Look out La Mer... Beautycounter's Countertime is officially here and it is our best skin care collection by far! In a recent review of the Countertime Collection in Women's Wear Daily, our Founder & CEO, Gregg Renfrew, is quoted as saying "For a long time if we won a beauty award, it's been 'the best of natural' or 'best of indie' category. We want to be the best of the best...With this launch we've delivered as good or better than all the anti-aging lines, minus the 1,600 harmful ingredients they continue to use. It's not that we are part of the clean beauty movement, we are the future of beauty." For any of you who have been using our Rejuvenating line, you will be blown away by this upgrade. I have been lucky enough to use the new Countertime products for the past 2+ weeks and I see a visible difference in my skin! If you had tried Rejuvenating before but it didn't check the box for optimal hydration and performance for you, please give Beautycounter products another try with Countertime. One key point is that I'm well aware how much women love their Retinol. Here are a few reasons as to why it's important to break up with your Retinol for good!! Retinol is on our Never List  because Beautycounter believes it is not worth taking the risk. Studies show that Retinol and Retinyl Palmitate can have harmful side effects, irritating the skin, damaging DNA and speeding the growth of skin tumors when used topically.  Retinol also makes the skin sensitive to the sun's damaging rays. Did you ever wonder why your dermatologist recommends only using Retinol at night and washing it off before you are exposed to the sun? Both the EU and Canada have restricted the use of Retinol because of its' evidence of danger to human health and the environment. But the good 'ol US of A allows Retinol to still be used primarily in moisturizers and anti-aging products. With Countertime, Beautycounter has perfected a Retinatural combination that includes Bakuchiol & Swiss Alpine Rose as a clean alternative to Retinol but works even BETTER. This combo performs like Retinol by reducing fine lines, wrinkles and pore size as well as plumping the skin and firming the skin's texture but without any of the harmful effects. These are the steps to the Countertime Collection: 1 - Cleanse (Countertime Lipid Defense Cleansing Oil $49): This oil removes makeup & other impurities without stripping essential lipids from the skin. Apply to the face dry and add warm water to lather and then rinse. 2 - PREP (Countertime Mineral Boost Hydrating Essence $59): Lightweight but deeply nourishing, this milky essence delivers nutrients to the skin's moisture barrier instantly boosting hydration and radiance. This is similar to the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence which is $185 for 5.4 oz but without  harmful ingredients like parabens. I had no idea if I was going to like this step and now this is the step I look forward to the most! 3 - TREAT (Countertime Tripeptide Radiance Serum $79): Increases skin's firmness & elasticity, while reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.  Who doesn't want/need that?? 4 - PROTECT AM (Countertime Antioxidant Soft Cream $79): This velvety revitalizing cream improves skin's barrier function and boosts hydration. A daily essential - trust me! 5 - PROTECT PM (Countertime Tetrapeptide Supreme Cream $89): If you've felt like the Rejuvenating Night cream was not rich enough for you, you want to give this one a whirl! It will supercharge your beauty sleep by supporting elasticity and visibly firming & smoothing skin's texture. This is the one closest to La Mer without the harmful ingredients (or the heavy price point!) 6 - DON'T FORGET THE EYES (Countertime Ultra-Renewal Eye Cream $69): Dab underneath the eye to help with hydration, decrease the appearance of dark circles and puffiness and brighten the eye area. I'll take all of those!! The entire line is sold as a Collection at a 10% savings for $382 ($424 value).  The new gorgeous glass packaging is more sustainable and better for our overall carbon footprint.  Also, there is 15% more product than was offered with Rejuvenating so it's a much better value. If you want to try before you buy, please reach out. I am happy to meet local clients so you can see and feel and smell the products and see how amazing they are for yourself. For long distance users, I will have samples available to mail hopefully by August. I am so excited about this launch and can't wait for you all to experience the amazing Countertime! ***thank you to Dana Friedman for the awesome inspo!