One of the reasons Kristin Cavallari resonates with people is because, like it or not, the longtime TV star is refreshingly honest. From a business perspective, that unapologetic authenticity has paid off in the form of best-seller status for her numerous cookbooks and her expansive lifestyle brand, Uncommon James, which is now launching into an exciting new product category: beauty.
Today, Cavallari releases Uncommon Beauty, a five-piece skincare line that will live under the Uncommon James umbrella. The former reality-show star says that the collection has been in the works for a while now, and her personal interest in skincare dates all the way back to high school and Laguna Beach.
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"The number-one question everyone has always asked me is: 'What's your skincare routine?'" Cavallari tells me. "It's funny because I've actually been obsessed with skincare since I was a teenager, mostly because I was really prone to breakouts growing up and being in the entertainment business, being on camera, I was really concerned with how my skin looked."
Over the years, Cavallari's skincare concerns evolved from spot-treating pimples before an event to checking ingredient labels. "About a year ago, I brought all the skin-care products I was using at the time to a lab to investigate what was in them," she explains. "Turns out, the products that I thought were relatively clean and high-end were actually full of silicones and fillers." The experience pushed Cavallari to start formulating Uncommon Beauty with the aim of creating a curated collection that she describes as "clean and effective."
"I live a clean lifestyle, so it was important to make sure that at the end of the day when I'm washing my face, I have peace of mind that everything I'm putting on my body is just as good for me as what I'm putting in it," Cavallari says. "Also, I don't like taking a lot of time getting ready. Instead of having 20 products, I'd rather have three, four, or five that are really effective and do what they're supposed to do."
The five core Uncommon Beauty products comprise what Cavallari says is her current skin-care routine: an exfoliating powder cleanser, a peptide "nectar" (similar to a serum, but a little more viscous) with vitamin C, a lightweight moisturiser, a potted eye cream, and a mango-flavored lip balm in a "big, chunky" stick. "At night, I use our Foaming Cleanser and Eye Cream," she explains of how the products fit seamlessly into her busy life. "In the morning, I use the Nectar and the Daily Water Cream, put mascara on, fill in my brows, and call it a day. Then I bring the Mango Lip Balm everywhere I go."
Cavallari teases that there will be a few other "fun products" coming down the pipeline from Uncommon Beauty... but don't count on sunscreen being one of them. "I will be the first to admit, I don't use an SPF, unless I'm actually in the sun," she says. "I know every dermatologist on the planet is not going to be happy with me saying that, but it's the truth." While skipping daily SPF is not advisable, Cavallari's confession is honest and on-brand.
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