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Jordan Samuel Skin
"I always knew, just because of how I am, that I wanted a brand.”
Jordan Samuel Pacitti, the rising beauty star behind his own eponymous skincare line (check out the line’s popular Instagram here), has always had his sights set on teaching people how to “choreograph your own skincare routine,” a phrase and manifesto that combines his former life as a professional ballet dancer with his current endeavors.
When we spoke the first time, Jordan admitted that at one point in his dance career, he used antibacterial hand soap,”like the kind in public restrooms”, to remove the layers of makeup and sweat accumulated through hours on stage. While I, too, had gone through a phase of using hand soap as face wash (the horror!), the newfound guru set me up with a several Jordan Samuel Skin products to incorporate into my own simple routine based on issues I’d previously mentioned: breakouts and oiliness are common, but my skin is also having a hard time maintaining hydration. To combat these, he recommended a gentle cleanser, a hydrating serum in addition to the retinoid I was already using, and a light moisturizer plus sunscreen.
The results I’ve seen over six weeks of mixing these products in are incredible. My skin had hit a bit of a rut with my old routine and I found mixing two drops of hydration serum into a small glob of Performance Cream (both seen below) gave me the type of dewy glow I’d only seen in magazines and on edited Instagram pictures without leading to extra grease later in the day.
Jordan suggested keeping my other products in the rotation in addition to his, and I was thrilled at the lack of pressure to toss out my established faves but instead find a new way to mix it up and keep things fun. His “choreograph your own…” tagline advice really does make skincare fun, and, as he told me: “If we can't have fun with skincare, which is truly supposed to be, self-care, what the hell are we doing?”
Jordan Samuel, founder of Jordan Samuel Skin
So how did a successful ballet dancer end up creating amazing serums, face washes, and moisturizers post-retirement?
“You go into into being a professional athlete or dancer knowing that your body isn’t going to sustain you for your whole professional life, and you know that you’re going to have to do something else after.”
Jordan had always known he wanted “two completely different careers,” in contrast to a more traditional route of entering choreography or becoming a teacher after retirement. One catalyst to his career shift was a broken foot in the late oughts that put him out of commission for more than a year. He used that time to “decompress and chill out” for the first time as an adult, but his post-rehab return to dance saw him break the other foot. That’s when, as he puts it, “things started counting down for my career, professionally.”
Jordan Samuel during his career as a professional ballet dancer
Soon after, Jordan spent two years in school becoming an esthetician. “I always liked the aspect of helping others,” he recalls, and while assisting clients uncover their best face, the plans for Jordan Samuel Skin came together.
“Truly how the whole thing came about was wanting to put fun and creativity into skincare. That's how I am as a person. That's how I am as a skin therapist,” Jordan recalls of his plans. “I've been to facialists before who essentially like yell at you like, 'Oh, you're not doing your regimen!' That's not me. And I just felt that we needed to put that freedom back into thin air because a, we need fun back in our lives, but also, it can benefit the skin.”
“I specifically formulate the products to work synergistically, but that does not mean you need all of the line or all of the products. But when I say mix X and Y it's because I know the formula myself inside and out. You can’t always do that with other lines, but that's sort of a little caveat I put on our stuff is that yes: Choreograph your own skincare routine.”
Keeping that advice in mind, here are a few Jordan Samuel Skin products we’re certain you’ll love adding to your beauty stash.
Retinol Treatment Oil
While Jordan warns against the dangers over-exfoliating ("I ended up in the treatment room with a lot of inflammation and sensitivity from overdoing things"), he stands by a good retinol treatment to help stimulate cell turnover without excessive irritation.
This vegan reformulation of his original retinol serum works in two ways: to moisturize the skin and act as a corrective treatment that will soothe, refresh, and diminish the look of fine lines. Use at the end of your routine as a final step or mix in with a nice hydrating serum when applying–remember that it’s your skincare routine to create and play with, so go with whatever works best for you.
Jordan Samuel Skin
$54.10
Hydrate Facial Serum
With my oily-combination skin losing its ability to retain water rapidly (thanks, mid-30s!), Jordan suggested I try adding his Hydrate Facial Serum to my routine either alone before moisturizer or by mixing a few drops into the moisturizer itself. I chose the former first and found my skin drank it up immediately and felt more plump, smooth, and ready for me to top it off with a moisturizer.
There’s no greasy or silicone slick feeling, just the pure essence of water and hydration seeping in to fill those fine lines that start to gather where the face creases naturally. Unlike many other serums I’ve tried, this one didn’t react with the other products I’d layered on to create a kind of crumbly or pilled up mess when applying makeup afterward, either.
I also love the crystal clear bottle and product with it’s bold black label and white rubber dropper. It looks fantastic with the rest of the line sitting on my bathroom sink, and with efficacy and beauty rolled into one product? It’s a must-have for every skin type.
Jordan Samuel Skin
$36.54
Hydrate The Mist
Hydrate The Mist was an immediate eye-catcher for me, as the clear bottle–much like that for the Hydrate Facial Serum–is pure minimalist art.
Throughout the day, this mist is perfect for perking up the skin or just misting on to feel refreshed and alive. I love finishing off a makeup look with it to bring the glow back into freshly powdered skin, and I’ve also found spritzing a generous amount on before applying serum and moisturizer feels like an extra shot of hydration that lasts longer than you might expect.
The sizing here too is very generous, so expect this to last you quite some time. Once summer hits, it’ll also be great for stashing in the fridge for an instant midday cool off, so invest in a couple of bottles now and thank yourself once temps start rising once more.
Jordan Samuel Skin
$29.00
Matinee Gel Cleanser
One important aspect of maintaining skin health is protecting the lipid barrier. That’s why gentle yet effective cleansers, like this Matinee Gel Cleanser, are so fantastic.
In using this for over a month now, I’ve noticed Matinee works best for my skin if I use it either in the morning, after a makeup remover, or as the perfect second cleanse. Applying to a dry face and really massaging in works great to remove light makeup as well, and never once has it stung my eyes or dried out my skin. Fans of light cleansers who want to step up their game and invest in something a bit more luxe can’t go wrong with this choice.
Jordan Samuel Skin
$35.13
The Performance Cream
My first impression of this tube was, “Wow! This is BIG.” As many consumers know, it’s not uncommon to pay upwards of $100 an ounce for luxury face creams that promise magic results and often deliver but aren’t feasible for daily use. The Performance Cream, however, delivers twice that amount of product and is–by a mile–the best basic moisturizer I’ve ever used on my dehydrated, breakout-prone, sometimes dry skin.
In addition to plumping, sealing in moisturize, and interacting with the Hydrate Facial Serum to create the golden ticket routine for my face, the Performance Cream lives up to its name by out-doing every single makeup primer I’ve ever tried. When first applying, it can feel a bit wet while mixing in with the serum, but given a minute or two to settle in and you’ll find there’s a perfect layer of hydrated skin with a decent grip ready to hold down your foundation.
And speaking of foundation, I’ve cut how much I use by 75% since switching to this moisturizer and routine in general. My skin is less irritated, inflamed, and broken out, so I prefer to maintain a more natural look throughout the day without worrying about blemishes shining through. It’s simply the crown jewel of the entire collection.
Jordan Samuel Skin
$38.00
Soothing Facial Oil
For skin types that suffer from excessive dryness, adding an oil to finish off a routine is a must.
The Soothing Facial Oil is packed with soothing ingredients and antioxidants to help restore skin’s natural balance, while potent antioxidant CoQ10 neutralizes free radicals and protects collagen and elastin–the key building blocks to supple skin. Use by finishing off your pre-SPF routine with three to five drops or mix this in directly with your favorite moisturizer.
Jordan Samuel Skin
$42.16
Olio Per Il Corpio Body Oil
I talked about my love for Jordan Samuel Skin’s insanely lush body wash here, but this sumptuous body oil is the perfect way to complete a whole body routine once you’re out of the shower.
Inspired by the Sicilian countryside, a place Jordan loves, Olio Per Il Corpio contains olive and grapeseed oil with light citrusy extracts that “make you feel like you’re on an Italian holiday.”
Jordan Samuel Skin
$44.97
The Matinee Cream Cleanser
The latest and greatest product I’ve tried from Jordan Samuel Skin is this luscious cream cleanser, formulated with rich silt and sesame oil for a wholly unique experience that cleanses deeply while maintaining the precarious balance of hydration and moisture the skin needs to look its best. As directed on the bottle, I like to spend extra time massaging the product into parts of my skin that tend to feel congested such as the chin, upper cheeks, and forehead, and I’ve noticed a stark difference where buildup used to occur.
Jordan Samuel Skin
$28.00
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