Written by Delaney Willet Photographed by Jacqueline Pilar

Skincare has meant many things to me throughout my life: harsh cleansers that dried my skin to the point of cracking, moisturizers that went on thick and clogged my pores, serums that worked wonders until they didn’t. Then came Retrouvé. With the onset of spring, I decided it was time to simplify my skincare, and no one does the “less is more” approach better than Retrouvé.

When packaging is as sleek as Retrouvé’s elegant black bottles, I am typically quick to assume that most of the company’s energy and resources are put into creating an appealing presentation, a pretty trinket to display on your countertop, rather than creating care for appealing skin. Upon trying Retrouvé (created by former Kiehl’s owner Jami Morse Heidegger), I learn not to judge a book by its beautiful, gilded cover. Natural ingredients (like avocados grown on the Heidegger family ranch in Malibu, pressed into oil used in the Luminous Cleansing Elixir) feed my skin the nutrients it has been starved of by drugstore products and high-end brands that promised more than they could deliver. Retrouvé serums are not only healing but seem to infuse my skin with a radiance that I was lacking in previous routines.

With the launch of their new travel-sized Voyage Collection, Retrouvé makes it easier than ever to keep up my skincare routine as I travel into the spring and summer months—patching up skin that’s been sucked of moisture by plane rides with their Intensive Replenishing Facial Moisturizer and assuaging sunburns with the soothing Nutrient Face Serum. And, if you’re like me, your skin may be at its best when on vacation, especially in coastal, tropical climates. Retrouvé’s focus on simplicity—and simply good ingredients—goes beyond maintaining that brilliant vacation complexion by further enhancing skin with the naturally beneficial flora in their elixirs.

The most striking asset of Retrouvé’s line is its ability to do so much with so little. By this, I mean that with simply a cleanser, a serum, and a few key moisturizers, Retrouvé transformed my skin’s elasticity, texture, and appearance, a task that would have otherwise taken dozens of products and at least a few hundred dollars’ worth of medi-spa treatments. Where Retrouvé surpasses the excellence of any other skincare I have used is in its ingredients that simply work to nourish the skin—the only thing I have ever asked of my skincare—but somehow only Retrouvé’s meticulous formulas were able to execute. Though my closet may not yet be cleaned out, I can say I have successfully overhauled my cosmetics cabinet by spring-cleaning with Retrouvé, which has equipped me with a minimal amount of products for maximum results. *