Finding the right skincare products is always a challenge. When you layer on a skincare concern like hyperpigmentation, you might find yourself in a money pit of frustration. I've been there, done that, and have the drawer full of products to show for it.
Thanks to new technology and skincare lines that keep our budgets in mind, finding the right products have gotten easier. Here are eight products from budget-friendly to splurge city to keep in mind the next time you're looking for a skincare treatment for those pesky dark spots.
*This list is specially curated by the xoNecole team and some links are affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, xoNecole might earn a small commission.
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
The Ordinary
I started using this product just over a month ago, and I can report that the clarity of my skin has improved. My hyperpigmentation isn't gone, but nowadays I use less makeup to cover my spots. I use this day and night, and it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin.
Pixi By Petra Glow Peel Advanced Exfoliating Pads
Anthropologie
Pixi is a favorite of many skincare lovers out there, and these pads are no different. Formulated with 20% glycolic acid, you'll see healthier skin in no time. If you have scars on your décolleté or shoulders, pads will make it easier to treat those areas.
ARCONA Gentle Solution® Nighttime Face Serum
ARCONA has been a long-time favorite of mine because of their line's dedication to clean ingredients that work. Coupled with their Cranberry Gommage Exfoliant, my skin is always at its best.
COSMEDIX Simply Brilliant 24/7 Brightening Treatment
COSMEDIX
With two powerhouse ingredients, L-lactic acid and salicylic acid, this treatment can be used day and night to help reveal brighter, even skin.
OLEHENRIKSEN Truth Serum
If you've read any of my other pieces you know, I am an advocate of vitamin C. Not only will this serum protect against free radicals and brighten skin, the aloe juice and green tea extracts infused in the serum will keep the skin hydrated.
The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2%
The Ordinary
Thanks to a pro tip from an esthetician, I found out that if the skin is sensitive to glycolic acid, lactic acid might be the key since it is naturally made in our bodies. The Ordinary's Lactic Acid not only boasts great reviews, but the pricing can't be beat.
Neutrogena Rapid Tone Repair Dark Spot Corrector
Neutrogena
With all of the prestigious products on the market, it can be easy to overlook drugstore options. With accelerated Retinol SA, vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid, these ingredients will give your skincare routine a boost.
Sunday Riley C.E.O. 15% Vitamin C Brightening Serum
Sunday Riley
Give your skin a dose of 15% vitamin C along with a little glycolic acid on the side, and your skin will thank you with a healthy glow.
Featured image by Getty Images
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Skylar sees things differently. At the time, she was shooting content on her iPhone. Temi came into the picture with a new perspective, an understanding of tech, and, eventually, a camera. “He doesn't give himself enough credit,” Skylar says. “He wasn't just my tripod. He wasn't just standing behind the camera and going ‘click.’ He was giving advice. He was giving me insight to how I could look at things from a different perspective. And I was like, 'Oh, he’s an artist.' I think it was maybe a heartbeat of that kind of energy of like, ‘Baby, can you take this picture?’ And it turned so quickly into, we're partners. We can work together in a way where we're advancing each other's creative thinking.”
The pair often says they’re two sides of the same coin. Skylar is an Aquarius. She attended art school, paints, and loves poetry. She’s more than happy to let the couple’s management firm and agency, Kensington Grey, handle their admin work. And, she loves to sleep in. Temi, on the other hand, wakes up early. He’s a Virgo. He loves a to-do list and regularly checks in on the couple’s brand partnerships spreadsheet to make sure everything is on track.
Because his storytelling was steeped in his love of technology, he didn’t always think of himself as a creative person. “Where I [am] the dreamer who wants to pluck things out of the sky and spend all day with my head in the clouds, Temi [is] so good at grounding me and helping me figure out how to make things make sense on paper. We just work together in such a complimentary way,” Skylar says.
It’s been more than six years since Brooklyn-based couple Temi and Skylar started dating, and nearly four since they cemented their working relationship. On TikTok and Instagram, the couple’s travel, fashion, and home content regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve worked with brands such as Coach, Aesop, Away, and Liquid IV, bringing their vibrant perspectives to every campaign they execute. Still, nearly two years since both Temi and Skylar committed to full-time content creation and creative directing, the couple says their romantic connection remains their priority.
“We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting,” Skylar says.
Working from home can make it hard to separate work from personal life for any entrepreneur. It can be even more challenging when your business partner is also your lover. Temi and Skylar had already used couples therapy as a tool to help them effectively communicate with one another. When they ran into challenges while working together, their therapist helped them set physical boundaries to help combat the issues.
"We told each other we would much rather go back to full-time jobs and preserve our relationship than to be full-time freelancers, barely getting a night's rest [and] barely kissing each other because we're so busy shooting."
“It actually took us doing very specific physical things to create boundaries between work and play in our relationship,” Skylar says. “So, for instance, we will only have conversations about work when we're out of bed or we're at the table or in the office. Initially, when we started, we had to light a candle to say that, 'Okay, this is a space where we're connecting, we’re not talking about work.' We needed really hard boundaries at the top. And then it became a little bit more organic.”
The boundaries have been crucial to implement, especially because the couple began working together so naturally. When the pair first met, Skylar was NY-based a social strategist for BuzzFeed and was using content creation to drive business to her lingerie company. She was shooting her own content. Temi was working for Microsoft in D.C. He’d recently traded in his DJing equipment for a camera. “I've always loved taking pictures,” he says. “Even when I was a kid, my African mother would wake me up at 3:00 a.m. [during a] party, and be like, 'Come take the family picture.'”
Growing up, Temi says he watched his parents support each other and be the true definition of partners. He knew he wanted the same for his own relationship. But, the couple also wanted to make sure they were being financially responsible. The pair didn’t quit their traditional jobs until they’d saved up two years' worth of their cost of living. And, Temi received his Master of Business Administration from New York University with the knowledge that it could either help him advance in his corporate career or be applicable to his business with Skylar.
Temi and SkylarCj Hart @hartbreakToday, they say their working relationship is more of a “quiet dance.” They still implement some of the boundaries they learned in therapy, but they also lean into their natural strengths and deep love for one another. When we speak, Temi has planned a date for the couple to see Princess Mononoke in 4K IMAX and added it to their Notion so they can factor it into their busy schedules. “I fully plan to date for the rest of my life,” he says.
Skylar says the couple doesn’t just wait for date nights to check in with one another, though. This often happens in the mornings, after Temi has made her peppermint tea and poured himself a cup of coffee. When they ask each other how they slept, she says, it’s not just a “nicety.” It’s a genuine question meant to foster connection.
“A lot of it happens during the day in the midst of work. We'll stop and we'll hug. Or we’ll slow dance in the kitchen,” she says. “Sometimes it's hard to set a whole date night when you have 7,000 things going on. So, we must grasp these moments and check in when we can. And I think it's become so organic to us that I actually didn't even realize how often we do it. But all day long, we're like, 'Are you good? I felt like your energy shifted,' because we're best friends, we just know. We just feel it happen.”
What’s better than being in love? Building wealth while doing it. Watch Making Cents here for real stories of couples who make money moves together.
Featured image by Cj Hart @hartbreak