It isn’t every day you come across a product in the indie green-beauty space that is a powerhouse of ingredients with fast, visible results and affordable!
I was very very fortunate to be one of the testers that Kara, founder of Me Time Botanicals, chose to try out her newest creation; the Glow-Getter. AND ITS OFFICIALLY HERE!
Why am I so excited? Not only is it a beautiful ritual; it delivers results! Without adding to the suspense, take a look at my before & after photos below. This is after only ONE WEEK of use:
I recently posted these results on Instagram & @pale_face23 was kind enough to ask me a few questions that she was seeking the answers to. I would love to take the opportunity to address them below:
Is there a strong scent?
The Glow-Getter has a vibrant yet gentle scent that is reminiscent of a citrus-y pine-y forest. It then fades and leaves a very subtle, lingering scent of geranium behind. It is gorgeous.
Did you have any sort of sensitivity to this product?
I did not experience any sensitivity to this serum. I applied liberally to my face, neck and chest twice a day and my skin simply glowed. If you are particularly sensitive to any ingredients listed below, it is important to patch test first.
At $42 per bottle, everyone can experience great skin!
Reducing hyper-pigmentation is always my goal over reducing acne spots. If my skin clears up in the process of using my skincare, I’m thrilled!
The results that I achieved with the Glow-Getter was a more even and radiant complexion! When I wore my typical makeup and looked in the mirror, I felt as though I was wearing a filter. My skin was bright and revitalized!
Can you refrigerate it for freshness?
Although it isn’t necessary to refrigerate this serum, I imagine it would be super refreshing to keep it in the refrigerator and apply directly to the skin!
How is absorption?
Look at these glittering drops of oil suspended in the serum ❤
This is probably my favorite aspect of the Glow-Getter serum! The dual phase serum goes on thin and leaves the slightest veil of hydration behind. You can feel the oil hydrating your complexion while the serum component continues to absorb. It is bliss!
Do you use it twice a day or at night only?
My results (pictured above) were from using this serum liberally twice a day. Tip: After using an essence, I like to apply about 1-3 droppers to my face, neck & decollete and take an extra few seconds to massage the serum in.
These gorgeous layers though!
Final Thoughts
I have used a lot of brightening serums, some that have cost me as much as $235; but none have made my skin feel as bright and plump as the Glow-Getter. The unique dual-phase texture is such a beautiful experience, it absorbs quickly yet leaves the skin feeling silky. The scent is vibrant and fresh, and the results speak for themselves! After just one week I noticed my skin tone was more even and my hyper-pigmentation faded substantially! The best part? It’s affordable!
XOXO,
Erika
Please comment below! Have you tried any brightening serums lately? Have they been effective?
Luxurious Botanical Skincare Worthy of the Garden of Eden
Aislin Quinn is the skincare of my childhood dreams. It satisfies the deepest part of my imagination. It is mouth watering; a treasure trove dripping with the rarest jewels, a tropical paradise bursting with the ripest fruit. It is as vibrant as the sun, as sweet as a rare orchid and as lush as the Garden of Eden.
Isola (Pink) Reine (Green) & Kuava (Orange)
Pronounced “Ash-lin Quinn”, founder Trish Moran, named her luxury skincare company after her two oldest daughters. With a background in aerospace physiology and as a plant medicine survival instructor for NATO student pilots, Trish has the perfect background to formulate beautifully natural, beautifully intentional, botanical skincare!
With the knowledge that Trish resides in Texas, I was so intrigued by her use of tropical ingredients and exotic names; when I had the opportunity to ask her a few questions, I had to know where she gets her inspiration from:
Ingredient inspiration comes largely from my background teaching plant medicine in the USAF. I like to focus on seeds, flowers, and fruits because that is really the epicenter of plant nutrition, primarily for the purpose of accommodating new life. A lot of focus on tropical fruits and flowers is the result of how fertile and bountiful the tropical regions of the earth are – as a result they produce amazing and beautiful plants with unique profiles and benefits that really just stir my heart with appreciation. Our new Wailele Phytoactive Hydration Essence, for example, was built around the dragonfruit, which is the primary ingredient. Dragonfruit is the fruit of a cactus, it is so succulent and full of phenolic color inside that I knew intuitively it would be a hydration powerhouse that also offers a ton of nutritional support, so I began experimenting with it as one of the core ingredients of our Phytoactive Hydration Matrix with the goal of bringing, deep and long lasting hydration to the skin. Broadening the hydration spectrum and then combining innovative ingredients with time tested achievers like marshmallow and cucumber means that we are really amplifying what a treatment can do and bringing something really new and sophisticated for the people we serve.
The first ritual Trish ever created (and one of my personal favorites), Lehua is a creamy yellow, oil-in-cleanser that uses honey and fruit enzymes to gently rid the complexion of debris and dead skin, leaving skin soft and glowing!
This velvety cleanser smells vibrant and honey suckle-esque, glides like silk onto the skin and is gentle enough to use every day!
Lehua Honey Enzyme Cleanser was the first formula I created for our line. I’m so busy. I have four kids. I needed something that would be a serious multi-tasker, and would really clean my skin without depleting it. When I crafted the formula and put it on my face the first time, I knew I had something truly unique and beautiful. It required a couple of small tweaks but it really was love at first sight. Even now, it is one of my top two most loved treatments.
Trish Moran, on the story behind her first creation, Lehua
TIP: Lehua also doubles as the perfect mask! I love to massage this onto dry skin in the morning, make my coffee and jump in the shower to allow the steam to further the cleanser’s magic! Once I finish showering, I rinse the mask off using a terry cloth mitt and my face feels clean and soft, ready for the rest of my routine! No need to double cleanse!
Since falling in love with green beauty, I have really developed an admiration for face balms, I especially enjoy using them at night because of their super rich texture, dense nutrition and the ability to seal in moisture! This is especially important in the evening, as the skin is the most active at night!
Isola is the sexiest balm I’ve ever used! The scent is reminiscent to me of the most luxurious and tropical IPA and I’ve never experienced such a (can I say sexy again?) glow as I have with Isola. I am normally very liberal with my skincare, but truly a little bit of Isola goes a long way! I love applying this balm to my face, neck and chest as a last step in the evening and the scent lingers so delicately, like an evening tropical breeze!
The scent is so vivid, one of my favorite memories forever tied to the smell of Isola is my newborn son laying on my chest at night; both of us in a state of utter bliss as this naturally gentle aroma envelopes us while he drifts off to sleep!
Another unique & truly rare treasure, this oil serum is another favorite of mine!
Featuring organic strawberry seed oil (when’s the last time you’ve seen this ingredient listed in your skincare?) this decadent serum deeply nourishes, protects and transforms the skin. It has a beautiful peridot green hue, and smells of JUICY berries, if I had to pick one serum from Aislin Quinn, Reine would be it. My face is always left feeling plumped and glowing!
TIP: I love mixing a drop of Reine with my cc cream to enrich the formula and further nurture my complexion throughout the day!
Aislin Quinn’s answer to a vitamin C serum, Kuava is a vivid, passion fruit & guava-scented beauty that is another juicy experience! It absorbs quickly (think aloe-based, not oil-based) and offers a multitude of benefits including deep hydration, brightening, smoothing, etc. This serum is perfect for day time use and is lighter than Reine.
Right now, this shimmering body oil-serum is seasonal and only available currently at aurorabeauty.com; regardless, it is worth a special mention! The scent is absolutely heavenly, like a tropical snicker doodle and the glow is just subtle enough that it looks like your skin is luxuriously moisturized, silky and flawless! The first ingredient in this serum is organic Kukui Nut oil; this, along with other decadant oils and Tonka butter lovingly feeds the skin! I really hope Trish brings this beautiful formula back next year! I can honestly say this lush body oil absorbs well and never leaves a greasy mess behind!
Kalahari Creme Cleanser Concentrate
I must admit, I am not able to give this cleanser a proper review…yet. I used this cream cleanser on dry skin a few times and did not really understand it to be as effective at removing makeup or cleansing like Lehua. It has a very subtle scent and does not lather like a traditional cleanser.
Recently, I saw Rich, @boy_into_beauty on Instagram, recommend using this as a moisture mask, or better yet, keeping it in the refrigerator and applying it to the face during the summer. This sounds like such a fabulous use of this lovely cream that I want to purchase it specifically as a mask!
Liliko’i Fruit And Flower Vitality Mask
Liliko’i was recently updated & I am really excited to try it again. The ingredient list is so lush and sophisticated, with 15 of the most nutrient dense flowers and fruits in the world! Think fruit enzymes, honey & pink clay whipped into a light mousse-like texture with plant peptides and hyaluronic acid to infuse the complexion with hydration, nutrition and vitality! I will be sure to update my blog the moment I have had the opportunity to incorporate the new formula into my routine!
The more I immerse myself into botanical skincare, the more I realize that most rituals are multi-functional; they can be enjoyed in a multitude of different ways and provide extra benefits! I asked Trish for some of her top tips and I love her creativity:
Think outside the box! Blend a drop of Reine Strawberry Radiance Infusion into your foundation to give lighter coverage with amazing nutritional benefits. Blend a little Kuava into Lehua for a really lovely mask experience. Cleanse with a combination of Kalahari and Liliko’i Fruit and Flower Vitality Mask for some really gently exfoliation and deep cleansing.
Be sensitive to what your skin needs now. Its always in flux and always changing. So if it needs a little extra hydration, don’t just hydrate with a single step. Incorporate extra where you can. But most importantly, choose treatments that are made with quality in mind. Quality begets quality.
Tips & Tricks from Trish Moran
Final Thoughts
When I think about luxurious, botanical skincare, Aislin Quinn is the pinnacle of this category. Trish generously shares with us her extensive knowledge of plants through formulas that harness exotic and decadent ingredients to feed and give life to the skin.
Aislin Quinn brings our wildest imagination to life! This luxurious skincare takes us on a tropical journey through luscious scents, silky textures and vibrant colors that elevates our skincare routine to that which previously only existed in our fantasies. Aislin Quinn satisfies the inner child in us, the one who dreams in vivid color, without boundaries or limitations,.
Edible Beauty, a botanical and wild-crafted brand out of Australia is very near and dear to my heart. They were one of the first brands I discovered when I made the conscious decision to clean my beauty routine and I have been a loyal fan ever since. I was fortunate to come across Edible Beauty when they launched some of their products on Sephora.com and I was thrilled to find that these botanical skincare products were just as effective and enjoyable as the chemical-filled alternatives. Since first discovering this luxurious brand, I have tried virtually every ritual and have many favorites, including:
Edible Beauty was the first brand to follow me on Instagram, and now the first brand to kindly send me their rituals to review; a responsibility I do not take lightly. I am beyond grateful to Anna, the founder, for sending me three of their four skincare boosters offered and equally excited about the results!
These lovely boosters are Edible Beauty’s newest launch and are intended to be the perfect addition to any routine to boost a range of skincare results! They can be used alone, or even layered with another booster which is really fun for skincare lovers like myself.
Turmeric Beauty Latte – Clear & Brighten
This booster is the thinnest of the three and has a very slight turmeric scent that quickly dissapears upon application. A potent mixture of Turmeric, Snow Mushroom and Licorice Root helps to reduce pigmentation and inflammation.
Note: I am always looking to brighten my complexion from years in the sun & pregnancy that have left my skin with a lot of discoloration and now, melasma. I always have realistic expectations, and have always figured that laser (like IPL) is my only real option for lightening up any discoloration. So when Anna sent me this booster, I was happy to try it, but kept my expectations to a minimum.
In my true indulgent fashion, I use about 1/2 a dropper of this booster religiously morning & night as a first booster in my routine and after only two weeks have seen amazing results! See before & after pictures above!
Botanical Actives
Turmeric Extract is rich in curcumin, a potent antioxidant which has been used as an ancient beauty ritual for lightening and brightening the skin. Curcumin also inhibits acne causing bacteria on the skin and has been shown to be 36 times stronger than azelaic acid, an irritating chemical used in acne treatments. Its anti-inflammatory properties also mean that turmeric can soothe painful cystic breakouts and calm redness. Licorice Root contains the active ingredient, glabridin that interrupts the enzymes that activate melanin production, making it a natural skin whitening agent. It prevents future hyperpigmentation while improving existing dark spots on your skin. Licorice Root is also a powerful anti-inflammatory, reducing swelling and redness for a clear and calm complexion. Snow Mushroom known as the “beauty mushroom” the Tremella mushroom has been used for centuries as a youth-preserving mushroom due to its unique polysaccharide and antioxidant profile. Polysaccharides found in the mushroom have remarkable water retaining properties, with the ability to hold nearly five times more water than hyaluronic acid. Tremella’s polysaccharides also stimulate the production of superoxide dismutase (SOD), one of the most important “super antioxidant” enzymes in the body. SOD helps to protect and regenerate the skin as well as effectively prevent wrinkling and sagging of the skin. It has shown to be effective in preventing oxidative damage to skin cells as well as increasing the body’s production of its own powerful free-radical defence mechanisms.
This booster is slightly thicker, and feels much like a hyaluronic acid serum. It has a clean, almost fresh-water scent and is intended to restore the skin’s microbiome. This serum is full of probiotics and nourishing ingredients like Jojoba Milk & Birch Leaf and the results are protected skin that is plump and hydrated. This is especially important for someone like myself who enjoys exfoliating often and uses a lot of active skincare products.
I really enjoy using this booster at night after the Turmeric Beauty Latte. I had a brief eczema flair-up after over-exfoliating one evening, and this serum was extremely repairing to my skin. My skin felt instantly soothed, and the next morning was significantly calmed.
Botanical Actives
Lactobacillus Bulgaricus Ferment Filtrate, restore skin PH and acid mantle reducing skin sensitivity and strengthening the skin barrier. This probiotic strain also attacks bacteria which sit on the skin’s surface causing blemishes. Wildcrafted Emu Bush, native to the Australian Northern Territory, it contains potent antioxidants including chloregenic acid which protects the skin from break down and ageing along with phenolic acids which have an antioxidant action stronger than that of vitamin E. This makes this wildcrafted extract effective at skin restoration and repair. Birch Leaf, is a powerhouse ingredient for calming and treating sensitive and irritated skin. It is prized for its ability to reduce inflammation, purify and hydrate skin. It contains 17 amino acids, minerals, enzymes, proteins, antioxidants and vitamins, all of which are beneficial for your skin.
Full of antioxidants, vitamins and omegas, this booster is truly like a smoothie for your skin, intended to offer protection from UV’s and free-radical damage as well as offer retinol-like benefits to even skin tone and texture.
This serum feels like the most active of the three that I tried. It has a slight fruity fragrance and tingles slightly upon application (which I enjoy). I like layering this booster in the morning after the Turmeric Beauty Latte to offer protection to my skin during the day, and since the texture of my skin is already pretty smooth, using this serum helps to keep my complexion from becoming rough by encouraging cellular turnover.
Botanical Actives
Broccoli Extract, a natural alternative to retinol, encouraging youthful and even skin texture and tone. Sulforaphane found in broccoli extract, helps to shield the skin from environmental pollution in addition to strengthening the skin barrier. St Mary’s Thistle, or Milk Thistle is rich in silymarin, an antioxidant that can helps to slow the ageing process by fighting free radicals that attack skin cells, resulting in fine lines, wrinkles and dark spots. Silymarin also helps support skin’s ability to manage photo-ageing, which results in a loss of skin firmness and elasticity along with age spots – the result of too much exposure to UV rays. It slows oxidative stress, supporting delicate skin cells. Milk Thistle is also made up almost exclusively of fatty acids, which offer lightweight but effective hydration, so parched skin cells become plumper and skin appears more luminous. Kale Extract, provides an abundance of skin-loving vitamins including pro-vitamin A, vitamin B, C, and K, as well as antioxidants and phytonutrients. This leafy green not only detoxifies and protects the skin, it tightens pores, promotes collagen production, increases cell turnover and prevents free radical damage. Vitamin K found in Kale has a wonderful ability to tighten the skin, thereby reducing fine lines and wrinkles.
All of these serums feel silky, absorb quickly and provide results! I was never expecting to see the amazing reduction in pigmentation after just two weeks of using the Turmeric Beauty Latte and I am so happy with the outcome.
If you are wondering which one to purchase, I recommend going with the one that addresses your personal skincare goals. Whether you are looking to reduce pigmentation, repair your skin’s barrier or rejuvenate the texture of your complexion, you can’t go wrong trying one (or all!) of these effectively beautiful boosters from Edible Beauty.
Promotional Code: Receive a 20% discount off your purchase with code Erika20
Remember, you are appreciated and worthy of self-care and love.
XOXO,
Erika
Please comment below! Have you tried any rituals from Edible Beauty? Which products are on your wish list? Please share your thoughts!
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