Any one who knows my normal nightly routine knows that it consists of bad reality television, cold showers and a lot of insta stalking. Perhaps an extra wipe of my face with a make up wipe after my shower routine. It does not however, contain excessive moisturising, peeling, baking, soaking, scrubbing or any other techniques to aggressively improve my skin. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good exfoliant every now and again (when I remember), but I am definitely not one of those people who have a carefully planned skin care routine every night.

As a women in her mid twenties, half of my friends are getting botox, and the other half  are still getting teenage style pimples when they eat too much chocolate. Me, I’m dealing with some serious hormonal cystic acne (which I believe, was caused by using the Mirena as a contraceptive), sunburn and just looking tired 99.9% of the time. So when I was approached by Nerium International, the concept of having to follow a skin care routine was both daunting and intriguing. Once I decided that looking after my skin for once definitely wouldn’t hurt, I jumped on board their 90 faces in 90 days campaign, meaning that I had access to the Age Defying Day & Night Cream (Optimera® Formula)(2 separate products) for 90 days. Although these products are both listed as ‘anti ageing’ products, that wasn’t the main focus for me; (although always bonus points for looking younger, right?!) I was drawn to the promises of hydration, reduced discoloration and fixing uneven skin texture. As mentioned above, I struggled with cystic acne along my chin and jawline, something that I still believe was a side effect of certain medications I was previously on, so the hope that these products could possibly help with reducing that scarring this had left me with (and was continuing to, as I hadn’t yet found a solution to control the acne) was my main motivation.

The 2 products I used, can be found here. I used them for a total of 90 days/ three months over the New Year period (new year, new skin yeah?). The Age Defying Day Cream (Optimera® Formula) is designed to hydrate, smooth fine lines and wrinkles and reduce discolouration and is for everyday use. I applied it first thing in the morning, so it could sink into my skin before I put my make up on, and found it quite light weight to wear all day. It contains peptides, COQ10, jojoba, green tea, shea and cocoa butter and many more fabulous ingredients. From my previous experience in the cosmetics industry I knew that jojoba in particular was hypothetically going to be good for keeping my skin hydrated and reducing my acne marks and scars. Paired with the Age Defying Night Cream (Optimera® Formula), these products were working around the clock to keep my skin fabulous. The Night Cream boasts Castor Seed Oil, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, SAL14, and the companies very own patented SIG-1273® extract. All of these are designed to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and promote brightening and hydration. I applied this each night after a shower (they recommend on damp skin); this one is a heavier than the Day Cream and definitely has a much stronger smell, it is one I had to get used to. However, after 90 days, ta da!

My before (white singlet) and after (green tshirt)!

In my 90 days (okay, maybe i missed a few days here and there), you can see how much my redness has reduced! I actually never realised what a red face I had! These images are both make up free and taken (probably about) 100 days apart. A lot of the dark red marks on my face from the before image are scarring and marks from acne that I just could not get rid of, so I was more than thrilled to see when that long term scarring started to fade. I also feel like the skin on my cheek bones and under my eyes is a lot plumper and fuller, it basically just looks happier! Overall I feel like not only does my skin look better, but it feels better too! Hydration was always a big thing for me and my face and I feel like these products definitely help to keep my skin smoother than before.

You can see other peoples before and afters with various Nerium products on their website. I also can’t finish this post about my skin without shouting out also to The Petite Stork. While Nerium products have definitely smoothed, recolored and repaired my skin, for the last month I have been using a custom acne essential oil blend from The Petite Stork and can confirm that it has attached my actual acne to the point it has nearly disappeared! For more info or your own blends, you can contact Jade on Insta or email.

Have you found any awesome skin care products lately, let me know below!
Sending love and good skin vibes,