The Face Ritual

"Less, but quality, which is how I live my life."

Three steps: wash, mist, hydrate. Four products, because the first step changes with what your skin needs that day. This is what I start just about anybody on.

Step one. The Wash and The Face Oil

Your cleanser is meant to do one simple easy thing: wash the impurities of the day out. Dirt, makeup, everything you've carried onto your skin. A thorough cleansing process that won't strip the skin.

Two ways to do it, and I recommend one or the other depending on the condition of your skin. The Wash is the daily foam, face and body. The Face Oil melts makeup and sunscreen off a damp face, applied with a cloth. Some days you need one, some days the other. So you have both.

Step two. The Mist

Right out of the shower, while your skin is still dry from the towel, mist your entire face. A hydrosol is the water released when a plant is distilled into its essential oil, so you're using the power of the plants in that water to do the work it's meant to do.

I also use it during a workout, on a run, and at the beach when my skin feels parched.

Step three. The Balm

A pea size to a pea and a half, face and neck, applied directly on top of that water while the skin is still wet. Oil and water attract each other, so the water locks the balm into the skin instead of leaving that greasy, sticky sensation. Once everything settles and gets absorbed, it has a beautiful satin finish. It looks dewy. You're hydrated, and you're not feeling cakey.

The balm was created so I'd have one all-in-one product instead of five million things to layer on my skin. Serums for the eyes, lip cream for the lips, hyaluronic acid, then another eye cream for a specific part of the eye. I wanted to eliminate that. I use it on my lips, under my eyes, my eyelids, my forehead, behind my ears, all over my body. Whatever is left over goes in my hair.

What's inside the balm, and why

• Infused Vanilla Jojoba Oil. The carrier. The closest thing to what the skin already makes, so it sits well and never feels heavy.
• Aloe Vera Oil. When your skin is at its worst, aloe is the first thing anyone reaches for. That's why it's in here.
• Ashwagandha Oil.
• Golden Beeswax. Creates a beautiful film that protects while still letting the skin breathe. I've sourced it locally since the beginning of this journey.
• Seabuckthorn Berry Oil. Seed and pulp. The berry that gives this balm its colour.
• Babchi Oil. Instead of retinol, I chose babchi oil. A plant oil, one I can use every day without thinking about it.
• Citrus Aurantium Var. Amara (Neroli). The note at the end, and most of what you smell.

less.butbetter. Made for true skin balance, not skin type.