When I get or give beauty advice, there is only one thing that matters–cold, hard honesty. Like, you better shoot me straight, because I will share all my secrets with you.

It’s the worst when you see someone with a glass forehead and the inability to emote and they say “I only use Pond’s Cold Cream!!” OKAY BRENDA, NO. Please take your Botox and go home.

That’s why my conversation with SkinOwl founder, Annie Tevelin, was such a blast. She’s the kind of woman you immediately feel is your best friend.

The Best Tools to Depuff Your Skin in the Morning

No beauty secrets here!

I’m going to get into what tools she swears by for de-puffing your face, but first we need to pause for a sec to talk about what a badass Annie herself is.

Not only did she research and found her own skincare company, but before all that, she had an incredible Hollywood career.

Fans of 90s pop music–you’re gonna flip. Annie worked on the music videos of Britney Spears, NSYNC and Mandy Moore. She interned for Quentin Tarantino’s (now-defunct) music production company. She also worked for DreamWorks, worked on a pre-Oscar show with Martin Scorsese and was a pro makeup artist with L’Oreal who was on set with countless other amazing projects. Like, OKAY ANNIE!

But all the hobnobbing of that high-profile job meant a lot of makeup, which eventually led to cystic acne, as Annie says, “just like that.”

If you have ever had acne, you know the very real psychological side effects it can have.

I experienced horrific acne in my 20s that I can confidently say deeply impacted my psyche. It was devastating to go into the world and see people look at your face with confusion or disgust.

Annie knows this feeling all too well. “It [acne] is the first thing people see. It lent itself to a major deficit of self worth that hit everything. I didn’t think I was worthy of dating that guy, I didn’t think I was worthy of applying for that job; I didn’t think I could dress like this because it would attract attention to my face… It changed who I was as a person.”

The Story Behind SkinOwl

Like many people with cystic acne, Annie found most products would work for a short period of time only; after a few weeks, the acne would be back.

That’s when Annie decided to go back to school at learn about what was in the products she was using. She took her knowledge to Facebook–a group, specifically, called SkinOwl–where she would share her findings on ingredients that worked, and didn’t, on her acne.

As the demand for her knowledge grew, Annie realized she needed to translate that knowledge into something that could start working for people. And that’s when SkinOwl products were born.

What SkinOwl Products Work for Acne?

I had to ask this, because the whole line was founded on the premise of better skin, with better ingredients.

Annie says the SkinOwl Geranium Drops are perfect for acne-prone skin. The geranium, specifically, can help bring down acne and inflammation.

The Best Tools for De-Puffing Your Face in the Morning

The Beauty Wand

This massage tool is made of howlite, or white turquoise. It’s a non-porous, two-sided wand you use to massage your product into your skin. (See image below.)

Annie showed me how to use it under the eye to help get rid of puffiness and increase circulation.

Apply a little cream or eye product under your eye, and use from the inner corner of your eye outward, toward the outer corner. You can also use it on your cheeks and neck to help with lymphatic drainage and toxin draining.

Make sure you watch our interview and scoot over to the 35:00 minute mark to see it in You will see how in shock I was that it worked so quickly, and so well. It’s crazy.

Annie’s note: Do not use this with retinol products. Try it with the Maqui Berry Whip, or another rich, viscous cream that will help it to glide over the skin.

The Glow Stick

This massage tool is just insane. I have something similar to this already, by Nurse Jamie, and I will say, it is so fun and relaxing to use. My kids even steal it!

With this one, I cleanse, tone and apply my moisturizer and night, then let it soak in a bit before using this tool to massage my face.

This is a roller tool, so the studded part on the end rolls around on your skin as you use it. You can use it on your orbital bone (under your eye), along the contours of your cheeks, jawline, neck and more.

While I was interviewing Annie on video, she was using this and I swear to you I saw a difference in her skin like right away. Watch me freak out (and watch how Annie uses this tool) around the 37:00 mark on the video. Insane.

But Wait! There’s More…

Annie and I get into so much more about skin care, motherhood, why it’s important to be real on social media, and so much more.

Check out the podcast here!

And tell me: What tools, if any, are you using and loving on your skin lately? Drop in on Comments! I’d love to hear from you!