After a year-plus of what feels like splurging on every skin-care product under the sun to help minimize blue light, increase your vitamin C intake, and plump your skin, influencer and skin-care-brand founder Teni Panosian has something refreshing to say: “I can appreciate wanting to have a larger offering, but…I am really mindful of people's bank accounts. I don't want you buying things that aren't going to truly benefit your skin.”
The result is Monday Born, a luxury, clean, minimalist skin-care line (five products in total; six, if you count its two-step dual cleanser) with curated drops to serve a specific purpose: sustainability. When you order a product from Monday Born via direct-to-consumer company Beaubble, you know it hasn't been sitting on a warehouse shelf for a year; only a certain number of each formulation is made per drop. And, says Panosian, “everything we make is designed for all skin types. Our focus group [consists of] all different complexions, ages, etc., so that we really get a well-rounded product that works for as many people as possible.”
That back-to-basics approach is evident in Panosian's day-to-day life as well. “I'm a minimalist in every sense of the word,” she says. “Not just skin care, but I never have jewelry on, I don't have my nails done. I'm not wearing makeup right now.”
Panosian is comfortable in her own skin, and it's one of the many reasons her half-a-million Instagram followers are so devoted. She's honest about the use of topicals as well as Botox, noting that “I've been to a handful of people, and KarriAnn Khalil at Ava M.D. is very light to the touch…I maybe get 30 units, not a lot.” And she's very open about the skin-care frustrations she's had in the past: “I was overusing acids on my face, which I learned the hard way,” she says. “Now that I'm in a much healthier skin-care routine, I'm closer to normal, but still dry. Texture is my biggest issue with my skin.”
So for Glamour's latest edition of Drop the Routine, Panosian fills us in on the Monday Born products that transformed her skin, plus the other brands she swears by. Read on.
Currently [I use] The Cleansing Duo from Monday Born. It is so gentle on skin and gets the job done. My mascara just slips right off, and then the gentle cleanser leaves all skin types feeling really supple and hydrated.
I do use our essence, Source, which is the best kept secret in skin care, because it really just makes your entire skin-care routine perform that much better. It deeply penetrates and hydrates.
Rebirth, which is an exfoliating serum with lactic acid, which I'm a huge fan of. I only use that two to three times a week, because overexfoliating is not good for your skin. Shani Darden's Retinol Reform is so incredible, so I'll alternate between Rebirth and hers, obviously never using them on the same night.
If you haven't tried Ayond’s Amber Elix Face Oil, you must. Take one look at the ingredients list and you'll know this is something special. I love it. Face oil is something that I don't use all the time, but I use it as like the last step over moisturizer to seal everything in. It's a really excellent product.
Hands down, The Seven, which was our product that we last fulfilled. You can't imagine the DMs and the texts I was getting, like, “What is this? What did you put in here?” I'm like, “I told you!” I had a very specific purpose with this moisturizer. We call it The Seven, because it includes seven powerhouse ingredients that have come together to make this: sea grapes, kelp, ginseng, squalane, glycerin, ceramides, and Laminaria japonica. It's the kind of moisturizer that is light and moisturizes every skin type properly, but over time you're going to see improvement in your skin too.
I'm currently trying Glow Recipe's Avocado Melt Retinol Eye Sleeping Mask. Sometimes people will ask me, “I have dark circles, can you make an eye cream?” And I say, “I'm so sorry, this is not something that a cream could ever fix. I don't want to mislead you.” And they're like, “What did you use?” I'm like, “This is genetics.” It's just the bottom line. Not very often will you actually find a topical product that's going to do something. I say, “Listen, you're going to need an in-office treatment. Go talk to your local injector that you trust. And I know that they have either lasers or injectables that can help with darkness. If you're talking about fine lines, we can definitely supplement your skin-care routine with an eye cream.” But certain things, you can't.
Caudalie has a really nice one that I like called Beauty Elixir. That's a really good one. My boyfriend steals it from me all the time, and I find it empty. It is really nice and refreshing.
I'm really particular about sunscreen. I'm currently using Kate Somerville's Daily Deflector. It's a mineral sunscreen and I really like it.
There's a couple I love right now. Ilia has a lip wrap treatment mask that is amazing. Fresh has a sugar mango hydrating lip balm that's really nice too. It's like a tropical smoothie on your lips. Certain balms get sticky or too oily, but these two are perfect. I wake up with the softest lips.
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