Learn Why I’ve Become Gommage Obsessed!

In today’s episode, we’re tackling the ever-so-common beauty concern that haunts many of us, especially as we navigate through the challenges of over-40 skin – the fear and frustration of exfoliation. I’ll break down how the Arcona Cranberry Gommage turned my own skincare woes around, offering hope and radiance where there was once resignation. If you’re looking for that breakthrough product to rejuvenate your skin and bring back that glow, then you’re in the right place. Get ready to transform your skincare routine and your skin. Let’s get started.

learn why I’ve become arcona gommage obsessed!

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In This Episode We Cover:

• How embracing the benefits of exfoliation can be transformative for your skin, especially navigating the changes in over-40 skin.
• What a revelation it can be to discover a product such as Arcona Cranberry Gommage; it’s gentle, effective, and can lead to clearer, more radiant skin.
• The importance of consistency in your skincare habits and how that can lead to significant improvements
• Integrating a product like the Arcona Cranberry Gommage can be a game-changer, as it has been for my skin’s texture and overall health.

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click here to read the transcript!

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Episode 58: Show notes

As someone who’s spent a large part of my life working as a makeup artist on bustling film and TV sets, the concept of exfoliation is akin to a delicate dance – one misstep, and you’re faced with a skin care nightmare.

If you’ve been tuning into my podcast, 5 Minute Face Talk, or even follow me on IG, or if you’re part of my group of email subscribers that receive my weekly newsletter The Blend, then you’ve likely heard me rave about a recent discovery that’s shifted my entire approach to skin care, particularly as I navigate the tricky landscape of combination skin in my 40’s.

For many of us, the mere mention of exfoliation can evoke a sense of trepidation.

If you have a sensitive or reactive skin type then you know the all-too-common consequence of over-exfoliation: a flaky, red, aggravated face that seems far beyond repair.

This has been my battle for some time, until I stumbled upon a product that promised to flip my skin care woes on their head—the Arcona Cranberry Gommage cream.

Let’s not beat around the bush here, our skin can be finicky, particularly as we age.

The once-coveted dewy glow becomes a distant memory as we contend with dry patches, sudden flare-ups, and unwelcome spots. It can feel like an insurmountable task to find a product that caters to the myriad of skin issues that come with premenopausal life.

However, the management of my temperamental skin took a turn for the better thanks to this boutique brand’s little miracle worker.

When I decided to give the cranberry-based exfoliator a try, I did so with a very small dose of skepticism.

Call me cautiously optimistic. To my astonishment, not only did I avoid the dreaded flare-ups, but my skin also began to transform. Spots minimized, and my skin found a new equilibrium—it was both exhilarating and a complete game-changer.

Exfoliation is the unsung hero of radiant skin. It’s the process that sweeps away the old, dead skin cells making way for the new, and ensures that serums and moisturizers that follow can work their magic uninterrupted.

It’s about removing that dull, lifeless layer that can cast a shadow over our complexion.

Arcona Cranberry Gommage has this uncanny ability to balance physical and chemical exfoliation.

Those biodegradable jojoba beads offer a physical scrub without the harshness we’ve come to expect from scrubs of yesteryear. And the fruit acids? They’re your chemical agents, working gently to dissolve what doesn’t belong.

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As my forties seem to whisk by, I’ve recoiled at the thought of introducing exfoliants back into my regime.

Fears of exacerbating my skin’s sensitivity have been overshadowed the logical side of me that understood the benefits of this essential skincare step.

But, like so many of us who find comfort in familiar routines, it took a spontaneous introduction to Arcona while working on the set of ‘Oppenheimer’ to convince me to welcome exfoliation back into my life.

Using the gommage has been like rekindling an old friendship—it fits into my regime so easily, and is going nowhere.

One of the marvels of this exfoliator is that it feels like a perfect fit for a maturing, combination skin.

This is a demographic that often feels overlooked, caught between products targeted at oily or dry skin types, or just young skin, ho hum….

If you find yourself lost in the throes of colder weather, tending to skin that seems to have given up hope, or if sensitivity is your skin’s default setting, the Arcona Cranberry Gommage might just be your knight in shining armor. /

Its harmonious balance of exfoliating agents ensures that you can bid farewell to the horrors of old-school face scrubs and welcome a new era of enlightened skincare.

In discovering Arcona Gommage, I have been gently reminded that our skincare needs to evolve with us.

What worked in the past might not serve us now. So, I want to extend this invitation to you: Join me in shaking up our skincare routines, trying new products, and finding joy in unexpected places.

As we look ahead, it’s not just about finding products that work; it’s about understanding our skin’s changing needs and adapting with grace.

Cheers to a future where exfoliation doesn’t inspire fear but offers a promising path to glowing, rejuvenated skin. Here’s to the beauty of transformation, both inside and out.

Click here to listen to this episode!

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Episode Transcript

[00:00:02]: If you’re a loyal subscriber to my newsletter, The Blend, you might be aware of my recent skincare challenges and in particular, my aversion to exfoliating in general.

And how I may have just made a little breakthrough with my combination over 40 skin.

Well, I have – the LA brand Arcona to thank for saving my spontaneous pre-menopause (there, I said it out loud) – spots and patchiness that can come and go in the course of just a few hours.

[00:00:36]: And for the most part, this gorgeous boutique brand has managed to do so with just one single product.
Well, I won’t keep you waiting any longer as that’s not really my style. But this product is the Arcona Cranberry Gommage.

[00:01:27]: Now, while I acknowledge the importance of exfoliating to any healthy complexion, I am quite fearful of it myself. If truth be told, my reactionary dry, combination skin tends to flare up these days and then dry up even more so once exfoliated. And the idea of even daring to exfoliate more than once a week puts me into some kind of flaky, red, patchy nightmare of a skin surface that I’m led to believe never dig my way out of.

[00:02:00]: But so far, I have been using the Cranberry Gommage three times a week. I’m a convert. No overly dramatic flare ups, and so far, touch wood. The spots are minimizing, too. So why do we need to exfoliate?
Well, exfoliating helps to remove dead skin cells from your skin surface, and this, in turn, allows new skin cells to emerge and give your skin that radiant glow.

No airbrush plastic layers necessary here, my friend.

[00:02:34]: It also helps to remove any remaining dirt or makeup that may have been left behind after you cleanse, and it, will allow your makeup to sit more evenly and more happily on top of your clear and radiant skin.

[00:02:49]: And it also alleviates your skin of that muddy, dull appearance that can happen. If you’ve let life happen, and perhaps your skincare has fallen by the wayside. And believe me, I know it happens.

Guilty.

Now, what I love about Arcona Cranberry Gomage is that while it is perfectly fine to use on all skin types, it will be particularly effective on combination skin.

And when you use it for the first time, don’t be fooled by that feeling.

Those little spheres, that exfoliating feeling you get, they are biodegradable jojoba beads that will help provide you with a mechanical exfoliation, or a physical exfoliation, it’s also called. And they’ll almost feel like a little massage on your face, and they will break down in time.

[00:03:39]: But it feels so good.

It just, it really, it’s like it wakes my skin up. The cranberry and raspberry enzymes will also work gently on your skin. That never does it feel like the olden days of the pre facial scrub of the eighties.

Do you remember that?

[00:03:56]: I can’t stop thinking about it. I can even see the packaging. But even the word scrub, which, notice, we don’t hear that as much anymore these days.

Anyway, enough of that. The horror story.

[00:04:09]: Another big green check mark for the cranberry gommage is the fact that it relies on both physical and chemical exfoliating ingredients. As we’ve just explored, the jojoba beads and volcanic minerals will take care of, your physical exfoliating, and the fruit acids will take care of the more gentle chemical exfoliating.

[00:04:30]: So what does that mean?

It’s win win for your skin. It’s interesting how introducing or reintroducing one product into your routine can so effectively change the feel and behavior of your skin. And this gorgeous gommage is certainly doing that for me.

Currently, no longer does my face feel flared up or clogged, and the spots are beginning to minimize. And I think what I’ve really responded.

[00:05:00]:
To is the fact that in the last few years, as I truly get into the heart of my forties, I’ve really shied away from exfoliants entirely. It feels like the exact opposite of what my skin truly needs.

But giving the cranberry gommage a go has absolutely proved me wrong. And if I’m being completely honest with you and myself, it may have been a bit of a wake up call.

[00:05:26]: My skin doesn’t feel dry or flaky, and in a weird way, it responds to the moisturizers and serums way more successfully than it ever did when I wasn’t exfoliating.

It’s so obvious and easy to talk about these processes, but just taking those extra few minutes and actually implementing a few extra steps, or even just this one extra step in my routine, has been a complete game changer for me. And I have to admit, I have the wonderful Luisa Abel to thank.

She was my boss and makeup designer on a little movie called Oppenheimer that I was fortunate enough to work on and be a part of a brilliant team of makeup artists a couple of years ago now.

[00:06:14]:
And it was on that project that our wonderful, brilliant ensemble cast, many of whom endured aging makeups on a daily basis, that I was first exposed to the brand Arcona and saw just how well it looked after our actors skin day in, day out over the course of filming.

So that’s how I was first exposed.

[00:06:35]: To Arcona, and I am so grateful for that introduction.

Anyway, off I go on a tangent again, but circling back, pulling it back into the gommage I wanted to share this product with you today because if you find yourself slacking off through this seemingly eternal winter season of whatever it is going on right now and your skincare has fallen by the wayside, or perhaps your skin feels and looks dull.

[00:07:03]: If you have slightly sensitive skin that just shouts at you anytime you go near it with a face cloth cleanser or even just a makeup brush, Arcona Cranberry Gommage might just be the product to solve your skin’s woes.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Arcona.

And yeah, if you haven’t used anything from the range before, do take a look.

I’ll pop a link in the shownotes page, which you can find, as with all of my episode shownotes on the website, which is themakeuprefinery.com/podcast.

[00:07:38]: And just look for the tube of Arcona Cranberry gommage.

Or simply scroll down to the bottom of your podcast platform page and you’ll see the episode website link, which is just another way you can access all of the info that I’ve talked about today.

And if you want to hear from me weekly by way of my newsletter, The Blend, jump on it by heading to themakeuprefinery.com/contact.

And please don’t be a stranger.

[00:08:06]:
This is the best way to keep in touch and to find about upcoming podcast episodes, makeup discoveries and tips that I share, and the odd makeup discount and sale as well. Because you know know I love a good sale.

[00:08:20]: Okay my friend, that’s it for today.

Now go forth and treat your skin. Okay, see you next time. Bye.

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