November 4, 2015

3 Reasons To Shop At Origins | Houston Galleria Grand Re-Opening

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to attend the re-opening of the Origins store at the Galleria mall in Houston, TX. Origins is giving (what I like to call) a “face lift” to all of their stores; featuring beautiful white-painted walls, travel relics and reclaimed wood shelving to highlight a new retail concept they’re calling exploration and discovery, which makes it super easy to give you 3 reasons to shop at Origins!

image: Origins

Attendees were able to peruse the new store before it was open to the public, got to meet corporate Origins Senior Vice President, as well as, former Bachelor stars, Catherine and Sean Lowe! Keep reading to learn what spa service I tested out, see the gorg pics from the new store and most importantly – why you need to check out Origins asap…

(Catherine Lowe’s favorites include: Original Skin Serum, Clean Energy Gentle Cleansing Oil, GinZing refreshing eye cream, Mega Mushroom Skin Relief Micellar Cleanser, High Potency Night-a-mins renewal cream, Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask, No Puffery Cooling Roll-On, KissZing balm in “Rosemance”)

The new store features this huge communal sink with a ton of their products available to experiment with. In the past, some stores had smaller pedestal sinks, but this sink could easily fit ten people around it with a revolving/lazy susan-style rack so you can test and explore all sorts of treatments. I chose to try a basic skin care regimen for someone with my oily – yet dehydrated – hyper-sensitive skin.

// My Origins-Recommended Regimen //

My lovely sales representative, Devin, started with Checks and Balances cleanser (which I have always been curious about but never tried).
We then moved to the classic, Modern Friction exfoliator, which I currently use, love and reviewed here.
Devin recommended United State Balancing Tonic for my skin type because it’s supposed to be great at treating both drier areas and more oily spots on the skin.
Next, I really wanted to try the Out of Trouble mask. I’m a fan of a couple of Origins face masks, but Out of Trouble is one I haven’t tried but seems like an excellent acne treatment for those times of the month…
After about ten minutes, we rinsed off the mask and you could certainly see a brightened difference in both of my hands (treated vs. untreated). Devin then recommended combining two serums for my needs – Plantscription serum for anti-aging and Mega Mushroom Skin Relief serum for calming/soothing.
To complete the regimen, I was recommended Mega Mushroom Skin Relief Soothing Cream to reduce any sensitivity. Devin says he likes the cream better than the lotion for my needs due to its texture.

I took home samples of Plantscription and Out of Trouble. I plan on picking up a smaller tube of Checks and Balances in the future. I’m weary on the Mega Mushroom stuff because in the past, my skin didn’t love the lotion in the collection.

// 3 Reasons To Head To Origins Today //

The sink – If you didn’t already realize from reading about my lovely regimen above, the sink is awesome! The sales associates at Origins are known to be helpful, but not pushy, so it’s super fun to try out the products before you make any commitment.
The sample wall – This. is. genius. Almost every top-seller is featured on this giant wall where you can take several sample packets – totally free! Not only does this most likely cut down on the percentage of returns for the business, but it allows customers who have not yet experienced the products to potentially find their favorite items! Win/win.
The makeup – Little known fact: Origins has some of the best makeup out there for sensitive skin. Stop by and receive a complimentary makeover to see the beautiful finish your skin can have after trying out their face powders and blushes (my favorites).

The Bachelor stars, Catherine & Sean Lowe, made an appearance from Dallas. Catherine is a huge fan of Origins nature-inspired skin care!