My Glass Skin Holy Grails
Dewy, juicy, jell-o skin, whatever you call it: here are the products I use to get it. Plus, surprise: one of you is winning a $300 Sephora gift card!
Hopefully you caught my post this weekend about How to Hydrate Your Skin (get that humidifier going!). Well, as promised, here’s a bonus companion post with some products I’m loving that’ll help you do that. I typically cocktail a bunch of skin care, depending on how my skin is feeling, where I’m going, what I’m doing. Think of it more like an interchangeable menu of options rather than a fixed regimen. Everything mentioned below is linked in an organized way here on the new beauty app, Iris, with links to buy and everything to make it easy (let me know how you like viewing a routine in this format!).
Cleanser + Essence
La Roche Posay Toleriane Gentle Cleanser: My go-to for morning and night. Creamy and gentle enough for sensitive skin. If your skin feels tight after washing, switch from a foaming cleanser to a cream one and see the difference.
Tatcha The Essence: When I don’t use essence, I notice a difference in my skin. This is a great all-purpose one. I typically splash a few layers on.
SK-II Pitera Essence: A lot of people ask if this one is worth it because it is admittedly a splurge. Speaking from personal experience, I do see a difference when I use this versus not. I saturate my skin with essence then lock it in with moisturizer and oil.
Hydrating Serum
Dr. Loretta Intense Replenishing Serum: I was a die-hard hyaluronic acid fan for a while but this glycerin-based serum turned me around. It feels slightly oily in texture and instantly soothes.
Peach & Lily Glass Skin Serum: An all-time favorite with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and peach extract, it’s just a lovely daily serum.
Cosrx Snail Mucin Essence: By now, I hope you’ve all gotten over any ick factor. I also like the Mizon snail but this one by Cosrx is much easier to find and also great.
Vitamin C Serum
Skinceuticals CE Ferulic: At this point, it’s a cliché to mention this one but I’d also feel odd leaving it out!
Matter of Fact Brightening Firming Serum: Has an oily, soothing feel. A wonderful antioxidant C serum.
Barrier-Friendly Moisturizer
Ole Henriksen Strength Trainer: I may have been sleeping on this brand for too long. This has quickly become a favorite.
SkinFix Barrier+: Triple lipids plus peptides. Love this one. So soothing.
Summer Fridays Rich Cushion Cream: A new love. Was super impressed with this rich cream.
Face Oil
RéVive Moisturizing Renewal Oil: At the end of my routine, I always seal all of the hydration in with an occlusive (a face oil, in my case, but others use Vaseline or Aquaphor for slugging). This is my favorite. My skin just loves it.
Ole Henriksen HydraBarrier Oil: I typically try not to recommend the same brand all the time so it’s a big deal that Ole landed on this list twice! I got the oil and the moisturizer at the same time and really loved both.
REN Barrier Support Elixir: A nice blend of vegan, clean oils that are barrier-friendly.
Win a $300 Sephora Gift Card!
As I mentioned above, I put all of these products into a neatly organized ideal morning skin care routine here on the new app Iris, which my friend Jenny just launched (disclosure: I’m an advisor). It’s a new beauty community where you can share authentic product reviews and build routines. You can also click on my profile to see a list of all my top holy grails, other products I’ve reviewed and other things I’m excited to try. This week, I teamed up with Iris to give one reader a $300 Sephora gift card and two runners-up will get $100 gift cards, just in time for Sephora’s HUGE sitewide sale which starts on Oct 27 (hello, 20% off for Rouge members!). You can view my routine at this link and here’s a peek below:
Here’s how you can enter to win those coveted gift cards:
Download Iris & create an account (available in the US + CAN only, iPhone only, 18+)
Create a skin care routine that’s worked well for you. Your entry should include a minimum of 3 steps and 3 products. Include thoughtful, honest reviews on each of those products in your routine.
Share the link to your Iris routine right here in the comments of this Substack post.
Winners will be chosen based on routine quality, creativity and effort.
The deadline to enter is October 31st, 2023 at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be contacted via email on November 1st, 2023.
I’m excited (in advance!) for our three winners, who will have a very nice Sephora shopping spree! Any questions about what to stock up on? Ask away in the comments or on Iris!
I’m SO lazy, this is the only way I committed to a night skincare routine: I have a little pouch with everything in my nightstand! It doesn’t matter how tired I am, it’s so close I can’t help but going through all the steps!
Absolutely LOVED doing this♥️
Check out this Lazy every night routine by mariagracianotmaria https://newnew.page.link/CxV9qzPMcdMRsD8H8
Thank you. For mature, very old skin, should one use both toner and essence?