#111skin | AaronMstephensMBA

I will be the first to admit that I am guilty of always wanting to try new beauty products. If I could give my younger self some advice, skincare would be it. Growing up as a teen I had a high amount of testosterone, which resulted in blemishes, acne, blackheads, … you get it. As a teen it dramatically affects your self confidence, no matter how cute or hot you are. I was on tetracycline and at a young age learned at 3 step face cleaning routine. Then later in life I was introduced to Proactive. I know they are still around, I just haven’t seen any of their advertisements on television. I think back to what my routine was compared to what I do today and it makes me laugh. Today I have the help of ultrasonic cleaning tools, red light LED therapy, expensive masks, and my secret weapon … 111Skin 3 phase anti blemish booster. That little green bottle above. Yes at first it appears to be really expensive, but ask yourself … what would you pay to have beautiful, clean, clear blemish-free skin? $135 every couple of months really isn’t that bad. With Proactive it is always a 3 step process. I just use a few drops after washing my face. Then use a moisturizer. Done. Pretty simple actually.

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Now if you joined Ipsy, my favorite beauty box/bag company … you would know that they sometimes put this in the monthly bags and sometimes they even put it for sale in the daily sales events. Ipsy has thousands and thousands of customers so sometimes the really good stuff goes like within minutes. So at 7 am Denver time, they put new items online. Now you’re going to think this is crazy, but you can actually get the 3 phase online now for only $18, … not $135. Damn. Yep, scored me another one. 111Skin caters to the celebrities, and some of their products are so damn expensive you’d have to be a celebrity to buy them. However, I think that if you take care of your skin now, you won’t have to pay for expensive plastic surgery/salon treatments later in life. So if you didn’t sign up previously, go score a free bag, and then go back to the online daily sales items and score the 3 phase. That is, if you know someone who has skin concerns. I don’t know anyone who WANTS to look old. If your skin is beautiful and glowing, then you don’t need to spend a lot of money on concealers and make-up. Oh and if you are wondering what do “I” get if you sign up? Points. Points eventually turn into free products. Nothing super exciting, but I like points. I love getting membership rewards points on my American Express card.

DISCLAIMER: Other than points, I was not paid for this review.

Beauty is skin deep, or so they say. I personally believe that having beautiful skin is the first step in your own self confidence. So I took this selfie this morning and next month I will celebrate 48 years young. Crazy right? So you know I have an identical twin, and he looks nothing like me anymore. Sure we look related but not identical twins. So what happened? Well I have a skincare/beauty routine, and he doesn’t. There actually are millions and millions of people who do NOTHING to preserve their beauty and youth. I mean, take a look at all the old farts in congress. Yeah, pretty bad. Crows feet, dark puffy bags, hard smile lines, and hyper-pigmentation like crazy. Years and years of UV damage and abuse. You could take a sharpie and connect all the dark spots. And if you were to ask them how many of them actually use sunscreen, the number would shock you. It would be like getting republicans to vote for a credible bill for once. Dream on.

When strangers find out my real age, usually they don’t believe me, and then they want to know what it is I am doing to look so good. Is it a secret skincare product? A magical bean? A lotion or potion? Please tell we want to know. I can’t say it is just one thing that I do to keep my skin looking young and clear. It is a lifestyle of things. I’ve never really documented or written down what I do, and I figured now is as good as any. I mean, if it works for me, then in theory it should work for you, right? First off, do I take a special pill or vitamin? No. I do take a collagen supplement, and I just finished off a month supply from Dose & Company. Khloe Kardashian endorses it and it has good ingredients. Oh how I would love to have skin like Khloe. It is a powder and I put it in my coffee daily. Gorgeous hair, skin and nails. I seriously have to cut my nails almost weekly. I also drink about a gallon of some variation of water every day. Hot days, even more. Coffee, tea, Welch’s cherry flavored water, and sometimes a coke. No alcohol, and I try to stay away from processed sugars. If you follow my Instagram then you know I eat really healthy and make almost everything myself, including my own hard shell taco shells. Did you know restaurants put “things” in their fryer oil which make them not so great. So I love french fries, but I can cut up a potato and fry it in peanut oil with no added chemicals. McDonald’s, love your fries, hate your poisons. Stay away from fried foods as much as possible. That grease goes right to your face. Yuck.

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Speaking of, you should develop a consistent routine of cleaning your face, morning – mid-afternoon, and before bed. Sweat, dirt, toxins in the air, all kinds of shit gets on your face, clogging pores and making your skin red, irritated and not so pretty. I actually use the K-beauty (Korean) techniques and double, triple wash my face. What? Start with a make-up wipe, use an exfoliater cleanser, then a hydrating something (I use a goat milk version), and THEN a ph toner. That sounds like a lot of work. Nah, I can do it all in less than 60 seconds. My face feels fresh, smooth, clean and young. From there you can use an eye cream, a serum, and finally some moisturizer.

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Am I going to give you product recommendations? Well, I actually have a TON of beauty skincare products. 111SKIN is a brand out of London, Harley street, and is super expensive. I have gotten a lot of their expensive products at significant discount with my Ipsy membership. I highly recommend trying some of their magical products if you can afford it. Rianna and Khloe both love them, and so do I. I also am a big fan of Sunday Riley, and with both of these companies I have had terrific results. There is a company called “Fresh” and I have tried their products and I really like their face masks. I have found that masks are a “spa like” experience, especially if you use an ultrasonic face roller.

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With summer beating down on us, it is a really great idea to use sunscreen. I like SuperGoop, SundayRiley, and SOL Janeiro bum bum oil. The SOL is probably my favorite as it smells so good. It comes in a spray so it’s easy to apply. These are face sunscreen, not something you slather all over your body before you hit the pool. If you do any of your own research you will find all kinds of research that shows the UV rays are damaging to your skin. Ironic how our younger years it is most susceptible to long term damage, and yet, those are the years we think we can “lay out” and “work on our tan”. If you are young, don’t. Protect your biggest organ as if your life depended on it. Wear sunscreen.

These product endorsements were not paid, and all products were purchased with my own hard earned money. In all fairness, I was introduced to the Brazilian bum bum cream from Sephora as my free birthday membership gift and I have been addicted ever since. Vanilla caramel pistachio. It’s heavenly.