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Aesop’s B Triple C Facial Balancing Gel freaks a lot of people out. It’s a light amber color, thick and wobbly, and sticks onto your fingers like honey. It kind of feels like Elmer’s Rubber Cement Glue, which you might remember from second-grade art class.
When you rub it onto your face after washing (and toning, but really, who tones?), it becomes more gel-like with the heat of your hands, rather than the sticky mess you’re anticipating based on my ridiculous description.
It smells like everything else Aesop makes: expensive and earthy. And I’m in love with it.
This gel is like Emergen-C for your face. It’s packed with vitamins and mysterious antioxidant superpowers that will protect you from a day on Planet Earth, the Place We’re Ruining With Cars and Cow Farts. At this point, I’m putting more vitamins onto my face than into my body, and I’m cool with that.
Don’t believe in magic? This gluey goo is also a ridiculously effective primer. I wait for it to dry for 10 minutes or so while I stroke my cat and literally no other activity, and then I put my foundation on over it. That stuff sticks.
If you have oily skin like me, it also helps mattify, and I appreciate that. When my skin gets dry, I also garnish with a layer of Aesop’s Parsley Hydrating Cream mixed with a few drops of face oil on top, and then apply my makeup. You think this is over-the-top, and you’re right. If you count my glasses, that’s five layers between me and the rest of the world — and that’s a distance I’d like to keep.