Like most women I know, I’ve been on a never ending quest for perfect skin. Riddled by severe acne that lasted well into my late 20’s, sensitive to the sun, prone to scars and sun spots, getting my skin to “behave” has never been easy. Throw in pregnancy in your late 30s and everything you thought about your skin gets flipped on its head. From the return of hormonal breakouts to dry patches that were once oily and oily spots that used to be dry, suddenly everything you spent 20 years figuring out no longer applies. And that insecure 16-yr-old-self rears her ugly head, only this time she has wrinkles. I’m the first to be skeptical about any “miracle” beauty product, but I have finally found an all-in-one elixir that does seem a touch miraculous. It’s so good I just had to share it with you.

Lifestyle blogger Erin Hiemstra of Apartment 34 sharing her review of Vintner's Daughter Face oil, a insider's skincare secret

Meet Vintner’s Daughter. This face oil is an all-natural, non-toxic, botanical serum that is pretty dang amazing. Sure, it’s used by top celebrity makeup artists and beauty editors and has gained a bit of a cult status, but there’s hype and then there’s your skin. Are those beauty editors every right??

Always extremely hesitant about face oils after having a tested a litany over the years, I was willing to give Vintner’s Daughter a try, primarily because it is created by a fellow Bay Area mom who was also looking to box detoxify and simplify her beauty routine. Vintner’s Daughter founder, April Gargiulo started her career in the wine industry. After struggling with her own skin issues and learning more and more about the toxicity of most mainstream beauty lines, she turned her expertise in fine wine – working with natural ingredients to make an exception product – and translated that experience into skincare. It took her two years to formulate what she calls the Active Botanical Serum. It’s made of entirely organic ingredients (there are more than 20) from conscious growers around the world. The serum is 100% natural and formulated without added sulfates, parabens, phthalates, synthetic fragrances, PEGs, and SLSs.

I recently sat down with April to learn more about her foray into the beauty world (and truthfully, to glean anything I could from this impressive power-mama) and she explained how her serum works this way: our skin, the body’s largest organ, is smart. On any given day, it will take what nutrients, peptides, minerals or whatever it needs to repair itself. Vintner’s Daughter is formulated with such a dense collection of critical phytonutrients, skin firming elements, fatty acids and anti-oxidants that will meet your skin’s needs as they shift. So you don’t need to change your product. You don’t need to layer on five things. You don’t need a separate wrinkle thing and then an eye cream and then a this and a that.

But beyond all the big important sounding words, is Vintner’s Daughter effective?

Lifestyle blogger Erin Hiemstra of Apartment 34 sharing her review of Vintner's Daughter Face oil, a insider's skincare secret

Well, after having my little guy, my skin was often dry and sallow. It just looked dull. Growing a human will do that to you. But using Vintner’s Daughter has returned a suppleness and dare I say even a little glow. And I do not break out! Seriously. An oil based serum. Extra bonus points: it smells divine.

When I met with April, I couldn’t resist picking her brain a bit – about the beauty industry, about skincare and about being a working mom. We did a little rapid fire five questions in under five minutes session.

What do yo think are the top 3 beauty myths out there?

1. That beauty has anything to do with age. True beauty is timeless.

2. That botox makes you look younger. (preach!)

3. That beauty is simply what you see. It is the actions, words, gestures and the unexplainable light that the most beautiful beings radiate.

What are you top 3 tips for great skin?
Water, sleep, diet and movement. It’s more than 3, but I couldn’t cut any of them.

What clean beauty products do you swear by, other than your own obviously?
In Fiore cream cleanser, dry brushing, apple cider vinegar.

How did you get started making Vintner Daughter? IE – how did you transition from the wine business to the beauty business?
My fine winemaking background is absolutely the bedrock foundation of Vintner’s Daughter. It taught me to put quality first above all else. That if you want to make the best of anything, short-cuts cannot be tolerated. So much of beauty is fast beauty, cheaply made. I wanted to create something that like a fine wine, was made from the very finest ingredients with the most time-honored, methodical formation techniques. It is a more expensive and time-consuming way of formulating, but the efficacy and quality of the end result speak for itself. There is nothing else like Active Botanical Serum.

You’re a mom, an entrepreneur, a business woman – what do you do to cultivate balance/wellness in your life?
I work hard to balance all aspects of my life. It’s a big priority because I love being a wife, mom, entrepreneur, daughter, friend and woman in this world. I make a point of cultivating each role because they feed me in different ways.

Water, sleep, beauty from within. All things I can get behind. But I don’t mind getting a little help in the glow department.

 

For more of my favorite beauty finds, CLICK HERE.

What do you think?

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