Well everyone, it’s only February and I’ve already found my holy grail skincare ingredients for the year. Done. Over. Byeee.
I’ve always been drawn to the bridge between nutrition and beauty. I feel a boost from certain things in my salads or my detox juices – so why should I not smear them all over my face every day for amazing skin benefits?
Vegetables are potent for your skin, especially when combined with key vitamins. So when Sweet Chef, a new brand under Glow Recipe, sent some product for me to play with, I obviously jumped at the chance to test out sheet masks and serum shots (the best kind of shots) based off my favorite foodie ingredients.
Introducing the skincare pillars that I’m standing by this year: beets, kale and ginger, with accompanying essential vitamins A, B and C. I eat ‘em for inner health, and now they’re my beauty faves – go figure. My morning routine right now is basically a farmer’s market for my face, and I’m totally thriving because of it.
My Beauty Heroes
You might know Glow Recipe from their blogger-beloved watermelon and avocado face masks, but Sweet Chef, created by the team behind Glow Recipe, is an innovative new skincare line that mixes the perfect daily shot of vegetables and vitamins to boost your glow and radiance.
The line contains a mix of three serums and corresponding sheet masks, all free of parabens, dyes, fragrances, and mineral oil, too. Serums and sheet masks are everything in K-Beauty right now, and both products are very accessible, especially if you’re doing skincare in a literal dorm room.
These sheet masks start at just $4, with the serums at $20, and not to be dramatic, but my favorite thing ever is products at an affordable price point. Plus, you can get these from Target (in stores, or online) which is perf since I’m always wandering around my local store in Boston, blowing my coins.
Now, let’s get into the specifics about why these veggies and vitamins are my skincare pals at the moment.
Beets & Vitamin A
Beets naturally re-texturize and smooth skin. Some days when I wake up, my skin’s texture is rough – like, totally uneven. But beets and vitamin A help skin cell turnover, so this combo evens-out my tone and makes me feel radiant and dewy.
The reason I’m holding on to these nutrients so hard? Vitamin A (retinol) is great for anti-aging, so even though that’s not my main concern right now, I know this’ll be a product that can age and adapt with me, when lines and wrinkles are something I eventually care about.
Kale & Vitamin B
Kale is the trendiest superfood, and while I loathe eating it, I’m obsessed with using it on my skin. When everything feels super dried out, kale calms and nourishes to renew my skin’s hydration and bounce.
I use this most when my skin is sensitive, red and angry (and my skin gets angry a lot). Too, vitamin B is all about eliminating stress, so this milky serum feels like a comforting, soothing hug for my skin.
Ginger & Vitamin C
Ginger is already having a huge moment for 2019 skincare, and that’s why this ingredient is my personal fave.
Ginger is most commonly known for its healing properties. Whenever I have a cold, I consume ginger-everything – ginger wellness shots, ground ginger in my tea – and this element in skincare works roughly the same way for your face as it does for your body, by keeping those nasty environmental aggressors out.
When you mix ginger with vitamin C, it’s an ideal brightening treatment to amplify your glow. So many days, especially during winter, my skin is dull and uneven, but this lightweight serum totally revives my complexion.
My main intention with prioritizing these ingredients is to find farm-to-product ways to get more natural with my skincare. Also, I love playing with these ingredients because I don’t just have one skin concern – and the masks and serum shots let me be totally flexible. I want to fix my dark spots, but I also want to be dewy. Now, I can combine kale and ginger one day, then ginger and beets the next to constantly customize a concoction that works for my skin’s needs.
But wait, a masking party!
Hopefully by now, you’re feeling enlightened AF about all the ways food can play a huge role in skincare. So, we’ve partnered with Sweet Chef to show you and your ride-or-die friends just how hyped we are too.
We’re giving you the chance to win everything you need for a sheet masking party for you and five of your friends at your college campus. We’re talking beaucoups beauty products for everyone in your squad—all for free.
Learn more about how to enter here, and make sure to fill out this quick application by Feb 22 to bring this party your friends!