I'm not a fan of makeup. And for whatever reason, YouTube seems to think I am, as it keeps recommending I watch makeup reviews and "drugstore makeup hauls." Barf.
Nope, I am not a fan of makeup and I am as basic as it gets when it comes to everyday makeup. I am nonetheless very concerned with skincare. Lucky me, when adolescence kicked in, I was hit with super-difficult-to-manage combination skin. Dry. Oily. Blemished. A teenage nightmare! I'd dab my face with rubbing alcohol every morning and night and scrub my face until it hurt. In the summer, I'd lay in the sun until I felt faint - anything to clear up my skin. Yup, skincare meant a completely different thing to me then.
Several months ago, I read about a new local company called Vain Pursuits: they make personalized mositurizers and face creams based on your skin type. Interesting!
I signed up on their site, and was tasked with filling out my Skincare Profile. Now you better believe I took this stuff super seriously. I set aside a solid hour in my day to fill this thing out as accurately and detailed as possible. It was an eye-opener: one part asked me to list all the face products I've tried and what I liked and disliked about each one, and holy cow I've wasted a buttload of money on crappy products. I've tried face creams that hydrated my skin, but made it oily or blemished. I've tried face creams that treated blemished skin, but made it dry. I was eager to try my personalized cream out!
Once my skin profile was complete, I hit "submit" and waited.
A week or so later, I got this awesome little package in the mail. Inside were my 3 custom Vain Pursuits creams - each created according to my Skincare profile. I got a facial milk, a day lotion, and a facial moisturizer.
Of course, they came with these nifty instructions. My strategy was to use one cream for 3 days straight and then move onto the next. My skin doesn't respond to new products right away, so I wanted to give them each a fair try. Each sample-sized cream also came with a hand-written postcard explaining why it cream was chosen for my skin and how the ingredients were beneficial. This took the whole experience to the next level for me: the amount of personalization and time that goes into your product is absolutely amazing. Vain Pursuits definitely knows how to make you feel special!
In the end, one cream stood out for me: it was the day lotion and it had a lovely vanilla and bergamot scent. It's light and creamy, goes well under makeup and keeps my face hydrated all day. It doesn't cause breakouts, isn't oily, and I don't have to reapply throughout the day. This cream has been a match made in heaven! My Skincare Galpal emailed me asking how the creams worked out and I placed an order for a full-size of the day lotion.
But it doesn't end there! You get to name your cream whatever you want and choose your label color. I obviously called mine Smooth Criminal cause well, I'm an MJ fan and it's clever as hell, amiright?! You can also decide how often a new container is sent to you, which depends on how fast you go through your moisturizer. I chose quarterly and it worked out perfectly: I finished my first container last Tuesday and received my second one Wednesday. Talk about great timing!
Needless to say, I'm smitten with my skincare routine now. This winter has been brutal on my skin, but my Vain Pursuits cream has been keeping it in check - a very big first for me. And the best part? They're natural, cruelty-free and made in Montreal.
What are you waiting for? Go get your own now.