Hi! I’m Eléonore aka Léo, a 33-years-old French gal, living in Berlin and I’m absolutely passionate about skincare. Skincare has been a significant part of my life for many years. It all started with a pimple on my forehead at age 11, which quickly escalated into a long and painful battle with cystic acne, one of the most severe forms of acne. I’ve struggled with skin for more than 20 years, and tried hundreds of products since my teenage years. But in late 2019, at 27, everything took a turn. The world was shutting down due to COVID-19, and little did I know, so was my skin.
Along with the usual pimples on my face and back, I suddenly developed painful cysts on my lower face and neck. Never in my worst teenage acne phases had I experienced such aggressive looking and painful cysts, let alone ones that spread down my neck. I later discovered that this was hormonal acne. If there’s one thing I’m grateful for with the lockdown, is that I didn’t have to show my face in public much and could easily hide in online meetings behind my computer screen when working.
Acne is no joke. It impacts your confidence and mental health. There I was again, in my late 20s crying in front of the mirror looking at the state of my skin, getting ready with minimum to no lights on in my bathroom until I was done applying the first layer of foundation so it was more bearable for me to look at my face in the mirror or cancelling social events because I found myself “too ugly”. Urgh… acne is really a bitch!
This is where I’ve decided that enough was enough and I went back to product hunting which for me means learning more about brands that were out there and most importantly: actives! During the early months of 2020, I rekindled with an old friend: Benzoyl Peroxide (BP) when I followed a cystic acne protocol I had found through a facialist on Insta. To my surprise I began to see some improvements. Then I started to follow a bunch of acne warriors on Insta, most of them were in their early/mid 20s at the time, who shared their journeys and the products they were using. It was a relief to see I was not struggling alone and it introduced me to so many new brands. Then came Caroline Hirons, a skincare expert my sister introduced me to. I’ve spent hours reading her blog, devouring cheat sheets on acne, product reviews, and routine tips. Boy, I wish I had the same stamina when I jog!
From that point on I’ve gone a step further into acquiring knowledge about actives, supplements that can support your skin, brands and so on. I gave myself a year to test how my skin was responding to this new regimen, including paying attention to my diet (at that time I discovered that if I was drinking or eating greasy food excessively, I could see pimples flaring up the next day).
But I have to admit, it was still not enough. Fast forward to Summer 2022, I got engaged (love u hubby!). My skin was doing OK and I was no longer dealing with those crazy deep cysts as much but my skin was still too unpredictable to my liking. I was tired of seeing new scars forming on my face, my bacne was not improving and I was obsessed with one thought: I don’t want to have acne on my wedding day, I can't carry this stress. So I decided to go for a third round of Accutane. This was the best decision for me and in retrospect, I think I should have done that sooner but I would probably not have learnt all that I have learnt if I did go straight into another treatment round. I would also not have had the time to understand how much I love skincare, love to understand how products are made, how active work, share product suggestions with my friends (and harass them when they don’t wear sunscreen everyday. I can be relentless on that topic!). The list could go on…
Now, here I am in 2025, finally starting this blog—to not just have people know I love skincare but to showcase it. My hope is that I can contribute to your own skincare journey in a positive way and help you find products that work for you.
Love, Eléonore.
