The first time I met Dakota Katt (now one of my closest friends in L.A.), I was lying face-up on a table at Vanessa Hernandez Skincare in Brentwood with a face full of acne. It was sometime around 2018, and I had been struggling with stubborn, cyclical hormonal breakouts for years. At the time, I had pretty much given up all hope of ever having the clear, radiant skin of my dreams. But after meeting Vanessa Hernandez and receiving a customized facial protocol (I was to come in every few weeks for a "BootCamp" of sorts), I was intrigued.
After my initial appointment with Hernandez, Katt became the esthetician I saw for all my follow-up appointments. And slowly but surely, my skin started to improve. Every session with Katt felt more like a date with a friend. (For context, I'm pretty sure I once started crying on the table when I was having a particularly bad week—embarrassing, but true.) Eventually, we started hanging out outside of my scheduled facial appointments until we became fast friends.
As an esthetician who cares for the faces of A-list clients every week, it's no surprise Katt has a plethora of skincare knowledge and A+ product recommendations up her sleeve. In fact, I credit the drastic improvement in my skin to the product suggestions she's foisted on me over the years. These days, I might get a pimple or two the week before I get my period, but other than that, my skin stays pretty darn clear. I even get compliments on my "glowing" complexion, regardless of whether or not I'm wearing makeup. Below, I'm sharing 12 under-the-radar hero products that I'm convinced have completely transformed my skin. Keep scrolling—you're going to want to add each and every one of these to your cart.
I dealt with raging acne breakouts for years, and most of the drying lotions I tried only seemed to make things worse. This is the one and only exception. It's the product Katt would use to patch me up post-extractions. It has a subtle tint, so not only does the hero ingredient—colloidal sulfur—instantly help dry and heal breakouts, but it provides the perfect amount of camouflage so acne looks less inflamed and angry. Because of the sulfur, it does have a bit of a smell, but it's not terrible. And its efficacy makes it worth it!
Once my skin started to heal, Katt told me it was time to incorporate high-quality retinol into my life. Since my skin is pretty sensitive, I was nervous, but this formula from SkinMedica is truly magic and so underrated. Katt recommended the 0.25 complex for me, explaining it's the best option to start with if you're a retinol newbie. The retinol is housed in hyaluronic spheres and time-released over eight hours. "It's like tiny bombs going off on the skin instead of one giant bomb like you'd get from a super-strong prescription retinoid," Katt explained to me.
If you're someone who breaks out easily, no other sunscreen really exists aside from this one. There's a reason it's a cult favorite and well-loved by celebrities like Hailey Bieber. Katt told me it's the only formula I should use, and I've heeded her advice ever since. It's lightweight, oil-free, and doesn't leave a filmy residue or icky cast on the skin.
Biotin makes me break out like crazy (yes, it's a thing), and since practically every hair-and-skin supplement contains gobs of it, I haven't been able to use most of the products on the market. So, I've had to look at other types of formulas out there. I'm a big fan of high-quality collagen, but this one from Agent Nateur is, in my opinion, truly the only one worth the money. It's a collaboration with renowned functional medicine expert Will Cole, IFMCP, DNM, D.C., and features marine collagen and pearl powder as its two hero ingredients. In each scoop, you get over 30 essential trace minerals like silica, magnesium, calcium, and potassium which work synergistically to optimize hair, skin, and nail health. I love blending it into my smoothies or coffee, and I appreciate that it also contains a decent amount of protein—roughly eight grams per scoop.
When a handful of the best facialists in the world encourage you to incorporate a specific product into your skincare routine, you listen. Such was the case when Shani Darden, Melanie Grant, and Katt all suggested I start using this yummy hydrating serum from IS Clinical. I immediately took their advice, and my skin responded so positively so quickly. I know some people love a heavy serum that spackles on the glow, but I prefer something that absorbs almost instantly and doesn't feel like it's sitting on top of my skin. Not only does this antioxidant-rich elixir sink into your skin without leaving any residual tackiness, but it also has this addictive cooling effect that my sensitive skin loves.It's helped clear my acne (as it doesn't clog my pores), and there's just something about the meddling of Centella Asiatica (a healing antioxidant) plus vitamin B5, hyaluronic acid, kojic acid, and soothing menthol that hits the spot like no other hydrating serum I've tried. To me, it's irreplaceable, which is why it's perpetually on my must-restock list.
I'm not a huge fan of tinted moisturizers or skin tints. So when I don't have time to do a full base, I like to enhance what I've got naturally—i.e., negate redness and pack in some extra glow. This color-correcting gel is my next step after vitamin C. It acts like a vanishing salve, instantly deleting signs of redness or sensitivity on my fair skin.
Our lashes are an extension of our skin, right? Maybe that's a stretch, but I'm including this lash serum anyway. I was influenced to try this after my boss,Best Knockoff Luxury Clothing Editor-in-Chief Kat Collings, picked it up from the VH Clinic when she was prepping her skin for her wedding. If you saw her super-fluttery lashes, you would have done the same! I naturally have decently long lashes, but this stuff (if you're consistent with your application) makes me feel like Bambi, which I love.
So many facial self-tanners have tons of comedogenic ingredients. (Think coconut oil, etc.) These drops not only give me the best sun-kissed glow, but they also help keep my skin clear and make my complexion look and feel healthier. I like to mix a few drops with my moisturizer in the morning to maintain a perpetual dose of natural-looking color, and I feel good knowing it has a roster of clean ingredients to boot. Fun fact: Katt also has acne-prone skin, and I'll love her forever for getting me hooked on this stuff.
During that first-ever facial I had at VH, Hernandez suggested I begin using this exfoliating cleanser every morning to help ease breakouts, curb oil, and smooth out my skin texture. The brand flies under the radar, but I've been hooked ever since. Katt is an avid fan as well. The key is the cleanser's strategic mix of benzoyl peroxide, tea tree, and manuka oils, which work together to disinfect acne bacteria, decongest pores, and diminish redness.
Over the years, I've found that the more complicated I make my skincare routine, the worse my skin actually looks. So I've streamlined my morning and evening routines to include roughly four or five products each. Because of this, I need high-quality products that do the absolute most. I'm a huge fan of peels that come in handy packets, so I was excited when Hernandez launched her own iteration. Folks, they are worth the splurge! Each pad is steeped in a strategic mix of glycolic, salicylic, and lactic acids for gentle exfoliation, plus an extra hit of niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and the real MVP, Swertia Chirata Extract, also known as SWT-7 stem cell. After cleansing my skin, I'll swipe a pad around my face and then wake up to dewy, baby-soft skin the next morning. It's the next best thing to getting an actual facial at the VH skin clinic.
This is one of the more recent products Katt has turned me on to. Her hook? "It's like bottled Botox. You're going to love it," she claimed—and she wasn't wrong! I'm always hesitant to try new serums due to how finicky my skin is, but I could see a difference in the tone and texture of my complexion after just one application. You know the feeling you have when you wake up the morning after trying a new product and are like, "Holy shit, that actually worked?!" Yeah, this does that. It's hyper-reparative and a wunderkind formula for anyone looking for help in the youth-preserving arena. The secret lies in the mix of regenerative peptides and exosomes, which help support collagen production, skin elasticity, and cell regeneration. Plus, the extra hit of polysaccharides, terpenes, and a postbiotic keep your skin plump and hydrated.
You didn't hear it from me, but this formula was allegedly the inspiration for Hailey Bieber's now-viral Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment. (However, in my opinion, this stuff is even better!) Katt handed it to me one day at the beach when my lips were parched, and I couldn't get over it—it is a truly perfect lip balm. It adds shine, hydration, and plumps with zero stickiness. It has a lush satisfying texture that makes me want to bathe in it. I'm weird, but it's the truth. I officially can't use anything else.
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