French Girl Organics

French Girl, a Seattle based company that humbly started out on Etsy, has since rocketed into mainstream territory, being peddled by illustrious stores including GOOP and Anthropologie. The owner, Kristeen Griffin-Grimes–an American with French-Cajun heritage–was inspired by her time spent in the French provinces in concocting her simple, and exquisite line. 

The Rose Lip Polish is a glass jar of a dry sugary paste that both smell and tastes of Turkish delights. It does a fantastic job of polishing dry lips, and the sweet-scented emollient it leaves behind is incredibly hydrating, all particularly nice during the winter. A little goes a long way, I've been using mine regularly and have barely made a dent.

The Facial Oil Cleanser is a great first step if you're into the double-cleansing phenomenon, or like me, going through a hot muslin cloth cleansing phase (there's nothing that feels better on a depressingly cold and gray winter morning in Seattle). It takes the makeup off, but also pleasantly resets the skin for whatever comes next.

The Facial Polish is super fine, compared to the DIY-style granule cleansers popping up on the market. It's also a bit coarse, so beware of overdoing it. A tiny bit on the t-zone exclusively, or blended on the palm with a hydrating cleanser has been my preferred method with this bottle. It's also been great with sloughing the dreaded bumps on the backs of the arms, and has a lightly floral fragrance. 

 

Pacific Night Serum with Retinol

One thing that the experts (and by experts, I mean dermatologists, aestheticians, chemists, etc...) all agree upon is that retinol (aka vitamin A) is an incredibly effective at reversing premature aging. With its ability to smooth out wrinkles, dissolve pore clogging dead skin cells, fade stubborn acne scars and sun spots, retinol is a multitasking, overachieving topshelf heavyweight.

This particular bottle makes a difference after one application. When I don't use it, I can tell. It keeps breakouts at bay, and instrumental in softening my pregnancy induced freckles acquired over the past year. For extra potency, mixing it with a facial oil (I've been using Kahina Giving Beauty's Argan Oil) really increases the absorption and amps up the benefits. I'm nearly out of this bottle and apparently, they've since revamped the formula. Here's hoping it's just as effective.