Eight of my favorite beauty products and brands for silky skin and hair.

Hi Christine Fam! Katrina here… I’m back with more self love hacks, this time focusing on some of my favorite skincare and best beauty products to achieve silky skin and hair so lustrous and smooth it will look and feel as lovely as your silk robe. 

As I mentioned in our previous self love blog, our skin is our largest organ. While you can always treat yourself to new silks, you can’t treat yourself to new skin, so I am a big believer in taking good care of it.

To further maximize the benefits of your best beauty products, it is important to apply them not only in the morning or after you shower, but before bed as well because your skin reaps the benefits of your products up to ten times more while you sleep than it does during your waking hours. So before you slip into a silk cami and tap set, don’t forget to lather up so your skin can feel just like your lingerie. With that said, here are a few of my favorite beauty products!

1. Favorite body moisturizer: It also happens to be my favorite drugstore product! Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Oil with Vitamin E and pure Argan oil. It absorbs quickly, diminishes scars and stretch marks, conditions dry and damaged skin, evens out skin tone and prevents and improves aging skin. This formula includes Cetesomate-E complex which helps these nutrient-rich ingredients such as essential fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants to penetrate deep into the skin for enhanced results. Did I mention it increases collagen and elasticity? 

2. For Acne Prone Skin: Rapid Clear Treatment pads by Neutrogena. These are my other favorite drugstore product…Anyone who struggles with acne like myself, knows it can be painful both mentally and physically. When I had cystic acne, I didn’t even want to show my face in public. Acne was the reason I was originally motivated to take such a strong interest in skincare, as I was determined to improve my skin. I still get pimples sometimes, but after trying countless products, I have found that nothing combats the problem like these acne pads. This is probably the number one product that I can’t live without.

3. Moisturizers, serums, face oils and beyond… I tend to change it up when it comes to these, and regardless, my recommendations might be irrelevant to you because creams and serums are a personal thing, based on your own needs and concerns. With that said, what I can do is recommend a few brands that I believe create the best beauty products overall and continue to incorporate into my skincare regimen.

The following brands create clean products that are reasonably priced. These are brands that I have never worked with, and am not being paid to endorse or recommend to you. Before we dive in, please note that no matter which brand you use, always apply your products in an upward massage-like motion and make sure to include your neck in ALL aspects of your skincare regimen. Okay, here we go… 

–Josie Maron: This Sports Illustrated bombshell turned skincare guru is known for her pure Argan Oil products. She is all about honesty, integrity and making sure every product is effective, safe and made with love. She is furthermore environmentally conscious, having built an ethical brand that continues to grow and thrive. Right now, I am trying out her new ‘Retinol, Reinvented’ ‘Argan Beta- Retinoid Pink Algae Serum’ and am LOVING it! Just make sure to use SPF everyday, even when it is cloudy in the dead of winter. Seriously! In the past I have used her pure Argan oil as well and loved it. I am hoping to try her tinted SPF next.

And just saying… I would LOVE to see Josie in one of our silk gowns for her next skincare campaign… Who’s with me? I also feel like one of our Lauren Chemise would be elegant and beautifully free on her… The best beauty products and the best silks on the best beauty? Sigh. 🙂 

–Drunk Elephant: Their products are powerful, clean and safe. Their T.L.C Framboos Night Serum is probably the most effective night product I have ever used. I am also obsessed with their Lala Retro Whipped Cream and their Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil, which is the product I am currently using by them… I think I would like to try their C-firma Day Serum next or the T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial… I just love this brand. 

–Tatcha… Their packaging is as amazing as their products. I’ve never seen anything like it. I am never without their Silk Canvas, but that is not a moisturizer or serum so I will talk about in further down the line. As for serums and moisturizers, I also use The Pearl (Tinted Eye Illuminating Treatment) and have loved their Dewy Skin Cream. Next, I am interested in trying their Violet-C Brightening cream and The Essence. I am also interested in their masks. With a geisha, Japanese approach to skincare, these are high quality clean products with incredible ingredients. And speaking of Japanese… How cool would it be to see one of our woodblock inspired prints used in their campaigns? The Geisha print would be darling. Another ever so fitting piece would be the Nightingale Kimono.

–The Ordinary… This company is all about integrity and simplicity. They offer quality, clean products at a very low price point. What’s unique about this brand is that they basically offer you a series of products that each contain one, single pure ingredient. So you can pick and chose which bottles you want to try to create a regimen that is very unique and specific to you. I am currently using their Hyaluronic Acid everyday. Up next I think I would like to try their 100% organic cold-pressed rose hip seed oil or their lactic acid… But its hard to chose! There are so many I would like to try! 

4. Favorite Cleanser: Purity by Philosophy. I have tried countless cleansers and this one is by far my favorite. It is the only cleanser from my experience that removes makeup and cleanses the skin all in one. It isn’t overly drying and doesn’t irritate my eyes or strip my skin of its natural oils yet leaves my skin super clean when I am done using it.

Please note, especially if you are wearing makeup, it is important to cleanse and rinse twice at night. Your face is exposed to all kinds of dirt and pollutants in the air all day long, so at nighttime, it is important to wet the face, apply your cleanser, rinse and repeat. 

Want to wash in style? From my experience washing in a silk robe is a nightmare. The sleeves always get wet and it obstructs you from being able to properly address the neck and chest. Instead, I always opt for something like the sugar chemise and love slipping into a short robe when it is time to apply my makeup. Your best beauty products and your silks are simply two peas in a pod!

5. The Silk Canvas by Tatcha: This is a PROTECTIVE primer, with nutritive benefits. It smooths the skin’s surface while making your makeup last longer, but unlike other primers, it furthermore protects the skin by keeping makeup out of your pores, helping to prevent them from getting clogged and causing breakouts. This product has helped to minimize the size of my pores by keeping them clean and clear on days when I am wearing makeup for long periods of time. I even wear it on days when I am not wearing makeup to protect my skin from dirt and other pollutants that come with living in the big city.

The protective barrier this product provides is derived from botanicals. It contains anti-pollution natural active ingredients that fight environmental stressors and visibly reduce the appearance of wrinkles and dullness. It also contains anti-aging properties which include a trinity of three Japanese super-foods: Green tea, Japanese rice and Okinawa red algae to restore radiance.

6. Face Mist: The Stone Crop Hydrating Mist from Eminence Organics is basically life-giving. It is definitely my daily pick-me-up and is particularly handy when it’s hot out and you just need to refresh a bit. This particular face mist is my favorite for its ability to hydrate and heal the skin. It reduces pigmentation and heals irritations. I carry it in my purse at all times. If you are looking for effective organic skincare products, Eminence would be the brand I recommend. 

7. La Mer Soft Fluid Longwear Foundation: First off, if you can afford La Mer and La Prairie, use La Mer and La Prairie… You can literally just disregard this entire blog up until this point. haha. There’s a reason why their prices are sky high. They really are the very best. I have been lucky enough to acquire a fair amount of samples from both La Prairie and La Mer over the years and the rumors are true. They’re the holy grail of skincare. Truly luxurious and transformative for the skin. While I can’t afford their creams, essences and beyond, I am guilty of using La Mer’s foundation and loose powder. I love these two products because they contain La Mer’s magical Miracle Both and are additionally packed with antioxidants. The foundation furthermore provides SPF 20.

8. Hair Care: Rahua Rahua Rahua!  To be transparent, this IS a company that I recently started working with as photographer, muse and ambassador, similar to the ways I work with Christine! 

My initial experiences trying the Hydration Shampoo and Conditioner by Rahua has been lovely. Their products are made with the riches of the earth, brought to your shower all the way from the amazonian rainforest. Sustainably sourced, rare and restorative.

Rahua believes, ‘Beauty is power’ which is inspired by the strong women of the Amazon rainforest who have been cultivating and using Rahua oil for their hair and skin for centuries. Today, the oil found in Rahua’s products is still produced by the same amazonian rainforest tribe, Quechua-Shuar, in the same ritualistic and sustainable manor that it has been for generations. It’s a lot to think about when you’re shampooing your hair, but I’m into it. And I’m into the results. And I’m into anything that helps us show mother earth how much we love her. 

So there you have it! If you chose to, I hope you enjoy trying some of the products that I use and love to make your skin feel and look like your favorite silk lingerie!