// Vine Vera "Cabernet" Skincare

I've never been much of a "skincare" girl. Truth be told, my routine is as follows: Wash face, use some Aveeno moisturizer. Boom. Done. I'm not a complicated gal. But Winter does an absolute number on my face. My skin gets so dry. It's terrible. It feels awful. It looks awful. It's just awful! Like, sandpaper awful. I've tried a few creams, I've tried some exfoliating wipes and masks and whatever else. But nothing has really ever done the trick. Kerry from Vine Vera emailed me several weeks back asking if I might be interested in trying out some of their skincare goodies. Since it's not normally something I really use, I didn't know if it'd be a good fit. However I am trying to step up my game a little bit and not be "Sandpaper Face" haha! I explained to Kerry that I didn't know much about stuff like this, but that I had very dry skin. She recommended the Cabernet Collection products and said she'd send some over for me to test out for a few weeks. Spoiler alert: My skin is hydrated and so smooth! (And I still know squat about skincare.)

When the box showed up at my house, I was sort of floored at the bevy of goodies sent over. Pinch me! I only really expected to get one or two pieces, but was so excited to see a wide variety of products. I wanted to get as much use out of the stuff as possible before writing about it because obviously I needed to experience it. Before I even used the products I was drooling over the fantastic logo (the wine glass V!) and the packaging (magnetic flap clasp boxes!). Seriously packaging alone can be what drives me to buy a product (even if I'll never ever use it. This is not Mike's favorite trait ha!) And I'm sure you've picked up on it already, but the whole brand is wine themed and the collections are various kinds: Merlot, Cabernet, Zinfandel, etc. Reservatrol is the main ingredient, and is commonly found in red wine. My mom would probably love it. She really likes wine.

I didn't really know how to use the collection, so I Googled the brand and BOOM: HowToUseVineVera.com showed up. It doesn't get much more straight forward than that. Anyway, now that I actually knew what to do with the stuff and when to use it, I started crafting my routine. Hands down, without a doubt, my favorite product in the collection in the Reservatrol High-Potency Cream. Before getting ready for the day I'd put some on my face and moisturize my skin before putting on my makeup. It helped everything stay in place, even without primer. What really sold me on it was that my foundation didn't crack on my nose during the day (from the wind/cold). Ugh that's the WORST! The Contour Eye Firming cream came in really handy when Linden's 4 month sleep regression kicked in. I've been using the Cellular Peel twice a week and the Serum at night (it moisturizes like the cream does, but goes on feeling so silky!) 

If you're into clean, paraben free cosmetics and brands that don't test on animals, this one is a hit. You definitely pay for the quality, but I know some folks who consider their skin care goodies gold. There wasn't a single thing in the collection that I didn't enjoy, though I think you might be able to get amazing results by just buying the cream or serum. They seemed to be the most effective for my skin type at least. The bottles/jars of product are VERY generous, so even with twice-daily use, the cream is sure to last me for a long time.  

So when it comes down to the final verdict, I really do love everything I've tried, though I think some of the pieces in the full collection could be a little redundant. I'd totally recommend the face cream/moisturizer above everything else. Would I buy it? If I could afford it, yes. It's probably pretty out of my league normally just because I'm still pretty clueless to it all, but I feel more comfortable with these products just from 4 weeks of use. Can you get similar results for less money? Good question! I'd like to compare the effects with something slightly more in my budget and see how they stack up. I'm certainly grateful for the chance to try it all out though, because now that I see a distinct difference in my face, I realize just how important a (good!) skincare routine is. You can check out the rest of what Vine Vera offers, as well as see where their store locations are, HERE. You can also follow Vine Vera on Twitter! xo