skincare tips – Jellybeans in the City

äKwä Ritual Skincare Line by 4Life: A timeless Korean approach to ageless skin

As women approach middle age, we often search for skincare regimens that are easy to adopt and maintain, helping to keep the signs of aging at bay. However, we often find those trendy skincare routines too complicated or tedious.

Enter the äKwä ritual skincare line by 4Life, a system rooted in the ancient Korean water approach. With its unique blend of fermented green tea water, specialty waters, traditionally fermented extracts, and plant-derived ingredients, this skincare line promises to nourish, rejuvenate, and promote younger-looking skin.

What Makes äKwä Unique?

What sets äKwä apart from other skincare products in the market is its dedication to the belief that skin health and beauty come first. This line replaces ordinary water in each formula with Korean fermented green tea water, which is known for its potency and powerful antioxidant properties. Additionally, the ingredients used in each product are paraben-free, sulfate-free, and phthalate-free, making them kind to both your skin and the environment.

The Benefits of äKwä

äKwä skincare line is suitable for most skin types and offers a range of benefits, including:

All-natural fragrances
Dermatologist-tested for mildness
Cruelty-free—never tested on animals
Gluten-free
No harsh bleaches, or other forceful ingredients that bully your skin into submission or compromise long-term skin health for a short-term effect

The Real Steps Regimen

äKwä offers two regimens to follow: Real Steps and Ritual Steps. Here, I will focus on the Real Steps regimen which is designed to address common skin challenges and provide anti-aging benefits. This includes:

Real Step 1: First Wave™ Oil-to-Foam Cleanser

The first step in the aKwa ritual skincare system, this gentle cleanser effectively removes dirt, makeup, and impurities without stripping the skin of its natural oils. It starts as an oil and transforms into a foaming cleanser upon contact with water, leaving the skin feeling soft, clean, and refreshed. The cleanser contains a unique blend of specialty waters, including Korean fermented green tea water, and plant-derived ingredients that promote skin health and nourishment.

To use, lightly massage one to two pumps onto dry skin, covering your entire face but taking care not to get the product into your eyes. Add room temperature water, lather up, rinse thoroughly, then towel dry.

Real Step 2: Glacier Glow™ Four-Way Toner

An alcohol-free toner that clarifies and illuminates the skin, it prepares the skin for additional cleansing and moisture, primes the skin for cosmetics, and sets the makeup look. This toner is also perfect for misting any time of the day to keep the skin hydrated and glowing. The toner contains a blend of specialty waters, including glacier water, and plant-derived ingredients that help balance the skin’s pH levels, soothe irritation, and protect the skin against environmental stressors.

To use, gently mist the product onto your face with your eyes closed or apply to a cotton pad and gently sweep across your face to remove dirt or accumulated makeup. This may also be used to tone, prepare your skin for additional moisture, set makeup or refresh skin anytime of the day.

Real Step 3: Precious Pool™ Vitamin Essence

This is a luxurious serum that infuses the skin with essential vitamins, ferments, and super-antioxidants. It provides the skin with a nourished, more youthful-looking complexion. This essence contains a blend of specialty waters, including deep seawater, and plant-derived ingredients that help brighten the skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and improve skin elasticity.

Use after cleansing and toning, by dispensing desired amount onto your fingertips, then gently sweep across your face and neck while avoiding your eye area, lightly patting on skin until fully absorbed.

Real Step 4: Ripple Refine™ Eye Cream

A moisturizing cream that is specifically formulated for the delicate skin around the eyes, this contains a blend of plant-derived ingredients, including an ancient mushroom that is naturally rich in plant-derived collagen. This cream helps promote a smoother, more refined, and more polished outer-eye appearance. The cream contains a blend of specialty waters, including Jeju lava seawater, and plant-derived ingredients that hydrate and protect the skin around the eyes.

These products work together to cleanse, tone, nourish, and refine your skin, promoting a more youthful and polished appearance.

Tips for Incorporating äKwä into Your Skincare Regimen

In addition to using the äKwä skincare line, there are other ways to take care of your skin and prevent aging:

Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water an eat water-rich food to keep your skin hydrated from the inside out.
Wear sunscreen. Protect your skin from harmful UV rays by wearing sunscreen every day, even in overcast weather.
Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep can contribute to premature aging and dull skin.
Eat a healthy diet. Incorporate foods rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals into your diet to promote healthy skin.

Where to Purchase äKwä

You can purchase the äKwä real steps skincare line online. Sign up here and use code 12112077 upon checkout to enjoy 20% off your purchase.

Achieving “Chok Chok” Skin

äKwä offers a ritual Korean skincare experience through a compressed program that helps bring your skin to what Koreans call “chok chok”—a dewy complexion that literally glows with luminosity. By incorporating the äKwä ritual skincare line into your daily routine and adopting healthy skincare habits, you can achieve ageless, radiant skin.

About 4Life

4Life is a renowned company dedicated to providing innovative and high-quality wellness products. With a commitment to research, science, and cutting-edge technology, 4Life has established itself as a leader in the health and wellness industry. Its mission is to support overall well-being and empower individuals to live their best lives. Offering a diverse range of products, including nutritional supplements, skincare solutions, and immune system support, 4Life aims to improve the health and quality of life for people around the world.

This post contains affiliate links.

Kiehl’s: nature-inspired, scientifically proven skincare since 1851

I always thought that getting into my 40s would present no big adjustments compared to how I lived my life in my 30s.

After all, age is just a number, right? If the adage that “you’re only as old as you feel” is true, then I should be right smack in the middle of my 20s.

However, time does have a way of catching up with all of us, particularly with regards to our skin.

As we get on in our years, hormonal changes are bound to happen. Our bodies produce less estrogen and progesterone slow down significantly, making our skin cells produce less sebum or oil that keep it soft and supple. These hormonal changes also hamper the renewal process of our skin cells, resulting in a less than glowing complexion as well as the appearance of discoloration, enlarged pores and wrinkles.

What these changes ultimately mean for us is that if we want to come close to looking as young as we actually feel, we should take better care of our skin.

Skincare 101

Fortunately, skin care essentially involves four basic steps that we can easily incorporate into our everyday routine:

Cleansing. The pre-requisite to most skin care routines, this step – which should be done twice a day, in the morning and at night – involves gently removing the dirt and pollutants that our skin comes into contact with.
Toning. As opposed to the stinging astringents we grew up with, toners are now formulated to balance our skin as well as provide it with additional nutrients and help it absorb those from other products in our skin care regimen.
Treating. Some skin problems seem to get worse as we age so we need more efficascent tools in our skincare arsenal to address them such as serums. These are medicinal solutions that contain concentrated doses of active ingredients to address specific issues.
Moisturizing. This step basically hydrates and softens skin by helping to prevent water loss and complement the protective oils found in our skin.

Now, the challenge is where to source the products to use for our skincare regimen.

Would you believe that a brand established in mid-19th century can have skincare solutions that will suit our modern lifestyle?

A heritage of skincare

Kiehl’s started out as an apothecary – the old-timey version of today’s drugstores – situated in New York City in 1851. In the 1920s, the store expanded into a full-service pharmacy stocking tinctures, teas and herbs, started introducing Kiehl’s branded products, along with its signature personalized customer service and implemented generous sampling strategies to induce trial for its products.

While a lot of Kiehl’s best-selling classics such as the Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner, Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 and Ultra Facial Moisturizers were introduced in the 1960s, its collection of advanced skincare called Dermatologist Solutions came about in the mid-2000s.

Today, it is one of the most trusted skincare brands, with nature-inspired and scientifically proven formulas to improve overall skin quality for visibly healthy looking skin.

Its product line includes:

Retinol Daily Micro-Dose Serum (Php4,940/50ml | Php3,950/30ml | Php1,500/10ml).

A potent anti-wrinkle serum with a powerful micro dose of pure Retinol, Peptide and Ceramides that help to visibly reduce wrinkles, firm up skin and improves it texture by promoting surface skin turnover.

Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution (Php4,500/50ml | Php3,500/30ml | Php1,975/10ml)

A targeted dark spot corrector that helps boost radiance and improve skin clarity by diminishing the intensity of dark spots and skin discolorations caused by age and UV exposure, as well as brightening skin over time to achieve an even and radiant skin tone.

Creme de Corps (Php3,300/500ml | Php2,175/250ml)

A rich, non-greasy hydrating body cream enriched with Cocoa Butter, Beta-Carotene and Squalene to moisturize dry skin, leaving it soft and smooth.

Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream (Php2,100/50ml | Php1,450/28ml)

A shine-reducing, cooling gel moisturizer that has a cooling effect to reinvigorate skin while helping maintain its moisture balance and oil production for skin that’s shine-free, fresh-feeling and healthier-looking all day.

Kiehl’s “try before you buy” samples

Kiehl’s pioneered in best practices for health and beauty products such as listing active ingredients and allowing shoppers to try samples of the products prior to purchase. It’s a great way for shoppers to discover new items to incorporate into their skincare routine.

So now, we know that products for an effective skincare routine are not so hard to find.

We can just drop by any of Kiehl’s Metro Manila stores located at:

Makati: Powerplant Mall, Ayala Greenbelt 5
Mandaluyong: SM Megamall
Manila: Robinsons Place Manila
Muntinlupa: Alabang Town Center
Pasay: SM Mall of Asia
Quezon City: Robinsons Place Magnolia, Trinoma Mall

Or we can stock up on our skincare products without leaving the comforts of home by shopping at its online store.

Know more about Kiehl’s products by visiting its website or by following it on Facebook and Instagram.

Olivia’s Touch: Skincare for a Touch of Confidence

I used to pride myself on being extremely low maintenance; in fact, I considered myself a koboy long before it became trendy.

I was not one to spend hours on a skincare routine, nor one who is constantly on the lookout for new skincare products to try.

Being koboy about skincare was a lot easier back in my teens and twenties when I still had the gift of youth to back me up by forgiving the sins I commit against my skin (oh, those times when I refused to wear sunblock!), as well as the sheer luck of escaping my adolescent years mostly unscathed by teenage acne.

However, as I near the more challenging period of my forties, I do realize that I owe it to myself to give nature a helping hand by taking better care of myself.

Self-care is becoming even more important as I age, so I’m glad that Olivia’s Touch makes this easy.

Olivia’s Touch is a line of beauty products which are locally made and produced using the finest ingredients. These are dermatologically tested to be perfect for all skin types and were manufactured in cruelty-free conditions to bring about the fuss-free yet luxurious kind of skincare that’s right for me.

These include:

Signature Minute-White Lotion 250 ml

Now I can welcome the brightest days with much brighter skin, thanks to Olivia’s Touch Signature Minute-White Lotion.

It is enriched with anti-aging and antioxidant ingredients – SPF60 Sun Protect to shield your skin from the harmful effects of the sun’s UV rays; Arbutin that evens out your skin tone by lightening dark spots, acne marks and scars; Licorice Extract to reduce wrinkles and fine lines; and Niacinamide to reduce pores and treat hyperpigmentation.

After my morning shower and evening bath, I massage this lotion all over my body to enjoy its moisturizing and brightening effects for up 12 hours, giving my skin round-the-clock care.

Niacinamide Serum 20ml

The neglect I subjected my skin to back in my youth does haunt me from time to time in the form of breakouts, hyperpigmentation and (ack!) the beginnings of fine lines.

Olivia’s Touch Niacinamide Serum is formulated to counter these ill effects, thanks to its active ingredient Niacinamide which shields my skin from sun damage, encourages keratin growth to keep my skin firm and healthy and reduces oil production and pore size.

As part of my morning skincare routine, I massage this serum on my face and neck using my fingertips.

Sun Gel SPF 50 100ml

I have known for some time now that the sun, though vital to our survival and day-to-day life, does bring with it some harm in the form UV rays.

Olivia’s Touch Sun Gel SPF 50 helps shield my skin from the sun’s ill effects while minimizing pore blockage and other acne-causing substances. It is also infused with Aloe Vera Extract to keep my skin cool and moisturized, even when exposed to direct sunlight.

Before going out, I spread a small amount on my face and neck using my fingertips to afford me my much-needed sun protection. Reapplying every two hours is not a problem as it feels lightweight and is non-greasy.

Whipped Scrub 200ml

An integral part of any skincare routine is cleansing but how do I gently scrub away the day’s dirt and grime, as well as dead skin cells to reveal the radiant skin that I know (or hope!) is just waiting to come out?

Well, Olivia’s Touch Whipped Scrub is formulated exactly for this: it contains Dimethicone that softens and moisturizes; Carica Papaya Extract which has anti-aging and antioxidant properties; Aloe Vera Extract which soothes dry, damaged and sensitive skin; Arbutin to help with uneven skin tone; Niacinamide which protects skin from the harmful effects of sunlight, toxins and pollution; and Shea Butter to moisturize skin and also prevent aging.

During my evening bath, I gently massage this whipped scrub on my face and neck using circular motions, then leave it on for two minutes (fifteen to twenty minutes for the rest of my body) then rinse off and pat dry before proceeding to my moisturizing routine.

With these initial products, Olivia’s Touch has certainly equipped me with a simple and fuss-free skin care routine – in keeping with my koboy tendencies – but one that that’s all set to protect and maintain my skin so I face growing older with a healthy touch of confidence.

Want to include Olivia’s Touch beauty products into your skin care routine to help out your skin’s radiance? Simply shop at oliviastouch.com and enjoy 10% off your purchase when you use my code “IGINFRAJ10.”

Be sure to take good care of your Olivia’s Touch products so they can also take good care of you by storing them in a cool, clean and dry area, away from direct sunlight and heat.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate this feature.

An honest promise to better skin: Celimax

Let’s face it: when you’ve reached the “wrong” side of forty, you have to step up on your skin care routine.

When you get to this stage, the sins of your past tend to catch up with you: the times when you stayed up at all hours, slept with your makeup on, or spent all day in the sun with no sunscreen on will start to leave their marks on your face and skin.

Hopefully, these sins of your youth against your present self are few and far between, and you still have so many years left in which to enjoy the skin that reflects how young and radiant you actually feel.

Personally, having grown up thinking that skincare simply involves washing my face with soap and water right before bedtime, I was dumbfounded to discover that it is actually comprised of several steps (which can be as many as ten!) and involves so many products. I could hardly tell where to start or how to go about my skincare regimen.

Fortunately, there are ways to pare down the complex skin care rituals to the most basic – yet essential – steps that still help to achieve to goal of minimizing pores and maintaining a youthful freshness despite the advancing years.

Honestly, I find a simplified routine a lot easier to do – and definitely a lot more sustainable to maintain in the long run.

This routine includes:

Step 1: Cleansing.

My busy days (and the hot and dusty city environment) tend to layer on dirt, oils and makeup residue on my face which may clog my pores, increasing the chances of unsightly breakouts. A skin cleanser should be able to remove the day’s accumulation of dirt while still maintaining my skin’s pH balance.

Step 2: Toning.

A thoroughly, but gently, cleansed skin should also be prepped to absorb moisturizers and other treatments you want to apply.

That’s the job of the skin toner. It also restores the skin’s pH balance and improves the overall skin tone.

Step 3: Treating

Despite a meticulous approach to skin care – or because of our past transgressions towards taking care of our skin during our youth – we may have some problem areas that we would like to address. These may include dull looking skin, fine lines and wrinkles, acne breakouts, among others.

Using serums, ampoules, acids or sheet masks with a higher concentration of ingredients to treat these problem areas will help in maintaining your skin’s health.

Step 4: Moisturizing.

Since we are not young as we used to be, moisturizing our skin is the order of the day – any day! How else can we keep our skin from drying out, keeping them nice, supple and young-looking.

To equip our skin care arsenal with the appropriate products to support our skin care goals, we can look to Korean skin care brand Celimax.

This line of beauty and skin care products is focused on transparency: it designs honest, user-friendly products with clean ingredients (allergen-free fragrance and no harsh chemicals) to bring about better skin for people with various skin types and skincare needs.

Among its products are the The Real Cica Calming Ampoule and The Real Cica Soothing Cream. As their names imply, both contain extracts from the cica (Centella Asiatica) plant, well-known for its healing, soothing, antibacterial and inflammatory properties, naturally derived within forty-eight hours of harvest to ensure maximum concentration of active compounds.

The Real Cica Calming Ampoule

This product contains 75% cica extract and an oil-free ultra-concentrated hydration complex to hydrate and soothe irritated skin.

To use, apply two to three drops from the automatic dropper and apply evenly across your face using your fingertips, avoiding the eye area. Use gentle pats to facilitate absorption of the formula.

Stock up on The Real Cica Calming Ampoule here.

The Real Cica Soothing Cream

This light-weighted hydrating gel cream is infused with 73% cica extract along with Dermatic AC3 (to manage sebum production and acne care for oily skin) and Niacinamide + Adenosine (to brighten skin and manage the effects of aging).

To apply, squeeze out a pea-sized amount of face cream then apply evenly throughout the face, gently massaging into the skin with small, upward circular motions.

Stock up on The Real Cica Soothing Cream here.

I love their light, refreshing and non-sticky feel on my face and the way they work together to quickly and effectively soothe away facial redness and swelling from irritation.

They are also easy and simple to apply, so including them as part of my nightly skin care routine would be no hassle at all.

Want to try these cica-based skincare products from Celimax?

While cica extract is usually safe for all skin types, it may aggravate or irritate the skin in certain cases. Also, results may vary from person to person. Be sure to scan the full ingredient list of these products before purchase and conducting a small patch test before the application to ensure your safety.

To know more about honest skincare products, follow Celimax on Facebook and Instagram.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate this feature.