March 19, 2021
Try on new eyebrows (virtually), an incredible "clean" skincare line and rethinking my stance on face powder.
The most fun 5 minutes you'll have all day
With a huge work project on my plate, I really shouldn’t be procrastinating. Yet in an effort to further delay the inevitable, I couldn’t resist checking out Anastasia Beverly Hills’ new app. Considering it’s been over a year since I last had my brows professionally done, I figured it was the perfect time to dip my toes back into the eyebrow waters, and The Brow App (which launched for iOS yesterday and debuts for Android on March 15) was the absolute perfect way to do it.
Based on Anastasia’s famed Golden Ratio brow-shaping technique, this app basically puts you in a professional’s chair—except you can do it all yourself thanks to detailed instructions, video tutorials and product suggestions.
You start with a few questions about your comfort level doing your own brows, as well as their color, natural level of fullness and preferred look. Then the app analyzes your face, including all the important angles that dictate your ideal brow shape. From there, you can try on different looks (this was the really fun part) before choosing the one you want to attempt. You get step-by-step instructions (including virtual stencils you can superimpose on your face real-time), video tutorials and Anastasia product suggestions (natch)—and then you’re off!
What do we think of these?
When science and nature join forces to help your skin
I take my skincare very seriously (as you’re probably aware), and I’m not wasting my time with products that don’t work. But at the same time, I try to stick to “clean” products as much as possible. Fortunately for me (and anyone else who keeps an eye on ingredient lists), this is easier than ever—and if you can’t be bothered reading labels, simply shop for skincare and other beauty products at retailers like Detox Market or Credo Beauty. If you’re more of a stick-to-one-brand person, it may take a little trial and error to find one you truly love, but once you do you’ll see it’s well worth the effort.
One brand that ticks all my skincare boxes is Acaderma. Founded by cosmetic scientist Dr. Shuting Hu (who I’ve had the honor of interviewing several times), these products truly meld real science and research with naturally derived (and often never-heard-of-before) ingredients. The line currently includes seven products that makes it easy to navigate based on your skin’s needs—your only real decisions are in the serum department. (And if you’re a science geek like me, you’ll LOVE all the info about each product on the site.)
Even though this brand has been on my radar for quite some time, kudos to Acaderma’s publicist because I wanted to try the Chrono Warp Restoring Essence immediately upon reading her pitch. Its blend of actives includes Norway spruce, edelweiss, retinol complex, a peptide complex, carnosine (a peptide found naturally in muscle and brain tissue) and a ceramide complex—and this nighttime treatment serum targets the advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) that contribute to fine lines, wrinkles, loss of firmness and other visible signs of aging. I’ve been using it in place of my regular retinol product after washing every night, and I can 100% say my skin looks smoother and feels more taut. In fact, I noticed a visible line on my forehead (which was bound to happen after not getting Botox for almost a year) right before I started using the Chrono Warp Restoring Essence, and there’s not even a sign of it now.
I’m enjoying this product so much that I’ve set my sights set on the newly-revamped Lunar Glow Illuminate Serum as well. Formulated with a major dose of vitamin C courtesy of cherry tomato (who knew?), antioxidant-rich blueberry (OK, we knew that) and Arabidopsis thaliana (a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa), this potent serum fights free radicals, evens out skin tone, enhances radiance and helps repair signs of sun damage at the DNA and cellular levels. It also taps into the inflammation-reducing process of autophagy, which is thought to be one of the underlying benefits of intermittent fasting—but I’ll save that for another post.
To make a long story short, Acaderma serves up innovative skincare science and novel ingredients that work. And if you don’t believe me, just hop over to the site and check out the clinical results and amazing before-and-afters!
Face powders are having a moment
The past few years have been all about tinted oils in the world of complexion-perfection, and I embraced this trend with open arms. (Kosas Tinted Face Oil may be one of the best things that’s ever happened to my face.) Ilia’s Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 made a big splash as well (although I haven’t tried it) and I’ve seen several new products in this category over the past few months.
That’s why I was a bit surprised when I saw that Kosas launched their Cloud Setting Powder a few weeks ago, and BeautyBlender debuted Gemstone Setting Powders today. After giving it a little thought, I think I understand what’s going on here…
One year into the pandemic, none of us are going anywhere without a mask. I rarely need to wear one for more than 10 minutes, but when I do, there’s no stopping my Kosas from transferring onto the inside of my mask. Blame it on the jungle-like environment in there (especially in Florida where it’s jungle-like outside the mask, too), I can see why there’s an increased demand for complexion products that not only stay put rather than slipping and sliding around, but ones that help absorb oil as well.
Let it be known, these are far from the powders we wore way back when. Instead of leaving skin completely matte (which is a don’t if you’re over the age of 40), these sheer, lightweight products help blur imperfections, minimize pores, set makeup, absorb excess oil and even hydrate the skin while leaving a soft, radiant finish.
I’m thinking I may have to try this trend… What about you?