The other day, on the way to the airport, my Uber driver told me I had great skin.
Seriously.
We had been talking about health, vitamins, food, diet and all that stuff (she had asked me what I did for a living). I told her I was pretty strict with my own regimen, and the next thing I know she’s telling me how healthy my skin looks.
Which is a pretty nice complement to get, actually, even from completely unexpected sources, like the Uber driver in New Orleans.
Skin care products and food actually have two things in common. One, you put both of them in your body, and no, “in your body” is not a misprint. You may put skin care products—washes, lotions, serums, masks—on your body to start with, but don’t be confused, your skin absorbs what you put on it. The ingredients you put on your skin wind up in your bloodstream (and ultimately in your liver) just as sure as if you had eaten them.
(That’s why toxins and junk in your skin care products actually matter just as much as the toxins in processed food or sprayed vegetables or antibiotic-fed meat.)
The second thing skin care products and food have in common is sensual experience. Every parent in the world knows that you can make a version of kid food that’s totally healthy, but if it tastes like you-know-what, your kid (and you) won’t eat it. Period. That’s how “health food” got a reputation as a cross between rabbit food and sawdust.
And you can make the healthiest, most organic skin care product in the world, but if it smells funny and feels weird, you’re not going to use it. (Trust me—we got some product samples of facial crèmes and shampoos backstage at one of the biggest conferences I spoke at last year—they’re still sitting in my closet. I’ve tried giving them away but no one wants them. They smell awful and they feel even worse.)
Enter Annmarie Skin Care.
Now before I tell you about the products I use from Annmarie Skin Care, let me tell you something about me personally: I’m not a do-it-yourselfer. I’m a big delegator, especially with tasks or projects that I’m not good at (fixing cars) or don’t have time to do (researching skin care).
I’m really good at finding the right people to do stuff. And one thing I learned from my previous career working with some of the top directors in musical theatre, is to the right actors and then leave them alone. The biggest thing you can do is get the right people in the job and then leave them to do what they do best.
When it comes to skin care, the folks at Annmarie Skin Care are indeed the right people.
I’ve known Kevin Gianni and his wife Annmarie for over a decade. To tell you the truth, if you go to their website, you’ll probably think—in the most loving and affectionate way—of the term “hippies”. They—and their staff- look like they’re totally at home walking in the fields (they are), picking fruit from organic gardens, and using natural and gentle remedies passed onto them by wise, traditional healers.
They were both very successful personal trainers who went on a journey about a decade ago, to find a better way to live. It was their personal mission to find the freshest food, the healthiest ingredients, the most sustainable living arrangements and the most non-toxic potions and lotions that could possibly exist on the planet.
They are exactly who I would trust to put together incredible skin care products that I can truly believe in.
Now I can tell you what’s in the products—elegant formulas with ingredients like Lemon Balm Leaves, Lavender Flowers and Aloe Vera infusions among many more—but that’s not really the point. (Trust me, these guys found an earth-mother chemist and picked and chose the finest of the finest natural ingredients. They’ve got that one covered!)
The point is how well they work. AND… how amazing they feel going on.
I’ve been waiting for rosemary-peppermint body wash to arrive (I had sampled it in a small sample kit) and now that it’s here, it’s the only thing I use in the shower. It just feels great going on. It smells great, it cleans great, and it feels great. I can’t even imagine using anything else.
So here are the products I personally use right now, and yes—I buy them, and will continue doing so! (Full disclosure: I get a small professional discount, but make no mistake, this is the company whose products I buy and use myself and I would do it even without the professional discount. They’re just that good.)
Right now, I’m using the aforementioned Peppermint Body Wash, as well as three other products.
The aloe-herb facial cleanser is delicious smelling and silky smooth, and you only need like a pindrop of the stuff—it lasts forever (I’m still on my first bottle!).
After shaving, I use the serum. I’ve used facial serums that were all over the price and quality map, from an inexpensive vitamin-C based serum that did nothing, to the very well reviewed and excellent Obagi line, to the wildly expensive Perricone line. There’s not one that works as well and feels as good as this one. Seriously.
Finally, I use a dab or two of their expensive-and-worth-it anti-aging facial oil.
I’d recommend and use these products even if no one else in the world was raving about them, but I’m hardly alone in my fan-dom. Mark Hyman, JJ Virgin and Chris Kresser all seem to love this stuff as much as I do.
I can virtually promise you that if you try any of the Ann Marie Skin Care products, you’re going to be as happy with the line as I am.
And who knows, your Uber driver may even notice!
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