A French Face Cream

FACT...

The French know a thing or two about skincare.

ALSO FACT...

Cleaning out + organizing your vanity can lead to discovered treasure... SERIOUSLY  though - clean out just one drawer and tell me what amazing product you find so I can go buy it ;)

Since moving back from Australia, my bathroom + vanity had become this cluster of products. My goal with skincare is CLEAN + SIMPLE + EFFECTIVE, though you would not have come to this conclusion after one peek into my #TopShelf. So I finally got around to organizing and what did I find? Some amazing products I had brought back with me from a trip to France, that's what! After kicking myself for letting some of them expire (( THE HORROR )), I immediately hopped on to Amazon to order the best of the best French Pharmacy GOLD - A313 Pomade.

A313 Pomade is the new version of the cult fave Avibon (which the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow have raved about). It is the French Pharmacy version of a retinol cream. 

WHAT IS RETINOL?

Also known as Vitamin A and something you should DEF be using if you are over 25. It prevents wrinkles, helps with existing wrinkles, resurfaces skin + takes care of any pesky acne. Ever looked at someone and just been like "WHAT the heck, her skin is AMAZING..."?? She's using retinol. It resurfaces and retextures your skin to smooth, clear, glowing perfection.

WHICH ONE SHOULD I GET?

Good question, because there's HEAPS. A good retinol can be on the pricier side. I've had my eye on Shani Darden's version (( literally EVERY celebrity with amazing skin uses it )) but at $100, I hadn't yet pulled the trigger. I ALMOST bought Skin Laundry's bottle ($40, heyy) But then ended up blowing my budget on a pack of laser/light facials instead. ~Ooops~ BUT, while cleaning out my bathroom, I remembered Avibon/ A313. A SERIOUS NO BRAINER.

WHY A313?

Well it's French ...duh. But also, it has a retinol concentration of .2%. This is higher than anything you'll get OTC, but lower than a retinol you'd get with prescription. Unless you have REALLY bad acne or SEVERE sunspots, you probs don't need the Rx. French women are well known for taking amazing care of their skin. But more than that, they are known for super SIMPLE yet HIGHLY EFFECTIVE skincare routines. Walk in to any pharmacy in Paris, and you'll notice the white lab-coated women working there are serious about skincare. Avibon/A313 is their answer for achieving beautiful, smooth + glowing skin. I use my tube twice or three times a week and have never had any irritation, dryness or peeling. What I DO have is smooth + clear skin.

HOW TO USE

1. Start by using twice or three times a week AT NIGHT ONLY - Using every night right away will make you peel + super dry. Not cute.
2. Gently clean your skin - this is not the night for using your scrubby facewash
3. Tone + Spray your essence (( if you're into that ))
4. Wait about 20 minutes until your skin is dry and rub a pea-sized amount of the pomade into your face, neck + chest. Don't get too close to your eyes, the cream will makes its way there on its own
5. WEAR SUNSCREEN - You're doing this anyway, right??? It's doubly important to be using a high SPF during the day when using retinol, because your skin cells are turning over + you are extra sensitive to sun

OTHER FUN FACTS

• You can buy it <<HERE>> It's around $30 - Literally a BARGAIN
• You WILL notice results, just be patient. Using it every night will get you speedier results, but you'll have to go through a peeling period + that is just no fun
• It has a jelly-vaseline-y consistency. This might feel weird to put all over your skin + and you might be thinking "Is this going to break me out?" It's not, have a little faith!
• You really don't need that much. Warm it up between your fingers and a little will go a long way.

xo