My Favourite Skincare Products
A few of my favourite things...
Skincare only came into my field of "caring" in my early 20's. Before that, I was a soap and water person - mostly due to my naturally oily skin, ("why would anyone put lotion on their face and grease it up even more?"). Such was my naivete (and youth).
My first experience with quality skincare products was the Kerstin Florian line - I worked at a Fairmont Willow Stream spa at the time, and lucky me, the result was great.
I fell off the Kerstin Florian regimen when I went back to school for naturopathic medicine, and was using the health food store products. The result? Dull skin, blackheads, and pimples. But I thought natural was good?
Natural is great - great for the environment and animals, great for ingredient quality (maybe), and possibly great for the skin, (it really depends on your chosen product, skin type, lifestyle, nutrition, hormones etc.). I didn't find anything I used to be efficacious, but perhaps I didn't try a wide enough range of products.
Fast forward to when I was working in a multi-disciplinary clinic with a cosmetic dermal therapist. She suggested I try Osmosis. It stuck. I loved it and still do. Why? It's a medical skin care line, effective, easy, cost-effective, not tested on animals, well-researched ingredients, low on the Environmental Working Group's toxicity scale, no weird perfume-y smells that signal carcinogenic or xenoestrogenic ingredients, and did I say EFFECTIVE? My favourites from the Osmosis skincare include: Purify cleanser, Replenish antioxidant, Polish, and Quench Plus.
Make-up favourites are different. I am loving the Babor blush, enough that I would extend my curiosity into other Babor products, (again, great ingredients, no animal testing, effective), Jane Iredale (you had to know this would be a favourite) - I'm really happy to report their tinted moisturizer is fabulous, (and their lipsticks...yes, please). I also, on a whim, bought Pacifica's mineral mascara - love it as well.
I don't use much else on a day-to-day basis, but there's a world of wonder in ethical, naturopathic medical cosmetics to explore. Your favourites?
