This is a sponsored blog in partnership with Kerstin Florian. As you know, I only promote products I use and love. I have actually been using some of her products for years, I added this full five step routine a few weeks ago and have been using it exclusively, I highly recommend it.
So here’s the deal. I’m 52 and have never had a real skincare routine. I’ve been working with the same beauty knowledge I learned from Tiger Beat magazine in 1980 (google it millenials, it was amazing). Despite having used piles of expensive products over the years, I’ve never really changed the way I care for my skin. Which is to say I scrub the bejeezus out of it, get way too handsy with any blemishes, and then punish them for eternity with a fire bath of glycolic acid.
For the purposes of a review, I was provided with a box of Kerstin Florian products. The line is only sold in four and five star spas so you won’t see it on the shelves your local makeup store, I first discovered her products at a spa on Kiawah Island.
The Rehydrating Neroli Water has been a staple in my travel bag for years. It’s made from the whole-plant distillate of the orange blossom (I looked that up) and some aloe leaf. It not only smells like summer in Sothern California, it calms your skin. When I fly I spritz it liberally, my seatmates don’t say thank you with words, but I know they appreciate the tangy orange freshness I bring to the cabin.
Kerstin Florian launched her brand in Southern California at The Surf and Sand Resort Spa in Laguna. The very same hotel where Macie and I stayed on her first college visit tour. She’s Swedish (Kerstin, not my daughter) and believes that outer beauty starts with inner health. All of her products are clean and botanically based. Turns out I’m not the only one obsessed with the neroli water, celebrity makeup artists use it on their clients for red carpet appearances. It sets the makeup, keeps your skin fresh and dewy, and smells like a seabreeze whipped orange field. Yes, I really wear the mask and earplugs on the plane. My kids call me “extra”, I think that’s the GenZ way of saying cool.
I was asked to create a video actually using the products. You may have seen the videos young celebs are making of their nighttime routine.They are glamorous, relaxing, and run well over 10 minutes. This video is none of those things. I haven’t had 10 minutes to wash my face maybe ever. So this is me just out of the shower complete with massive dark circles (I slept three hours the night before) doing my new five-step skincare routine. In two minutes.
These are the reccomended products for Dry/Dehydrated skin. If you have “mature skin” like I do and you’re looking for moisture without clogging your pores, this line is for you. Here’s a little tool from Kerstin Florian to help you figure out which type of skin you have. Use code Fall4Kerstin for a 20% discount.
Step One: Rehydrating Neroli Cleansing Milk
It usually takes two different products for me to remove my eye makeup and cleanse my face. If I wash my eyes with facial soap they burn. If I goop my eyes up with oil to remove all the mascara and eye liner, I have to follow up with soap. This cleansing milk does both, and even though I rub it all over my eyes, it doesn’t irritate them.
Ingredient highlights:
• Neroli Oil – extracted from the bitter orange blossom, hydrates, soothes and oxygenates skin
• Apricot Kernel Oil – moisturizes, softens and protects skin
• Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice – hydrates and soothes as it promotes healing and cell renewal$44
Step Two: Rejuvenating Thermal Tonic
This is a toner, but not like the rubbing alcohol we used as teenagers. It removes any makeup or grime leftover after washing. It restores the pH balance of your skin, which is something I have legit never thought about once. But it smells good, isn’t drying, and helps cell turnover.
Ingredient Highlights:
• Witch Hazel Leaf Extract – quintessential toning botanical offers mild astringent and anti-inflammatory properties
• Elderflower Extract – boosts skin’s defenses and soothes inflammation
• Chamomile Oil – calming lightweight emollient promotes healing and hydration$46
Step Three: Rehydrating Liposome Eye Cream
We all know we’re supposed to be using a good eye cream to help soften the crow’s feet. Many of the brands I’ve tried over the years sting my eyes, or make me break out, and those are just the really expensive ones. Cute millenials, I’m calling from the future, someday you’ll find the skin under your eyes can be stretched and pulled like silly putty. Find a good eye cream and use it.
Ingredient Highlights:
• Vitamin E – the ultimate nourishing, protective antioxidant offers moisturization for even sensitive skin
• Horse Chestnut Seed Extract – helps soothe puffiness and strengthen capillary walls, improving the appearance of dark circles
• Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Panax Ginseng & Box Holly Extracts – offer superior anti-irritant and anti-inflammatory properties to minimize the appearance of fine lines$62
Step Four: Organic Rehydrating Neroli Facial Oil
Facial oils are all the rage, but they’ve been around since ancient Egyptians used oils in cosmetics as early as 4500 B.C.E. Using oil on my face took a serious leap of faith, it’s hard to imagine you can cover your face in oil, and not break out. After two weeks of using it morning and night, I can report that my skin feels soft and I haven’t broken out once. See “after” photo at bottom of page.
Ingredient Highlights:
• Organic Jojoba Oil – light-textured and fast-absorbing oil mimics skin’s natural oils, restoring fatty acids and protective nutrients to balance, normalize and reduce transdermal water loss
• Organic Argan Oil – rich in anti-oxidants and healing fatty acids to help prevent environmental damage and promote healing
• Organic Sea Buckthorn Oil – herbal oil offers soothing, anti-inflammatory, toning and regenerative benefits
• Neroli Essential Oil – derived from the bitter orange blossom, long prized in aromatherapy for its uplifting, calming and oxygenating effects$74
Step Five: Correcting Rescue Crème
Yes, a heavy cream, over oil. I know, right? A few years ago my dermatologist told me that the red bumps on my cheeks I had always assumed were pimples were actually rosacea. All of the products in this regimen I’ve been using help soothe the redness and reduce inflammation. This is how the brand describes this creme, “active yet soothing ingredients reinforce skin structure, reduce redness, and promote healing, like wrapping your skin in a calming, protective blanket.” And they’re not wrong, it’s pretty soothing stuff. Protective blanket might be a stretch, but I’m here for the imagery.
Ingredient highlights:
• Linolenic/Oleic Polyglycerides – complex of glycoproteins promotes tissue regeneration, faster healing, and production of collagen and elastin as it visibly reduces wrinkle depth
• Butyrospermum Parkii – rich in fatty acids
• Tocopherol Acetate – one of the most powerful and protective antioxidants, Vitamin E also improves elasticity and smoothness$80
When You Need It: Rehydrating Algae Gel Mask
The only masks I’ve ever used are harsh glycolic products in an effort to unclog my pores. So, not exactly soothing. A quick google search for best ingredients in a mask for rosacea prone skin revealed algae – who knew? Kerstin Florian obviously. It’s meant to be used a few times a week, I’ve been using it whenever my skin feels stressed, so that’s pretty much daily.
Ingredient Highlights:
• Algae Extracts – rich in anti-oxidants and minerals that nourish, protect and detoxify skin
• Organic Everlasting Flower Water – Helichrysum Italicum floral essence heals, calms, tones and purifies
• Sandalwood & Salicornia Extracts – provide anti-microbial and antioxidant properties$42
Kerstin Florian Makeup
The same foundation has been in my makeup bag for over 20 years. Recently it’s started settling into the creases around my eyes, which is a really rude thing to do. They sent makeup along with the skincare products. I had no idea what a CC cream was, so I researched it. You all probably already know this, but it’s color correcting. It reduces redness, evens out skin tone and includes ingredients that treat your face. So sort of like a nice mask that makes your skin look better but isn’t heavy and nasty. With a summer tan the Sand color is perfect. The concealer is also a light touch, it’s not complete coverage, but it’s light under the eyes and knows better than to get all up in my wrinkles. With both products on my face I have a natural make up free look.
So far I have been incredibly impressed with all the Kerstin Florian products. I love that they are clean, botanical, smell amazing and are so light on my skin. They are less expensive than the products I’ve been buying and I have to say, I’m a convert. But if you only buy one thing, I really think your seat mates on your next flight would be grateful for some hydrating neroli spray!
The “After” Photo:
Visiting my daughter at college in Kansas today. Even though we landed at 1 am and I’ve only slept about 4 hours per night all week, my skin doesn’t look it. I’m wearing one layer of the CC cream and several layers of the concealer under my eyes. The photo is unedited and unfiltered. I’m no supermodel, but feeling pretty good abourt turning 53 next week.
You can buy all the products HERE and use code FALL4KERSTIN for a 20% discount.