POV: you’re an acne girlie with a Sephora gift card.

Give a girl a Sephora gift card, watch her change the world. Or at least her skin.

This week’s letter is inspired by a recent chat with a client. Halfway through her facial, she tells me she 1) has a $300 Sephora gift card from Christmas, 2) is good on makeup, and 3) wants to use said gift card (free money, yes!) on skincare. We currently have her acne-prone skin in check, but also know the change in seasons and a new job might result in a flare-up or two. She likes to keep things minimal — here’s everything I sent her …

@vegamourwhoops how’d that happen? 🤪 #capcut #sephora #sephorahaul #Meme #haircareatsephora

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STEP 1, CLEANSERS –

• Sofie Pavitt Face Clean Clean Gentle Gel Foaming Cleanser ($34). I met Sofie in November at EV Salon (hi Erika) and she has quickly become a personal hero. Sofie is known as NYC’s Acne Whisperer and deserves every bit of that reputation. Her product line just launched in Sephora a few weeks ago and it is good. What I love about this cleanser: it has ingredients like allantoin and panthenol to help soothe and hydrate the skin, which can be easy to forget when it comes to treating acne.

• Dieux Baptism Gentle Foaming Gel Cleanser ($34). Charlotte Palermino has long been one of my favorite skincare experts to follow and I’ve purchased multiple Dieux products since she launched the brand. Like the Clean Clean cleanser, Baptism has multiple ingredients to hydrate the skin while still being acne-safe.

STEP 2, SERUMS –

• Sofie Pavitt Face Mandelic Clearing Serum ($54). Like I said, this is a Sofie Pavitt fan page, and you’ve seen her mandelic on Esthetically before. Mandelic is beneficial for basically every skin type, but I absolutely recommend it to all of my acne clients. It’s a gentle exfoliator, antibacterial, keeps sebum (oil) production in check, and also reduces inflammation. Love love love.

• Caudalie Vinoperfect ($82). When our skin is healing from acne, it can often overproduce pigment as part of the recovery process. In other words, we’re talking about dark spots. The star of this brightening serum is Caudalie’s patented vine sap viniferine, which is a sun-safe alternative for vitamin C and helps diminish the appearance of pigmentation. I recommended my client use mandelic in the morning, this at night.

STEP 3, MOISTURIZERS –

• innisfree Green Tea Seed Hyaluronic Cream ($30). You know what else is soothing for congested, inflamed skin? Green tea. The lightweight texture of this cream is really nice for AM use, considering we’re always adding SPF as our final step.

• Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream ($54). This is what made me a moisturizer girl years ago. At the time, it was the most I had spent on a skin product and it felt like straight-up luxury to my moisture-deprived skin. It was also my introduction to the hyaluronic acid conversation, and I still love it as a lightweight option under SPF and makeup.

• Sofie Pavitt Face Omega Rich Moisturizer ($64). Don’t act surprised, of course we’re back on this train. Omega is a thicker formula than the other two, which I personally love for PM use. But where Sofie really nailed it with this formula is the omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, which are dreamy for giving your skin barrier a boost. I want a bulk-sized option for next winter.

STEP 4, SPF –

• Ultra Violette Velvet Screen SPF 50 ($36). I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit this brand is new to me but my algorithm has been filled to the brim with hype that this is finally available stateside. I willllll be making a purchase this weekend. Of course it’s acne-safe and I’m especially interested in this mattifying formula because my oily skin has been oiling a little too hard lately.

• innisfree Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen SPF 45 ($22). This sunscreen contains cica (short for centella asiatica extract), a staple in Korean skincare for calming the skin. It’s also green, which helps neutralize redness when applied to the skin. Rosacea and acne girlies alike already know the power of green-hued products.

When I sent this to my client, I suggested she look at most of these categories as options; pick 1 and move on to the next. The exception was the serums – I want both of those eventually making their way into her routine. What I especially like about this line-up? Assuming she gets both serums and the most expensive option from the other 3 categories, we’re at $270 before tax. Gift cards are free money, and taxes … don’t exist? I love girl math.

One day I’ll get into my qualms with the esthetic industry’s villainization of “non medical-grade” products. For now, rest assured, there are estheticians out there (hi!) willing to scour the Sephora shelves and put your gift card to effective use. We already know you don’t need another skin tint or brow gel anyway.