True story.

When I was a teenager I would pick and scratch at them one by one by one to get them off of me.

By my early twenties I had hoped taking a fierce razor to my legs every now and again then following up with an overpriced lotion would do the trick. No success.

Finally, by my mid - late twenties I was ready to throw my hands up. I was convinced that I was just meant to go through life with rough and bumpy legs (keratosis pilaris I later found out it was called). But believe me, this crushing revelation was hardly one I was ready to accept! I hated how dotty my legs looked in swimwear, I could only imagine how they felt brushing up against someone else in bed--how was I ever going to date a celebrity or a royal? I was over it!

Let's face it skincare can be complicated and confusing. Yet I could not wrap my mind around why such a common skincare issue seemed so unaddressable. I hated the process of navigating the beauty market and not finding anything that truly WORKED. At that point I had kind of given up on my poor legs and [kind of] learned to live with them.

Not too long after, I founded The Established--a clean beauty brand inspired by the minimalist skincare enthusiast. The foundation of my brand was to always formulate with only what was nutrient rich, highly penetrable and high-performing. In testing my products, I was initially puzzled at how effective they were in improving my skin's overall texture having utilized such few ingredients. My moisturizers, namely my body serum absorbed very quickly, left my skin really supple, and didn't require constant reapplication. So naturally, I wanted to give it the real test. You guys get where I'm going. You know it was time for me to circle back on those legs, hunni!

I started an easy nightly routine with slight apprehension. Truthfully, I had average expectations. For about 3 weeks I was pretty consistent, though I didn't over-commit. After a piping hot shower, my 20 second moisturizing routine just kind of became easy. I eased up on my fixation with having perfect legs and kind of just grew to love using the body serum--the lavender, bergamot and sage blend felt reaaaally calming. I honestly forgot what the intention was until I reached behind my leg and noticed a drastic change in the texture 😳. I initially tried not to get too excited and was lowkey waiting for the other shoe to drop. I used the serum for about another month until I felt like I could be in the clear. It's been over three years now, and to this day I have not felt a rough patch behind my legs.

Today Elixa is my favorite product in my lineup. She brings great awareness to The Established, and has even been featured in magazines and lauded in New Beauty Magazine's Annual Beauty Report as one of the best moisturizers of 2019. But honestly, my biggest accomplishment with Elixa is that I made her and she worked. When it comes to skincare, trust me it's almost never you it's THEM and I had to go on this journey to learn that.

You can shop Elixa through the link below to see for yourself. Also, keep an eye on Essence Magazine's 50th Anniversary Issue dropping in May to see what other folks are saying about us 😁 .

Talk soon!
Essence