Summarized from a consultation originally recorded on July 2nd, 2024.
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Kate – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Now, before I get into all the products, I want to also call out the difference between these two lines because we will be speaking to both of them as we go throughout. So this tan label here, this is called our Signature Collection. And a lot of these products our are foundational launches.
They can range from being focused on anti aging. They also could be, you know, there are some products that are working to support oily skin or breakout prone skin. It's got a pretty wide range there.
The dark labeled ones. This is the Wild Alchemy Collection. The Wild Alchemy Collection is different in a couple specific ways. So generally on a whole, this one is more focused in terms of addressing signs of aging. So as they're crafted, that's kind of the intention, to be a pretty potent target for signs of aging. And the shape of it looks different with each product, but that is a thing that's specific, you know, with the Wild Alchemy Collection. We do tend to use more exotic ingredients. So more tropical ingredients, harder to source ingredients. We also often will utilize ingredients that have a few more steps in their process. So something like a hydrosol or a copper infused water, an ingredient that has just a couple more pieces to it before, It's included in the final product. Additionally, the bottles are usually larger. The Wild Alchemy Collection typically comes in one size, it's typically the larger size.
So with all of that, let's get into the products, the fun stuff. So we're going to focus on a four step routine in this call. That's a cleanser, a toning mist, a serum, and an oil. The morning step will have the additional step of a sunscreen but we'll start to formulate that as we're kind of building the routine. But otherwise, morning, evening, you're doing it both. You can, of course, go broader. We've got masks and scrubs and eye products, boosters, you can really round out the routine. The four step routine is kind of the most basic, but I do occasionally work with someone who's transitioning from bar soap. Like they just have used dev soap before. And so going from one step to four steps is quite a jump. If you're starting slim with the intention to, of course, round it out with time, I do recommend the cleanser and the oil. Those are your most basic steps.
Let's start at the top here. Let's start with our cleansing step. Now your cleansing step is, of course, the first step in your routine. We're using this to prep the skin. We're also using this to kind of remove anything that needs to kind of be sloughed off. And in the morning, that might be sweat, that might be just any excretion. When you hit your rest and repair cycle your skin naturally kind of expands and releases a little bit. And so rinsing that off, washing that off in the morning, in the evening, that's of course the entire day. So any exposure you had to the environment, any exposure you had to Dirt or debris or just being out in the world. Likewise, sweat, especially in the summer. And makeup if you're a makeup wearer. So this step is pretty crucial to, you know, the rest of your routine.
This first one that I'll get into, this is our Aloe Herb Cleanser here. And this product is one of our first launches. It's also a very, very widely loved product. The consistency of it and the application of it, it's actually almost any skin type.
Yeah, anything from kind of normal dry to particularly dry. The feel of it is pretty smooth. It's got a nice kind of thin lotiony consistency to it. None of our cleansers are going to have any like sudsing to them. We don't use any sulfates,
However, they all have some variation of aloe. And aloe has a natural saponification to it. So it takes on this cleansing property when it's applied to the skin in this particular blend. This one is really, really great for normal dry, dry aging and skin prone to temporary redness. It does rinse off pretty clean, leaves skin nice and balanced. There's not a residue left behind. It's got this nice, soft, clean feel to it. The scent profile, it smells a lot like lemon. There's kind of like a lemon balm, like herbaceous kind of scent to this particular product. It's pretty lovely actually. But it is also really nice in the morning, just like a little wake up cleanser. how you're using this one, you're wetting your fingers, you're wetting your face, pump it. I usually pump it on the edge of my fingers here. And then I do like two to three pumps and then come in and massage it. right? You can do a full routine. You can make sure you're doing upward motions. The focus is cleansing the skin.
Now the next one here is the Phytonutrient Cleanser. As you can see, it's part of that wild alchemy collection.
The Phytonutrient Cleanser is kind of like a step up in terms of directly addressing signs of aging. The consistency is a little bit richer. So, whereas the aloe has kind of this thin lotion feel, the Phytonutrient Cleanser has this kind of full bodied, like, fatty feel to it. One of the ingredients in that is a mango seed butter, and that mango seed butter really just adds a lot of the volume to that blend. This also has our signature serum blend in it. It's this aloe floral combo that essentially is very potent for addressing The appearance of fine lines. So when you're using this one, it's a good rule of thumb for all of them, but with this one in particular, making sure that you're leaving it on the skin at least 30 seconds so that it has the opportunity to really penetrate and start to work on the skin.
From there you can rinse it and, you know, continue on, but 30 seconds is making sure that you're getting the benefits. It's not just on the face and down the drain. The application of this one is the same, right? Wet fingers, wet face, massage it on. A good 30 seconds is the kind of rule of thumb here. So if you do have skin that is prone to temporary redness, this one can be a little intense for you. It can feel a little drying, although it's got this richer body to it. The aloe herb, this one that I mentioned right before this. It's still a little bit more ideal to soothe skin, to kind of quench skin, especially if it gets irritated. So if you are dry and sensitive, I would stick with this one. If you are maybe somewhat sensitive, but largely, normal dry, normal, aging, normal, the Phytonutrient Cleanser is a really good one for that.
And this last one here, because several people had mentioned they had particularly dry skin, is this one.
This is our Restorative Cleansing Oil. Now this one is a blend of oils, so the consistency feels like a blend of oils. One of the oils is a manuka oil that's got a nice full body to it. This one is awesome. Or skin that is dry, skin that is dry sensitive, skin that is dry aging, just that experience where you are seeking moisture and you are having a really hard time with whatever you've been using or are using to get enough. Because this is a blend of oils, the application is a little different and the feel is a little different. So, you still put it on your fingers and on your face, but we recommend doing dry fingers and dry face. dry fingers and dry face allows for the deepest kind of penetration to really be working with the skin. So, before you've even gotten the water on your face, apply that oil. You still will want to move it around and kind of massage it. This also is a really good medium if you gua sha at all. This one is kind of a more basic one. This one is pretty detailed, hits a lot of curves of the face, but you do want an oil when you're using a gua sha.
And a lot of times when I use this one, I'm like, it's already on the skin for a few seconds. If you need a medium for the gua sha this is a really good one. Now, when you rinse it off, right? So you've applied it, you've cleansed in whatever fashion, and then you go to rinse it, warm water is great. It does leave a little bit of a residue behind, and that is by design. So my dry skin people, They need that moisture and so leaving a little bit behind tends to kind of get skin back into this balanced place before you're even hitting Toning mist serum, all of that. Now, if you don't love the amount that's left behind, a quick fix is to use a washcloth, right, like use a warm wet washcloth and then kind of wipe it off. Another really easy to integrate option is to just do a subsequent cleanse. So cleanse with that one and then use another cleanser to remove it. It could be this one, could be the aloe herb, it could be any of them, but those two are pretty good pretty good pairs with it. Great for dry skin. Great for aging skin. It does have some skin soothers and some anti like inflammatory, anti redness, if you will. There's some lavender, there's some tea tree in it that when we use essential oils in our products, any of them, but cleansers included, we do in such a way that they're intentional and that the amount is not enough to be If you have an allergy, that's a different story. But generally speaking, we use them in a pretty intentional way in the products. So, with that, any questions about your cleansing step, how you use it, what might be good fits? All of that.
Okay, now Let's get into the toning mist. So your toning mist step, this comes after your cleanse, right? You've cleansed your skin, you pat it dry, however you're doing that, a towel or whatever. And then you're going to come in and you're going to mist skin with your toning mist. The toning mist fits within our routine in a specific way. So this really unique burst of hydration. And then anti aging. We've got one that's really great for skin that is prone to temporary redness. One that's really great for controlling oil. It just kind of depends. But, in general, it's a burst of hydration and then a burst of nutrition. It's focused in a particular direction. It's also a perfect pre step before our serums. all of our serums contain some variation of a humectant. And a humectant is an ingredient that seeks out moisture and then plumps up. We use hyaluronic acid or Ella mushroom. when you've already got this on skin, this misted ae vera or hydrosol or whatever the acquiesce feel is when you then apply the serum, it's that much further along in plumping the skin up. So it works really nicely with the serums and with the oils too, it's synergistic with the whole line, but the combo of those two is quite, quite nice. Now the two that I'll speak to, we have three, but I'm gonna just focus on two.
This one is our Neroli Toning Mist, and the blend is super, super simple.
We have aloe vera juice, We have neroli essential oil and we have aspen bark and the aspen bark is kind of just a suspension, right? It keeps the consistency like where we want it But the aloe vera juice is this really light burst of hydration So when we speak to hydration, we're working on a kind of water layer that is a little bit lower in the skin moisture. We tend to use that phrase when we're speaking to the fat layer up towards the surface of the skin. So the neroli toning this, that aloe vera that's getting into lower layers and a quick way to tell whether your skin is dehydrated more. So, or along with being just dry, is to take your finger and kind of press up on the side of your cheek.
Usually what you'll notice is like a pretty kind of fine striation, like it'll look kind of crepey when you're pressing up and that is telling us that the lower layers are lacking some water, some variation of water. So the aloe vera juice is supporting that. The neroli is pretty focused on addressing The appearance of fine lines. So it's this pretty potent lovely smelling neroli. It comes from oranges, like orange blossom flowers. And so it's got this kind of citrus floral, you know, scent to it. So it smells good, but it also feels good. And it's helping to support the softening of the appearance of The appearance of fine lines. So there's that one here.
The next one is this one. This is our Botanical Hydration Mist. This one starts with a blend of hydrosols. hydrosols, what those are, is they're essentially this like watery runoff when you create an essential oil via steam distillation. And so it's a little bit more bodied than just aloe vera juice, than just like water. But it's not nearly as far as oil. So it's got this kind of soft, buttery consistency to it. And so this is particularly supportive for dry skin. The two that we've chosen, we have a rose and an immortelle hydrosol. Those two are also two florals that are kind of widely lauded for their anti aging effects. Immortelle is. Also known oftentimes as Helichrysum it goes by Immortelle because it's got this legend of being this flower of immortality. So it's just really supportive, working to kind of reverse the appearance of more pronounced lines. And then with it being a hydrosol, it's incredibly hydrating. So dry skin loves this. This is also really supportive for skin. skin that is prone to temporary redness and grace, I might invite you in momentarily to speak to that. My skin type is kind of normal to dry with some edges of sensitivity. Grace's skin is far more sensitive. She deals with temporary redness, so she is usually a better spokesperson for how these interact with that skin type. But what I will say is this blend also includes four different types of chamomile and frankincense to specifically soothe skin that gets irritated.
Grace – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: I'm also extremely dry consistently, no matter what time of the year it is.The biggest key difference I see consistently is the hydration aspect and also how much it helps my redness. I joke all the time that it's like my best friend in a spray bottle because I literally bring it everywhere because if I eat something that my skin doesn't like, I'll immediately get red and it's just something I can spray, after a workout class, in the heat. I can't live without it. It is just amazing for skin that is prone to temporary redness or redness in general.
Kate – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, cool. Thank you. I use this one far more often in the winter time because my skin's kind of normal now that it's warm out. I don't really need that much and so I use the Neroli more often. How you use this, how you apply this, this is a little mister bottle. It's got a spray top here. So after you've cleaned your skin, you just mist your skin and you leave it on. You don't need to put anything in like a cotton round and swipe it. You don't need to wipe it off. After you just simply mist the skin. And then from there you can kind of play with what feels best. Some people like to let the toning mist dry completely and then apply their serum and their oil. There's another variation where you leave skin damp. That's usually how I apply mine
I apply my serum and my oil while my skin is still damp. For me, that particular tip was a shift when I was experiencing the oil kind of sitting on the surface of the skin. It wasn't really absorbing. It just kind of felt like I looked really greasy, but it wasn't really getting into the skin. So I do leave my skin damp and then apply my products,
I typically recommend trying both and see what feels best because Both of them are quite good. Cool.
I feel like cleansers and toning mists are usually pretty straightforward. Oftentimes after serums is when we have potentially more questions. So, let's keep moving along.
So, your next step is your serum. Now your serum step is typically like the treatment step. All of our serums, and this is kind of a generalization of serums as they exist anywhere with any brand, they tend to be thinner, they tend to be slightly aqueous in their consistency, and they tend to be focused on a specific concern.
Because these can absorb into the skin, because these can work kind of with the water of the skin and because these can work on lower layers of the skin, we tend to pack them with like stem cells, anti agers, florals, whichever one because they are working with the skin kind of lower and then it comes up to the surface and you're able to kind of see the benefits of that.The oils do to our facial oils are supportive for that as well. But they work more with the upper layer and kind of the fatty layer of the skin. So the serums also all contain some variation of a humectant. Like I mentioned, so they're all slightly. hydrating slightly to very, depending on which one.
I'm going to speak to most of them. we're going to get into the rest of them.
Now, our first one here, that's the Anti-Aging Serum, and you'll notice it's in two sizes. We launched this one in the larger size within the last three years, because we noticed that the small one had a high purchase rate, which, of course, we loved, but also a high repurchase rate. So we were seeing, and it was an indicator for us, that people were using it, loving it, and then investing in it again. So we launched the larger one. It's a little bit more sustainable and a little bit more cost effective but you've got either option here. Now the Anti-Aging Serum, like the name suggests, is primarily focused on signs of aging. Primarily Lines. So The appearance of fine lines along the forehead, along the eyes, along the mouth. It's also working to support the strength of the skin. So with continued use, there's kind of this cumulative effect of helping to stave off, you know, more expression lines with time. One of the key ingredients in this is hyaluronic acid and hyaluronic acid is a plumper for the skin. And in my opinion, I think that contributes to a lot of the popularity because you see a pretty quick difference in the skin using hyaluronic acid as compared to, you know, something that might just have like a lighter hyaluronic acid or doesn't have that focus at all. So pretty quickly, The appearance of fine lines starts to look plumper. My experience with myself and people near me, I usually notice that along the forehead first. So where there's just thinner lines oftentimes. And even if it's more pronounced, like the expression isn't as repeated as something like a smile line or right in between the brows, that can be a more repetitive facial expression. And so that it pretty quickly plumps that area up. The other angle of this is this beautiful blend of florals. So we've got rose, we've got idol lice, we've got what's that one called, life everlasting flower, and this potent concoction is part of what helps to stave off the The appearance of fine lines and strengthen the skin, and then also part of what softens the appearance of the The appearance of fine lines. You know, with all of our serums, they are cumulative, so you might see a difference at first, but with continued use, you really see a pretty potent difference. I feel like the Anti-Aging Serums are pretty quick. You typically notice the difference. within the first two weeks, I would say, of the skin, and then, continued benefit with time. The scent of this one smells a lot like rose but one of the florals in there is the rose floral, and so the scent is, kind of like the most pronounced of the florals.
Now the next one here, this is our Probiotic Serum with Tremella. Now this one is amazing for skin that is prone to temporary redness. The blend of this one is really supportive for dry, irritated, irritable rough textured, skin that is prone to temporary redness. It's also great for just, you know, Skin that's thrown off in any way. A couple of the key components here as the name suggests, we do have a probiotic complex in this product, but we also have an olive leaf ferment in this product. And so what happens when you apply this to the face is that it essentially feeds the good bacteria of the skin. And then from there, it helps to kind of bring that back into a balanced place. the flora of this game can be thrown off for a multitude of reasons. It could just be a change in hormones, could be a new medication, it could be a change of environment, extra stress, especially like a quick onset of additional stress can throw off the microbiome of the face. So there are lots of culprits but this helps to bring it back into balance. This is a really good one for people who experience rosacea or any kind of red face. Flare up like that. This can be supportive for it. Also features the tremella mushroom and the tremella mushroom functions really similarly to hyaluronic acid. It pulls moisture in and helps to plump it up. So for skin that's kind of got a rough texture or is just dry as well as sensitive. This helps to combat that. Now this one, I think, has the most unique set profile of all of them. it might be a vetiver that we got in here. So yeah, like a wood, but you definitely smelled the mushroom. There's just like an edge of earthiness to this particular serum that I like to call out. I don't find it offensive. I think the blend of it's pretty nice, especially with the florals. But for some people, it's a little bit much. And so if you know that, just keep that in mind as you're checking that product out. Now the next three serums are part of the Wild Alchemy Collection.
This one is our Wild Fruit Serum. Now this is kind of like the top tier in terms of a broad stroke and addressing signs of aging. We have in this one a large amount of hyaluronic acid, so like the Anti-Aging Serum, we're working to plump the skin. We also have in here uva ursi, which is an ingredient to brighten specific spots. So if you have sun stressors or age spots, things like that, that can help to soften the appearance of. And we also have an ingredient called kakadu plum. And kakadu plum is incredibly supportive for brightening the overall complexion. It's very vitamin C rich, and so in terms of evening out the tone of the skin, it's pretty helpful for. And then we also have stem cells. Stem cells are a super important tool at some point in your recovery. Routine to help to maintain the strength and the lift of the skin. So stem cells, the short version of what they do, is they kind of get into lower layers. And then as your skin cells move up to the surface, your skin mimics the behavior of stem cells. So with time, you start to see this lift and tautness to the skin particularly helpful for drooping or sagging skin. It does take a little bit of time and I call that out just to set realistic expectations, because as it works on the lower layers, it can take several weeks for those lower layers to move up to be visible on the surface. So keep that in mind. The hyaluronic acid in this is pretty immediate. You notice that pretty quickly. The kakadu plum is also brightening with the vitamin C that is pretty, pretty supportive. The scent of this one smells a lot like the plum. And so that's part of the naming of it.
The Wild Fruit Serum smells like that plum in it. It's really nice. This is one that we always are like, how do we indicate it is like, is this a good scent? We're like, Oh, we wish this was a candle. Grace says that about the Aloe Herb Cleanser. She's like, I wish that was a candle. I would buy a candle of the wild fruit serum.
Now this next one is also particularly supportive for dry skin. This is the Activated CBD Serum, and I want to know what this one as you shop for this one, it is going to take you to a separate site. And that's by design. That's just how we are able to legally sell essentially a CBD product. But with this one, we use basically the highest level CBD we have seen. We source it from a company called Ohio Energetics. And they're really cool. If you're looking for an incredibly advanced CBD, check them out. In ours, we wanted theirs because they have like 12 patents as far as how they extract the CBD and how bioavailable, their CBD is. They really have cornered the market. That's their life work, basically working with CBD to get the most bioavailable version. So that's what we've got in this one. CBD is supportive for skin because what CBD does is it works with your body's own endocannabinoid system to act as a triage. it goes to any place that's starting to slow down or break down or has an active need.
for signs of aging, that's pretty direct. as some area of the face is starting to slow down the CBD is going to likely be working there. If you have an active irritation, so your skin is having a flare up or you're really red or really sensitive the CBD is going to focus on soothing that. It can make it hard to market because it can be applied in so many different ways, but I think that the most succinct way to describe it is like where there's an issue, the CPD is helping to support. We have a couple different types of humectants. So we've got both the hyaluronic acid and the tremella mushroom. So it's working to soothe and soften and hydrate skin, especially irritated skin. We also have in here top tier antioxidants. And those are working to stave off signs of aging. We use astaxanthin. Oh, what's the other one? Superoxide dismutase. You don't have to know those. they're kind of like top tier as far as antioxidants go. And so they're super supportive for signs of aging as well as supporting skin that is prone to temporary redness and irritated skin. The checkout process with this one, you do check out through that site And then you would order the rest of your products on the regular site. Site wide coupons. So the coupon you'll receive in this call, does still apply to the CBD. But it's just a little bit of it. Nuance checkout process. What else would that one be? Oh, it is only available in the U. S. So if you are joining us, I don't know if anyone had mentioned they were joining us from Canada. We can't ship over the border at this point in time!
Okay, let's move. Let's get into this last serum and then see what questions we have had come up. So all of those that I've mentioned so far, these can be used in the morning, these can be used in the evening, you can interchange them, you can alternate, all of that. This final one here, this is our Activated Night Serum.
This one, as the name suggests, is for evening wear only. Evening use only. The active ingredient here is what we call our bioactive A complex. And that bioactive A is essentially a retinol alternative. So it offers the same kind of experience, the same effect, this very taut, this very lifted, this very smooth, sometimes almost glassy looking experience to the skin without the stressors that sometimes comes from retinols. So when we were formulating this, we actually launched this Ingredient as part of this set for it was part of the concentrated boosting elixirs. So it does exist and I am very concentrated for him. If you fall in love with it. But when we were doing that, our COO at the time was pregnant and so we really kind of had this very ethical conversation about. The ethics of using an ingredient that was safe for the body at some points and then safe at not other points. But the bioactive a is a made safe ingredient. It is safe to be used while pregnant and breastfeeding unless your skin is sensitive. Because sometimes that happens, but safe to be used at any point. It still works similarly to a retinol and that it is quite exfoliating for the skin. So it is great for The appearance of fine lines, great for the appearance of dark spots, but if you have skin that is prone to temporary redness, it might be a slower integration for you. Even though it is a more active exfoliant, we did kind of craft this blend, this final product here, to immediately nourish the needs of the skin in the same moment.
So we've got the Bioactive A exfoliating, but then we also have in there Both hyaluronic acid and tremella mushroom. The blend is really, really creamy. And so the feel is super soft. I think we launched this like November of last year. And I've yet to work with someone that experiences flaking or dryness from this product.
Generally speaking, because it's got that really rich, full bodied blend, it pretty immediately quenches whatever need, you know, a depletion or breakdown that might be happening with the bioactive A. It is designed for nightwear, right?
So because it is exfoliating the skin, we still recommend sunscreen and that you don't wear it out into the sun. And sometimes people take that kind of lightly. you undo so much of the work you've been doing.
And so making sure that you're protecting your skin, avoiding the sun, or you're just not applying it the night before you go on a beach vacation or something like that. So being really mindful and intentional with how you utilize this product. Like I mentioned, it's for nightwear. Most people can use it every single night. My skin, they, it's got a little bit of a sensitive edge, so I can go like three or four nights in a row, and then my cheeks get just a little pink.
So then I take a couple nights off of this one. So it might be one if you're on the sensitive side that you use it once a week, you use it two nights in a row, and then take some days off. You can kind of customize how this fits into your routine as long as this one's staying as your evening, your evening one there. Let's see what questions you might have about serums,
Any questions about the serum? Okay, cool. Let's keep moving.
Let's keep getting into some products. So next I'm going to speak to oils, our moisturizing step. We do use oil as our facial moisturizer. We aren't morally opposed to creams or lotions. Traditionally, historically, what's been the experience is that though we would like to craft one and we've had beautiful kinds of blends, we haven't found something that sustains its shelf life to make it worthwhile to craft, basically. Having said that, we are planning on launching a cream even later this year or early next year. I want to give us a good window because it's kind of early in the process. So it could be next year. It could be later this year. But we will have a cream that we do launch eventually. And I don't know very much about it, so I can't speak too much about it at this point. But for now, we typically recommend the oils and oils are actually a really lovely moisturizing step because your body naturally produces oil as it is. And so when you use an oil, there's kind of this additional layer of bioavailability. There's this recognizability and this integration that happens when you're using an oil and an oil that is as clean as ours. So what tends to happen is skin tends to take on this kind of natural luminosity. Like truly healthy and radiant skin. It doesn't look like you've got a ton of moisturizer. It doesn't look like you've got any glittery glowness, like a lot of makeup products. These are just a blend of beautiful oils that help to support the skin in different ways. Our first one that I'll get into is this one.
This is our Anti-Aging Facial Oil. A lot of people love this one, and for the same reason we have two facial serums, anti aging facial serums, is the same reason we have two of these, the two sizes. The feel of this one is very rich. This one starts with a jojoba oil, and then we steep into it broccoli seed, chia seed. Broccoli, chia, goji berry are ingredients that really support the strength of the skin and provide a lot of healthy nutrition for the skin. So skin takes on this very full radiance, this very lovely like full bodied feel to it. This is the most moisturizing of the oils at this point, at least. And so with dry skin, I've got other options that I'll mention, but this is the best. moisturizing. It has the richest feel to it, the richest body to it. This one is great for restoring the skin, providing a lot of nutrition and strengthening the skin with those particular ingredients. The scent of this one, It smells a lot like the jojoba. And then it's kind of got like an earthy herbal blend to it. Just like a light, light scent. I love it. That's another one that I would put in a candle. Some people don't because it is heavy on the jojoba. So if you don't like a jojoba, maybe not your oil, but Yeah, I love the scent of it.
The next one I want to highlight is the Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin that is prone to temporary redness. This one is a really light blend. It's light in the amount of ingredients chosen. It still is a pretty moisturizing product.
We start with the grapeseed oil, which is a little bit lighter than jojoba. So if you have particularly dry skin, you might like the other ones. A little bit better for you. But for skin that is prone to temporary redness, it has a lot of herbs that have been steeped into it that soothe irritated skin, that just help to quell any activity, any reactivity on the skin and kind of quiet that down. So yeah, this one feels pretty good. It's an unscented blend, so it smells really earthy. We went really, we actually didn't include any essential oils. And this one, yeah, no added essential oils in that one because if you are somebody that that's a trigger for, even though it's in small amounts, we just wanted to have something that was like a very safe option for you.
Now the last one, this is part of the Wild Alchemy Collection. This is the Rejuvenating Facial Oil. You'll notice of course the black label. The formulation of this one is very different from the others. So with all of our other oils, like I mentioned, we start with the anchor oil, we steep into it, whatever plants or seeds or florals at a low heat, and then it gets strained, and then it gets bottled. With this one, we still did that process, right? So it's a golden jojoba. It's been steeped with certain herbs, strained, but then what we did was we included in this blend ingredients directly. So, butterfly pea flower, blue tansy, black cumin seed oil, all these ingredients that are pretty direct anti agers, you know, blue tansy is a really potent anti ager likewise with butterfly pea flower, like all of those steeped, or added it into the blend directly with the intention to have this oil that was kind of the most active that we could make it while still having it comfortable enough for morning and evening wear, so for super skin that is prone to temporary redness types, this one can be a little bit much. it can be a little bit active. especially in thin skinned areas. So like the sides of the nose, along the lip. Bottom of the lip. It can just be a little intense. And so if you are someone who has skin that is prone to temporary redness, but you do really want to utilize this one, you can do it in a couple of ways.
do it just in the evening. once a week or so. You also could kind of dilute it. I don't typically recommend that you dilute the serums, but the oils carry the ingredients a little differently. And so you could do half a pump of this and maybe half a pump of the herbal facial oil for skin that is prone to temporary redness. Or, you know, find a ratio that works for your skin type. And that way you're still kind of gleaning the benefits of it, but it's in a blend that your skin can actually sustain. It works pretty quickly. It's awesome. So, so good for smoothing skin. Smoothing and softening skin.
I was trying all of the things. I think I was doing like a coconut honey mask, you know, doing everything. And we launched it and they sent me a bottle. And I applied for it and I texted the COO the next morning. I was like, we nailed it because of my skin, it was like the first thing to actually quench the dryness of my skin and soften that texture, that kind of rough, tough texture that had come to me. So if those are concerns of yours, the mongongo seed that's in that is really, it's super, super supportive. So, with that, let's pause, let's see what questions might have come up any of those, and then we can keep going if we want to.
Grace – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: There is one question in the chat saying, which serum would you recommend to start off with for sensitive red the appearance of dark spots?
Kate – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Ooh, prone to temporary redness and the appearance of dark spots. Probably the Activated CBD Serum. If you had just said sensitive in red, I might have said probiotic. But with the addition of the melasma, the blend of this and the CBD in here can be supportive for that concern as well. If your skin can handle it, I would also alternate it with the Activated night, even just once a week to help to kind of move that melasma up and off. So the CBD during the day, activated night, in the evening, and probably not every night. If your skin is sensitive and red, you might do one, I would start with once a week. And then if your skin does okay, do two, build up to what you can handle. And if you get to every night, cool, but you may not.
Kate – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: What's the Citrus Stem Cell Serum for? So this one, the blend of this. This is the citrus stem cell here. We've got the stem cells which are supportive for drooping skin, but then we have a lot of brighteners in this one. We've got uva ursi, we've got licorice root, we've got almaberry. And so this is a pretty targeted one for sunspots or aging spots, things like that. It does have the lowest amount of hyaluronic acid.
If your concern is dry skin and the appearance of dark spots. And sagging the wild fruit is going to cover that a little bit better because we still have the stem cells in here. We still have the brightener. We also have hyaluronic acid. So the only reason I didn't get into that was because so many people had mentioned super dry skin. And no one that I had seen had mentioned a lot of the appearance of dark spots specifically. So I didn't call this one out, but it is a lovely one that we offer.
And so I appreciate this one being called up here. And then it might go without saying, but where that fits in your routine is your serum step, and so after you've toned, you're putting that one on, and then your oil, and so on and so forth. One more product I want to call out, just because I'm really into it this week: the Antioxidant Lip Balm, and the Lip & Cheek Tint. These two, they have super pretty low price points, especially this one as a makeup product. I think it's like 20, 22. The lip balm is pretty straightforward. It's a cardboard tube. So it's got this kind of push pop thing where you push it up and apply it and then kind of push it back down. I have just the lip balm on right now and it has been so good for me this summer. It's just like a natural sheen without looking too glossy, without looking too waxy. Obviously the blend is incredibly clean and so something right along your mouth that feels really good.
The tint, this is a fairly new product and I apologize mine is used so it looks like it's got this kind of brown look to it, but it actually applies really like rosy. I'll put it on my cheeks here. Blend it in. I have been keeping this in my bag because it's just like a quick, fresh pick me up. It's really nice. And of course lip color. And what I also like about this one is it builds up really nicely. I'm gonna go really light, cause I don't need to have a ton on, but. It's just a really natural ruby and I feel like I appreciate the opportunity to show it on camera because online it just looks so brown. It looks really dark but it actually is nice and ruby and with that kind of ruby tone it goes for a lot of different skin types like pretty, or skin tones pretty nicely there. Perfect. Well, if you feel like your questions have been answered, if you feel like you're good to go, you are free to hop off
Grace – Annmarie Skin Care Marketing Assistant: What does the serum do that the facial oil doesn't?
Kate – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: So, our facial serums, this kind of swings back to what we were hitting briefly, like, A little bit earlier in the call where the serums are supporting your hydration and hydration is the level of water that is in the lower layer of the skin. The oils are supporting your moisture. And your moisture is speaking to the fatty consistency of the upper layer of the skin. The syrups also tend to be a little bit more focused on working to address a specific issue. Because of their design, because of where they go within the skin and then generally speaking for serums, tend to use ingredients that are working to kind of hit home, whether that's working to brighten the skin with ingredients like uva root, whether that's working to resurface the skin, like we're seeing with the BioActive A definitely to plump the skin, a lot of plumpers which can help with the hydration, hyaluronic acid, tremella mushroom, those types of ingredients. So in short serum, it's like hydration and like targeted treatment. The oil is working to support the appropriate level of the fatty layer of the skin. So your skin actually has what's called an acid mantle, and the acid mantle is your oil layer. Everyone's skin has it. Your skin would absolutely just flake off if you didn't have any. Some can be quite a bit, like, drier, right? And then some can be pretty either overproducing or just sufficient. And that what we would call that dry if you're lacking and then like oily on the other end of the spectrum if you're overproducing oil for your acid mantle and so choosing a facial oil that helps to kind of support that adequately,
Not going too far if you're on the more oily or normal oily and then definitely making sure that you're getting enough. oil or oil support if you are oily. So like our Anti-Aging Facial Oil and Rejuvenating Facial Oil, both of those start with a jojoba. And jojoba takes on this kind of cool quality because it mimics skin's natural oil, both in size and weight and all of that really closely. So if you are somebody who's on the lacking end, your skin just isn't really, it's just dry. You're feeling like you don't have enough of this, like Glowy radiance, this fatty layer for the skin, the jojoba based ones are really supportive for skins, skin types like yours.
Perfect. And then I see a follow up question. So the serum, Target certain areas. I would say more than certain areas that target certain concerns. and also the suspension of the ingredients right is in this. It's supported a little bit better in the aloe vera base versus the oil. So, ingredients like stem cells, for example, stem cells are the ingredients that help to kind of maintain the strength and lift of the skin. they need to get into the lower layers of the skin because how they work is that your skin mimics their behavior, right? So as they're in the lower layers, your skin kind of takes on their quality, and then as they come up to the surface, which is the visible layer of the skin, then you're able to see the effect of that, see the experience of that. If we included stem cells in an oil, I don't know that it would penetrate deeply enough for it to be like a really adequately supported use. Of stem cells and likewise with Uber or C. So Uber or C licorice root like these targeted skin brighteners when we include them in a serum, they're able to penetrate deeper and work on a lower layer of the skin, which is super important with anything that's got melanin active, right?
A sunspot, a dark spot, melasma, something like that. The capacity to really penetrate to work with that melanin with that darkened area in the lower layers is something that couldn't quite be met if we were just working on kind of adequately moisturizing the upper layers. And so you don't want to put the oils down either because the oils are an important part of the equation. If you just use a serum, usually your skin still feels dry. Even for a skin type like mine, that's fairly normal, normal to dry, I'm on the dry side. If I just use a serum, my skin feels so, I just feel like I'm lacking that kind of like, Soft movement that comes with an adequately supported moisturized layer of the skin.
So they are both important and also the anti aging is working to support signs of aging just working to support on the upper layers of the skin. So like with the Anti-Aging Facial Oil. That one has the jojoba, it's got the broccoli seeds, it's got the chia seed, all of these are working to kind of strengthen the skin on this angle here just, just to kind of round out the routine.
Kate – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: What other questions? Any other questions?
Okay. Well, then I'm going to go ahead and close this out. You've got our customer support email. So if you do need anything from us, just holler. We're happy to help. But otherwise, you guys have a great rest of your Tuesday. Have a happy 4th. Stay safe. Enjoy your summer. And hopefully we'll hear from you soon.
Thanks everyone. Thanks for joining.
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