If you’ve been reading for a while (or even for like, 3 blog posts) you may know that I’m fortunate enough to own my own business handling social/digital marketing and content creation for clients. One of these clients is a local, successful spa/skincare boutique and let me tell you – I have reaped the rewards of that!
For most of my life I’ve had kind of crappy, spotty skin which I think was partly due to hormones and partly due to using the wrong products to try to combat the problem. When I started working with my client she graciously decided that one of the best ways for me to familiarize myself with what she does is to experience the same thing that a first-time client might experience: getting a facial, a skincare consultation, and a product recommendation. (Disclosure: The facial was on the house, but I purchased – and have continued to purchased – the products they recommended. The service was related to my full-time client work and was in no way exchanged for promotion in this blog.)
At the time I was hesitant – I’d had facials before and they nearly always made me break out. I’m also incredibly cautious about what I put on my skin since I seem to have finally managed to get it under control after years of torture (oh, and that whole anxiety thing). Add in that at the time I had just found out I was pregnant and knew that I would be limited in what types of products could safely be used on my skin and… yeah, I was nervous. But oh man, am I glad I did it!
After a lovely facial (where I probably asked my esthetician way too many questions about what she was using and what was going on), they recommended some products from the skincare line that they carry – Glo Skin Beauty (which at the time was known as Glo Therapeutics). Since my skin has a tendency to be oily – until it get so dry it feels like it’s going to crack (combination skin for the win!) they decided to introduce me to some products geared toward oily skin.
+ Gentle Cream Cleanser, $40.00
+ Purifying Mist, $30.00
+ Oil Free Moisturizer, $46.00
+ Essential Cleansing Oil, $34.00
+ Purifying Gel Cleanser, $34.00
Initially they tried me out on just the Oil Free Moisturizer, Purifying Mist (which at the time was called the Purifying Tonic), and Gentle Cream Cleanser. I fell in love with the moisturizer and mist right off the bat, but the cleanser took a bit of getting used to. I was used to harsh cleansers that took off all my makeup in 3 seconds, with lots of suds, and left my skin feeling squeaky clean … and super tight and dry. My first reaction was that the cleanser didn’t do a great job of removing my makeup (perhaps because I tend to wear foundation, concealer, and powder to cover acne scarring).
When I discussed this with them after a couple of uses they added in the Essential Cleansing Oil which scared the heck out of me! I mean, they expected me to clean my face by putting more oil on it? Yep, they did. And yep, it worked! The oil (which smells lovely, by the way – the entire line does actually, it’s one of my favorite things about it!) cuts through makeup – even waterproof mascara – and is used right before the cleanser to thoroughly “wash the day off,” as my client likes to say. (Tip: I’ve found that using the cleansing oil on a cotton ball as an eye makeup remover, then using it as directed on the rest of my face helps to really get mascara gone.) At that time they had also given me a sample of the Purifying Gel Cleanser since I was so hesitant about the oil, but after using them both a couple of times I decided that I love the way the oil makes my skin look and feel – bright, soft, and healthy!
At the time that I started using the products my skin was going through some sh*t – I had just found out I was pregnant and I had a horrible respiratory virus that was wrecking havoc on my skin (my skin always acts up when I’m sick). My skin probably looked worse than it’s looked in years – I was feeling incredibly self-conscious about it and was nervous that it would be horrible throughout the remaining 7ish (at that time) months of my pregnancy. But after using the products for a week or so I started noticing a huge difference in my skin. It had a brightness to it right away, and the products – which are much more gentle than what I had been using – seemed to be helping my skin repair itself. Some of the larger spots that were caused due to hormones persisted for a while (nothing you can do about those darn pregnancy hormones), but they were much less red and angry than they had been on my old skincare regime.
As I mentioned in the disclosure above, I’ve continued to purchase the products which should say something about the efficacy and how much I enjoy them! They’re a bit on the pricey side (certainly more expensive than typical drugstore products), but well worth the money! If you’re looking for skincare products that will be pretty much life changing, definitely check out Glo and let me know what you think!