Photo Courtesy of Snowberry Beauty
When in doubt, many of us choose our luxury skin care or beauty products the same way we choose our wine: by the label. If this is your picking method, then you’re sure to come across the paper cut art-style packaging of Snowberry Beauty products sooner rather than later. But unlike that pastry-inspired chardonnay that you spit out after the first taste, you’ll be equally as satisfied with the quality of Snowberry products as you are smitten by the way they look. The products inside the adorable boxes are the creation of the New Zealand-based company’s founder and cosmetician, Soraya Hendesi. Like many people, Hendesi was disappointed with her search for a safe and effective beauty line that would actually show results. “I was simply unable to find skin care that I felt I could trust,” she says of her past experience with contemporary products. So the Snowberry brand was born, and with it, products made from bio actives found in New Zealand’s natural resources that don’t compromise functionality or safety.
Wilderness and rainforest substances like white peat, neem, lingonberry and cloudberry oils are at the core of Snowberry products. The result of Hendesi’s formula is a line of items that are not only a luxury to use, but are noticeably effective, in my own experience. The first product I had the pleasure of using was the 2.5 oz. Nourishing Exfoliator, a special combination of exotic oils, functional herbal extracts, jojoba, precious gems, cultured coral and pearl.
I noticed the silky consistency of the cleanser on my skin at the very first touch. At $38, the buttery formula contains gentle beads that remove dead skin cells and help maintain healthy skin ecology. But unlike other medicated cleansing exfoliators I’ve used that leave the skin tight and dry after use, the Snowberry exfoliator truly is nourishing by increasing moisturization and hydration. It’s so gentle that I’ve used it multiple times within a single week, whereas other exfoliators are so harsh that I’ve had to stay away from them for at least 10 days before hydration was fully restored in my face.
Another product I’ve been using is the Intensive Renewal Face Serum. I typically apply the serum at night before bed, especially on weekends after spending all day in the sun. The Face Serum incorporates a unique blend of peptide complexes to repair skin and improve its radiance. Like many Snowberry products, the Face Serum includes anti-aging properties that reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles; and although it’s an optimal product for consumers 35 years and older, there are plenty of reasons I enjoy using it as a twenty-something.
At $159 for a 1 oz. bottle, a little goes a long way with this serum— just a small pea-sized amount will spread in the same buttery consistency as the Nourishing Exfoliator to leave your face and neck rejuvenated. Better yet, the faint, natural scent that these products leave have become a soothing part of my bedtime routine.
Finally, the $35 Everyday SPF15 is another Snowberry product that has come in handy on many occasions. With my fair skin, I know better than to go without sunscreen, but I’ve never been a fan of the oily residue that most tend to leave behind. Luckily, Snowberry’s natural version has a light, clear texture that protects against both UVB and UVA light. The delicate, narrow 1.7 oz tube hasn’t left my purse since I received it, and it’s saved my burn-prone skin at the beach and football games more times than I can count this fall.