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Welcome to the #CleanOver40 series! I’ve teamed up with my girl Sarah from Whoorl to highlight effective skincare, makeup and lifestyle products that are rocking our forty-something worlds. This series will publish the second Monday of every month so check back for the latest. You can also search #CleanOver40 on our blogs to access the entire series. And tag #CleanOver40 on social with your picks. We want to see your faves! 

Now that the holiday season has passed, most of us are are saying goodbye to wine, cheese, toasts, dinners…and hello to resolutions, exercise, lettuce and Old Man Winter. It’s right about this time every year my face shrivels up and feels like it could hold a 5-day-rain. Something about the heat being on all day and the dry cold air outside that just has my skin screaming for moisture.

That’s where me and my girl Sarah step in. We both love our face oils. Sarah will talk until the day she dies about her love for Maya Chia’s Pure Supercritical Omega-3 Chia Seed Oil and I will talk until I’m blue in the face about Laurel’s Sun Serum but no matter what the oil, there is something all oils have lacking in common. HYDRATION.

Here’s the thing; oil and water do not mix. I learned this lesson the first time I tried to make salad dressing. So, same with skincare. If an oil is formulated with water (or aloe or some sort of liquid), it’s usually emulsified (forcing the oil and water to mix) and it’s called a lotion or a cream. And because of this, creams and lotions can be extremely hydrating for our skin. But not all face creams are created equal. I grabbed this list of what a moisturizer should do from this NIH paper and I also added a few of my own requirements too.

An ideal moisturizer should…

• Reduce and prevent water loss often referred to as TEWL or transepidermal water loss.
• Restore lipid barrier and enhance the skin’s moisturizing retention mechanisms.
• Be nontoxic.
• Absorbed immediately providing immediate hydration.
• Accommodate your budget.

And this is especially true for us forty-somethings. The Mayo Clinic says use moisturizers. Dry skin shrivels plump skin cells, which can lead to premature fine lines and wrinkles. And although moisturizers can’t prevent wrinkles, they may temporarily mask tiny lines and creases.

So, after years of testing, Sarah and I have picked our two favorite face moisturizers. We have a luxury pick for those of us who enjoy investing in our skincare and a more budget friendly pick for all of us who want the shoes, the bag, the makeup and the skincare too!

OO Cream by Jane Scrivner

This is a new find for me in 2019 and I’ve gotta say, I was immediately blown away just after one use. And I’m not exaggerating. The OO Cream is the last step in the Jane Scrivner Skincare 5 A Day system. I mean, I fell in love with this cream so much, I already have the full Jane Scrivner 5 A Day system on it’s way to me as I type this. MUST TRY.

The OO Cream is light in consistency and rich in color but more than anything, it delivers hydration. Like my skin went from feeling itchy and parched (like someone was pulling on my skin all day) to quenched, hydrated, plump and refreshed. And that feeling lasts all day! Long lasting hydration friends. LONG LASTING.

OO actually stands for “over oil” meaning it’s to be applied over your face oil to lock in hydration and nourishment as well as protect the skin. I love this because we really get the best of both worlds here. I can still use my face oil but I actually get that added boost of hydration as well from the OO Cream.

Some of the star ingredients here are argan oil for a smooth appearance, colloidal oatmeal for a calming effect, aloe for a cooling sensation and white birch bark for a clean and even skin tone.

Jane created her 5 A Day as a one-size-fits-all skincare system meaning the OO Cream is formulated to work for all skin types. Men too.

Best part!? You can score the OO Cream for just $38!

Ayuna Cream I and Cream II

Ayuna is a luxury skincare line based out of Spain. They are committed to simplifying beauty and nourishing the skin with only the fundamental and basic ingredients needed to achieve maximum performance. Ayuna values simple beauty and “well aging” and bases their line off the idea of topical fasting.

The general concept here is when we “eliminate overstimulation and limit intake,” the body’s self-repair and self-regeneration mechanisms are activated.

They have two face creams; Cream I and Cream II. Cream I is a little lighter and Cream II is a little more rich in consistency. Both have high-performing natural ingredients like phyto-peptides and plasmas from green carrot, arabain cotton, pomegranate, turmeric root and centella.

I love both of these formulas. Cream I is great for me during the day and also perfect for the summer months while Cream II is better for me overnight and also during some of the dryer winter days.

If we are talking consistency, texture, weight and the power to moisturize, Ayuna is pretty much the epitome. They do it all and smell amazing too. For my friends who are used to investing in a line like La Mer, this is a clean, results-driven swap you will be happy with. It delivers long-lasting moisture and leaves skin feeling fresh, happy and glowing.

Be sure to head over to Whoorl to see why she can’t keep her hands off of the OO Cream and Ayuna as well.

P.S. Don’t miss The Best Foundation and The Best Face Masks for us forty-somethings!

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