The first thing I do in the morning is to brush my finger against my cheek. Actually that’s the second thing I do, the first is groggily waking up to my little one tackling me in the gut.  ^^;

After years of testing products, this finger-to-the-cheek test is the quickest way I know whether a new beauty product is working for me or not.  There are a number of other measures of course, but the texture of my skin never lies. The texture I’m looking for is chok chok –  Korean onomatopoeia for dewy, supple, hydrated skin.  Think of the plump underside of a rice cake. Or the bouncy softness of a baby’s cheek. (Matte, dry skin is the fastest route to aging as Katie outlines in her recent post on hydration)

Have struggled with dry skin that’s somehow still prone to breakouts, I’ve always had a bit of an obsession with moisturizers. With the right moisturizer sealing in my treatment step (a lot of you know that my go-to treatment of choice has always been LJH Vita Propolis Ampoule), my temperamental skin is lulled into behaving like it’s always been the calm, cool and collected complexion I want it to be.

The tricky thing about moisturizers is getting it right. If I skew toward a gel cream that’s too lightweight, I wake up with papery dry skin. And of course in the name of intense hydration, I’ve tried thick, uber-emollient creams that simply were too heavy. Imagine me as the Goldilocks of moisturizers, perpetually trying out products until I find the one that is just right.

And… I’ve found the One.

We started testing Huxley months ago, and it was love at first sight. The high concentrations of Prickly Pear Extract, a plant that is able to survive the climate extremes of the Sahara desert and is so dense in antioxidants, it has 400x the Vit E of Olive Oil, was one factor. The lush, light scent that evokes a fresh cut lawn was another. Simple, elegant packaging? Was a bonus.

For me the Secret of Sahara Cream: Anti-Gravity, was a stand out that never failed to impress over months of testing. The cream is a unique texture that reminds me of stiffly beaten whipped cream and is the faintest mint-green hue. It’s not just a pretty face – 51% Prickly Pear Cactus Extract plus a host of antioxidants and lightweight moisture binding ingredients leave the skin velvety and radiant. And it passed the morning finger-to-the-cheek test with flying colors, my cheek was plumply hydrated and well-rested in morning without fail.

I test dozens of products every week and this moisturizer became akin to a favorite sweater. Something I’d yearn for when I was trying on something else, the skincare item I would happily sink into at the end of a long day. Comforting, essential.

We stand by the Glow Recipe tenet of meeting every single brand founder, touring facilities and offices, because from experience, we know that products made with love are simply…different. It was amazing to hear the Huxley brand team talk about how painstakingly the oil from Prickly Pear Cactus Seed Oil is extracted and even so, their commitment to using it because it’s so efficacious. (It takes one million seeds from hand-harvested cacti to extract just 1L of this precious oil)

Some tips for using this cream. In the day time, take a dot and spread on your fingers, then press all over the face and neck after the usual cleanse/tone/treat. Sometimes I do this over my make up mid afternoon to perk up the skin. At night, once a week, I’ve been having great results with using it as a sleeping mask. I apply a little more than usual, then use my knuckles to lightly knead the pressure points of the face – orbital bones, cheek bones, jaw, forehead, nose bridge, middle of the chin for a few minutes. (I usually fall asleep midway during this massage.)

With the cold creeping up into the last few days of summer, I know my skin will be season-proof, unassailably hydrated & nourished, and well-protected with some serious antioxidant action. All I can say after many months of empty cream jars and some minor office product hoarding is that …there’s moisturizers guys, and then there’s this.

Get your glow on,
Christine
@christine_glow

P.S. For a limited time only, get these travel-friendly minis in a pouch with any Huxley set order here.