The time for Korean 10 step skincare routines has come and gone. We are officially in our post wellness, party girl era and the clock has just struck happy hour. Meet 4am skin, the only skincare brand that prescribes tequila soda with a splash of grapefruit on your Saturday night out. College BFFs Jade and Sabrina have created the perfect “skinamalist” approach to beauty, where even the craziest afterparties end with no pore left behind.
As a kid, Sabrina had a lot of skin issues, and subsequently became hyper-obsessed with ingredients; studying, analyzing and criticizing everything on the market. And, of course, posting non-stop about it on her Instagram. Slowly but surely she developed a dedicated following of skin junkies like herself. As the severe-skin-issues-to-Sephora-aisles-obsessed pipeline typically goes, Sabrina ended up heading to medical school to study dermatology.
Throughout this time, Sabrina and Jade had more than one conversation, unloading all their skincare frustrations. The NYC work hard play hard mentality wasn’t working for their skin, and the under-eye baggage was jet-setting out of control. They were all grown up with big girl jobs, finally having the cash to take care of themselves and splurge on some skincare, but somehow couldn’t find the time in their day to even do so. The girls were brunching over bagels in Tribeca when they finally decided… “if not us then who?” All the big conglomerates within the industry were trying to tell consumers what they should buy, rather than formulating and creating what they actually need and want. Luckily, Sabrina’s vocabulary and knowledge from med school gave the girls an edge as they could communicate efficiently with labs and estheticians. On the other hand, was Jade’s experience in finance and marketing strategy working for a marketing consulting firm with brands such as Glossier, BirchBox and Casper. A skillset match made in heaven.
The girls began with a big brainstorm, imagining formulations, and talking with chemists to see if it was truly possible to create an all-encompassing multipurpose serum (one for even the blackest of blackout nights). Not a pink plastic bottle that blends with the rest of the shelf, but a hard-hitting product to reform the skincare industry. The major breakthrough was with research based around a 2017 Nobel prize-winning paper in physiology. The ideas revolve around circadian rhythms and the impact they have on skin cycles, texture and overall appearance. This is the foundation of the 4am serum science. An attempt to heal the underlying processes of what could potentially fuck up your skin, before the problem has even risen.
From there the first two 4am serums were born, based on circadian rhythm technology. The products use a lot of different actives with balanced percentages in order to work synergistically and efficiently. Hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, AHA, and BHA— all the good stuff and just the right amount of it. Antioxidants, barrier protection from air pollution, defense against blue light, and shielding from the negative impacts of alcohol and sugar; modern problem-solvers for the modern-day girl. “We just want to make your life easier through skincare, it’s as simple as that,” says Sabrina. “We tried to make sure there was a perfect marriage between the product and the brand. We’re not gonna go tell you to go drink a fuck ton of green juice because, if you were doing that, wouldn’t your skin already be good?” says Jade. “We want to deliver results while not having you sacrifice the lifestyle you want to live.”
The girls say “4am is a feeling. I’m using 4am so that says something about me. I’m not ‘this girl’. I’m THAT girl”. And Sab and Jade have successfully built a community filled with THAT girl, showing the wellness community that you can down ginger shots and vodka on the rocks. No sacrifices, just skincare. So what’s cooking up next in the 4am kitchen? That’s for you to answer. Your pain points, your glow goals and your skincare triggers are the exact problems Sabrina and Jade are here to solve. So enjoy your bad habits… we’ll see you at brunch!
Shop at 4amskin.com and don’t forget to hit follow on Instagram @4amskin.
