The subject of this edition of our #MBMy5 series—our blog series in which we ask MB staffers to whittle down their favorites from the line to just five essentials—is Lindsey!

Lindsey sweetened up our team when she came aboard last year with her enviable sense of style, infectious positive attitude, and a major dose of Southern charm. When she isn’t crisscrossing the Southeast making sure that the stores in her territories have everything they need, she is at her home base, Nashville, Tennessee, giving us all manicure envy with paint jobs like this one:

Lindsey’s Mario Mani

Without further ado, let’s turn this over to Lindsey:

Hello, Mario Badescu Beauties!

I’m thrilled to share my #MBMy5 today. A little bit about myself:

Working with Mario Badescu means that I spend my work days traveling all over the Southeast-throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and my home state of Tennessee. As any professional globetrotter knows, abundant traveling can wreak havoc on your skin.

My skin type in one word: troubled. Since I spend so much time flying, the elevation and air conditioning leaves my skin desert-dry. On the other hand, anyone who lives in the south knows that the heat and humidity is unreal! Add in sensitivity to harsh ingredients and major acneic tendencies, and you’ve got the recipe for a skin care conundrum. Today I’m going to chat about my skin care must haves, and how I keep my skin hydrated, clear, and glowing throughout the tumultuous southern weather.

Lindsey’s 5

The Enzyme Cleansing Gel is my go-to cleanser. I love the way this melts off my face-makeup, while providing the softest AHA-based exfoliation. It smells like fresh fruit, thanks to the Papaya Extract, and helps to keep my skin clear of mild breakouts.

The next, possibly most important, step in my regimen is the Special Cucumber Lotion. It picks up the leftover makeup, oil, and dirt from the surface off the skin, while deep-cleaning my pores at the same time. The Sulfur and Zinc Oxide combination gives my skin an extra acne-fighting treatment, which is crucial for troubled days.

Once my skin is squeaky clean, I’ll often start to feel dry. Enter Herbal Hydrating Serum. It’s a water-based gel-serum that provides crucial hydration without leaving my T-zone oily. During my super dry days, I’ll layer this all over my face directly under my moisturizer. On my more oily days, I’ll use this to spot-treat the dry spots. Bonus feature: patting this into the high points of my cheeks gives me the glowing from within look with or without makeup!

Finding a moisturizer has always been a challenge of mine. Like I mentioned, my skin is acneic, so I have to be sure that the moisturizer is oil-free, or I could risk causing my breakouts to spread. Being Combination/Oily adds another tricky factor. Add my love of makeup to the mix, and you have what seems like an impossible equation. The Oil Free Moisturizer SPF 30 meets all of these needs, all while providing protection from sun damage (hello, alabaster complexion). I love that the formula is lightweight and dries matte. I can apply my makeup directly after the moisturizer without any fear of slippage.

#MBSkinTip: In the colder months, I like to use the Aloe Moisturizer SPF 15 for deeper hydration.

A few times a week, I make time to draw a bath and unwind. While my water is filling up, I’ll apply the Whitening Mask. Years of bad skin habits left my skin uneven in tone and texture, and this is my secret weapon to help correct that. After using this mask regularly, I’ve seen a huge difference in post-breakout discoloration—plus, it provides the hydration my skin desperately needs! It’s so lightweight and soft, and only takes 5-10 minutes. Added bonus-it smells like mulberries!

Finally, finding a skin care regimen that works for my picky skin has been a game-changer. My makeup sits on my skin beautifully and I feel so much more confident without makeup all together.

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me about #MBMy5! Be sure to come visit us down here in the South, where we like our skin like our tea: sweet, smooth, and best served year round.

Originally published as #MBMy5: Lindsey from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

Today we’re talking to Mario Badescu SoCal Account Executive, aka our favorite LA lady, Allie Schulps.

If you pick up your Buffering Lotion in Brea, masks in Manhattan Beach, or Cucumber Cleansing Lotion in Culver City, you are on Allie’s turf. Since the temperatures are nice and warm now, we thought Allie would be the perfect subject for our latest installment of #MarioMy5, our blog series in which we ask MB staffers to whittle down their favorites from the line to just five essentials.

Here at MB HQ Allie is known for her can-do attitude, wide smile, and irreverent sense of humor. Not to mention that every frigid East Coast winter we find it nearly impossible to resist living vicariously through Allie with her surf (literally. She’s a surf mom!) and sun lifestyle as we are shoveling ourselves out of the snow and trying not to slip on ice.

Allie’s 5

Here are Allie’s five in her own words:

Alpha Grapefruit Cleansing Lotion: Between the traffic and June Gloom here in LA I need a little brightening up in my day. One of my fave MB toners is our Alpha Grapefruit Cleansing lotion. I use it morning and night! It brightens and hydrates.

Vitamin C Serum: Afterward I use another gem of a brightener our AMAZING Vitamin C Serum.

Collagen Moisturizer SPF 15: To be topped off with a daily usage of Collagen Moisturizer SPF 15. It’s light, hydrating, and helps keep the sun’s rays at bay.

Enzyme Revitalizing Mask: When my skin is getting a bit dehydrated and lifeless, I bring it back with the ever so yummy Enzyme Revitalizing Mask. It adds hydration and the glow I need.

Glycolic Eye Cream: For a nice dewy look around the “old” eye area I warm up some of our Glycolic Eye Cream.

#MBSkinTip: a great sleeping eye cream for the side sleeper. Keeps the eyes supple and hydrated while you’re tossing and turning.

Botanical Exfoliating Scrub: Last but not least, the Botanical Exfoliating Scrub, what can I say . . . super gentle, exfoliates just enough, and keeps skin hydrated with the Coconut Extract.

Do you and Allie share any of the same favorites?

Originally published as #MBmy5: Allie from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

Mario Badescu’s Chicago-based Account Executive, Lauren Cummings, brings her effervescent personality, can-do attitude, and encyclopedic knowledge of all things beauty-related everywhere she goes—and boy, does she go.

This busy lady and her team spread #MBSkinTips around the Chicago area and beyond. We asked her which MB products are at the top of her list, keep reading for Lauren’s must-haves!

Lauren’s Favorites

Skin Type

I have classic Combination Skin. I am oily through the T-zone and dehydrated through the cheeks. I also live in Chicago where the sun shines really bright, but the winter winds can dehydrate my skin even more!! And lastly, my skin is prone to acne, and that can leave discoloration and unwanted texture. Yikes!!

Lauren’s 5

Glycolic Foaming Cleanser: This foaming cleanser is the perfect way to gently improve uneven texture and tone. It effectively exfoliates and cleanses my skin while helping to address any small blemishes on my face without overdrying my skin.

Alpha Grapefruit Cleansing Lotion: This toner gently exfoliates my skin, and helps to reveal a more radiant, glowing, lit-from-within skin. It smells amazing and because it is alcohol-free, it aids in replenishing hydration.

Cellufirm Drops: I use this heavenly product as my daytime serum. Cellufirm Drops immediately hydrates and visibly plumps my skin. I notice increased firmness in my skin, as well as a really smooth texture. This product also does double-duty for me as an under eye serum layered underneath Hyaluronic Eye Cream.

Honey Moisturizer: This daytime moisturizer is the perfect amount of moisture for my Combination/dehydrated skin. It absorbs into my skin rapidly, while creating a smoother more radiant complexion. I love a slight glow to my skin before I apply foundation, and Honey Moisturizer creates the perfect canvas for my makeup. For the cold, dry Chicago winters, I like to add a few drops of the Herbal Hydrating Serum. It allows me to boost the hydration level in my skin care, when needed, without switching moisturizers.

#MBSkinTip: When I know the weather is going to be especially harsh, I like to press a little bit of a denser moisturizer or night cream into my cheeks, after I have applied my typical skincare regimen.

Silver Powder: Because I wear foundation daily, and have an oily t-zone, I am prone to blackheads on my nose and chin area. I use Silver Powder to address this issue. It immediately starts to break down the congestion and the clogged pores and after 10-20 minutes my nose and chin are clear of all blackheads. Silver Powder is a twice weekly staple product for me.

Thanks, Lauren. Stay warm out there!

Originally published as #MBmy5: Lauren from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

New year, new . . . blog series!

One of the most frequently asked questions we get here at Mario Badescu is, “What are your best products?” And while we love to give recommendations, that question doesn’t have a simple answer. There are a number of things that factor into deciding which products are best for your individual skin type. So we decided we’d ask MB insiders to tell us their skin types and whittle down their favorites (there are over 150 products in the full Mario Badescu line) to the very tippy-top five on their list. For our inaugural #MBmy5 post, meet Karolina!

Karolina is one of our favorite smiling faces around Mario Badescu headquarters. Whether she is plugging away on a spreadsheet or telling us about her latest adventure (did you catch her #MBTravels pics from Paris earlier this year? If not, have a look here and here), Kari shines bright.

Here are Karolina’s favorites in her own words:

Skin Type: Oily, Acne-Prone

1. By far my go-to, number one favorite is the Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater. It’s my trusty sidekick in the fight against moisture loss by giving my skin quick refreshment. It’s multi-functional when a toner is out of reach, a mist for pre/post-makeup and the touch of Aloe even helps when a post-sun cooling gel is nowhere near. Whether it’s sitting behind a desk, in a car, or traveling on a plane, a bottle of facial spray is within my arm’s reach.

2. My go-to exfoliator and post workout in-shower cleanser is the Glycolic Foaming Cleanser. Even though my skin is oily, it’s still sensitive and very acne-prone, so using exfoliators that have grit in them can irritate my skin. This, however, foams to a lightweight consistency that makes it ideal to use on my face, as well as on my chest and back to get rid of any dead skin cells. The scent also reminds me of summertime in Brooklyn eating Lemon Italian Ices as a child. Oh, nostalgia!

3. Since I started working at Mario Badescu, I’ve learned that different parts of your face have different needs, which means that different parts of your face need help from different masks, a.k.a. multi-masking! A few times a week you will find me looking like a pastel leopard covered in spots, with the largest areas covered in the Super Collagen Mask. This mask works great for my T-zone area, as well as for plumping areas on my cheeks where I have some post-acne scars. It’s very hydrating on areas where acne products tend to overdry the skin, especially during the winter season. I love using this mask before I go out or when I’m home for the night to give my complexion a boost of moisture and Collagen. It’s never too early to incorporate anti-aging into my regimen.

4. Even with oily skin and eyelids, it’s never too early to add an eye cream to a beauty regimen. Ceramide Eye Gel is a great, lightweight alternative to a heavily emollient eye cream. I am very prone to getting milia, or small white bumps, around my eye area from using thick eye creams. This gel’s glide-on texture doesn’t tug the under-eye area and makes it ideal for year-round use that won’t slip under makeup. Due to its gel consistency, it can be stored in the fridge to give my under-eyes a pick-me-up when they look puffy, especially when it looks like I missed out on some ZzZzZzs.

5. The second sunshine and humidity go away, my hands become parched. Especially during East Coast winters, when there’s no humidity and constant washing to keep germs and bacteria at bay. Special Hand Cream with Vitamin E is my ultimate savior. Its whipped consistency makes it lightweight and non-greasy. I love having the classic jar laying close by on my desk, that won’t leave residue on my mouse or keyboard. I’m even more obsessed now that the hand cream is available in a tube! It’s ideal to place in a bag or leave in the car to hydrate my dry hands on the go.

Originally published as #MBmy5: Karolina from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

On this Mother’s Day, I thought I’d ask a group of my very favorite moms to share their can’t-live-without products. Where does one find such a group? Well, I didn’t have to go far. I get to work with them every day.

Mom must-haves!

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone! When it comes to moms, I will forever feel like I won some kind of life-lottery simply by being born to my smart, resourceful, boundlessly kind, and wickedly funny mother. And if you take into account the group of talented, hardworking moms (and one mom-to-be!) who I get to work with here at Mario Badescu, I’ve pretty much struck gold twice!

Here are their favorites:

Raimey Van Nostrand, Creative Director

Mom to: Emily, 11 & Henry, 9

“I love taking a little time out for a mask after a long, hectic day. Whether I am multi-masking with Enzyme Revitalizing Mask and Drying Mask or I have a full face of Whitening Mask on (smells so good!), that 10 minutes of me-time is wonderful.”

Raimey’s mask trio

Kelly Timov, National Sales Director

Mom to: Milana, 15 months

“My favorite Mario go-to has to be the Glycolic Eye Cream. I use it every night to help my tired eyes look bright and hydrated. No one would know I’ve only slept 5 hours!”

Kelly’s non-negotiable eye cream

Marci Teran, Wholesale Account Director

Mom to: Skyler, 20

“My all day, everyday go-to is the Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater. It’s a great pick-me-up throughout the day when feeling sluggish and a great way to set makeup. Now if only my 20-year-old would keep her hands off my bottle!!”

Danielle Kulick, Regulatory Specialist

Mom to: Devyn, 7 & Dylan, 3

“As a busy mom on-the-go, I want to look fresh and bright, despite how tired or worn down I actually feel. I ALWAYS have Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater in my bag for the pick me up I so often need. I treat myself to Vitamin C Serum several times a week to keep my skin bright and glowing.”

Melissa Hegazy, Digital Advertising

Mom-to-be to: “I have not picked out names just yet, but I’m expecting a little boy and girl to make their debut in August 2016.”

“I love the Oil Free Moisturizer SPF 30. I use it religiously because my skin is now more sensitive to the sun and I want to prevent any sun damage. It doesn’t make me break out or clog my pores and best of all it doesn’t leave my skin greasy like many moisturizers with SPF do. It gives me the perfect amount of moisture I need all day along with the protection I need. I love it!”

Mickey Dias, National Field Director

Mom to: Livy, 2 & Rui, 5 months

“Cellufirm Drops are my absolute cannot-live-with-out product! This little green baby is a must have for all mamas. They give me that firm, healthy, ‘kids sleep through the night’ look to my skin ;)”

Originally published as Skin Care Picks from our Favorite Moms from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

I love skin, I really do. I didn’t always, and that was probably the culmination of sheer (teenage) ignorance (which, for the record, is not bliss) and a supreme lack of self-confidence. As a teen, I remember slinking through Target’s beauty aisles with my poor father, grabbing every spot treatment I recognized from Teen Vogue ads. That was the closest thing to a skincare regimen I ever got; I promptly gave up on it all one week later out of frustration.

No filter, no makeup, and I’ve even taken to rocking the natural hair. (Am I working hard, or hardly working in this well-lit cubicle of mine?)

Here’s the thing: little girls have memories of rifling through their mother’s stash of lipsticks and smelling every little pot and potion atop the bathroom counter, but anything beauty related was foreign to me. My mom is a simple woman: warm water and soap are her tools of choice. On occasion, I’d see her face glazed over with a makeshift egg white mask – it was meant to lift and tighten the complexion, something she learned from her mother – but that was as complicated as her beauty regimen ever got.

What was skincare, anyway? To me, my mother was the most beautiful woman in the world, and if soap and water was good enough for her, then they’d be good enough for me. Skincare seemed extraneous, and save for the brief acne stint, I never gave it much thought until fairly recently.

I’m not sure when that mindset shifted. I don’t know if it was because I matured or because I started working at Mario Badescu, or because I was actively trying to make changes in my lifestyle. Perhaps it was all three, I don’t know. But somehow within the last few years, my perspective on skin and skincare has completely changed.

I’ll say it again, however weird it may be: I love skin, I really do. It’s beautiful, human, holistic, worldly, sensual. I’m a firm believer that skin is always most beautiful in its natural state. Naked, bare, nude, without a drop of makeup to conceal, taking pride in its own state of perfect imperfection. This philosopy is one that grew from a combination of minimalism and a holistic approach towards beauty and health taken from my mother. After all, skin tells your story. It’s a reflection of how you treat yourself, what you do, how you feel, what you eat – essentially all that you are.

Finding the right products for my skin and learning to follow a regimen twice daily made it alive. Skin was no longer just a thing that happened to be there; it became radiant. When I learned to care for my skin, to take the time to exfoliate regularly, to moisturize head to toe twice daily, to invest in serum concentrates, it was almost too easy to step out from behind the physical and emotional mask. Look! This is me, all of me, the real me!

It’s incredibly liberating to not just feel comfortable, but beautiful, in your skin.

When I learned to be at peace with my complexion, with or without makeup, I learned to love my skin, imperfections and all: that was what skincare gave me. (It must be said, however, that we’re our worst enemies and our harshest judges: what looks horrific to us is barely noticeable to the general public.)

So yeah, this is my story so far; I’m only 21 anyway, I have a long way to go. And while I’m not sure what the moral is, here’s the takeaway: for one week, forgo all makeup (fine, I’ll let you slide with mascara!) and focus solely on caring for your skin.

.   .   .

Check out this video on one of my absolute favorite Mario Badescu products, the Vitamin C Serum:

Originally published as Share Your Skincare Story: Kimberly from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

It really is that simple.

.   .   .

Originally published as Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: Skin Advice From Our Esthetician, To You from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

We get it. Wallet, phone, keys, lipstick(s), and moisturizer if we’re feeling particularly skin-centric. But what else?

In the grand scheme of weird, the contents of my handbag are actually pretty standard. Wallet, lip balms (at least three on a bad day), keys, phone, black pens, protein bars. I also carry little Starbucks Via packets and tea bags with me – something that might register as unusual – but they’re made to be portable, aren’t they? (Disclaimer: coffee may not be the best for your skin, but it is a college girl’s best friend.) I have a Filofax too, but that just makes me oddly old-fashioned for a 20-year-old.

I have the token lipstick in a side pocket somewhere, but that’s about as far as makeup on-the-go goes. Instead, my little cosmetics pouch is chock full of skin care products…

Let the confessions of a skincare junkie begin:

• Moisturizer. A bottle of the Oil-Free SPF 30 has a place in my bathroom, and another resides permanently in the (infinite) depths of my handbag. Give my past skin sins, I now never leave home without a moisturizer. Dry skin is both a nuisance and no-no, so having moisturizing precautions handy keeps my complexion always dewy, and never flaky. Plus, it tames fly-aways, static, and dry hands like no other. You can use moisturizer everywhere, but you can’t put a hand or body cream on your face now, can you? (There’s logic for you.)

• Rose Hips Nourishing Oil. I’m an oily type of gal – both in complexion and in skincare preferences (I’m a known hoarder of body, face and hair oils). If you’ve read the above you know one of my pet peeves is flaky skin; this oil fixes all dry skin woes. I also have a penchant for things with Vitamin C, making this a must wherever I go.

• Herbal Hydrating Serum. For warmer days when I need an instant refresher, too. It’s similar to the Rose Hips Nourishing Oil, but more lightweight in texture – it’s a dream to apply post-gym (after a proper cleanse, of course).

• Facial Cleanser. This might be weird, but I’ll be the first to admit I’m hardly a stickler for convention. I have an itsy-bitsy sample size of the Cucumber Cream Soap tucked away into the zipper compartment of my bag du jour. Sometimes a freshly-washed face is just what you need to regroup, but it’s also perfect for crashing at a friend’s house. Just in case – better to be prepared than sleeping with a face full of makeup, no? I’m also infamous for running errands straight from the gym (much to everyone’s horror, I’m afraid), but at least my face is squeaky clean and bacteria-free!

.   .   .

What’s in YOUR bag?

Snap a shot and tag us on Instagram: #mariobadescu

Originally published as What’s In Your Bag? Skin Care On-the-Go from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

Summer is long gone on the east coast, and while it’s rare to see sun protection tips during the cooler months, we at Mario Badescu know the importance of keeping your face and body protected ALL year long. Did you know the Sun Safety Alliance reports that snow can reflect 85% to 90% of the sun’s damaging UV rays?

While researching beauty customs from around the world, I fell in love with this simple guide to sun protection from our friends down under. As one of the most successful health campaigns in Australian history, launched by Cancer Council Australia in the 1980s, Slip! Slop! Slap! Seek! Slide! (that’s a mouthful!) teaches us that, while still very important, there’s more to sun protection than sunscreen alone.

Now, without further ado, the meaning behind the catchy alliteration:

• Slip on clothing to keep your body protected from the harmful rays of the sun.
• Slop on sunscreen to all exposed areas of the body, except the mouth and eyes.
• Slap on a hat to keep your scalp, neck and the top of your head protected.
• Seek the shade between 10 am and 4pm when the sun is at its strongest.
• Slide on protective eyewear to save your peepers from the sun’s powerful rays!

There you have it. The five golden rules to full sun protection! Here is an adorable video that drives home the concept. Remember to reapply sunscreen every two hours or sooner if swimming. Share these tips with friends and family to keep everyone safe!

What are your sun protection secrets? Can you come up with a catchy alliteration for these steps?

Originally published as Slip! Slop! Slap! The Australian Secret to Sun Protection from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.

They say curiosity killed the cat, but nosiness never hurt the soul – especially when it comes to upping the ante on our skincare and beauty 411. Medicine cabinets and “Spotted!” quickies are our thing – now we’re adding the classic “What’s In Her Bag” to the mix featuring all of our favorite industry insiders.

First up…

WHO: Nicole Darmanin. Our very own PR girl (head of Public Relations at Mario Badescu, if we’re being technical here), native Brooklynite and lover of all things beauty related.

(She’s also my go-to for makeup tips; she’s worked as a makeup artist, and who wouldn’t trust a girl with over 100 lip glosses?)

WHAT: Her beloved Rebecca Minkoff striped canvas bucket bag. Nautical stripes make the perfect summer day trip to Coney Island. It’s not just functional, though. She says:

“This bag makes me happy. I look at it and I’m happy that it is summertime and I have places to go, trinkets to collect and a cheerful bag to put them all in!”

WHERE: A weekend getaway to Coney Island, the place synonymous to cotton candy (yum!) and prizes (woohoo!).

We should add budding photographer to her bio.

WHY: There’s rhyme and reason behind everything a woman carries. Never question anything’s place in the handbag, like why she has a kitty or three lipglosses (at all times!) with her.

• Nook Color. My sister Dani gave me this Nook Color, I average about a book a week, my Nook saves a lot of trees. It helps me pass the time on my subway ride back from Coney Island which is at the very bottom of Brooklyn.
• Mario Badescu Lip Wax with SPF 15. This is so much more than a balm, it repairs. The formula melts right into your lips on contact and the rose hip oil in the formula is very healing.
• Mario Badescu Body Sun Block SPF 30. I love this because it protects but feels like a body lotion which is perfect for days when I know my skin is exposed but I’m not laying on a beach. It doesn’t feel like a heavy sun screen and the seaweed and Vitamin E in the formula make me feel like I’m being extra good to my skin.
• Mario Badescu Facial Spray. Spending hours outside in the Coney Island sun requires a few breaks to freshen up.
• Purell
• Wet Ones
• Metrocard
• Armour Beauty ‘Lucy’ & ‘Marilyn’ lip glosses. My friend Theo Kogan is the creator of this lip gloss line which I love. I like mixing these 2 shades together, it makes an iridescent papaya color.
• Three Custom Color ‘Vivacious Violet’ lip gloss. I’ve had a thing for violet lip gloss for years, [this] is one of my current favorites.
• Tiffany & Co. coin purse: My life long best friend Kara gave me this little coin purse from Tiffany’s a few years ago. I always tell myself that I am going use it to keep the puddle of loose change off of the bottom of my bag but it never happens.
• Ray-Bans. I’m kind of sensitive and can’t stand the sun in my eyes, these are one of my many pairs of Ray Ban sunnies.
• A cute kitty: Devin (a VIP member of my honorary family) won this kitty for me.

.   .   .

Do you love these “What’s In My Bag?” posts as much as we do?

Originally published as MB PR GIRL NICOLE ♥ HER REBECCA MINKOFF BUCKET BAG & CONEY ISLAND from the Mario Badescu Skin Care Blog.