Thanks to AV Laboratories for sponsoring today’s newsletter! And a huge thank YOU for supporting the brands who support TIBAAC. I’ve been dying to dish all about my new skincare obsession I know you’ll love.
Read on to learn more and find out how to enter the giveaway to win a gigunda box full of the brand’s luxe skincare valued at $780.
Having a one-year old and trying not to age like a president is… a full-time job. I don’t do Botox, so my skincare has to do yeoman’s duty—and my expectations for every cream, oil, serum and sunscreen are sky-high.
At a recent beauty event, a fellow beauty writer and editor asked me how I don’t age? I was baffled. To me, there’s a different story my face is telling and it involves being woken up three times nightly on a good night. But somehow, despite less sleep than I’ve gotten ever and shoehorning work, seeing friends and everything else into my waking hours, I’m still getting skin compliments at the ripe age of 44.
Another good skin anecdote? My former intern and bestie Julia said my skin’s looking about 31 these days in a recent post in which she featured me and I will TAKE that! I chalk it up to 35% genetics, 10% very little alcohol and the rest is straight-up SKINCARE. Actives. Ingredients. That is my smooth-skin weapon of choice.
So what am I using these days? I’m getting to that!
Though I have a promiscuous lack of loyalty to many, many beauty products, my serum and moisturizer are tough ones to dethrone. I’ll try new things, of course, that is the job.
But some products you try and they make you want to enter what I refer to as beauty retirement. Like, it’s a one and done. I try it and I’m like, k! We’re done here on the skincare front for the forseeable. I need to try nothing more. What can top instant skin smoothing, massive hydration, sparkling tone and texture?
This is a lot of preamble, I know. But your new favorite serum and moisturizer combo is here. And I haven’t let out of my death grasp since testing it out in November. I forgot to take it on one overnight trip and was DEVASTATED and slathered my skin right in it upon returning home.
Regular readers know that sponsorships on TIBAAC are few and far between so it has to be a product I’m using, loving and essentially screaming about to everyone I know IRL before I nail down a partnership. Another important thing? I’ve gone through an entire empty of this already since November—that’s pretty much unprecedented.
The serum and moisturizer duo? It’s AV Laboratories, and eagle-eyed readers like you will note I’ve briefly mentioned the brand on this Substack previously.
Also! Somehow, the site has a 20% off coupon that isn’t advertised but still works! Enter code SERUM at checkout to take advantage.
Let’s talk about the Face Serum. Priced at $195, it’s not cheap, but this cocktail gives my skin instant benefits. This antioxidant-packed formula includes argireline, ferulic acid, and vitamin E. It makes my skin look plump and refreshed on contact and I love slathering it on morning and evening. I prefer it to all of my former favorite vitamin C serums.
The Face Cream Light rings in at $158 and is light and silky, but hydrating enough for a polar vortex in your 40s. It moisturizes so well, I can still feel it on my face when I wake up in the morning or by the evening when I’m about to take my makeup off. It’s made with the brand’s proprietary AVL SOM3® blend, niacinamide, bifida ferment lysate, antioxidant-rich persea gratissima oil and pyrus malus seed oil. Truth be told, niacinamide wasn’t something I noticed made a real difference in my skin before and these other ingredients are new to me. But in concert? DIVINE. It feels like it’s quenching my skin’s thirst when I apply it am and pm.
More about AVL SOM3® from AV Laboratories: It’s the most advanced skin longevity technology, and powers every product in the line. The scientist behind AV Laboratories spent 25 years in stem cell science and made a groundbreaking discovery: the #1 cause of the signs of skin again is poor molecular nutrition. Here’s the deal: In our 20s and 30s, skin regenerates every 28 days. By the time we are over 50, it can slow to 75-80 days, producing the signs of aging we all see: fine lines and wrinkles, dark spots, hyperpigmentation, dryness, and a loss of firmness and elasticity.When the skin receives the exact nutrition it needs, it can renew, restore and rejuvenate at astounding rates, producing more youthful-looking skin. AVL SOM3® delivers those nutrients to your skin with a precision treatment of amino acids, premium-grade vitamins, and other nutrients that empower your skin for a radiant complexion at every age.AVL SOM3® provides daily skin nutrition on the molecular level. It's designed to support NAD+ levels and increase skin rejuvenation and barrier function. It’s 100% vegan and contains no chemicals, colorants or fragrance.
Anyway. This stuff has officially dethroned my considerably more expensive Augustinus Bader place in my regimen (the stuff had me in a chokehold since 2018) and I’m thrilled about it.
Prepare to hear about this new brand everywhere! Five years in the making, AV Laboratories is a luxury clinical skin care brand that provides biotech innovations and advanced skin care. It was created by a global team of chemists and molecular biologists with a mission to harness years of groundbreaking stem cell research and apply it to the skin.
Try it, love it, let me know what you think in the comments. And if you’ve found a duo that makes you want to enter beauty retirement, I want to hear all about it!
Giveaway!
I’m giving two lucky TIBAAC subscribers an AVL Premium Gift Set ($780 value). In it, you’ll receive all five full-size products (before their official launch!) and a signature cosmetic bag.
The set includes Face Serum, Face Cream Light, Eye Cream, Face Cream Rich and Face Mist. The Cream Rich is tremendous for your neck but also as a little extra moisture oomph to get us through the doldrums of winter.
To enter, you must be a free or paid subscriber and follow both myself and AVLaboratories on Instagram. Paid subscribers will get two entries automatically. Just like and leave a comment on this post and you’ll be entered. U.S. residents only please!
I’ll pick a random winner on February 17th and will update this post with the winner’s name.
Best of luck!
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