Radiant skin from Aftelier and Aroma M

Do you hate your skin? If so, scurry along. I'll wait. Bye.

Ok, now that the riff raff is gone, the rest of us can discuss keeping our skin its radiant best.

Enter: Aftelier and Aroma M.

But wait, Jen! Those are PERFUME companies. Have you gone mental?! 

I have, but that's irrelevant. And rude that you brought it up, frankly. 

Yes, those are perfume companies, but focus, people. I know what I'm talking about. I'm a professional. No, really: I am. I'm a professional makeup artist. 

And my main artist philosophy is "if you have terrible skin, your makeup will look awful."

You heard me. No makeup artist can fix bad skin on set. Only Photoshop can do that.

So...

Meet skincare oils. Yes: OILS.

Stop making me repeat myself. Geesh.

Your skin has oils anyway, so if you add the right oils into your routine, your skin will thank you by glowing in that way it hasn't since you were a child. 

Radiance, not shine. 

Oils were the original skincare. Put away the chemicals and get back to basics, ya'll. Here's how...

camellia

CLEANSING:

Aroma M, by the lovely Maria McElroy, has you covered, with the Cleansing Oil addition to her breathtaking Camellia Oil collection. It's rich in antioxidants and super nourishing, but rinses off and leaves just a hint of dewiness. 

Use this to whisk off makeup easily, as it deftly dissolves even stubborn pigments and nasty bacteria, so you don't have to obsess about all the yuck on there and you can believe your skin has always been as clean as the day you were born. It leaves your skin simply soft, impeccable, and looking radiant, like you've scrubbed it with angels wings. It also stays nice and hydrated for hours, soft as a baby's tushie.

Or once a week let it sink into the skin during a 3-4 minute massage (face/neck/décolletage). Thank me later. 

Ingredients:  beneficial fatty acids like Organic Camellia Seed Oil, Organic Rice Bran Oil, Organic Golden Jojoba Oil, Organic Vitamin E, Organic Essential Oils of Neroli, Yuzu, Rosemary and Frankincense. It smells heavenly.

Suitable for all skintypes. Really. Even you boys.

See also: Camellia Body/Bath Oil*; Camellia Perfume*; Camellia Hair Oil*; Camellia Face Oil* all available at Aroma M.

Geisha approved.

*This Blog Really Stinks owned and approved

jasmine

MOISTURIZING:

Aftelier, by goddess Mandy Aftel, creates skincare divinity: Organic Face Elixirs. Today's offering is her newest, Jasmine. 

Here's the thing. I love to hydrate with oils. Especially Mandy's. 

Organic Jasmine Face Elixir is SO good it's like inhaling the Garden of Eden and all of the goodness and sin that comes with it. Only, this time the gods and goddess approve, and so does your skin. And there's no snake or apple.

Wait. This is getting confusing.

Just put a few drops of this elixir (oil) on your fingertips and press it into your skin after cleansing, then let it soak in. You'll swear unicorns blessed you with their magic. You'll radiate glowy youth and vigor without a hint of oiliness. Scout's honor. 

And it smells slightly spicy and jamine-y (literary license says I can make up that word). If you put this on at night, you'll fall asleep to lovely dreams and awaken looking like a model*. I also wear it during the day, but you may not want to if you wear face makeup - it may be a tad too hydrating. 

Ingredients: jasmine sambac, harvested in India, in a base of organic oils - rice bran, sweet almond, apricot kernel, camellia, grapeseed, squalene, and rose hip seed. Some oily skins or combo skins in the oily areas may find this a bit too rich - so try a sample first. 

See also: Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir**; Organic Rose Face Elixir; Ancient Resins Body and Hair Elixir**; Chocolate & Saffron Body and Hair Elixir; Patchouli Spice Body and Hair Elixir; Pear, Fir, and Coffee Body and Hair Elixir. 

All available at Aftelier. 

*This may not be a real thing. But your skin will be lovely, I promise. 

**This Blog Really Stinks owned and approved

Disclosure: samples provided by the perfumers/manufacturers, with thanks.

If you have a face with skin on it, read this.

As a child, did you ever climb through brambles on the way to those beautiful, bobbing heads of honeysuckle, pinch off a blossom, and suck the nectar out? I know I did! I recognized the scent of those thick, full vines way before I spotted them on one of the many pathways near our house. And I still lean over and take a whiff now, though they surely aren't as prevalent as I seem to recall them being back when I was young. 

Well, if honeysuckle is a fond childhood memory for you like it is for me, AND you have a face with skin, you're going to be so excited to hear what I'm talking about today!

It's good. 

Damn good.

Really mind-blowingly good.

Dance around with a smile on your face, holy grail, hug strangers good.

Natural perfumer Mandy Aftel has a collection of skincare products in her Aftelier Perfumes line. They are divine. How I have managed to not blog about them is, frankly, appalling and shameful. I could have sworn I had, and I will rectify that with haste. 

At any rate, today I'm talking about a newish addition to the line. It's, of course, all kinds of natural, because this is Mandy Aftel we're talking about. And, unless you're particularly tired or un-coffee'd today, you have probably guessed it's got honeysuckle in it. Yup. Beautiful, rare, organic honeysuckle, sourced from Italy. 

In fact the whole product, a face oil, is organic. (Score!) So: Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir is what we have going on today. 

If you have never put an oil on your face, do not stop reading. Trust me. I'm a doctor.

I am totally not a doctor. That was a blatant lie.

But I am a makeup artist. 

And I have been using oils on my face for over two years, exclusively. No creams. No regular jars of moisturizers. No makeup removers, either. Just oils. And if you're shaking your head saying, "Jen, you are nuts!" Well, yes. Yes, I am, but that is not the point.

Even oily-skinned people and those with acne can -and SHOULD!- use oils on their faces. Just the correct oils. I have gone from having some visible fine lines and some acne (I'm *gulp* 43) while using an arsenal of expensive, high-end, store-bought products, to having almost imperceptible lines and barely any breakouts, even At That Time of The Month. Thank you face oils! And yes, oils are fabulous for men, too. (They give a great shave, btw)

Here's the deal. You put about two, maybe three, drops of the oil on your fingers. You spread it around a bit on all of your fingertips. You then press -do not rub!- it into freshly washed skin. Ladies, that third (or even a fourth) drop will be beneficial on your throat, neck, and decolletage. Anything left on your fingers should be pressed on the back of your hands.*

*This is a rule you are to follow from now on with all skincare including sunscreen or you will have ugly old lady/old man hands. Heed my warning.

The directions instruct you to use it at night, but as a doctor makeup artist I will say that if you have dry or even normal skin, feel free to put a little on in the morning as well. Do give it some time to sink in, though, if you indulge in makeup. It does soak into the skin quickly, but we don't want a foundation or concealer landslide issue happening. Also: caution around the eyes, please.

Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir is scented beautifully. I confess: when testing it, I put some on the back of my hands, not as an anti-aging device but as a perfume. Really, I needed to get a feel for the scent for the review.

Oh my gosh, this scent. People! THIS SCENT. 

It's so ripe, lush, plump, full-bodied, rich. It's floral, it's a little fruity -but only a little. It's just... the word divine is over-used, but it fits here. 

On the face, the scent seems to disappear fairly quickly, which is desirable. It is definitely enough of a lasting scent, though, that you will fall asleep to pleasant dreams if you use this at night...

I loaded it up on the backs of my hands, though, and the longevity is a little nuts, frankly. I'm about 2 1/2 hours in and I can still smell it clear as day. So if you go crazy with this on your face (Which I do not recommend because you do not need that much oil on your face. Ever.) and you apply in the morning, you're going to have some funny looks at that 9:00am meeting. And that's not what you're going for, I don't think, amiright?

So the breakdown is this: Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir has, as mentioned, rare organic honeysuckle oil sourced from Italy. It's added to the organic skincare base oils: rice bran, sweet almond, apricot kernel, camelia, grapeseed, squalene, and rose hip seed. What does all that mean? Essentially, these are light, natural oils that are easily absorbed into the skin. Many of them have antioxidant properties. Some profess to even out skintone. Rose hip is often touted to be great at lessening the appearance of wrinkles. Many of these work to soften skin. 

The gist: your skin is going to feel softer. It's going to feel smoother. It may have fewer breakouts. It will have fewer dry spots. You will probably notice some plumping of fine lines. You'll glow. Not kidding.

I know you will enjoy the scent. And the pampering feeling. 

And this stuff is organic and it's natural and it's $65 a bottle, which since you're using 2-3 drops is really a very good price. 

Trust me. Oil up. 

 DOG SHAMING

This is Zoey.

Zoey took the opportunity to steal the box holding the sample vial of Organic Honeysuckle Face Elixir. She proceeded to rip said box open and ignore the other sample in the box and somehow chew the bottom (only) off of the GLASS VIAL of the Honeysuckle Elixir and drink (?) the face oil.

Zoey will be submitted to a) the crate of shame, b) DogShaming.com, and c) intense scrutiny to make sure she did not cause herself any damage.

Mandy has been informed that Zoey prefers the Honeysuckle over the other sample. ;)

Oh, in other news, the dog's breath smells lovely...

Disclaimers:

First photo courtesy of themagiconions.com;

 honeysuckle and bee via marathi.wunderground.com 

all others except the dog via wikicommons.com.

The dog is, regrettably, mine.
Sample of product provided by the perfumer.