Summarized from a consultation originally recorded on August 28th, 2024.
Annmarie Skin Care Skin Consultations are FREE, virtual group sessions, hosted live by our in-house skin experts, to provide personalized recommendations and directly answer any skin care related questions. Learn more about our skin consultations.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: And then from there we can jump into the line. So we have a basic four step routine that is kind of our general recommendation to do both morning and evening. And that routine is cleanse, tone, use a serum, and then a moisturizer. Which as of now, all of our facial moisturizers are oils. So cleanse, tone, serum, oil.
And I like to tell people that's just kind of the general recommendation. It's nice to really customize things, kind of try different things out and find what works best for your skin, what works best for your lifestyle. Maybe you are somebody right now who has no skin care routine. And so maybe it doesn't feel realistic to jump into a six step routine that's going to take you 30 minutes morning and night. And that's totally fine too. I would say kind of the most basic routine that you would want to start with, or the most pared down routine you would want to have would be just a cleanser and a facial oil, and then you could kind of build and add things in from there.
So whether your routine has 10 steps or two steps, you would start with cleansing. So we'll start with our cleansers. So cleansing is just, you know, the process of removing dirt and impurities and makeup from the skin. A thorough cleanse is going to help to really prep the skin. So that it can better absorb the treatment products that you're applying afterwards.
We have four different cleansers in the line. The Aloe Herb Cleanser, I just realized I left in my shower. The Citrus Mint Cleanser. Then we have the Phytonutrient Cleanser and the Restorative Cleansing Oil.
And then within our line we have a few different collections as well. So the two main collections that we have, which is kind of what we'll focus on today, are the Signature Collection. So all of the Signature Collection products have this tan labeling. And these products, a lot of these products are our best selling products. A lot of them are products that have been around since we first got started.
And then the other main collection that we have is the Wild Alchemy Collection. And all of those products have the black and gold labeling. Our Wild Alchemy Collection is our luxury line. And what makes it our luxury line is just…oh, you know what I just realized? I forgot to talk about our process. Sorry, we'll jump back to that in a minute.
Our Wild Alchemy Collection, what makes it our luxury line is just that the products in this collection contain higher levels of activated ingredients so things like our bioactive A-Complex and our THDA, which is our pure vitamin C. And then they also contain more exotic ingredients that are sourced from all over. So things like baobab oil and mongongo oil. So these really unique, exotic ingredients. And then also the crafting process. The way that the products in this collection are made is usually just a little bit more laborious.
So those are the two main collections. We do have some other smaller collections like our Essentials Collection, the Essentials Collection is just two products. It is our Renew Facial 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 the way that they're made. So they don't contain our herb infusions, those products. And then also they're just really simple formulas. The crafting process is really simple. But they're still great products.
And then lastly, the Estate Blend Collection. This is another collection. I know it's already probably getting confusing. The Estate Blend Collection right now, the only product in that collection is the Divine Woman Elixir. So this collection, it's all limited edition products and kind of what sets it apart from any of our other collections is that the herbs that are used in these products are grown on Moss Creek Farm, which is Kevin and Annmarie’s farmlet on their property. So they're growing the herbs themselves that are being used in these products. And we just launched our new Divine Woman Elixir. And it's fantastic. I'm obsessed with it. You might have heard Grace and I at the beginning of the call saying we were going to just bathe ourselves in it.
Okay. And then I do want to jump back really quickly just because I forgot when we were talking about what sets us apart to talk about our process, which is a pretty big thing that sets us apart. So I do want to jump back really quick. We use a 3 step, proprietary Energized Botanical Infusion Process to create our products. The first step is curate. So we are hand selecting organic and wildcrafted herbs and ingredients. We then infuse these ingredients into organic aloe vera and skin nutritive oils at a low heat, never above 95 degrees. So that's going to help to preserve all of the nutrients of the plant material and the herbs that we're using. So that we're not cooking them. And then we let those infusions steep for up to 30 days. We energize the infusions with crystals. So there's a lot of focus and intention on the energy that's surrounding the products as they're being made. And then to those infusions, we're adding antioxidant rich botanicals and plant stem cells and CO2 extracts and all of these things that are delivering skin benefits.
So I did want to just jump back to that really quickly.
I see a question.
Customer: I use a really simple cleanser and I never understood the value of, you know, a more elaborate, more expensive cleanser. I use just a simple gel cleanser. To put it, you know, boldly, I almost feel like why would I use an expensive product or why would I use valuable herbs when I'm just cleansing my skin?
Emily Haupt Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah, I mean that is a valid point and I would say that your cleanser obviously is the product that is spending the least amount of time on your skin so maybe that's your choice. Maybe you don't want to invest in an expensive cleanser. Maybe you want to invest in a serum that's more expensive because your serum is going to be staying on your skin. It's sitting closest to your skin. It's also made up of a smaller molecule so those activated ingredients that are in there are penetrating more deeply.
So you absolutely can choose that. You know, I do always tell people, like, say, especially with our Phytonutrient Cleanser, this is our most luxe, most rich cleanser. It contains the most activated ingredients of any of our cleansers. So I do really encourage people when they're using this to really take their time as they cleanse. Thoroughly massage it into the skin. Let it be on the skin for a few minutes before you're just rinsing it down the drain. So I do think that can be helpful, but I agree, if you're picking and choosing where you want to really invest, then yes, maybe the cleanser is not the best product to invest in because it's not on your skin the longest.
So maybe, I mean, in the past I've used coconut oil to remove my makeup, or I'm a big fan of honey cleansing. I'll cleanse with Manuka honey sometimes. I mean, obviously I do use and love our cleansers. And that is my recommendation always is to thoroughly cleanse your skin. Let it be on the skin for a bit before you're rinsing it off. But that is a valid point.
Good question. Any other questions about cleansers? We haven't even really got to them yet. Sorry.
Okay. So back to cleansers. The first one that we'll talk about is our Aloe Herb Cleanser. This one is in the Signature Collection. This is our best selling cleanser. It's very popular. People love this one. If you ever have tried one of our starter kits or our trial kits, you've probably tried it. It's a great one for all skin types. So I tell people, if you feel confused, if you're overwhelmed, if you're not sure where to start, this can be a good choice. Because you really just can't go wrong with it.
The Aloe Herb Cleanser, it's a cream cleanser. It's got some coconut oil in there that's contributing to that creaminess. All of our cleansers are pH balanced. It's a pH balanced cleanser. Which is something I always like to touch on because I do think that it's important. A pH balanced cleanser is going to ensure that you're not stripping your skin. You're not drying out your skin. You're not disrupting your skin's natural protective barrier, your acid mantle. Also a lot of conventional cleansers that have high foaming properties tend to use harsh sulfates like lauryl sulfates that tend to be more alkaline. We don't use any harsh sulfates or surfactants in our cleansers.
We use a sodium lauryl glucose carboxylate as our surfactant which is a safe, low foaming surfactant. So that could be kind of something that you think about too, as, you know, maybe you don't want to invest in an expensive cleanser, but if you're just going to go to the drugstore and choose a cleanser, maybe you do want to check that it's something that is pH balanced, so you're not disrupting your skin's acid mantle at all. It could be something that you look for.
All of our cleansers, it's actually printed on the packaging, the pH is a 5. 5 to 5. 6. Your skin's pH is about a 4. 5 to a 5. 5 on the pH scale. But so the Aloe Herb Cleanser, it's pH balanced. It's of course an aloe vera based. We use aloe in a lot of our products. It's rich in vitamins and minerals and phytonutrients and enzymes. Aloe contains some naturally occurring saponins that act as mild cleansing agents on the skin. What else? That one has lemon essential oil in it. So purifying, and helping to brighten the look of skin. It gives it a really nice citrusy scent that people love. I think that's part of why that one's so popular. And then some calendula as well, which is a really soothing and calming ingredient. So that is the Aloe Herb.
The other one in the Signature Collection is the Citrus Mint which I won't go into too much cause it doesn't sound like that is a need for anybody in this group based on your surveys. But this is our purifying gel cleanser. It's for more oily skin types or if you're concerned with congestion or breakouts or anything like that.
And then in the Wild Alchemy Collection, like I said, we've got two. And as I already mentioned, the Phytonutrient Cleanser. This is our most rich cleanser, our most lux cleanser, our most activated cleanser. It's a cream cleanser similar to the Aloe Herb but it's got almost like a little bit fattier, thicker texture than the Aloe Herb Cleanser. It does have that coconut oil in it, but it's also got a mango seed butter that gives it that really rich texture. This one, let's see, it's got some acai in there, giving it an antioxidant component. It's got our signature serum blend, and then this one has some apple extract in it, so the apple extract is rich in vitamin C and malic acid, which is great to help brighten the look of skin. So if dark spots and pigmentation are a concern, this is a good choice.
And then the other one in the Wild Alchemy Collection is the Restorative Cleansing Oil. So this one is a little bit different. All of the other ones are, you use them like you would a traditional cleanser, you know, so you dampen your skin, massage your cleanser into your skin, rinse it clean. This one is an oil, so you apply it to dry skin with dry hands. Really massage it in and then you can just rinse it and that can be it. You can also use it as the first step in a double cleanse routine. So massage it in, rinse it off and then follow with a second cleanser, whichever one you like. That can be an option. A lot of people like to remove this with a warm towel. This one is great for all skin types as well. So for dry and mature skin, it feels very nourishing, it actually leaves a bit of an oil on the skin, especially if you're using it on its own and just rinsing it to remove. This one actually can be great too for congestion prone skin, which does not seem like a concern for the group but it's great for that as well, because like attracts like so that oil is helping to bind to oil based impurities on the skin to remove them. This one, it's a jojoba oil base. So jojoba very closely resembles the texture of your skin's natural sebum. As a company, we recommend jojoba for dry and mature skin types. I personally love jojoba for anybody and everybody. This one also has castor oil in it. This one has some tea tree oil, which is going to be purifying. This one has manuka oil. I'm jojoba obsessed. I'm also manuka obsessed. Manuka is very deep cleansing and calming. So this is a great one. I am a big fan of oil cleansing. I love this one.
So those are the cleansers. So any other cleanser questions?
No? Okay. So the next step in your routine after cleansing would be your toner. We have three different toning mists in the line. The Neroli Toning Mist, the Rosemary Toning Mist, and the Botanical Hydration Mist With Immortelle. Your toning mist is just going to help to complete the cleansing process. It's going to offer a dose of hydration and skin supporting nutrients. None of our toners are, you know, astringent or harsh or stripping at all on the skin. The Neroli Toning Mist. This one is in our Signature Collection. This is very popular. People love this one. This one's great for all skin types especially normal, dry, mature, maybe even a little bit of sensitivity. It's a very simple formula. It's the aloe vera juice. And then it's got the Neroli in it. So Neroli is derived from fresh orange blossoms, so it gives it a really lovely scent. I think, again, part of why this one's so popular, kind of like our Aloe Herb Cleanser, people love the way it smells. And then this one's also got some aspen bark extract in there, which helps to act as a natural preservative. It's also a natural source of salicins.
The Rosemary Toning Mist. Again, I don't think this one would be the choice probably for anybody in this group. I actually love this one, but the Rosemary Toning Mist is a more purifying mist. So good for normal, combination, and oily skin types or again, congestion prone skin. Again, a very simple formula, the aloe vera juice base, the rosemary, white willow bark, white willow bark is also a natural source of salicins, and then the Botanical Hydration Mist With Immortelle. This one is in the Wild Alchemy Collection. It's a larger size too, I usually just like to show it's twice the size as these. This one, the others are that aloe vera juice base. This one is actually a hydrosol. So a hydrosol is like this watery runoff that you get when you create an essential oil through a steam distillation. So it gives it kind of this really like, soft almost buttery texture. And this one it's good for all skin types. It's especially great for mature skin or for sensitive skin. This one has a blend of four different types of chamomile in it, so it's very soothing. It's also got some rose in it, which is soothing and nurturing. This one has the immortelle or the life everlasting flowers which are a potent antioxidant. It's also got frankincense in it, which is known to tone, tighten and rejuvenate. So again, I feel like this one kind of has the most like, anti aging properties, and then is also very soothing. The scent profile is very different than the other two.
The neroli, like I said, is derived from fresh orange blossoms, so it has that kind of sweet, citrusy scent. And then the Botanical, this one's more of an herbal scent with the frankincense and the Helichrysum in there. So if you're a scent person, that might be helpful to know. And to use your toning mist, after you cleanse, you're going to rinse clean, mist your toning mist over your face and neck. You can mist your toning mist throughout the day. Just if you want a little boost of hydration, pick me up. I'm kind of obsessed with toning mist. Can’t live without it. But it is one of those steps that some people do skip over and that's totally fine, but it can be really beneficial for helping with absorption of your serums and oils.
So I believe our packaging on all of the toning mist says to mist, let it dry and then apply your serum and oil. I actually don't really agree with that recommendation. I would mist your toning mist and then while your skin is still damp. I would then apply your facial serum and your oil. And that again, like I said, it just helps those products to be absorbed better so that they don't ever feel like they're just sitting on the skin. They're being absorbed really nicely.
Okay. So questions about toning or toning mists? They're kind of straightforward.
So the next step in your routine would be your serum. We have several different serums. I feel like serums and oils are where things can start to get a little bit confusing just because we do have a lot of them. But let's see here, trying to find all of my serums. So serums in general, I kind of touched on this a little bit already but serums are made up of a smaller molecule than a facial oil, so they're able to penetrate more deeply. They are sitting closest to your skin because you apply your serum before you apply your facial oil. They are excellent hydrators in general. There's the difference between dehydrated skin, which is skin that's lacking water, and then dry skin, which is skin that's lacking oil. Most people have a little bit of both. They have a little bit of dehydration and a little bit of dryness. So the combination of using hydrating products and moisturizing products helps to just achieve balance in your skin. So your hydrators are your toning mist and your serum, and then your moisturizer is your facial oil.
So serums are excellent hydrators. They usually are concentrated, so they contain high levels of activated ingredients. And they kind of allow you to customize your routine to really target and treat what your specific skin concerns are.
In our Signature Collection, we have our Anti-Aging Serum. This is the one we'll start with. This is our best selling serum, probably our best selling product. People love this one. Again, if you've ever gotten a starter kit or a trial kit, you've probably tried it. This one is good for all skin types. I like to refer to this one as just like a daily dose of overall skin nutrition. It's very antioxidant rich. It's got life everlasting flowers. It's got some rose in there, so it's soothing and nurturing. And then this one also has hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid, we use a plant based, non GMO, vegetable sourced, hyaluronic acid. And hyaluronic is a humectant that binds water to the skin. Hyaluronic in particular holds 1,000 times its weight in water. So it's considered a super hydrator, so it's going to really help to deeply hydrate the skin, which is going to kind of have a plumping effect on the skin. Whereas if your skin is really dehydrated, it's going to kind of emphasize the appearance of fine lines. Hydrating the skin deeply is going to have the opposite effect.
This one, like I said, is very popular, great for all skin types, very hydrating, very antioxidant rich. This one, the scent profile, I feel like it's more vetiver heavy, maybe a little bit floral.
The Probiotic Serum With Tremella, this one is also in our Signature Collection. This one, again, is good for all skin types, but this one is especially good for sensitive skin or skin that is kind of out of balance. This one contains a probiotic ferment that can help to eliminate impurities on the surface of the skin and can help to balance the skin's pH. It also contains, of course, tremella mushroom extract, which acts similar to hyaluronic acid, very deeply hydrating the skin. And then this one has olive leaf extract in there. It's got astaxanthin, which is a really powerful antioxidant. This one's scent profile. Some people don't like the way this one smells. If you have a strong aversion to mushrooms, you might not want to choose this one. I personally like the way it smells. Some people say it smells like dirt. I say it smells earthy. But that's the probiotic.
And then the last one in the Signature Collection is the Citrus Stem Cell Serum which I don't have that one here, but that one again, good for all skin types, but it's especially good for skin that has had a lot of exposure to the elements and sun exposure. It can be good for thicker textured skin, that almost like a leathery kind of skin. And there's kind of two components to that one. There's the citrus derived stem cells. So we use plant stem cells in a lot of our products. You'll find stem cells in a lot of skin care products out there.Sometimes they are derived from animals. Sometimes they're derived from humans. We use plant derived stem cells in all of our products. And these stem cells are going to provide the skin with proteins and peptides and amino acids. that help to really strengthen the skin. So there's the citrus dried stem cells in this one.
And then the other kind of side of this serum is the brightening component. This one contains a trio of amla berry, which is very rich in vitamin C, licorice root and Uva Ursi. Which are both lightening and brightening ingredients. Licorice root, you'll find that a lot of times in natural products as an alternative to using hydroquinone, which you'll find in a lot of conventional skin care products made to lighten and brighten. But it's kind of a yucky ingredient that's banned pretty much everywhere but the U.S. So that is the Citrus Stem Cell.
And those are the three that are in the Signature Collection.
And then in the Wild Alchemy Collection, we have a few as well.
We'll talk about the Wild Fruit Serum first. I just have this little guy here. This is like a little travel size of this one, but the Wild Fruit Serum I love. I don’t know why I just have the little one. I think because I have so many I've been trying to use up other ones. The Wild Fruit Serum this one is a very all encompassing serum. I like to call it our do it all serum, so it's great for brightening the look of skin. It's anti-aging. It’s hydrating, it's got the hyaluronic acid in it as well. This one has got Madonna lily plant cells in it. So we talked about those plant cells. This one has the Madonna lily plant cells. And it's got a really dense infusion of those plant cells. So there's about 1. 5 million active plant stem cells in each bottle of the Wild Fruit Serum, the full size bottle, not the travel size bottle. So a really dense infusion of those. This one also has a copper infused water. It's great for all skin types. This one has knotweed extract, which is really rich in resveratrol. It's got apple extract, so the same apple extract that's in the Phytonutrient Cleanser, rich in vitamin C and malic acid. It's got kakadu plum. Kakadu plum is another really potent source of vitamin C to help with brightening the look of skin. And then also kakadu plum contains phenolic acid. Phenolic acid behaves on the skin similar to an alpha hydroxy acid. Alpha hydroxy acids, they kind of dissolve the glue that holds the top layer of skin cells, so they have an exfoliating effect on the skin. So for me that's something that really sets this one apart.
And this one, the scent profile, of course, is more fruity.
And then I might skip over the Activated CBD Serum unless anybody would like me to talk about it. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. But I don't think I will just try not to overwhelm people because there's so many.
Customer: Emily, I have a quick question. So I am using both the Wild Fruit Serum and the CBD serum in the morning at the end of my morning routine. And I use the Activated Night Serum at night. Am I losing the benefit of one or the other by alternating them? Would it be better to stick to just one?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: No, not at all. I think a lot of our customers actually do that because we do have so many serum options it can be hard to choose just one. And what you are doing is our recommendation, alternating them vs mixing them together. You are just getting the benefits from all of the serums that you are using in your routine, so I think that is perfect. And those products are all excellent ones.
Customer: Okay.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Let’s move into the Activated Night Serum.
So the Activated Night Serum is our most recent serum launch. And it's fantastic. This one is only to be used at night, as the name suggests. So you would alternate it. You would choose a different serum to use in the morning, Wild Fruit, Anti-Aging, whatever you like. And then you would use this in the evening. This one contains our bioactive A-Complex, which is our alternative to using a retinol.
So retinols, you've probably heard of, are kind of the gold standard in anti-aging. But often they are not great for your health. They can be harmful to reproductive health. For skin health, they can thin the skin. Especially if you are using it over an extended period of time. Which really is not what we want. As we age, we don't want to thin the skin, we want to support our natural skin's barrier to create really healthy, resilient skin. So that's why we wanted to come out with this product because we wanted something that would offer the benefits of a retinol without any of those kinds of negative side effects.
Also if you are somebody who tends to be a little bit more sensitive, it can be hard to incorporate a retinol because they can cause some irritation. So the bioactive A-Complex that we use offers similar benefits, that resurfacing, renewing effect that it has on the skin, but without any of those side effects. So it's a completely safe ingredient. It's a Made Safe approved ingredient. It is actually derived from algae. And even those with really sensitive skin can use it. Grace has extremely sensitive skin and she still is able to use this serum. She uses it, I believe every other night, not every single night, but she's still able to use it without any issue.
We've paired the bioactive A-Complex with a lot of really soothing and calming ingredients. So there's lavender and there's blue chamomile in this one. So it's a really nice balance of like the activated ingredient with those soothing ingredients as well. It's kind of got a little bit thicker, richer texture than some of our other serums. So it does feel very hydrating on the skin. And it smells lovely. So this one is excellent. A really great choice if signs of aging are a main concern of yours, dark spots, even congestion.
So questions about serums?
No? You all are a quiet group. Okay, what about elixirs? How do we feel about elixirs? Do we want to talk about elixirs or do we want to move on because we're overwhelmed?
Yes. Ok, perfect. The Concentrated Boosting Elixirs come in this set of three. They come with the Hydrate, the Brighten, and the Revitalize. The way that you use these, they are never to be used directly on the skin. You always want to mix them. So ideally, you would mix with a serum. If for some reason you're not using a serum, then you could mix with a facial oil. You also can play around if you want to with mixing with a mask or something like that, but we recommend the serum the most just because like we talked about, it's the smaller molecule and it's sitting closest to the skin. So you're getting these activated ingredients deep into the skin. So these are not a necessary product.
A lot of times people are like, do I need to get the elixirs? You don't really need the elixirs. They're just kind of a fun, unique extra product that allows you to really boost the level of activated ingredients in your routine. They also allow you to really customize your routine a little bit more. The three that are in the set, like I said, the Hydrate, this one is a pure hyaluronic acid with vegan collagen pre peptides. So we already talked about hyaluronic acid, really deeply hydrating, plumping the skin. The vegan collagen prepeptides are strengthening the skin. The Brighten is a pure vitamin C with sea buckthorn. So this one, vitamin C of course is great for brightening the look of skin. The vitamin C that we use in this, it's a tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate or THDA which is a mouthful. But the reason that we've chosen that particular form of vitamin C is because it's a very stable form of vitamin C. There's lots of different types of vitamin C out there. And so a lot of times if you go purchase a vitamin C product, you open it. If the vitamin C that they use is not a stable form of vitamin C it will go rancid really quickly. And then it's not effective. So that's part of why we chose this type of vitamin C, the THDA. We also chose it because it's a very non-irritating form of vitamin C.
Some vitamin C products can be very irritating. So it's harder for people that have more sensitive skin to incorporate those products. This one has a pH of seven. Which is the same pH as water, so very non irritating. And then we've paired it with the sea buckthorn. So that's the Brighten Elixir.
And then the Revitalize, this one is the Bioactive A-Complex. So it's the exact same activated ingredient that's in the Activated Night Serum, paired with astaxanthin, which is that powerful antioxidant that I mentioned. It's also what gives flamingos their pink color, fun fact. But that is the Revitalize. And to use these, like I said, you mix them. So you would pump your serum into your hand and then you would drop your elixir in with your serum. So it comes with this little dropper top and you would drop about three drops and then mix it up and then apply it to the skin. You can kind of play around with them. You can mix and match. So you could do just three drops of Hydrate or maybe you want to do one drop of Hydrate and two drops of Brighten or something like that. So you can kind of mix and match, play around with them. We do recommend that the Revitalize you only use at night and always with an SPF during the day. And then the other thing is you wouldn't really mix the Revitalize and the Brighten together in the same application, you would do one in the morning, one at night. But you can mix the Hydrate with any of them. And so, yeah, they're just kind of a fun extra product. They're really unique. Like I said, I've worked with a lot of different skin care lines and I don't feel like I have come across a line that had something similar. So they're kind of just a fun extra product, especially if you're somebody who, you know, has a more extensive skin care routine and you're looking to really boost the level of activated ingredients in your routine. For the most part, more activated ingredients just means more results more quickly. So those are the elixirs. Any questions about the elixirs?
No? Ok. So then the next step in your routine would be your facial oil. And again, we have several different facial oils. So like I said, right now, all of our facial moisturizers are oils. We've chosen oils because oils are more pure. They don't require any fillers or waxes to be used. They are easily absorbed by the skin. Your skin's natural form of moisture is oil, so they're easily absorbed by the skin. What else with oils? A lot of times if you go to a drugstore or something and you pick up a moisturizer, like a lotion or a cream, if you check the ingredients, oftentimes one of the first ingredients is water. So that's not great because usually ingredients are listed by level of concentration. So you don't really want water to be the most concentrated ingredient. You want the activated ingredients to be kind of higher up on the list. And then also if a product includes water they have to include more preservatives in it because bacteria can grow more quickly. So when you're using pure oils, you don't have that issue. It can be a little bit difficult or take a little time to get used to using an oil as a moisturizer if you are used to using creams and lotions. My recommendation is always to make sure you're applying to skin when it's damp from your toning mist. And make sure you're not overusing—you don't need very much. They're pretty concentrated. I personally use way too much oil, but you really don't need a lot. I really like to massage my oil into the skin. So I tend to use a lot. And then you also can mist your toning mist after you apply your facial oil If you wanted to. You don't need to do that, but sometimes this will help to kind of dilute that oil just a little bit further, so that it never feels heavy or greasy on the skin.
So, the first ones that we'll talk about are the herbal facial oils. In our Signature Collection, we have three herbal facial oils. And these, I tend to not go into too deeply because they're kind of self explanatory because they are named for the skin type they're designed for.
We have the Herbal Facial Oil for Oily Skin, the Herbal Facial Oil for Normal and Combination Skin, and the Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin. All three of these are a grapeseed oil base. So grapeseed oil is a very light textured, skin balancing oil. And then they just have an herb blend that's tailored to the skin type they are designed for.
So the Herbal Facial Oil for Oily Skin, this contains a purifying herb blend. It's got black cumin seed and neem in there. The Herbal Facial Oil for Normal Combo is a balancing facial oil. It's got echinacea, it's got Tamanu. And then the Herbal Facial Oil for Sensitive Skin, I don't have that one here with me but that one has no added essential oils, so it makes it a good choice for sensitive skin. It's got a bunch of omega rich oils like sacha inchi oil and Camellia Seed oil in that one.
And yes, to answer the question in the chat, oils are definitely okay for combination skin. Really for any skin type, I struggled a lot in the past with congested skin and I used to be very much anti-oil, oil free everything, oil could not touch my face. And then as I learned more, I realized that it was actually kind of having the opposite effect because your skin thinks, oh, I'm really dry. I'm really dehydrated. I should overproduce all of this oil. So as long as you're using the right oils, non-comedogenic oils, and oils that are suited to your skin type then it's not going to be an issue. It's not going to cause congestion or breakouts or anything like that. You could definitely choose a lighter oil if you wanted to like the Herbal Facial Oil for Oily Skin or the Herbal Facial Oil for Normal Combination Skin if that is a concern of yours. And again, you don’t need to use a ton of it when applying. But I still would consider myself more congestion prone and I use all of our oils, even our more rich oils and don't have a problem with it. Like I mentioned earlier, jojoba oil is kind of our recommendation for dry and mature skin, but I personally think jojoba is a great choice for anybody. When I was really struggling with my skin, I found that jojoba was something that was often recommended because it does really closely resemble the texture of your skin's natural sebum. So even the Divine Woman and the Rejuvenating and the Anti-Aging that are, are that jojoba oil base probably would even be alright If you have more combination skin. Sorry, that was a very lengthy answer to that question. Hopefully that made sense and answered your question.
Okay. And then the last one in our Signature Collection is the Anti-Aging Facial Oil. This one's very popular. This is another one of our best-selling products. This is the Jojoba oil base. This is a very nourishing, restorative. It's a restorative facial oil for dry and mature skin types. It's got a really dense infusion in the herb infusion. This one has a bunch of different seed oils in it. It's got chia seed oil, which is rich in vitamin B and zinc. It's got broccoli seed oil, carrot seed oil. So again, just a really nourishing, restorative facial moisturizer for dry and mature skin. And this one has that more kind of floral scent profile. To me, it smells kind of strong. I personally like the lighter scents. I'm a scent girl. But anyway, so those are the facial oils in the Signature Collection.
And then in the Wild Alchemy Collection, there's just one facial oil. It's the Rejuvenating Facial Oil, this one here. And this one is good for all skin types, I would say, except for very sensitive skin. Like this one doesn't work well for Grace, who is really sensitive. This one is our most potent, our most active facial oil. So the reason for that is the way that it's made. Our other facial oils, like I was saying, contain a bunch of different herbs in the herb infusion. Like probably 20 different herbs, in the Rejuvenating Facial Oil there's just one herb. It's the butterfly pea flower. And then it contains far fewer of the seed oils and the CO2 extracts. And the reason that we chose to do that was because then we were able to include those fewer ingredients at higher concentrations, at higher percentages. So it makes it more potent, more active. And this one, it's got, like I was saying, all those really exotic oils in it. It's got brightening baobab oil, the antioxidant rich marula oil, this one, it is the jojoba oil base and then it's also got mongongo oil, which is really softening, it leaves your skin feeling very soft. So that is the Rejuvenating.
And then I think that's it for the facial oils. I did mention earlier the Divine Woman. This one is our newest facial oil launch. This one is also the Jojoba oil base. And the scent profile is definitely very light, like a little bit citrusy, but very light citrus. I don't know if that makes sense, but it smells lovely. And it's very nourishing.
Okay. So those are the facial oils questions about facial oils?
No? Okay. So that is your basic four step routine.
And then we still have 30 minutes so we can move into some other products. We can move into some more questions if you guys can think of any that you have. Let's go ahead and just move into exfoliants first because that way we can talk about our Radiant C.
So exfoliants and exfoliation is key in a skin care routine. You kind of want to be careful with exfoliation because you don't want to overdo it. You don't want to over exfoliate and cause any irritation or inflammation in the skin, but also you want to incorporate some type of exfoliation. If you're not exfoliating, oftentimes you'll get kind of this layer of like buildup on the skin and then your treatment products aren't able to penetrate to really work effectively. A lot of times people will say, oh, I'm really dry and I'm using all of these really moisturizing products. Why do I still feel dry? Often I'll recommend that they incorporate some type of exfoliation if they're not already because they might have that layer of buildup that's preventing those products from really penetrating and working effectively.
So we have a few different exfoliants in the line. The first one that we'll talk about is the Radiant C Mask & Polish. So this one is our newest product launch in the scrub and exfoliant category. It is in our Wild Alchemy Collection. It's fantastic. I just used it before our call. This one, I love this because it's a multitasking product and I love a multitasking product. So it's a mask and an exfoliant. It's a powder. It's a dry powder. I don't know if you can see it, but the way that you use it, you just shake a little bit of it into your hand. It's this really pretty fuchsia color from the hibiscus that's in it. I feel like it wins the award for the most beautiful product.
So it's a dry powder and you can just mix it with water. So shake it into your hand, mix it with a little bit of water, mix it up into a kind of a paste consistency. You can kind of play around with the consistency, like add more water if you want it to be thinner, or add more of the powder if you want it to be thicker. And then you can just massage it into the skin and then rinse it clean. You would do that after you cleanse. You can also just mix it right in with your cleanser, which I love. It saves a step. It mixes very nicely with the cream cleansers, the Aloe Herb Cleanser or the Phytonutrient Cleanser.
You can use this as a mask. You can just apply it and leave it on the skin for like 15 minutes. And if you are using it as a mask, you can mix it with water. You can mix it with yogurt. You can mix it with honey. You could mix it with our pearl mask. It mixes really nicely with our Illuminating Pearl Mask. And again, just leave it on for about 10 or 15 minutes. You could leave it on longer if you wanted to, and then rinse to remove. This one's good for all skin types. I think on our website, it says it's not good for sensitive skin, but Grace uses it and loves it and she has very sensitive skin. So I'd say it's probably good for all skin types and you could use it two or three times a week, probably for most people.
It is a dry powder, so you don't really want to keep it in your shower or anything. But like I said, it's multitasking in the way that you use it. It also is multitasking because it's both a physical exfoliant and a chemical exfoliant in one, which I love. So a physical exfoliant is going to have like that scrubby, gritty texture that's physically polishing the skin and then a chemical exfoliant contains an enzyme or an acid to have an exfoliating effect. In this product the physical exfoliant is the bamboo stem powder, which is pretty fine, pretty gentle. And then you have the chemical exfoliating component from the fruit acids. It's got lemon peel powder, strawberry, acerola cherry, etc. It’s fantastic, I love it. Everyone should try it!
I guess we'll go ahead and touch on our other exfoliants really quickly since we're kind of already in that category. The Ayurvedic Facial Scrub, this one is a dry powder as well, so similar to the Radiant C. And this one's really good for very sensitive skin types. It's a dry herbal exfoliant. Again, it can be mixed with water. You can mix it with a cleanser if you want. It’s very, very gentle.
The Kaolin Micro Exfoliant. This one is very popular. People love this one. I find that I use this one a lot just because of the convenience factor because it's easy to just keep it in your shower and use it while you're showering. This one is again, a physical exfoliant. The exfoliating property in this one is the bamboo stem powder. So the same as what's in the Radiant C. So it's fairly gentle. If you want it to be more gentle, you could mix with a cleanser. It mixes really nicely with the Aloe Herb Cleanser because it’s got lavender in it, so then it's a really lovely lemon lavender scent. This one also has kaolin clay in it. So any kind of clay is going to be very mineral rich, very purifying. This one you would use two or three times a week for most people.
And then lastly, the Resurfacing Facial Exfoliant. This one's kind of like a mini peel almost. This is our chemical exfoliant. It's like I said, a smooth gel texture. You use it like you would a mask. You just would apply it to clean skin after you cleanse, leave it on to start for only two or three minutes. It can feel pretty active for some people. You can work your way up to leaving it on for 10 minutes if you want to and then just rinse to remove. You want to make sure you remove it thoroughly. You want to use this one in the evening and with an SPF during the day.
So those are the exfoliants. Oh, and the exfoliating property in this one, it's a honey derived lactic acid. So lactic acid is a very mild alpha hydroxy acid. So that's the exfoliating property in the Resurfacing exfoliant. Do you guys have any questions about exfoliants?
Okay, let's see then. Let's touch on the eye products really quickly because I know somebody on their survey did mention under eye circles as a concern. So we have two eye products. They're the Anti-Aging Eye Cream and the Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum. They're both excellent. I tend to recommend that if you're going to choose one or the other. I really like the eye cream. For me, my eye area just always feels very dry. And this feels very nourishing. The Anti-Aging Eye Cream, it's got damas Rose plant cells. It's got cucumber extract in there. So cucumber, of course, is rich in silica and it's really cooling. The Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum, this one is more of a true serum consistency.
So it's that thinner consistency, that smaller molecule. For me, the Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum just doesn't feel like enough on its own, because like I was saying, I feel like I'm just dry in that area and so I need more moisture. For some people it might feel like enough, that would just kind of be personal preference. The Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum has sake peptides, and pineapple ceramides that can help to kind of retexturize the under eye area so it can be good for the look of dark circles. Sometimes I tell people that if your main concern is your under eye area, you might want to use these two products together. You can do that in two ways.
You can layer them. You can layer the Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum underneath the Anti-Aging Eye Cream, or you can alternate. You could use one in the morning and the other one at night. So then you're getting the benefits of both.
With the Fruit Ceramide Eye Serum I do always like to tell people you really only need a very small amount of that one. It is very concentrated. And if you use too much, it just doesn't apply nicely. So you only need a very little bit of that one. And for those, the recommendation of course, is just to apply it around the orbital bone.
So those are the eye products. Any questions about the eye products?
Okay. Let's see here. Maybe I'll talk about Sun Love really quickly. I actually don't have the Sun Love with me, but the Sun Love is our everyday sheer sunscreen. I do usually like to touch on that one just because we do have some products that we talked about that we recommend using with sunscreen. So it's our everyday sheer sunscreen. It's an SPF 20. It's a non nano zinc oxide. It's a UVA and UVB, broad spectrum protection. Trying to think of what else, that one's got pumpkin seed oil and buriti fruit oil. So it feels very nourishing. So it can be used on its own if you want, you can use this on its own as your daytime moisturizer or you can layer it over top of a facial oil if you want to. That's just personal preference. But that is the Sun Love.
Customer: You recommend the SPF 20? Like, you think that is enough?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Yeah. So our recommendation is that this is an everyday sheer sunscreen. So I always say that I think that the SPF 20 is sufficient if you are just kind doing your normal daily activities. Like today I dropped off my kids, I am working, running errands, etc. I think that is sufficient. If you are really going to be out in the sun, hiking, biking, beaching, then you definitely want to reapply.
Any other questions about anything?
Customer: I have a quick question. I'm just wondering, I'm 72, so I have more mature skin. Every single thing you describe, I'm like, Oh, I want that. I want that. But what would you recommend for a, you know, a moderately simple routine when I live in the high desert?
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: So dry?
Customer: Yes, it's incredibly dry here.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Okay. Yeah, I mean, like I said, it's hard because we have so much stuff and it can be overwhelming. I think it's fine to start with a really simple routine like I was saying and build on that.
So you would want to do either the Phytonutrient Cleanser or the Aloe Herb Cleanser. The Neroli Toning Mist would probably be a great choice for your toner. Your serum, you could do either the AntiAging Serum or the Wild Fruit Serum. If you wanted to incorporate the Activated Night Serum as well, you could. And then for your facial oil, you could do either the Anti-Aging Facial Oil or the Rejuvenating Facial Oil. And that would be a pretty great routine. And then if you wanted to, again, down the road, you could add in other products, like, maybe you want to add in the eye cream or maybe you want to incorporate some type of exfoliant, you know?
Customer: Okay. Yeah, this sounds fabulous. And I'm also wondering because I already have the sample kit. The citrus, the probiotic, and the anti-aging and I did notice a difference in my skin immediately but because I mix them I’m not sure which I like the most.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Are they gone?
Customer: Nope, I've only been using it for about a week.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Okay, well maybe you want to switch then from alternating to just using one at a time and finishing it. That way you can see better which of the three you like the best.
Emily Haupt – Annmarie Skin Care In-House Esthetician: Also, I feel like you really can't go wrong. All of our products are so rich in antioxidants and have the seed oils and CO2 extracts, etc. All of these things that will nourish your skin. A lot of it is just personal preference.
Good questions. Any other questions, guys?
Okay, well, we'll go ahead and hop off then. I so appreciate you guys hanging out with us and listening to me chat for an hour and a half about skin care. I hope that you learned something and I hope you guys all have a great afternoon.
Want to join us for our next skin consultation? (It's totally free!)
Our team of experts has been on a mission to inspire beauty, health, and wellbeing, and we believe there's no better way to do this than through directly sharing our knowledge and passion for natural skin care.
Join us for a live session with one of our licensed estheticians where we'll explore the power of organic, bioactive ingredients, how they interact with your unique skin type, and how to incorporate them into your routine for optimal benefits. You'll walk away from this consultation feeling empowered to make informed decisions for your skin's health. Our in-house skin experts are eager to answer your questions, dispel myths, and share tailored advice for each participant.
By signing up for our live consultation, you'll not only gain access to the latest insights in organic skin care, but also receive exclusive skin care deals only available to those who attend! We can't wait for you to join our community as we share our love for organic skin care with you!
HOW TO SIGN UP
1. Simply, click the button below to sign up for the day that works best for you and your skin type.
2. Select your desired date and time, and click “Next”
3. Enter your contact information (your name and email), and click “Schedule Event.”
Leave a Reply