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Once upon a time… I swear I had clear skin.

.... But in the middle of any breakout, the way you feel about your face, skin, and confidence makes you forget what life once was prior to pimple central.

The worst thing about the lack of confidence from skin problems is that no matter how hard you work to create the body you want in the gym, the success you want in your career, the love you want in your life you still will feel the insecurity that washes over you. It feels so out of your control too. You feel like your face does not represent the person you are becoming, but yet it's the first thing people see. It represents everything you do. Its what people see first and foremost. Its what you see.

We somehow forget that not everyone is staring at our faces criticizing that zit. WE ALL have had those moments, from little bumps under the skin, a huge pimple arriving just in time for that presentation (thanks stress), hormonal acne from life changes or real full blow reaction, I felt it may be helpful to share my own skin story. It's not pretty but it's real and I felt perhaps you may find peace or help in it somehow.

First off, I want to start by saying my skin has changed tenfold in the past few months thanks to a product called Vitamine & Sea which you can purchase online with code TFF10 for 10% off... so this is story does have a happy ending! Here is how it started.....

In November I attended a beauty even like I often do.... with makeup covering my skin truth. Try being a wellness blogger who eats well, spends time in the gym building a brand on how to look and feel amazing, meeting with brands and new beauty products - WITH ACNE. At the event, I met a man who owned a company called Vitamine & Sea. He talked to me about his skin story and how he had really bad acne, was a model and started putting makeup on top of his breakouts and the bad skin cycle began. He felt so insecure going to casting calls, working hard on his body and looking great but having terrible skin. Sound familiar - well it did to me! He went on Accutane (which I actually took when I was younger - well get to that) and he still couldn’t find the right balance…. So like any smart person who's founded brands that succeed, what he couldn't find, he created! He did research and made a face oil called “The Perfect Skin Solution”.

His story sounded similar to what I was going through although of course I smiled pretending no one could see that my skin was breaking out under the makeup. Maybe he could.... & he gave me a bottle to try. This was mid-November. I get a lot of products to try out and I wasn’t sold that an oil was going to clear my skin, but what I was open to doing was trying anything and everything at this point.

Come Christmas my skin was clear. I sent the founder an email. It was raw and it came from the heart because finally, I felt I was getting somewhere.

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Hey Mark

I hope you are doing well in this busy holiday season.

As you know, I am a huge fan of Vitamine & Sea. Earlier this year I entered a period of really bad skin, a combination of hormonal changes, the gym, make up from photoshoots and other life stresses that added to it. The biggest change I made was cutting out dairy in September and I never went back as it really helped to regulate my hormonal acne. That being said, I was still slowly regulating my skin which can take a few months. I wanted to find the skin care that really worked for me and refused to take a medication that would clear the remainder of my skin irritation up.

After meeting you at Annie Young I started using Vitamine & Sea. I didn’t want to rave about it just yet as I needed to give my skin some time to get to know the product. That being said, for the first time in what seems like forever I can run around without makeup on. It's not just that your product cleared my skin, but it also took away the redness that was under the skin. Gradually it is still getting better and of course, some days are better than others as all those factors are still I the mix; like photoshoots, hormones, and intense workouts. But Vitamine & Sea together with a change in a clearing mask and finding the perfect face wash combo, I finally feel like I am getting somewhere. My confidence without makeup has changed drastically and I want to thank you.

I remember you telling me that this was not your main focus and that you really ran your real estate company first and foremost. I want to help Vitamine & Sea grow and I think we could do so together. I would also like to share this story and talk about Vitamine & Sea as its been a huge game changer for me. Skin is the first thing someone sees and you and I both know this first hand. I can’t rave enough about what your product does and I would love to see how others skin can be changed as well.

Thanks again,

Samantha

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Now let's backtrack a bit. When I was young I always had breakouts but nothing serious. That being said it was always a part of my life that made me insecure and I didn’t want to face that so I went on Accutane. At the time it seemed smart, and it worked for a bit. I took it and lived through 6 months of HELL. My once little breakouts became cystic acne and it was terrible - imagine for a 16-year-old how brutal that can be and it's a reality for so many of us. But eventually I came out of it and my skin was perfect. I went on the pill right after to keep my skin clear. It was a magical recipe I didn’t think too much of. My hormones were regulated and my skin was clear … for years!

As I became more and more versed in the health world and what the pill does to your body I decided to go off of it after 6 years. My hormones slowly started to regulate (which took forever by the way - a lost period for 6 months, weight gain and welcome back to the mini breakouts). My breakouts that came back were small but still irritating. I wanted to run around without makeup on like all my friends seemed to do. That being said, at the time I was working corporate and had to put on make up every day so it was manageable to cover up a few things here and there.

FFW to this past year. I left my corporate job and was at an all-time stress high and health low. My skin started to clear as soon as I left the toxic environment. I began to reset my body and my health. By the time of my website relaunch and my dive into fitness and health my active habits were stronger than ever doing, 2-3 classes a day.... but so was my acne. It started to be bad back in the summer. Working out, not washing my face right away, wearing makeup to work out because .... well my job is to teach and train with people, and take pictures doing so! I couldn’t do that with acne. So I covered up. But as you can imagine it became worse and worse until it was a disaster. That same cycle that the founder of Vitamine & Sea spoke about. I didn’t know how to manage it. I went away for a month in the summer and I felt at a loss of who and how I wanted to be on my trip because I was so concerned with my skin and how it impacted my daily habits traveling.

When I returned in September I made a major change and cut out sugar and dairy from my diet. The hormones in milk and animal products were creating hormonal acne along my jawline. It was terrible. It slowly began to clear away but if my worst acne was a 10/10 this was a 7/10. I would take any improvement at the time, but I knew I still had to find something to make it better.

The makeup at the gym had to stop. Which it did but as anyone knows you cover and then you break out and you cover again..... It wasn’t until I met Mark that night that I found something that changed my skin daily.

I started using Vitamine & Sea and it began taking away redness, clearing my skin and making me glow. I was applying it every night before bed. Slowly my skin was clearing more and more.

I remember a moment before Christmas where it was so clear - around when I sent that email to him. Right before I left to Toronto for the holidays I was stressed from different campaigns and broke out which is normal to still happen. I was so upset. I called my best friend saying how FINALLY my skin was clear and I was going to be able to enjoy Christmas morning without makeup and feeling like I needed to cover myself in front of my fam. This was a few days before. I continued to put on the Vitamine & Sea and the difference was that not only did it make my skin clear again - when you do have breakouts from your period, stress or a bad few days of eating (we know it happens) you have to continue to stick to the process and it helps clear it faster, taking away redness and healing. Keyword being HEALING.

By Christmas, I was back to glowing. It was a miracle.

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To this day I put it on every morning before the gym and every night before bed.

I use other products as well like another day oil, my face cream on top for colder days, my face wash for morning and night, my eye cream and I actually get to test out products now without freaking out that I will break out from them.... Yes some days I do and it's normal, it's human. I also still have to do photoshoots working out with make up on - it's part of my life. But I now wash it right off and apply my Perfect Skin Solution. For the most part now I get to live my life with my skin being a 2/10 bad. Some days its a 0/10 for break outs.... the perfect skin and it makes me so confident! Before my period it could be a 4/10, but it is nothing like it was. I know this story may resonate with some and i hope the product can help you if you feel at a loss. I know more than anyone how insecurity and break outs can eat you up inside. Its been a part of my life.

I documented my skin from before I stopped the dairy and sugar to after and then that point on to when I started Vitamine & Sea. I wanted to share it with you. Its scary but its worth it.

If you want to try it out use code TFF 10 for 10% off.

Disclaimer - I am not trying to sell you anything you don’t want, I just want to help any of you who wake up feeling like this day is a waste because of your skin. I’ve cried. I’ve used the words my face it rotting on multiple occasions. I wanted to cut it off and start over new. TRUST ME I KNOW THE STRUGGLE. I hope this can help.