The Brutally Honest Skincare Advice You Needed to Know Yesterday, According to 2 Beauty Industry Vets

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Dieux Founders Favorite Beauty Products

(Image credit: @charlotteparler; @joycedeezy)

The Lineup is a monthly series where we're giving you an inside peek at the beauty lineups of the most sought-after experts and tastemakers in the industry. Get ready for a behind-the-scenes look at all the can't-live-without products that make their worlds go 'round.

I hate to break it to you, but some beauty products are nothing more than Instagrammable packaging. I love aesthetic branding and a shelfie-worthy lineup as much as anyone else, but let's be real: If a product isn't giving actual results, I won't be repurchasing. So when I came across Dieux's Instant Angel Moisturizer ($45) and ethereal Forever Eye Masks ($25), I was a bit skeptical about whether the formulas would be as heavenly as the branding. Spoiler: They are, and there's so much more to this one-of-a-kind brand than meets the eye.

Dieux's story began in 2018, when Charlotte Palermino, a multi-hyphenate media creative, pitched Joyce de Lemos on the idea of creating a CBD-infused skincare product. Joyce was a cosmetic chemist for brands like Skinceuticals and Kiehl's, so she and Palermino teamed up to create this product the right way, complete with clinical studies and meticulous formulation. Two years later, their debut product, Deliverance ($69), was born. Since then, they've built a beloved brand known for inclusivity, transparency, and sustainably sourced, science-driven formulas.

Dieux Founders Favorite Beauty Products

(Image credit: @charlotteparler; @joycedeezy)

"When I was younger, my obsession with beauty was so different because it was framed around beauty standards," de Lemos tells me. "Creating products has made me realize how much inclusivity matters. Our entire community is super diverse, so we test on all different skin tones and types, and we try to make sure that everybody feels seen."

Dieux also prioritizes education, promoting it through the brand's Skin Bibles blog and Sun-Screener ingredient checker. The brand even shares each product's sustainability report (something many brands shy away from). So, in the spirit of transparency, I asked Palermino and de Lemos to share their hot takes on the skincare myths you need to stop believing, and the no-B.S. advice to follow instead.

What's a skincare myth people need to stop believing?

Joyce de Lemos: Let's get spicy: Comedogenicity. In essence, the dose makes the poison. When people studied comedogenicity, it was a super archaic method where they took an ingredient like shea butter at 100% concentration and rubbed it in a rabbit's ear to see if it would create comedones. Naturally, that's a lot of shea butter to put in there! Typically, when you use that kind of ingredient in a formulation, it's at a certain percentage, like 0.5% or 0.25%. It's also going to have other ingredients in it that are going to meld with the chemical structure. It's probably more helpful if they tested the entire formulation for comedogenicity, right? It depends on your skin type, too; what might be comedogenic for one person could be different from another person. So, before you're quick to get rid of something because it's on a list that says that it's comedogenic, just note, it's probably more helpful to understand if the entire formulation has been tested for that.

Charlotte Palermino: There is no such thing as nontoxic. As Joyce said, toxicity is based off the dose. If you're going to tell me that a thimble of wine is the same thing as drinking three liters, I don't believe you. Everything from lavender to oxybenzone can be a major endocrine disruptor based off the dose. It's not unsafe, it just depends on the dose.

What's your best no-B.S. skincare advice?

JDL: If it's not broken, don't fix it. If you have a routine that's working for your skin and you don't see any issues, then why change it? I get a lot of questions like, "What's the best retinol?" and my question is always, "What are you trying to achieve?" Most of the time, people aren't sure; they just know everybody's using a certain product. There's a sense of product FOMO that everybody has, but if your skin is at its homeostasis, meaning it's not inflamed, red, dry, or itchy, and feels moisturized and healthy, it's not worth disturbing it just to use something your friend is using.

CP: Just be consistent. Being consistent matters more than any ingredient and more than any product. If you're not consistent with your skincare, it's just not going to work. Very few products are designed to work overnight; it's really cosmetic surgery that works overnight. And so for me, I'm 38. I've been using retinols now for eight years. I went to Seoul recently and went to a plastic surgeon and asked him what lasers I should do. And he asked, "Why would you get lasers? Your texture is perfect." That was a big win for me. Just use an ingredient, be consistent, and also protect your skin by reducing sun exposure and wearing sunscreen.

In the mood for more no-BS recommendations? Keep scrolling to shop de Lemos and Palermino's favorite products.

Charlotte Palermino's Lineup

Joyce de Lemos' Lineup

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Emma Walsh
Emma Walsh
Beauty Editor, Branded Content

Emma is a beauty editor on the branded content team. She’s a passionate writer who loves all things beauty, wellness, and personal growth. Before pursuing writing, she worked in influencer marketing at Gallery Media Group, which owns digital brand PureWow. She lives in New York City, where you can usually find her running to a Pilates class or sipping on a green juice in the park.

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