All summer, one step was enough. Cleanse, mist, a few drops of Field Glow pressed into warm skin, done. Light, fast, no weight.
Then one morning in September you can see your breath on the way to the car, and by noon your skin feels tight in a way it did not last week. That is the day. I call it the first-frost rule, and you do not actually have to wait for the frost.
Oil and balm are not the same step
Field Glow is an antioxidant treatment oil. Astaxanthin and teprenone carried in squalane, jojoba, rosehip, argan, and sea buckthorn. It absorbs clean and fast and it does not seal. That is on purpose. In July, sealing is the last thing you want.
Blue Hour is a barrier balm. Tallow close to your own skin lipids, plus bakuchiol and blue tansy. It melts from solid to satin oil and forms the layer that keeps water in your skin overnight. It seals. That is also on purpose.
Oil feeds. Balm seals. They were designed to stack, in that order, which is why the balm replaces a moisturizer in our ritual rather than sitting beside one.
The rule
When the air stops being humid, add the balm back on top of the oil at night. Field Glow first, two to four drops warmed between the palms and pressed in while skin is still damp. Then a small amount of Blue Hour over it. The oil delivers the actives; the balm holds them in and protects the barrier while you sleep.
Mornings can stay light for another month. Most people go oil-only in the morning and oil-plus-balm at night through October, then balm morning and night once the furnace comes on for good.
Why not just use a heavier moisturizer
Because a moisturizer is mostly water held in an emulsion, and in dry air the water goes first. A balm is anhydrous. There is no water to lose, so the layer stays where you put it. In a South Dakota winter that difference is the whole game.
Questions I get asked
Do I put facial oil or balm on first?
Oil first, balm second. The oil absorbs; the balm seals it in. Reversed, the oil cannot get through the balm layer.
Can I use Field Glow in winter?
Yes. It is the treatment step year-round. What changes in winter is what goes on top of it.
Is Blue Hour too heavy for summer?
For most skin, in most of the country, yes for daytime. Some people keep it as a night step all year. Let the humidity decide.
Shop Field Glow Facial Oil Elixir and Blue Hour Tallow Balm. Free delivery in Sioux Falls.
Honoring the balance of nature, craft, and chemistry.
