This skincare noob scored free advice & samples from a pro to help with her skin concerns

It’s a running joke among my friends that I have the skincare routine of a barely enlightened teenage boy.

When I was younger, I could mostly get away with this.

But my skin has been getting more temperamental as of late — one of the tragedies of age, I suppose.

Trigger warning: gross skin ahead.

Since I know nothing about skincare — my routine comprises a grand total of two steps, face wash and whatever moisturiser I happen to have on hand — I decided to go to the pros for help.

Glowing up

If you’ve ever passed by a Kiehl’s store, you might have noticed it looks a little different from your typical pastel-toned beauty salon setup.

There’s a skeleton in the storefront — very secondary-school science class — and it’s staffed by consultants in white lab coats.

Mika, the consultant who greeted me when I headed down for a skincare consultation, explained that it’s because Kiehl’s was founded in New York City as an apothecary.

“Which is like a pharmacy,” she said.

While Kiehl’s is now a full-fledged skincare brand, its products are all fragrance-free and paraben-free.

As no-fuss as it gets.

Mika first sat me down for a skin analysis, using a Kiehl’s machine that scans for major skin concerns.

I confess that this was where I was prepared to be informed that I had every skin problem known to man, and be hard-sold a whole array of products.

To my surprise, that’s not how it went.

After the skin analysis — which took a couple of seconds — Mika informed me that my main problem was really just dry skin.

Which makes sense, considering I have eczema.

She took me through a list of skin concerns — everything from dark spots to crow’s feet — and showed me how I ranked compared to the average person my age.

I did all right in most things, except that my pores were clogged (refer to above gross photo).

“Do you exfoliate? You need to exfoliate more,” she told me.

“Exfoliate?” I asked.

At the end of the session, she recommended a whole new skincare routine to me.

A typical skincare routine, Mika explained, consists of six steps, in this order: cleansing, toning, eye cream, serum(s), moisturiser, and sunscreen to top it off.

I asked which three components she’d recommend for someone lazy low-maintenance, like me.

“That’s really difficult,” she quipped. But finally, she narrowed it down to three things: cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturising.

For exfoliation, she recommended Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective™ Daily Re-Texturizing Triple-Acid Peel.

With gentle yet powerful ingredients like AHA, PHA and BHA — both well-known chemical exfoliants — it promises smoother skin texture, while also being gentle enough for daily use.

Free samples

Talk is all fine. But would Kiehl’s products actually work though?

If, like me, you’re a bit of a sceptic, Kiehl’s “try before you buy” sampling initiative will allow you to test the products out for yourself first before you decide to make a purchase.

Simply go down to the store to get your own skin analysis done, and product samples targeted at your skin concerns.

Additionally, you can sign up to redeem a six-piece Slippery Glass Skin sampling kit — no purchase required.

(BTW, in case you haven’t heard of “slippery glass skin”, it’s a K-beauty trend that refers to skin that’s smooth, clear, and radiant — just like glass.)

The sampling kit included the Triple Acid Peel Mika had earlier recommended, as well as a few other products to help you achieve Slippery Glass Skin.

There was the Clearly Corrective™ Dark Spot Solution, which uses activated Vitamin C and proxylane to correct post-blemish marks, brighten skin, restore skin elasticity, and smoothen skin.

According to Kiehl, the best results can be achieved if you use this solution with the Triple Acid Peel.

And there was also the Clearly Corrective™ Clarity-Activating Soothing Emulsion, a lightweight emulsion that moisturises the skin.

It contains brightening and soothing ingredients like niacinamide, licorice root, and carnosine, to help target skin dullness, redness, and post-blemish marks.

Reflections

After signing up successfully, I went home with my mind full of new information and my pockets full of samples.

Honestly, at risk of sounding overly shallow, it does prick at my self-confidence when I get breakouts and blemishes.

A new pimple is enough to ruin my morning. I find myself, quite irrationally for a 28-year-old, wondering if people will notice.

Worse, I start reminiscing how my skin used to be: thoughtlessly, effortlessly clear.

But I’ve learnt that just like how I can no longer get through an all-nighter with an afternoon nap and good vibes — things change with age.

It doesn’t have to be a bad thing that I change my routines as well, to cope. I’m not obsessive or vain just because I want to not be breaking out all the time.

And it doesn’t have to be fancy or fussy.

It could be something pretty simple.

It could be, for a start, as simple as incorporating a third step into my skincare routine.

If you’d like to find out more about Kiehl's products or shop online, you can visit their website here for more information.

Writing this Kiehl’s-sponsored article made this writer think she could probably afford to spend more than five minutes on her skincare routine.