Rachel Zoe’s Box of Style: Beauty Products Edition

Product spotlight on…Rachel’s Zoe’s Box of Style, actually.

If there’s one thing I can say with confidence and consistency, Rachel Zoe knows how to knock it out of the park choosing the seasonal subscription box’s beauty product for her Box of Style. I’ve subscribed off and on to Box of Style and there have been 4 notable brands (and products) I’m sharing that I would never have considered trying – if I hadn’t been handed them via my Box of Style subscription. I say products and brands – as the introduction to a single brand through Box of Style has led me to trust other (sometimes multiple) products within these brands. There’s more I have to say in positive light on Rachel Zoe’s box of Style, including other beauty brands and products I’ve sampled through my subscription. The ones I’m mentioning are simply stand-out’s I felt were pretty generous.

These products and brands are:

1. ExfloliKate Glow Moisturizer by Kate Somerville
2. Tatcha
3. Luna Sleeping Night Oil by Sunday Riley
4. Vinoperfect Radiance Serum by Caudalie

1. ExfoliKate Glow Moisturizer by Kate Somerville

I’ve repurchased ExfoliKate, Kate’s moisturizer, thrice over (big fan), and although I love it, there’s another that’s equally stolen my heart that’s clean & cruelty-free. I’m a sucker for clean, green and cruelty-free; who isn’t?! A note on shifting up our skincare and beauty regime once in a while (since we tend to revert back to old faithful loves more often than not), our products definitely do need switching up when our skin begins to adapt (to our repeat usage). It’s up to us to be consciously aware of the changes in our skin (and bodies) we experience vs simply falling into the repurchase cycle and complaining when something’s not working as it once did. Skin and health change, so does our product rotation. I’ll do another post on moisturizers, specifically, and leave this rant to this – and continue on with the review 😉 . Back to loving on ExfoliKate Glow Moisturizer by Kate Somerville, which I do truly love.

What I love: ExfoliKate’s texture is light and it absorbs quickly – which lets you put your makeup on without waiting for it to “sink in”. The scent is lush and fresh. There’s almost a mini-tingle when you start using the product. It’s ultra hydrating (I have normal/combination skin and tend to have dehydrated skin despite hydrating like a maniac; it’s just my skin type). What it does: hydrates, exfoliates, and as a result – it brightens your complexion. ExfoliKate contains ingredients that are amazing in causing your skin to “turnover” (aka exfoliate it). This is a particularly great quality for someone who has combination skin and/or is oily and has blackheads on repeat even if they (you) are getting professional facials on the regular plus being on-it with your at-home skincare ritual. When I added this product to my skincare ritual (love this product specifically for a morning moisturizer) I didn’t know a product could add extra moisture (hydration) without being “heavy & thick”. If you want a moisturizer that exfoliates, brightens, hydrates and is lighter in weight, this is it. To summarize ExfoliKate as a moisturizer, you could say I approve.

2. The Rice Polish Foaming Enzyme Powder by Tatcha

What I love: this brand is clean and cruelty-free. I didn’t give The Rice Polish Foaming Enzyme Powder a fair enough run (didn’t use it consistently or to the end) so I’m not going to review it. What I will say, is that I started taking note to Tatcha as a brand because I received this product in Rachel Zoe’s Box of Style which then led me to trust investing in one of Tatcha’s moisturizers. I was open minded yet skeptical about trying out this moisturizer, as I was so in love with Kate Somerville’s ExfoliKate Glow Moisturizer but – I was pleasantly surprised in my continued use. The Dewy Skin Cream is the Tatcha moisturizer I speak of. It’s a drink for the skin; it is dewy, and it is hydrating. It’s heavier, although not too heavy. You’ll want to brush your teeth or have your breakfast before popping any make-up atop this moisturizer as it will take a few minutes to sink in (depending on what kind of moisture your skin’s in need of). This is a great moisturizer if you love a dual purpose product and want to skip your face oil, this moisturizer feels pretty oil-rich on its own. If you like a dewy look, and/or want to skip foundation or powder altogether and go make-up free, this moisturizer will light up your skin and make you forget you need anything on your face to begin with. Make-up also sits fine on top of this moisturizer. There’s also hyaluronic acid in this moisturizer, which – what’s not to love on that front! Tatcha’s The Dewy Skin Cream is top rank in my books these days and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Thanks for introducing me to Tatcha, Rachel Zoe! – you are a Queen for always sharing the wealth. 

3. Luna Sleeping Night Oil by Sunday Riley

What I love: Luna Sleeping Oil is like a light (oil in texture) sleep mask for the skin, and you can expect to wake up reduced redness, reduced inflammation, and a fairly even skin tone (depending on what else you’re using and how you’re caring for your skin). You can use this Sunday Riley’s Luna Sleeping Night Oil on its own or layer it up. It’s definitely part of the night time ritual as noted on the bottle. It’s got a bit of a weight’y texture and a little goes a long way. The blue tansy is such a winner (as an ingredient) in my books. You know this, if you’ve ever heard me rave about May Lindstrom’s Blue Cocoon, one of my all time favorite products. Think: essential oils and anti-aging when you think of this product. There’s retinol in it – which I just learned (I’ve been caught up in blue tansy heaven) and with retinol on board you can look forward to wrinkle-reduction and not giving a damn about your pores because you’ll forget they exist once you start using this. I didn’t think I’d like Luna Sleeping Night Oil (had no reason to dislike it) until I used it and my skin now looks forward to it nightly. If I’m feeling it, I’ll pop Good Genes (also by Sunday Riley – I have a sample) underneath it, and pop ExfoliKate Glow Moisturizer overtop of it. Then, sleep to be woken up with great skin! This product is for you if you love a one stop shop product in evening skin care ritual. This is standalone amazing on its own – again, with the option to layer it up as you wish. Who doesn’t like waking up with minimized pores, firmer looking, hydrated, even-toned skin? Although not “Clean at Sephora” I still think Sunday Riley is killing the game and I keep being surprised with each product I sample. Great work SR Team.

4. Vinoperfect Radiance Serum by Caudalie

What I love: Vinoperfect Radiance Serum by Caudalie is clean, fresh, brightening, non-toxic and perhaps even unintentionally detoxifying. Expect to feel French when delicately slathering this non-toxic living skincare on. It’s simple, elegant and luxurious without being overbearing while getting it’s job done. The consistency of this clean beauty product is milky, light and layer-able. It’s not an “immediately noticeable results” kind of product, though nearing the end of the bottle I was getting really sad it was running out! It started out as the skin ritual product I would use if I didn’t want to “waste” one of my other products (yes, I hate saying that but it’s true). Then, my skin started to crave this product – particularly around my eyes, nose and mouth (areas where fine lines tend to crop up). When applied in the morning, this lightweight, unsuspecting product feels like it fills in lines and created a smooth slate for products to layer upon for my day. For an evening application, sometimes I’d pop this as my base layer, or second layer overtop of a retinol or Vitamin A product and before a balm or moisturizer. This product is for you if you love clean beauty, have potentially sensitive skin, and are someone who may not be into products with  seriously get-the-job-done immediately ‘active’ ingredients. This is pretty mild, yet it still creates results. I feel like the tone and texture of my skin responded to this product – as when I quit using it, my skin wanted it back. The true test of a much-loved product. Vinoperfect Radiance Serum is also acts as a subtle brightener. Perfect for the face that wants to glow yet not radiate an all-over dewy effect.

If you like this post, share it with one of your clean-beauty loving friends! Throughout my cystic acne, combination, dehydrated skin journey I’ve learned A LOT and have tried A LOT. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that I feel a million times better when I love the skin I’m in – and don’t need to put makeup on it if I don’t want to (although I have some AMAZING clean MU brands I’m going to share here to that I’ve tried and are tested and true to my standards, they’re high 😉 ). May your confidence shoot through the roof today, and may you KNOW you’re truly beautiful.

Love,

Sloan