Dear Kiehl's,
How do you even begin to say 'Thank You' to a skincare brand that has changed your life? A simple 'thank you' doesn't seem enough, not when my life has been completely changed.
I honestly cannot thank you enough for what your products have done for me, never did I think I would ever be able to say goodbye to my horrid acne which had plagued me since my teenage years and didn't seem to be going anywhere throughout my twenties.
This is me for life I thought, I'll try to eat better, drink more water, exercise, you know, all the things you're supposed to do to get rid of it, but nothing worked.
I'd try any new product on the market to try and ease the pain and suffering my face gave me on a daily basis. Every single day for about 7 years I had to wear foundation or BB cream to hide the state my face was in. Couldn't bear to leave the house without my armour on, didn't want people starting and thinking I was dirty.
No amount of make-up could cover up how my skin made me feel though. It would get me down more than my weight ever did.
No matter what age I got to, my skin never got any better. Going to Australia didn't make it any better, in fact it made it worse, especially when I was camping out for 3 weeks in the Outback and didn't have access to a proper skincare routine.
My oily complexion didn't like the heat, the sun nor the humidity and being sweaty on the daily just added to the mix. I came back worse than ever and not only did I have acne to deal with, I'd somehow changed my whole complexion from oily to dehydrated and dry.
But the acne was still there. Depressing me more and more each day and with no possible solutions in sight I just dealt with it and came to terms with the fact I'd have this forever and never be able to get rid of it. Nothing I used seemed to make it any better.
Then I walked into a Kiehl's store in York one November day last year and everything changed. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to go in, having heard so many good things about their products and having been lucky enough to work with them once before in my capacity as a beauty blogger.
I had a look around the store and enquired about having a consultation. It was then that I found out the truth. The products I had been using were completely wrong for me and I should instead completely overhaul my skincare routine and use products which were designed to tackle my now dehydrated skin. (A skin analysis test proved that my skin was severely dehydrated - 29% hydration!)
I was honestly in shock I couldn't believe that the products I had been using were so wrong for me. I was determined to use these new products and try to save my skin. It wasn't cheap, but then I'd wasted so much money over the years trying to find something which would be the 'miracle product' that I had probably already spent the same amount of money and yet nothing had happened.
I felt confident that these would be the products which would finally give me the clear complexion I had craved for so many years.
Fast forward 6 months and my skin and face had completely changed.
When I visited Heal Spa here in Harrogate, I again had a skin analysis test and found that my hydration level had rocketed up to 78%! I actually could not believe it! I had been using my new Kiehl's skincare products religiously for 6 months and it had paid off.
Finally, I thought, these are the products to give me the good skin I had yearned for.
Slowly I could see the bad acne giving way to the clear skin underneath, could this be true? Could I finally, be one of those lucky ladies who gets rid of her younger self's acne to then be blessed with clear skin which didn't need make up?! I was too scared to believe it, too worried that any stray from my new routine would bring those bastards back.
That was something I didn't want to happen so I kept up with my new routine, not hiding my face from the bathroom mirror, too scared to see how my face looked and how many spots had crept in overnight.
Thankfully I no longer have that fear. I now only occasionally get a lone spot or two which is mainly hormonal but aside from that I can now say, with a tear in my eye, that I have clear skin. For the first time in my entire life. Like, how do you even begin to say 'thanks' to a brand whose products have done that for you?
I honestly feel so blessed everyday that I no longer have to cover up with make up and can literally roll out of bed, wash my face and go. No need to check which spots need covering up today!
As a girl who has suffered from acne since her childhood days and who thought that she would never be rid of it, I owe everything to Kiehl's. Thanks for giving me the confidence to go barefaced everyday, thanks for giving me the skin I should of had all those years ago, thanks for assessing my skin and giving me the right products to treat my dehydration as I believe by doing that, my skin did not need to produce acne any longer.
Sorting that one problem out completely and utterly changed the whole surface of my skin. Without doing that, I feel I would still be that acne covered girl using make-up to cover it up and wondering if I would ever be that lucky.
I should add here that since all this I have changed my eating habits, I am now a vegetarian who has also given up cow's milk which I think in part contributed to my acne. Since I gave it up and switched onto soya, my skin has never looked better, with even less breakouts than before!
But Kiehl's were definitely the biggest contributing factor to my skin changing from an oily, dehydrated, spotty mess to a hydrated, albeit slightly dry, acne free face which no longer needs to be hidden. You have no idea how happy this makes me.
So, Kiehl's from the bottom of my heart, I want to say Thank You, for without you I have no idea where I would be now. Thank You for completely changing my life. I owe you everything.
Love, Sarah xoxoxo
