Depressing stat for the day: According to researchers at the University of Hamburg, skin elasticity declines about 10% between ages 20 and 33. Your stores of vitamins C and E also take a hit, and suddenly skin doesn’t look as, well, alive as it once did. French skincare brand Caudalie has launched VineActiv, a new line that targets this inbetween age group that is too young for fillers, but old enough to start protecting skin from the damage that stress, smoking (second hand that is, we presume you’ve given this up by now) and environmental aggressors like pollution inflict. 

The hero ingredient in the line is a patented combo of grape-seed polyphenols (i.e. the antioxidant-rich grape extract that Caudalie is known for) and spruce extract, which protect cells from oxidative stress and preserve natural collagen and hylauronic acid. In addition to using sunscreen and exfoliating, including antioxidants in your skincare routine is one of the best things you can do for your skin in your 20s

Blogger Devin Brugman, co-founder of A Bikini A Day and spokesperson for the line, said protecting her skin was not a concern until she recently turned 26 years old.  “I never even thought that I needed to use anti-aging products,” Brugman told us in Toronto’s Thompson Hotel. “Women don’t really think that way until it just hits you.” Below, she discusses dealing with adult acne, her thoughts on 20-somethings using fillers and the one product she can’t live without. 

 

On adult acne: 

Growing up, I had great skin. I grew up in Hawaii, so I was always in the sun. My parents never taught me a proper skincare routine; I didn’t even know what a toner was. My mom literally washes her face with a bar of soap and then uses Eucerin, so I kind of just didn’t ever know what to do. 

When I was 23 I had this weird adult-acne phase. I was getting crazy breakouts, worse than I’ve ever had. I was like, ‘Ok maybe every so many years your skin changes.’ It was crazy. I was using so many random different products trying to find the right one, I was taking pills from my doctor and nothing worked, honestly, until I started using Caudalie, which is why I love [them] so much. 

On changing skincare as you age:  

I have been using the whole range since they sent me the samples. The eye cream is probably the most important for me because it is the first place that I have actually noticed aging. Tash [Bikini A Day co-founder Natasha Oakley] and I both edit all of our own photos, so we are really aware of what’s going on with our faces and our bodies, if I ever even gain a pound I really know. I have learned to look at it very objectively; I am not critical of myself, but I am noticing now that I am getting lines around my eyes. My parents have both aged really beautifully, so I am really lucky for that, but I can see it in both of them that it is the eyes. So I am like, ‘I need this eye cream!’

 

On fillers:

Right now 20-somethings are getting fillers and, you know, back in the day there was never even a thought of that. I am like, ‘Should I be getting fillers? But then it is products like [the VineActiv line] that remind me that I just need to age naturally. It is sad because girls are forgetting that there is actually something really beautiful about the way that a woman ages.