Kimberley Pontbriand

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The best face creams, eye contour and skincare products in 2023

For as long as I can remember, I have always taken good care of my skin.

I think it's because I was always the first one to get sunburned, even if I only spent 10 minutes under the sun! So naturally, I had to act to keep my skin happy and glowy.

I sometimes consider myself as the captain of the #sunscreenteam, and I sincerely believe that if I had only one advice to give you to maintain a healthy skin, it would definitely be to protect it from the sun. Even if you buy the most effective products in the world, if you don't protect your skin from the sun, these products might just turn out to be useless.
Complementing my obsession with sunscreen, I also love a good skin care product. In general, I look for products that are known for their quality and most importantly, that are free of agents that could be harmful to my health.

In this article, you’ll find all my favourite skin care products and you’ll notice that I cannot recommend only one per section as I genuinely love so many of them!

Once you’re done reading, it’ll be up to you to choose the ones which appealed to you the most! Before I list my favourite products, here is my skincare routine! Below, each step of my routine is detailed with links to the products I usually use. Oh, and for your information, I have sensitive skin and I'm 32!

* My discount codes apply directly at checkout if you go through my links :)
Omy Labs: KIMBERLEY
Les Sublimes: ITS_KIMBERLEY_


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Facial cleanser

Since I have sensitive skin, I favour gentle cleansers that leave my skin feeling fresh, but not dry. I wash my face in the morning and evening, but sometimes I substitute my morning face cleanser for a simple cold water rinse when I feel my skin is drier.

1- Ormedic Cleanser (My favorite)
2- Hydrophin Cleansing Oil
3- Active Cleansing Foam
4- Gentle Facial Cleansing Gel

Serum

I am a huge serum fan. For me, it acts as a custom touch of additional care for both mornings and evenings, and it really helps my skin when it needs extra protection, hydration, or any other specific care. I use 3 kinds of serum depending on the time of day and the texture of my skin.

Vitamin C - A powerful antioxidant serum that reduces visible signs of aging. Alumiers Vitamin C is truly amazing as Vitamin C crystals are stored separately and are only mixed into the bottle of serum when you are ready to use it. The results with this product are incredible – glowing skin and tightened pores – I highly recommend it. I use it almost every day in the morning. Although when my skin is on the drier side, I use a hydrating serum instead.

Hydrating Serum - There are two hydrating serums that I particularly like, which are the ones from Eminence and OMY labs. Both are of excellent quality and filled with hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid nourishes all the layers of your skin for a deep hydration, and most importantly, it improves the skin's texture while strengthening its barrier. The skin is then better able to retain water, thus avoiding unpleasant dehydration and dryness.

Retinol - This night serum helps smoothen the skin, reduce pigment spots, improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and brighten the skin for a glowing complexion. Retinol should always be applied sparingly at first before you gradually increase the use of the product. I started using retinol at night before going to bed a few years ago, but I never use it more than twice a week.

* Warning: it is very important to protect your skin from the sun when using retinol.

1- Ever active C&E serum (My favorite)
2- Hyaluronic moisturizing serum
3- Customized serum
4- Retinal youth serum + Niacinamide

Moisturizing cream

Since I have dry, sensitive skin, I tend to use soothing, water-based moisturizers. If I feel my skin is severely lacking in moisture, I lean towards oils instead. Here are the best moisturizers and my favorite oils!

1- Age-correcting night cream
2- Ormedic cream with bio-peptides (My favorite)
3- Protini polypeptide firming moisturizer
4- Customized day cream

Facial oils

1- 100% organic argan oil
2- 100% organic rosehip oil (My favorite)
3- Damascus rose oil
4- Repairing facial oil

Eye contour

I always use a different cream for my eye area. The skin around the eyes is thinner and therefore requires a different cream than the moisturizer used for the face. For daytime, I like the vitamin C-based one from Image Skincare or the moisturizing eye contour from Drunk Elephant. Otherwise, twice a week, I use Alumiers' Retinol-based eye contour cream. Here are the best anti-aging eye contours.

1- Vitamin C eye contour
2- AlumiEyes eye contour
3- Shaba Complex eye firming serum

Lip balm

I love lip balms. I'm not much of a lip gloss person, but I do like my lips to be well moisturized. Here are the best lip balms.

1- Ormedic lip balm
2- Night lip mask
3- Tinted lip balm SPF30

Moisturizing facial mist

My daily secret, whatever the season! Since I have dry, sensitive skin, I often find it irritated by the heating in winter or the sun in summer. That's why I use moisturizing mists throughout the day; they're refreshing, but above all, very soothing. Here are the best moisturizing mists for the face.

1- Minéral BB Crème Teinté
2- Lotion Classique Visage Thé Blanc
3- Écran solaire Glowscreen FPS 40
4- Bruine FPS au Pina Colada

Neck, Décolleté and Hand Moisturizer

The last items on my list are moisturizers for areas we often neglect, but which are just as important as the face: the neck, décolleté and hands. My décolleté is particularly sensitive to the sun, so in addition to a moisturizer, I also apply sunscreen when it's exposed. Here are my favorite creams for neck, décolleté and hands.

1- STEM CELLULAR lifting neck cream
2- Firming neck & décolleté cream
3- Neck serum
4- Moisturizing hand cream

I hope you found this short list of skin products helpful. I've tested so many products on the market that I'm excited to share my best finds with you. Let me know in the comments if you try any products I recommend!

xo

Kim