Hi BIC 👋 Introducing Your Newest Sephora Intern & Member of Team BIC 💄✨

[Anna2BT]

Hi everyone! My name is Anna – I’m a current college student and am joining the Sephora Beauty Insider Community team as an intern this summer. I can’t wait to get to know this amazing community and talk about one of my favorite topics ever – beauty!

As a longtime Sephora fangirl, I love taking any chance to talk about hauls, empties, Beauty Insider sales and MORE. Although I love all-things beauty, what really sparks me up is skincare. 💆🏻‍♀️✨ I have combo skin and love K-beauty. Fun fact: my passion for skincare began when I started working as a cake decorator and suddenly, I noticed I kept getting breakouts. Eventually, I realized it was because of all the frosting that would get on my face while on the job … who would’ve thought?!

Since I’m all about skincare, I thought I’d share my holy grails for my redness-prone combo skin (listed in the order I normally apply them!). BICers, please share any other recommendations if you have them. I’m always happy to give out skincare recs too!

• innisfree Pore Clearing Facial Foam with Volcanic Clusters
• fresh Rose & Hyaluronic Acid Deep Hydration Toner 
• Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops 1.35 oz/ 40 mL 
• belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb 

Outside of beauty, I’m also a big fan of K-dramas, spa days, fitness, and all-things foodie. 🌮 Can anyone out there relate?  

I’m excited to get to know each other, BIC! Let’s start here: what are your beauty holy grails? 😉

[Anna2BT]

Thanks so much for the kind welcome @Titian06 ! Ooh I haven't heard that Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel 8 oz/ 240 mL  - will def have to check that out sometimes, I love a good cleansing gel!

[eshoe]

Welcome, @Anna2BT! 

A cake decorator, I am so envious. I hope that your skincare journey is filled with just as much delicious fun🧁☺️ 

[Anna2BT]

Hi @eshoe thanks for that sweet welcome! 🧁✨Who knows, maybe cake decorating and skincare will meet one day? Have you seen the Fenty Skin Cookies N Clean Whipped Clay Detox Face Mask with Salicylic Acid 2.5 oz/ 75 mL ? Total dessert vibes 🍪

[eshoe]

Hmmmmm, @Anna2BT - you might not be the only one who has recommended this one! Ok, moving to my cart😍

[mintkandi]

Welcome! I hope you have a great experience learning and working at Sephora! 

[Anna2BT]

Thank you for the warm welcome @mintkandi ! Hope to see you around! 

[curlychiquita]

Welcome, @Anna2BT! I hope you enjoy your internship! My holy grail skincare is Augustinus Bader The Ultimate Soothing Cream 

[Anna2BT]

Thank you! @curlychiquita That soothing cream looks divine ~

[melissapurple22]

Welcome to our wonderful community @Anna2BT   what a great summer internship to have! I also love makeup and all things food and have begun to really focus on my skin care. My go To products right now are Glow Recipe Let It Glow  to help with my dull uneven skin tone. I also have been using Tatcha Tatcha Mini Favorites to help smooth my skin and help deep clean. 

[Anna2BT]

Hi @melissapurple22 looks like we have a lot in common! I see that your a fan of value sets, me too! I love a good sampler, both with food and beauty products 😂😉

[minathayes]

@Anna2BT   What a wonderful way to spend your summer! Congratulations. My HG is SK-II Facial Treatment Essence (Pitera Essence) Sulwhasoo Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream Classic 2 oz/ 60 mL and Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist24 Pure Retinol Express Smoothing Eye Mask 

[Anna2BT]

Thank you @minathayes this will definitely be a memorable summer! Also, loving these luxe holy grails ✨

[tsavorite]

Welcome, welcome, @Anna2BT !  So glad to see you here at BIC!  A dream summer internship!  😊

Some of my skincare Holy Grails:

Peace Out Salicylic Acid Acne Healing Dots 40 Healing Dots 

Peace Out Salicylic Acid Acne Treatment Serum 1 oz/ 30 mL 

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair® Cream Intense Hydration  (for my hands)

Tower 28 Beauty SOS Daily Rescue Facial Spray 4 oz/ 120 mL 

belif The True Cream Moisturizing Bomb 3.37 oz/ 100 mL 

[Anna2BT]

Hi @tsavorite super cute profile pic you have there 😊 I'm totally taking notes for all the great holy grails you have listed here 📝

[danielledanielle]

Hey @Anna2BT , welcome!

That's kind of funny about the cake and skincare.  Sweets always causing problems, but being delicious.

Also wanted to link @alexasteph 's post on The Tried and True OG's , because I'm too *cough* lazy *cough* to repost my HGs.

[Anna2BT]

Hi! @danielledanielle Yes, sweets caused a little trouble for me, but has led to a great journey. I love that you gave @alexasteph 's post a little extra love, those are some great holy grails that are listed 😍

[WinglessOne]

Welcome aboard, @Anna2BT , and congrats on your Sephora internship! 

I love your skincare beginnings story. So many things affect skin—not just on the face but also the rest of the body—that we often never consider. I'm glad you figured out what was causing your breakouts, and that it led you down the skincare path. My two biggest beauty loves are lipstick and skincare. Nail care/polish has quickly become number three, but only because of my 2022 goal of improving the health of the skin around my nails—which should also improve the nails themselves—and keeping my nails covered with something at all times. It’s an example of a skincare goal leading to a different beauty obsession. 😂 

I also have combo skin (I call it "mosty-dry combo") that's quite reactive/inflammation-prone and fairly sensitive: 

Spoiler

I'm one of those folks who can't rub their skin much without flushing bright red and, in some cases, welting up. I have this problem on my whole body, not just my face; makes applying body lotion and sunscreen super fun. 🤦‍♀️ 

Additionally, my facial skin hates various ingredients and likes to throw angry red tantrums over them. This includes nearly all essential oils: the only exception is tea tree oil, and my face tolerates it only in very small amounts (diluted, of course; I'd never apply 100% tea tree oil to any skin on my body, yikes), used in a very short timeframe. My face's nemesis is lavender, be it the oil or extract form. Also, any product that contains several fragrance components (limonene, linalool, hexyl cinnamal, etc.) will most likely irritate my skin. 

I tell folks I'm very ingredient-driven when it comes to skincare. I can't tell everything about a product based solely on its INCI list, especially since I'm not a cosmetic chemist—and even then, I wouldn't know unless I was shown the exact formulation of a product. But ingredient lists give me a high level expectation of a product and help me weed out things my face will probably hate. 

Here's what works best to soothe my redness: 

• Centella asiatica (cica) - my go-to product is COSRX Pure Fit Cica Serum for its 7 components of cica. 
• Licorice root - it's in many of my skincare products, but I rely heavily on It's Skin Power 10 Formula Li Effector. 
• Houttuynia cordata (heartleaf) - the star ingredient of my favorite sheet mask ever, Abib Mild Acidic pH Heartleaf Fit Sheet Mask. This mask is a skin-soothing powerhouse: it also contains purslane, licorice root, allantoin, skullcap root, hu zhang, several cica components, and a couple other anti-inflammatory ingredients I'm forgetting right now. 
• Colloidal oats - I love to use The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm 5 oz/ 150 mL as a 10-minute soothing mask. Also, Aveeno Soothing Oatmeal Bath Treatment can be used as a facial mask. 
• Hydrocortisone - when my skin's in serious bad reaction mode, I need Aveeno 1% Hydrocortisone Cream to calm it down. Any hydrocortisone cream would work, but I like Aveeno's because it also contains soothing oats. 
• Antihistamine meds - another way to calm a bad reaction. I'm a Claritin-D user for allergies in general, so that's what I reach for. 

Also: as a lover of baked goods, I must thank you for your service as a cake decorator! 🍰 I'm also a lover of food in general. I love to cook at home and try various foods away from home. I'm not a strict recipe follower unless I'm baking. Sharpening my knives on water stones is therapeutic, and I'm a big fan of blue super and white #2 steels in knives (moreso the latter when it comes to ease of sharpening, but AOS holds an edge longer). Anyway... What are 5 of your favorite dishes to eat? 

Hope to see you around BIC! 

[Anna2BT]

Oh my goodness, I LOVE this wealth of knowledge! @WinglessOne I can definitely tell you had quite a skincare journey yourself. Kudos to finally getting there and finding out what works best for you, I know that must have not been an easy task. 💖

I'm a big fan of doing a 7-10 step skincare routine so it has also been a process to find out what makes my skin the happiest. Sometimes it will be the simple act of using a tiiiny bit too much face oil and it's breakout city 😂

I'm the same way with cooking as well, I only really use measurements when it comes to baking. For example, the amount of a seasoning I use in a dish could be described as "season with your heart" 🥰 

It's a hard decision to make, but I'll try! My 5 fave foods to eat are: clam pasta (spaghetti alle vongole), loaded fries (or tots), a nicely cooked steak, calamari, and Korean cold noodles (mul naengmyeon)

What are your 5 faves? @WinglessOne 

[WinglessOne]

@Anna2BT  My skincare journey was very frustrating, but it gave me a new outlet for my nerdy "must learn all of the things" mindset. One of the most helpful resources in that journey was (and still is) a board certified dermatologist. Anyone who can see a good derm should absolutely do it, and remember to ask them all your skincare questions. You've got a medical expert's ear for a short while, so you might as well get your money's worth! I've asked my derm lots of questions to corroborate or debunk things I've learned via my own deep study sessions. 

My 5 favorite foods are japchae, samosas, mussels, loaded tater tots (seriously, how can folks turn their noses up at tots?), and naan, aka Best Bread Ever. I frequently make naan at home. I also make a big batch of japchae once every 1-2 weeks unless I suddenly can't find more sweet potato starch noodles. So many other noodle dishes are very close to top 5 status... I'm really just a huge fan of noodles and pasta. As a kid, my favorite foods were spaghetti (topped with various things) and lasagna, along with green beans, frog legs (much to my parents' surprise), and breadsticks. 

"Season with your heart" should be on a t-shirt, if it's not already. 🙂 

[Anna2BT]

I love that kind of mindset 💜 @WinglessOne I'm the same way. Just a few years ago my interest in skincare picked up (and most importantly, the ingredients in skincare), and then I was all over the internet learning everything I could. I think it's fun getting into a hobby and learning everything you can 😄 

Also, love your list of fave foods! Looks like we def have a lot in common. Carbs, seafood, samosas - sign me up! Japchae always has a spot in my heart because as a kid, it was the first Korean food I was introduced to. I also love making big batches of japchae (but I think you make it more often than I do 😉)

I've always wanted to make naan at home, so cool that you do it often! Do you have a recipe you follow?

[WinglessOne]

@Anna2BT  Hooray for increasing skincare knowledge! If you ever find yourself rabbit-holing 5 different ingredients or clinical studies via 20 simultaneously open browser tabs at 3 AM, know that you're not alone! 🤣 What's your usual 7-10 step routine look like? 

Here's the naan recipe I follow (let's see if BIC/Lithium will let me format and post it before my session expires): 

Spoiler

Steps 1 and 2 (ingredients) vary depending on whether or not you proof your yeast. Let's call these variations A and B. 

A. Proof yeast for life signs:

Spoiler

Step 1, wet ingredients - Start by proofing the yeast. In a liquid measuring cup or a tall glass, combine:

• 3/4 c warm water
• 1 tsp instant quick-rise dry yeast (NOT active dry yeast)
• 1 tsp sugar 

Let mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast bubbles/foams. (Yay, it's alive!) Then combine it in a bowl with: 

• 1/4 c plain yogurt (I use Greek yogurt, but regular works too)
• 1-2 tbsp oil (I use extra-virgin olive oil, but veggie or canola oil would work fine) 

Step 2, dry ingredients - In a separate big bowl, whisk together: 

• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt 

B. No proofing, I'm sure my yeast is alive:

Spoiler

Step 1, dry ingredients - In a big bowl, whisk together: 

• 1 tsp instant quick-rise dry yeast (NOT active dry yeast)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt 

Step 2, wet ingredients - In a separate bowl, mix: 

• 3/4 c warm water
• 1/4 c plain yogurt (I use Greek yogurt, but regular works too)
• 1-2 tbsp oil (I use extra-virgin olive oil, but veggie oil would work fine) 

Note: You can use dry active yeast instead of instant quick-rise; substitution should be 1:1. It'll definitely require rehydration/proofing, and your dough will take longer (at least an extra hour) to rise.

Step 3, form dough - Pour wet mix into dry mix and stir (with a fork or, better yet, your hand) to bring the dough together. You want a soft sticky dough that's still manageable, not stiff or dry. If needed, add more flour or water teeny bit by bit. 

Step 4, rise - Cover the dough and let it rest in a warm spot for 20 min. Then separate dough into 5 or 6 balls. Cover balls with a tea towel and rest again for at least 20 min. Dough should double in size. 

Or, you can just let the dough sit in the bowl for 40 minutes from the start and check to see if it's doubled (if it hasn't, let it rise longer), and then break it into small balls. This skips the second rise. I usually split the rise out of habit. 

Step 5, prep your cooking vessel - If using oven, preheat to max heat. If stovetop cooking in a large cast iron skillet or griddle, get it heating up on the stove. If you have a tandoor, I'm jealous of you; fire that bad boy up! 

Step 6, form the naan - Flour or oil your hands, then flatten dough balls with hands and/or rolling pin into an oval shape, no thinner than 1/2 inch. 

Step 7, bake - Oven: place naan on a baking sheet or pizza stone as close to oven heat source as possible. (Can also put it in the broiler.) Leave for 1-3 minutes. It'll bake quickly, so don't walk away! Flip naan and bake other side for 30 seconds. Seriously, don't walk away while you bake this.

Stovetop: I've never made naan on the stove, but I imagine it'll bake just as fast if your skillet/griddle's hot enough. Don't walk away unless you enjoy the sound of your smoke detector. 

Remove each naan loaf from oven/stovetop as you bake 'em, set on a cooling rack or plate, and cover with a tea towel or foil to keep all that bread warm. 

Step 8, optional finishing touches - Brush/sprinkle over your naan: 

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter or ghee, melted 
• Kosher or Sea salt to taste 
• Herbs of your choice - cilantro's a popular option