My makeup looks only as good as my skin does. That's why amazing skin care and product use is near and dear to my heart because it makes my life, and my makeup application, look easier and more flawless. And isn't flawless skin what we all strive for??
{My generous amount of
Arcona products to play with.}
I appreciate and realize how blessed I am for all of the opportunities I get as a beauty blogger to try out some of the latest and greatest makeup and skin care products that companies are nice enough to send me. Some don't ever get mentioned if I don't find my readers will benefit from knowing about them, but then some blow me away that I MUST share with you all.
Enter Arcona products into my life.
This brand was born from a German nurse turned esthetician named Arcona Devan who began making products in her home from the desire to use clean, natural, products from live active ingredients. One of the main points I liked when I read the back story, is that the ingredients are all cold processed, which helps to keep them active and effective as opposed to heat processing which renders them inactive. To make an easy comparison, it's like when you cook vegetables instead of eating them in their raw state, you take away a little of the good nutrients by adding heat. I'm learning something new everyday!!
This line has been around for over 15 years and has been used by celebrities such as Diane Lane, Regina King, Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Madonna, just to name drop a few!!
{My skin in the true sunlight with minimal makeup on.}
I have been using these products for over 2 weeks now. I find you need to give most skin care products at least that long to give them a chance to really perform or make a difference. On a scale of 1-5, 1 being ho-hum and 5 being awesome, I'd give this brand a 5. I am truly impressed by Arcona.
I was sent a lot of products from the line to try, but I wanted to highlight a few of my absolute favorites that stood out from the crowd for my dry-tired-35-year-old skin.
*I will be honest, I do have on a little bit of makeup in these photographs. I had to attend a school function for my 1st grader, so I couldn't go completely SANS makeup - you know that's not my style:) However, I do have on minimal skin makeup for me, just concealer and one of my favorite drugstore powders I mentioned
here. No foundation or tinted moisturizer used.*
My first two loves from this group of products were in the
cleansing category.
- The cranberry exfoliator smells amazing (almost like a light grape bubble gum), has super fine grains, and makes my skin feel incredibly smooth. It was an Allure Best of Beauty in 2011. A lot of cheap exfoliators have large grains that feel like you're beating up your skin, but this one is makes you feel like you're really doing something good for the surface of your skin!
- The white tea cleanser is another product that has a super fresh scent, is full of great ingredients like Vitamin E, yucca, and of course soothing white + green tea. It's super gentle and I use it with my Clarisonic every night.
{My goal is to get 2 year old skin like Miss Viv with zero makeup on!}
One of their "anytime" category of products that I have fallen in love with are the Triad Pads that are used for refreshing, cleansing, toning, and removing minimal makeup anytime.
{Each thin
Triad Pad is a soaked in yummy ingredients, $30.}
Again, the scent is where it's at here. I could sniff these pads all day long and they do immediately make my skin feel refreshed and toned. These are good for on-the-go for the office, travel, or for a handbag refresher. With Omegas 3,6, and 9 plus rice milk to nourish the skin, these do not dry out my already dry skin and are very soothing. I even used these on my hubby, who would never do the whole face wash and water thing, so these are a great quick cleansing option for men in my opinion.
{Another close up of my skin after 2 weeks of Arcona use.}
The last two stars of the group were from the PM Serum and Hydrating categories of products.
- The night serum is actually one of the only ones I didn't love love the scent on, but it performs so well, it didn't matter. This was for nighttime treatment and contains a Glycolactolymer complex which is used for rapid cell renewal and gentle exfoliation. This product made my skin feel like it glowed and gave me more refined pores by morning time.
- The hydrating gel moisturizer was just that. It's lightweight, smells lovely, and can be used daily. It's got hyaluronic acid in it which is key for anti-aging. And goodness knows I can use all the anti-aging properties I can get my hands on!!
One of the best parts about this line is that they have an
average price point of $45-50, which is super affordable for products this wonderful and contain these types of powerful ingredients.
**If you are in the
Atlanta, Ga area this Saturday May 25th, they'll be at the
Nordstrom at Perimeter Mall doing chair facials and consultations with the line, so make sure to stop by if you want to try out these products. **
BIG BIG THANKS to Jim at Arcona for reaching out and giving me the opportunity to try out this wonderful line of skin care. I'm now a huge fan for life.
*The products in this post were sent to me for consideration by the company for consideration. I was not paid for this post and all opinions expressed are my own and based on my personal experience with Arcona.*
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