She's all grown up

Congratulations to my younger sister Jenn, who graduated today from a 6-month, rather grueling aesthetician program at the Euro Institute.

As a girl who is obsessed with good skin care and has paid for many, many facials, I can honestly say that Jenn is talented at her work. I had a facial from her about a month ago and was blown away. I was having some skin issues leading up to my wedding in July (stress!) but Jenn knew exactly what was going on, slightly switched some of my products, and voila! Flawless skin. Apparently she is top of her class in sales, and gets referrals more than anyone else. Go Jenn.

In honor of Jenn's last day (of driving to Renton to work for 10+ hour days for free), I am showcasing my favorite skin care products. As a product junkie with an aesthetician for a sister, you should listen up. The following cremes and potions are almost essential:





1. Dr. Eckstein's Azulen Paste. People, if you ever get a blemish, put this weird green smelly paste on it at night and I assure you, it'll be gone the next day. It's magical. Dr. Eckstein products (out of Germany) are great, but you can't get them very easily in the U.S. You can pick this paste up at Escape Day Spa in Bellingham, or online at Skin Spa.




2. Dr. Spiller's Jojoba Peeling Creme. This was one of Jenn's remedies for my skin's summer freak out station. This is a super mild exfoliant that has teeny tiny jojoba wax balls (wax balls?), so it gently removes dead skin cells. See, as Jenn explained it, as you get older, your skin cells don't turn over as quickly, and dead skin often just hangs out. At best, it just makes you look ashy instead of glowy, but with some people - like me! - it actually clogs your pores and causes break outs. Wax balls to the rescue! Plus, it's creme based so it's moisturizes while it exfoliates; it's especially great for dry skin. You can get it at the Euro Institute in Renton but beyond that, I'm not really sure. Google it!





3. Arbonne's REpair Corrective Eye Creme. I might be a biased source because I rep this stuff, but honestly, this eye creme is fantastic. I think when men can endorse a semi-expensive skin care product, then you know it's fo' realz. Last fall our household experienced major eye puffiness reduction! I made my super skeptical fiance (he previously thought all skin care was a hoax) use it for 3 nights in a row. The first day he woke up, and looked in the mirror and said, "Load of crap," the second day he woke up, looked in the mirror and said, "Sorry, don't see anything," and the third day he woke up, looked in the mirror, and said "Holy shit!" Best eye creme ever. You can get it...from me!





4. Eminence (organic) Blueberry Soy Repair Masque. I was going to only feature 3 of my favorite products but I had to throw this one in there at the last minute. This is like a 2 or 3 time a week masque that, like the jojoba peeling creme mentioned above, is extremely moisturizing and gently exfoliating. It'll seriously induce a glow so strong you'll almost be creeped out that berries and beans have such strong powers. Plus it smells delicious. This masque can be found at some high end spas including Spa Noir in Belltown.

This concludes my public service announcement for today. Congrats Jenn!