So you open the product, it goes rancid really quickly, and then it's not effective. A lot of vitamin C products can also be really irritating to the skin. This one has a pH of 7, so it's a very non irritating form of vitamin C. And then the Revitalize, this is the bioactive A-complex with astaxanthin. So this is the exact same ingredient that is in the Activated Night Serum paired with astaxanthin, which is a powerful antioxidant. So this one again, only to be used at night and with an SPF during the day.
So those are the elixirs. If they feel confusing or overwhelming to you, just ignore them. Because like I said, they're not a necessary product, but I just like to mention them. Do we have questions about elixirs or more serum questions at all? Or should we just move to oils?
So oils. Again, we kind of have several facial oils. Let's see here. So, we'll start with the herbal facial oils. We have the Herbal Facial Oil For Normal and Combination Skin, the Herbal Facial Oil for Oily Skin, and the Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin. I won't go into these too deeply because they're sort of self explanatory because they are named for the skin type that they are designed for.
All three of them are a grapeseed oil base, which is a light textured, skin balancing oil. It's rich in omega 6. So the Herbal Facial Oil for Normal and Combination Skin, obviously this is a skin balancing oil. It's got some goji in it, it's got some echinacea in there. The Herbal Facial Oil for Oily Skin, that one's going to be more purifying, a more purifying herb blend with the neem the black cumin seed oil in that one, and then the Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin. That one has no added essential oils, but it's got a bunch of omega rich oils that really nourish the skin and then the last one in our Signature Collection is the Anti-Aging Facial Oil. So this one is very popular. Again, one of our best sellers. This is what you'll find in a lot of the starter kits. And this one is just a very nourishing, moisturizing, facial oil for dry and mature skin. This one has a bunch of different seed oils in it. So it's got broccoli seed oil, carrot seed oil, chia seed oil, chia is rich in vitamin B and zinc. This one has plantago in it as well, which is an herb that helps to purify and soothe the skin. So that's the Anti-Aging Facial Oil.
And then in our Wild Alchemy Collection, we have our Rejuvenating Facial Oil. Which is good for all skin types except very sensitive. This is our most active, most potent facial oil. So our other facial oils have a bunch of different herbs in the herb infusion, the Rejuvenating Facial Oil, it just has one herb. It's the butterfly pea flower. And then it also has fewer CO2 extracts and seed oils. And the reason that we chose to do it that way is just because by including fewer of those, we were able to include them at higher percentages, so it makes it a little bit more active. But that one's got brightening baobab oil, it's got mongongo oil in it, which is really softening to the skin. It's got marula oil which is very antioxidant rich. It's got blue tansy, which is really calming. So that's the Rejuvenating. So those are the facial oils. I think that's it for facial oils. Questions about facial oils or moisturizers, because your facial oil is your moisturizer.
Customer: So that's the last step in your process, the oil?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yes, so after you mist your toning mist, you would apply your serum, and then you would apply your oil over top.
Customer: And how much oil do you normally apply?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Well, I am a chronic oil over user. I like to use a lot of oil because I really like to massage it in. But you probably need like two pumps, I would say. Would you agree, Grace? How many pumps of oil do you use?
Grace Murray – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: I don't know if I would go as far as say two pumps, but half a pump to a pump is usually totally fine. Especially if your skin is damp, you should be good to go.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: I just use too much oil. Okay, so more like one pump maybe. Yeah.
Customer: You know, I've heard, you know, I mean, I've always used some type of skin care program and it's always been like a moisturizer that's a cream based, you know, creamy moisturizer. And now I've heard a lot about oil moisturizers. Is there a reason why an oil moisturizer is better than a creamy moisturizer?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, so the reason that we have chosen oils for our moisturizers is just because they're more pure so they don't require any fillers or waxes to be used they're also more easily absorbed by your skin because your skin's natural form of moisture is oil. If you're new to using facial oil as a moisturizer and you don't like it, you feel like, oh, it feels greasy or heavy or whatever I would say to make sure that you're applying it when your skin is still slightly damp and just to use less. So like Grace said, she only uses like a half a pump to a pump. And then I actually, after I apply my facial oil, I mist my toning mist as well over top of my facial oil. Which you do not need to do. I just like to do that. And I feel like it just kind of further dilutes the oil a little bit. But that would be your last step in your routine aside from sunscreen. Our Sun Love Everyday Sheer Sunscreen is our SPF moisturizer and that one, it's like a little bit more of a creamy consistency I would say, than any of our other facial oils.
So if you like a creamy consistency you could use that just as your daytime moisturizer. It can be used on its own as your daytime moisturizer or it can be used over top of a facial oil. That's really just personal preference. It's an SPF 20, it's a non nano zinc oxide, it's reef safe, it's got some pumpkin seed oil in it, buriti fruit oil, and that one I like to tell people it's great for just kind of everyday wear, like if you're really sitting out in the sun or sweating or swimming, you of course are going to want to reapply it.
Yeah, but that's kind of why we've chosen oils. A lot of times I tell people, like you know, a lot of people don't know if you go to the drugstore and you read the ingredients on a label, you're like, I don't know what this is. How do I know if it's clean or not? I feel like a really easy way to tell and in a lot of facial creams and lotions, you'll find that one of the first ingredients is water.
And usually ingredients are listed by their concentration. So if you have water listed as one of the first ingredients, then that's not really doing anything for you, because it's just water. And then also if there is water included in the product, then they have to include more preservatives in the product because bacteria can grow more quickly and more easily. So obviously with oils, you don't have that.
Any other moisturizer questions or facial oil questions?
Customer: Can you talk about the sun love, it's got an SPF of only 20. Is there a reason that is? You know, they recommend a minimum of 30?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: There is actually an article about it that I just sent to another customer who was asking.
So first of all, it's a broad spectrum. So the SPF factor does not have to include both UVA and UVB protection. So even if you have an SPF 50 it might not be a broad spectrum where you're getting protection from both. So ours is that, which I think is important. Also sometimes it gives you kind of a false sense of security, like an SPF 50 is not necessarily twice the protection of an SPF 25. If you want to send Grace your email address I can email you the article that I mentioned.
Grace Murray – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: I use the Sun Love and like I said, I have extremely sensitive skin. And if I even go into the sun with no sunscreen on you can tell. I mean, goodness. And I use the Sun Love every single day. And ever since I've been doing it, I haven't had any sort of sunburn or sensitivity to the sun, which is fantastic. So just wanted to mention from personal experience, I also was a little hesitant at the very beginning when I started here, and I'm actually obsessed with it now and haven't had any issues. So just a little tidbit.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: That one we do also sell in the smaller size too, like if you're just wanting to try it.
Cool. Okay. So that is your basic routine. And then we have extras, of course. We're kind of running low on time, but we have eye cream, eye serum. We have two eye products: The Anti-Aging Eye Cream and the Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum. I tend to tell people if you're going to just choose one or the other I personally like the eye cream. It just feels really nourishing. You can use them both together, which is really nice. If your eye area is your main concern, it is nice to use them together. And in that case, you would just layer the Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum underneath the eye cream.
Then we've got our masks and exfoliants. I do usually like to mention exfoliants just because I think exfoliation is important. A lot of times people are like, “oh, I'm using all of these moisturizing products, but my skin still feels so dry. What am I doing wrong?” I always first ask if they are exfoliating because if you're not exfoliating, you can get this layer of build up on the skin, and then your hydrating products, your moisturizing products, they're just not able to be absorbed to work effectively.
Although exfoliation is kind of a fine line, because you don't want to overdo it. You don't want to cause any irritation in the skin but it's nice to incorporate some type of exfoliation. So we have three exfoliants: the Ayurvedic Facial Scrub, the Kaolin Micro Exfoliant, and the Resurfacing Facial Exfoliant. The Ayurvedic scrub, this is a dry powdered exfoliant. It's good for all skin types, even very sensitive skin types. You just shake it into the palm of your hand, then you can mix a little bit of water to create a paste or what I like to do is just mix it with my cleanser. So you can just shake it in with your Aloe Herb Cleanser or your Phytonutrient or whatever, that one is so gentle that you could use it every day if you wanted to.
The Kaolin Micro Exfoliant, this is our cream exfoliating scrub. It's still fairly gentle. It's the green kaolin clay mixed with some lavender, and then it's a crushed bamboo powder, that is what gives it its scrubby gritty texture. This one, if you wanted to use this and you tend to be more sensitive, this one you could also mix with a cleanser. It mixes really nicely with the Aloe Herb Cleanser. And that one most people could use like two or three days a week. And then lastly is the Resurfacing Facial Exfoliant. That one's a little bit different. That one is a chemical exfoliant. Chemical in the way that it works on the skin, not that it contains a bunch of chemicals.
That one you would just use once a week. And that one is a little bit different because it's a smooth gel texture. So there's no scrub or grit to it. It's a honey derived lactic acid. That is the exfoliating property and lactic acid is a very mild alpha hydroxy acid, but that one, like I said, you would only want to use once a week and you would want to use it at night with sunscreen during the day.
And then lastly we have masks. We have a few different ones. The Coconut Honey Mask is good for dry and sensitive skin. It's a rich, balmy texture. The Illuminating Pearl Mask. This is my favorite. I always tell everybody to just get it. This one, is a hydrating, brightening treatment mask. It's good for all skin types. Can't really overdo it with this one. It's got licorice root and uva ursi. So the same lightening and brightening ingredients that are in the Citrus Stem Cell Serum. And then this one has crushed pearl powder in it. So it gives it kind of a luminosity that it imparts onto the skin. It has a sort of creamy, jelly texture. So it feels really nice and cooling. It's really nice in the morning if your skin is kind of tired and puffy. And then the Charcoal Cacao Mask. This one is a purifying and antioxidant rich treatment mask.
The Purifying Mud Mask. Obviously, is a purifying mask. This one is a powder. So this one you can mix with water to create a paste. Or you can mix it with honey, yogurt, a toning mist, etc. I actually love this mask and I like to mix it with manuka honey UMF 15. I love this combo because you're getting the purifying benefits of the mud, but the honey acts as a humectant, so it binds moisture to the skin. So it's not drying out the skin at all. And Manuka honey also has a slew of other benefits for the skin.
So those are the masks and I think that's it.
Customer: With the masks, what's your usual procedure? How long do you keep it on for? You know, what do you do?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: So it just kind of depends on the mask.
Like I was saying, the Pearl Mask, that one you could use it every day and it's fine. A mask like the Purifying Mud or the Charcoal Caco that is more purifying/deep cleansing you would want to use once a week (maybe twice a week depending on your skin).
Coconut honey, that one you could probably do every day if you wanted to.
And so after you cleanse your face, you rinse your cleanser and then you apply your mask. And you would leave it on for 10 minutes maybe, and then you could rinse it to remove.
Okay. We are almost out of time. But if you guys have any questions that you didn't get to ask, you can email us at [email protected]. That is our customer care email, but our team is very small. So if you want it to get to me or Grace, you can just put our name in there and Kate will just send it over.
And I think that's it. Anything else? Any other questions?
Customer: You're strictly online, right?. There's no, you don't have a storefront or a business, you know, a concrete one?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: We don't, we do have wholesale partners that retail our products. If you look at our website I think you have to scroll down to the bottom, but it shows ‘find a store near you’. You can click there and see if there might be any retailers near you if you wanted to purchase in person. Other than that, it's just through our website.
Any other questions?
Customer: Thank you very much.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah. You're so welcome. Thank you guys for spending an hour and a half hanging out with me and Grace talking about skin care and skin care products. I hope that it was helpful and not so overwhelming. I know there's so much, but like I said, if you have further questions, you can always email us and we're happy to help you out more if we can.
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