The other day I was asked if I was expecting (I’m not) and I got I.D.’d (thankfully in a different place than where they thought I was pregnant) and although one event made me happier than the other, I’m just going to put it out there that maybe, just maybe this might have a little something to do with my new skincare regimen making me radiant, youthful and glowy and not with the food baby I ate for breakfast.
I was invited to Kiehls in University Village a little before Christmas to try out their new skincare line: an apothecary preparations personalized skincare service line that can only be mixed in their stores and with an appointment. This is not something you can online shop for and for someone like me who seems to do 99.9999% of her shopping virtually, this was an actual reason to go into a real Kiehls store and I was a little apprehensive about what was going to happen. Were they going to touch and play with my face? Was I going to get zapped by some funky machine to give me youthful skin? The idea of apothecary preparations in my head made me feel like I was going to a medical appoinment, but it also made me feel like I was going to be able to seriously talk about my skin. (If you know me at all, you know I fear many things…going to the doctor is just one on a majorly long list….)
It ended up being very friendly and very informative and I didn’t even have to take off any makeup. I showed up for my appointment and the only scary thing around was that because it was a blogger event of course there were photographers (and these are another one of my big fears…I am more comfortable BEHIND the camera than in front). But Brit from Solie Designs was so friendly and made me feel a zillion times less fearful and I was so thankful for the pictures she took. It was fun to play with all the Kiehls products and not have to worry about taking my own pictures for a change too. I loved that I could focus and really talk about the things I wanted to try with my skin.
I discussed my skincare concerns with an expert and I decided that wrinkles and brightness were the two things I wanted to work on. She mixed my bottle and gave me two vials that I would have to add when I got home. She told me a bunch of instructions and I was thankful that the Kiehls online website had support videos on how to mix everything and how to incorporate the serum into my skincare routine in case I forgot anything. The coolest part of the consultation was being able to personalize my label-I called it “Terumi’s Magic Potion” and it was fun to be able to ‘make’ my own unique Kiehls product. This would make such a fabulous experience gift for someone who loves facials and skincare products and I would love to do this again with a friend.
I also went home with a few other Kiehls products. I’m such a fan of how Kiehls gives back to the community and there are always products in the store that support some kind of cause. I actually gave my mom the limited Edition Autism Speaks Facial Cream because her skin is drier than mine and I thought it would be a really good moisturizer for her. She has been using skincare products since her early twenties and she has the most beautiful skin.(I had to post this picture of her that I took from the Vancouver Art Gallery) She raved about the cream so I think I’ll try the oil-free gel cream next time I’m in the store. I’m scared I’m going to have more wrinkles than her soon so I’m really thankful that Kiehls is helping me up my game.
I also really appreciated the Butterstick Lip Treatment to help my chapped lips from all of our time outdoors in the mountains. I’m always loosing the lids to my lip balms in my purse, so I really appreciate the design of the Butterstick because the lid stays on really well. It also feels smooth and not too slippery on my lips so I like putting it on. I have both the tinted and untinted Butterstick Lip Treatments and I need to remember these for Christmas gifts for family and friends-luxurious lip treatments are a splurge that people need to indulge in more often.
I really appreciated my afternoon at Kiehls and I’m loving the products so far. I was researching Valentine’s gifts recently and I was really excited to find out that if you use up your Kiehls products and bring back the used containers you get a stamp on a stamp card and when you fill the card you can exchange it for a travel sized product. This is such a thoughtful thing for both customers and the environment and I like that not only are the products here well made but this company seems to do a lot of good in the process of making and selling them too. I’ll definitely update you on how things go as I use my Apothecary Preparations serum, but I’m about a month in and my skin feels smoother and potentially more youthful so I’m hopeful that it’s doing its thing.
(PS. As stated before I received some Kiehls products including the Apothecary Preparations Serum to review and as always the opinions in this post are my own. All the pictures except for the one with cherry blossoms and the one of my mom were taken by Brit and I’m so thankful she made me feel like such a star!)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)