As you’ve probably noticed from the content I’ve been publishing on my blog this year, I’m trying my best to become a healthier person. Throughout my early twenties I didn’t feel a huge need or pull to focus on health, mainly because it seems like that’s just done for you. You have a faster metabolism, are still strong from sports played in high school or college, your skin is still young and fresh…and then a shift happens. I’ve heard about this “shift” forever, but it wasn’t until about this year that I really started noticing changes.

Not only did I have less energy and feel more blah (which is why I created more healthy food and workout content and truly tried to make improvements in those areas of my life), but my appearance started changing – and not for the better. As someone who has been lucky enough to have decent skin my whole life, turning 25-ish seemed to throw my complexion for a complete 180. It ain’t cool, but my mom says it happened to her around this time too. It’s especially not cool when my job surrounds taking photos of myself and trying to look my best daily, you know?

I started to notice that I looked dull a lot of the time, especially if I wasn’t wearing makeup – and I hate that because I really don’t want to wear makeup every single day (#whodoes), I developed fine lines around my mouth and eyes, sun spots started to show up, etc. All annoying, bad things. And all things that made me feel even less healthy – because the natural aging process began and it was clearly here to stay.

With those negative skin issues lingering, I was pumped when SK-II reached out to me about their #OneBottleAwayFrom journey, and honestly, it couldn’t have come at a better time. It was pretty much at the peak of me freaking out about my unhealthy looking skin. I’d heard about the brand before and only wonderful things, but for some reason they weren’t part of my beauty arsenal yet.

When they sent me their signature product, I made a promise to myself to work on my skincare routine. To become dedicated to seeing what this product was about – mainly because I read all about how it can actually transform your skin by using just one bottle. With the issues on my face, I wasn’t sure that it’d work for me or at least not cover EVERYTHING, but I knew I didn’t have anything to lose – and I wanted to feel/look healthy and beaming on the outside. So I said let’s do it, and I learned more about the product.

The product is called SK-II Facial Treatment Essence, which was intriguing from the start. I love, love, love getting facials, but honestly, who has the time y’all? I just don’t. Or I don’t make the time I guess. So the idea of having a facial or the results of one in a bottle was really cool to me. And much more doable than scheduling an appt every month and spending all my money at the spa. The reason the treatment is unique and so amazing (which I learned after staying committed to it!), is because of an ingredient called Pitera™, an ingredient that was basically found and is now “owned” by the SK-II crew.

Pitera™ is actually created from a yeast strain during a natural sake fermentation process and was first discovered in Japan almost 40 years ago. Asian cultures are known for their amazing beauty secrets, products, and practices, so it’s no surprise that this ingredient was born in Japan. And what the Pitera does is help the skin’s natural surface rejuvenation process, so it’s literally helping your skin get back to its natural, healthy state that you had when you were younger (like a kid, yassss). It also balances the moisture barrier so it increases hydration – again, leading to a youthful complexion. All about it!

If you’re interested in more specifics or are a beauty geek like me, here’s some more of its benefits: it helps to refine the texture and makes pores smaller, repairs skin’s elasticity (great for aging), wards off wrinkles, controls dark spots and makes uneven weird skin tones go away, and my favorite part, legit makes your skin illuminate. The brightening is pretty crazy, y’all – way better than a highlighter can ever do.

Once I heard all of those supposed benefits, I took my bottle and began using it every single day. After cleansing, I’d apply the product to a cotton swab, then gently trace my entire face with it. I think my favorite part – OK 2 favorite parts – about the product is how easy it is – it’s literally one step, and what a serious multi-tasker it is. I’m just not one of those girls who enjoys doing a facial routine that lasts 15 minutes every night. It’s just not for me.

Sure enough, I started seeing a difference (though it did take about 10 days), especially when it came to dark circles, uneven skin tone, and brightening. Those were where I noticed the changes first. After a month, I swear the fine wrinkles around my eyes are even finer – and my face is incredibly hydrated. It basically makes it look like I’ve been doing a lot of face masks and drinking loads of water…when I’m not always the best at that. I’ve even brought it with me throughout my recent trips, and though travel usually impacts my skin, I haven’t had those problems. BEYOND grateful for this product.

I do have a little makeup on in these photos, but hopefully you can see how clear, bright, and healthy my skin looks – or at least it does to me. It’s come a long way from a couple months ago, that is for sure.

SO, the reason I wanted to share this is because 1. I want to be honest about how I’m really working on making myself healthier and to share what I’m finding with you guys along that journey, and 2. I know I’m not alone with skin issues. A lot of my girlfriends are going through a skin shift too – I really do think it’s mid-late twenties problems, so I hope this helps. I try a lot of products, but sticking to this product every day has been ahhhhhmazing for my self esteem and skin. Yay for healthy skin!

P.S. If you’re interested in trying this out (and you should be…I promise), SK-II is kindly giving promo codes for my readers (because they know how much I love y’all!). Use these codes when shopping on their site and freakin’ enjoy!

*

• SKII99 (spend $99 and get a free skincare gift worth $25)
• SKII150 (spend $150 and get a free skincare gift worth $55)
• SKII250 (spend $250 and get a free skincare gift worth $80)