It’s nearing the end of summer, but a fresh face glow is never out of season. Congrats ahead of time to the winner of this giveaway, because this one’s a good one: Kate Somerville’s Glow Kit. Kate Somerville, esthetician to the likes of Paris Hilton, Kate Walsh, Felicity Huffman, and Jessica Alba, knows what she’s talking about, and she didn’t mind a bit sharing all the top secrets with me to pass along to you. Follow me after the jump to learn how to enter this giveaway and read up on the products. (You’ll want to, to understand the true power behind the Glow Kit.)
*Update: We’re giving away two sets! You’ve got until noon today, Monday, Aug. 31.
Congratulations Fern and Kathy!
Let me start off by saying that I love Kate’s attitude toward skin. Even with her 19-year background in a clinical setting, she truly believes that skincare is about skin health, both inside and out. Following is a summary of Kate’s top skincare tips and info on her Glow Kit (valued at $265 and available at Neiman Marcus at NorthPark).
PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE LINE
“The philosophy behind my line is actually the skin health pyramid. These are five principles: protection, hydration, feed, stimulate, and detoxify.
PROTECTION: meaning you have a good sunscreen, but also antioxidants, which can be great protection.
Number two is HYDRATION. So many consumers are confused between moisturizing and hydrating. Moisturizing is more about oils, and as we age, we lose the ability to hold water in our skin cells, so what happens is as we age, we tend to look drier. Our lines start to form, and it’s because we’re not holding water in our skin cells. This is really from not having enough Hyaluronic Acid in our system. You can topically do that and internally do that. Also drink lots of water.
The next step is FEED. What I’ve learned is that the skin needs a ton of nutrients. When we eat food, it’s the last place it goes, even though it’s our largest organ, so you need to apply topically, but you also need to internally supplement. Omegas are really important. It cracks me up when physicians say it doesn’t matter what you eat how your skin reacts. That’s absurd. It’s our body’s biggest organ. If you’re putting crappy fuel in your body, guess what it’s going to show?
The next is STIMULATE. Stimulating collagen and elastin growth is key. Right when we hit about 25, we start losing collagen in our skin. It’s important to use peptides, retinols, and those types of things to really start getting that stimulation happening.
Last but not least is DETOXIFY. Detoxification is so important because you want to get rid of that top layer of skin, which really can show damage, fine lines, and wrinkles. It makes you older and makes your skin look dull. If you really do those five principles on a weekly basis, you’re going to see a huge improvement in the skin.”
THE GLOW KIT
According to Kate, the Glow Kit contains the products she thinks people most often need to achieve healthy skin, but often don’t have. ExfoliKate removes the top layer of skin. (It’s a good thing.) “You’ll see results as soon as it’s off,” Kate says. (I can tell you this is true.) Quench is a hydrating serum, which locks in hydration and leaves silky-feeling skin behind. Then there’s Deep Tissue Repair. It uses peptides to promote collagen and elastic growth at the cellular level. What I can tell you is that this moisturizer penetrates deep into the skin, but doesn’t leave a greasy residue behind.
ON A BUDGET?
For the woman on budget Kate says there are a handful of necessary products every woman (and man) should have. “A good exfoliator,” she says. The beads in the scrub should be round to avoid breaking the skin. “Exfoliating shouldn’t be dangerous.” “A good cleanser and a moisturizer that promotes collagen growth.” Kate’s favorite is obviously her own Deep Tissue Repair.
To enter for a chance to win the Glow Kit, go here and fill out the form. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
