Skincare products are meant to plump and firm, hydrate or even tone your dermis and epidermis. They're meant to relax and aid you, even if it's just cosmetically. Calm and considered, most skincare routines — especially the advanced ones — are minutes-long meditations; time to reflect on what's ahead but also cleanse yourself of what's already been done.
But while Flamingo Estate's new skincare set does instill peace and tranquility, its origin story is far more...serious.
The Ski Chalet Kit comprises three products: the Skin Strength Salve, Skin Strength Serum and Skin Strength Muscle Soak. The latter of them was inspired by a life-saving bath drawn by a woman named Jane on Flamingo Estate founder Richard Christiansen's rugged trip to the center of Antartica, the South Pole.
You see, Christiansen started his trip in South Africa, on a Russian plane that'd take him to a Russian base at the edge of the continent. From there, his troop would trek the thousand-mile journey to its middle. But, just as it happens in movies, things went awry, and Christiansen was thrust into a life or death situation — at least for his group mate Igor, "who looked like a villain from a James Bond movie," Christiansen wrote on social media.
"We were all tied to each other in case one of us fell through the ice to the water below. Sure enough, big and tall Igor did fall through the ice into the freezing water underneath — almost dragging us with him."
Christiansen and his team worried the hypothermia might end Igor, because while he was tall, he became plenty submerged. They carried the behemoth of a man back to base, where a "banya" awaited the ice-cold crew. "We warmed our cold bodies and relaxed our muscles. We soaked into the hot tub with sea salts and oils, and got a few vodka shots under our belt," he recalls.
That warming soak inspired the Skin Strength Muscle Soak, which uses a similar blend of minerals and oils, albeit sourced from outside Russia, to soothe aches and pains, invigorate the skin and activate the immune system when mixed with hot water: French blue clay, magnesium, Big Sur sea salt and Copaiba resin oil.
But the soak didn't cure Christiansen's chapped lips and suffering skin, hence why he created the salve and serum. They're designed to hydrate, help rebuild the skin's natural barrier and prevent future fluctuations, which can cause acne, eczema, psoriasis and other flare-ups. In other words, they aid in ushering in a new normal, but a good one — where your skin is less prone to hitting rock bottom — or, in Igor terms, a few feet below the frozen surface.
"You know how they say that necessity is the mother of invention?," Christiansen asks Gear Patrol. "I use it every day now, and wish I’d had it then.”
Flamingo Estate Ski Chalet Skin Strength Set
