
Winter is perfect for the extra hydrating moisturizers, easygoing cleansers, and obviously nurturing shower haircare. I’m pretty simple when it comes to skincare. Only a couple days in a week are when I have a really lavish extra routine for my face. But my daily toilette is fairly simple. As in 1 layer of product simple.
It was my first time trying the Mandarin Facial Hydrating Cream.

And it was exactly how I thought it was going to be. Rich. Fabulous. Smelled like tangerine, because Vitamin C. It’s so thick that when I put it on it feels like it’s not even penetrating the skin and is more of a barrier. I think this would be perfect on top of a serum. I’m not using serum to start the winter, just because I don’t like the heavy feeling of a ton of stuff on my skin. I don’t like skin makeup and I apologize for my genetic broken capillaries being so prominent. My face looks scary and veiny! (Looking into IPL lasers for that soon!)

I really need help with skin evenness and brightening. Lack of glow is one of my general issues along with superbly uneven skin tone. I heard it may be something to do with the fact that I’ve given birth and the hormones in your body are just different after that. Is this actually brightening? It feels thick and rich when I use it but will have to use it more consistently for at least a few more weeks to see. Update coming at ya!
Why I chose the In Two Minds Facial Cleanser:
Boy is this bottle pretty. That’s not why I bought it, but holding it in person and feeling its weight is something else. Online I was reading about which cleanser would best fit my needs and this seemed to be it. It’s not anything spectacularly different, but I found a hack to save money. I take some sugar, add it to the cleanser with a drop of it in my hand, and it’s the perfect exfoliant! Et voila!

The smell is also like tangerine, but darker this time. Kind of minty, and–oh. I’m reading the label in the photo in front of me now and I’m seeing that’s is sage leaf haha. That’s the smell. Personally, I’m not a fan of rich dark smells. But if it means it will clean my skin, I’m all for it! Usually I love young, naive flowery scents. This is very adult and refined. 😅I feel like I need to sniff and wave around a glass of wine as I type this.
I also use it plan and simple in the shower or when I immediately wake up. Other times for my deeply lavish nightly routine, I put it on my generic brand Amazon-bought spinning face brush and wash my face like a car wash.
And finally, the Nurturing Shampoo + Conditioner set.
As you can see, I actually used this. I went to the conscious effort of trying it first to give an honest review. haha. I really hope my silly sarcasm translates sometimes.

No, I originally bought the Aesop Nurturing Conditioner last year as I was in the process of constantly dying my hair. (Laugh at the blonde photos on my Insta.) Paired it with a different brand shampoo because it was the only combination that worked for the result I wanted for some reason.
You know how you have second day hair? Or as my dad would say, “hair 6 hours in”. When it’s exactly how you want it in weight, style, and texture? I get that with this set.
My hair is insanely perfect even if I just let my hair air dry. Blowdrying makes my hair look super 80s anyway. But I don’t need to lie down for a couple hours and roll around just to get my hair styled precisely how I want it. I’ve tried every Aesop hair set in all the different combinations, and this is the only one that makes my hair feel silky smooth and look shiny too. This is the holy grail of haircare and I can’t go back. My hair truly hasn’t looked or felt this healthy since I was 7. I remember because other kids would always play with my hair and say so.