Laney Crowell Drops Her Skin-Care Routine

Every oil, serum, and cream the founder of clean beauty brand Saie swears by.

Laney Crowell Drops Her Skin-Care Routine

In almost two years, Saie (pronounced “say”) has become one of the most beloved and trustworthy clean beauty brands thanks to its founder and CEO, Laney Crowell. Its Slip Tint Dewy Tinted Moisturizer with SPF is one of the best-selling clean tinted moisturizers at Sephora. And already Saie has received more than 10 prestigious beauty awards and a celeb following including Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian. 

But getting there took some time, as most anything worth creating does. For Crowell it started shortly after she left Estée Lauder and started her own editorial platform and blog called The Moment. “I wanted to create a community around beauty being better,” she tells Glamour. “But I had no idea how that was going to materialize.” 

Cut to a few months later, when brands were sending Crowell products to review for The Moment. She was always well-stocked when it came to hair and skin care, but the makeup bin was rather empty. “Later that night I went on Instagram and started asking questions about what products work, what doesn't,” she says. “And that was really the night that Saie was born—and where the name comes from—a community saying what they want.”

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From there, Crowell began developing a clean makeup line that matched the same high-performing, clean skin care that her friends and followers were using regularly. “I am such a beauty lover, and a big part of that is because when I was younger, I had bad cystic acne, so I was always trying to cover up,” she says. “But I learned that the less I do and the cleaner my products, the better my skin. I cannot use anything with silicones in it or I'll get really bad breakouts.”

It's a good thing Crowell embraces a minimalist routine, because with two young children, a recent move to Sag Harbor, New York, and a thriving business, efficiency and quality are key. “I have so little time I just want to do my skin-care at night time and get into to bed.” 

And as I stare at Crowell's lit-from-within skin through Zoom—and relate to plenty of her skin-care concerns—I'm thrilled she's spilling her secrets. So what does she swear by? Time to find out, with another edition of Glamour's Drop the Routine.

I love Mara Algae Enzyme Cleansing Oil. The bottle is so beautiful, but I love it because my skin responds best to a cleansing oil. Even Saie's Mascara 101 comes off with just water. 

Mara Algae Enzyme Cleansing Oil

Ren Clean Skincare's Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic is one of my secret weapons. I use my Saie cotton balls to apply it. [Editor's note: Saie cotton balls come in every order to protect the products in place of filler packaging.] And it really is just so effective, it's a great price point, and it lasts a while. Within two or three days, my skin just looks brighter. If I feel like my skin isn't looking fresh, I'm like, “Okay. Time to use my Ren.” I have sensitive skin, so I use it maybe three times a week.

Ren Clean Skincare Ready Steady Glow Daily AHA Tonic

After applying the AHA Tonic, I go straight to my face oil. It seems so counterintuitive that a face oil will stop you from breaking out, but for me, that was my case. The more oils that I use, the less breakouts I have. I love the Vintner's Daughter Active Botanical Serum facial oil. A less expensive one, which I also love, is Le Prunier. It's a beautiful face oil, it smells delicious because it comes from plums, and you just see your skin plumping. It's incredible. I use the oils in place of moisturizer.

Vintner's Daughter Active Botanical Serum Facial Oil

Le Prunier Plum Beauty Oil

I use the Furtuna Skin Eye Revitalizing Cream. The brand takes such care in the ingredients that go into their products, and their eye cream is stunning. I keep it right next to my bed and I put it on right before I go to sleep.

Furtuna Skin Eye Revitalizing Cream

I love face masks, especially when I'm taking a bath. My number one face mask that I absolutely love is pure manuka honey. I get a jar of it at Whole Foods or the natural food store in town and I apply it all over. It's antibacterial, antifungal, and so hydrating. It's also so gentle that you can do as much as you want. And then I love the Leahlani Superfood for Your Skin Mermaid Mask. It's bright green because of the algae, and my skin really likes it. You can see that brightening afterward, which is great.

I'm really into tools, especially the Wildling Empress Stone. It's a beautiful gua sha tool that is a different shape than the ones you normally see, which allows you to really go along your jawline. It hugs your cheekbones; it hugs your brow bone. I'll do a face massage probably four times a week to help relax. I massage my jaw a lot. It makes such a big difference just for lifting and de-puffing. And it's something you can do while watching TV, which is a big plus for me when it comes to skin care. 

Wildling Empress Stone

I also use the Dr. Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro. I got that as a gift from my husband for Mother's Day. It really is worth the investment, and I love it. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum, I use an ice roller that I got on Amazon. I keep it in the freezer. I'll just hold it over my eyes and I feel like a different person.

Dr. Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro

I also actually recently started seeing a dermatologist in New York, Dr. Marnie Nussbaum. I go to her for the Clear and Brilliant Laser Treatment to help reverse sun damage from when I was younger. 

I used the True Botanicals Clear Repair Serum for breakouts. I was breaking out really badly when I was pregnant, and the founder, Hillary, directed me to their Clear line. Now I have to have a bottle of that serum on hand for a breakout because you just use it as a spot treatment and it's gone.

True Botanicals Clear Repair Serum

I use Saie Sunvisor and Saie Slip Tint every day. Sunvisor is our true sunscreen, so I use that almost every day. And Slip Tint has SPF in it as well. If I need a little bit of makeup, I wear Slip Tint; if I'm going for a run, I'll put on Sunvisor.

Saie Sunvisor

Saie Slip Tint SPF 35 Tinted Moisturizer

I use our liquid nourishing lip balm. It's so good. If you like really great gloss, you're going to love liquid lip balm. It was created as that just everyday lip balm that you've always wanted that gives you a little tiny bit of sheen. It's crazy hydrating. You can use it before bed, or you could even use it like walking into a meeting because it still gives you that polished look, no matter how you use it. It's your daily lip mask. 

Saie Liquid Nourishing Lip Balm

Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Instagram @jessicaradloff14.

This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Condé Nast