Julie's Fifth Week with the Summer Box

Julie is 38 with combination skin, an oil-prone t-zone and normal/dry cheeks. Her concerns are hormonal acne, erythematotelangiectatic (subtype 1) rosacea, dry under-eyes, and the first signs of aging. She lives in east-central Indiana, USA, which is hot (75-90ºF) and humid during the summer.

General Impressions

I was excited to be chosen as a Summer Box reviewer because as a long-time user of a few Sabbatical Beauty products, I’m familiar with how incredibly potent they are. However, I had never had the chance to use SB products for every single step in my skincare routine before this. And wow, I am impressed! The products work in harmony with one another, complementing and enhancing their effects. The whole Summer Box routine is totally customizable as well. This is really important because our skin does change slightly from day to day depending on many factors, including the weather. As a resident of a relatively hot/humid summer climate, I found that the products gave me the skin that I wanted, without making me overly oily or too dried out.

Changes I’ve seen

When I started the Summer Box program, my rosacea was doing its “being unpredictable” thing--super-red some days, not so red others, but annoying all the time. Now--like I said last week, the rosacea has stabilized with little noticeable redness on most days. I’ve also noticed that the Summer Box is amazing at taming my hormonal acne! I did have a breakout on my chin during my time with the box, but the products working together made the painful cystic bumps recede almost as quickly as they appeared! As I mentioned before, I’ve never had really bad acne, but I’ve never NOT had some kind of acne, even into adulthood. SB products continue to do good work changing that story!  I should also mention that my skin looks plump, hydrated, and youthful every day, even when I wake up at 5:00am!

AM Routine & PM routine

AM:

Bamboo Foaming Cleanser (coming soon!)/ Oatmeal & Rice Cleansing Grains (coming soon!) (alternating days)

Detox Herbal Mask (every 3 days)

Strawberry Exfoliating Toner (coming soon!) (every other day)

Cucumber & Aloe Mist (coming soon!)

Coconut Serum

Marine Serum

Red Wine Pressed Serum

SPF

PM:

non-SB oil cleansing balm (makeup days only)

Bamboo Foaming Cleanser (coming soon!)

Peppermint Water (makeup days only)

Coconut Serum

Red Wine Pressed Serum

Moar Honey II Serum (all over face)

After Sun Face Balm Rescue (cheeks only)

non-SB sheet mask (every 3 days)

Anti-Aging Eye Gel-Oil

Camel Milk Cream (all over face)

Any changes I’ve made

I mentioned last week that I added a few things to my evening routine:After Sun Face Balm Rescueon my cheeks, andMoar Honey II Serum all over my face. Both of these products are really helping to keep my skin hydrated and calm and they work well in conjunction with the other Summer Box products.

Overall thoughts

I can’t say enough about how great it’s been to use the Summer Box products. There’s so much variety and completeness in the box that there’s really something here for everyone, and there are so many ways to customize a routine that works for each individual skin type and climate. And it’s the combination of products that really makes things amazing. It’s almost like the Summer Box is Voltron, or maybe a really cool new set of Legos…

My favorite product in the box overall is been the Bamboo Foaming Cleanser. I’m just in love with the light, refreshing scent, and the formula is so great as thoroughly cleansing without dehydrating.

I also love the Coconut Serum, which is so beautifully hydrating. It feels like both me and my skin are taking a big gulp of Polar Toasted Coconut Seltzer.

Another favorite is the Detox Herbal mask. It took a little work to get it mixed up, but once I used it on my face I was blown away by how it seemed to put my skin in a state of suspended animation. Seriously, no matter how hot or muggy it got, on the days I used Detox, my skin was absolutely serene.

I’d like to thank all of you for choosing me to review this box, and for joining in on FB Lives and commenting on my posts! I love Sabbatical Beauty and I love this community, and I feel like here I can really be me. <3