Amy Liu, founder of clean beauty brand Tower 28, shares the product that curbed her eczema
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Many entrepreneurs — especially those in the beauty industry — say starting their own business was a longtime calling. With Amy Liu, founder of clean beauty brand Tower 28, it took a lot of confidence and a little bit of tough love.
“I worked for other people for such a long time, and I kept telling myself one day I’m going to do my own thing,” Liu tells Yahoo Life. “I didn’t think I was ready. I didn’t think I was good enough. The moment I knew it was time for me to make my own brand was when I had a friend who...said, ‘you know, you’re not getting any younger; if you don’t do it now, you’ll never do it.’”
Lucky for us, Liu took her pal's advice to heart — and Tower 28 officially launched in 2019.
For the unfamiliar, Tower 28 Beauty — named after a lifeguard tower in Santa Monica — is made with sensitive skin in mind. Each product is vegan, cruelty-free, non-toxic, and void of ingredients that might irritate delicate skin.
Clean beauty is also far from a buzzword for Liu: She had eczema her entire adult life, and finding products that soothed her skin always proved to be a challenge. "I really understand what it's like to be in that position of feeling insecure and not knowing what to use," she explained.
After making the switch to clean products, she realized that all the ingredients she was trying were just irritating her skin even more. She then made it a point to dispel the myth we all heard a million times — that natural products are always better. “Just because something is natural does not mean it’s good for you,” the Tower 28 founder shares. “Poison ivy is natural.”
No gimmicks or creative marketing ploys here — Tower 28 is the only makeup brand to entirely adhere to the National Eczema Association list of no-no ingredients. Plus, the brand's hero product — the SOS Daily Rescue Spray — worked so well on Liu's skin (which she describes as a combination of aging and dry due to her eczema) that she completely stopped taking all steroids, both topical and oral.
Liu's minimal beauty routine all points back to one thing — her self-acceptance. As a first-generation immigrant (her parents came from Taiwan in the 1970s), a mom, a business owner and someone battling a skin condition, Liu believes that beauty does not correspond to worth.
"I think about that a lot with my daughters, where I don't want them to feel like 'if I am beautiful, then I am good.' It should be about so much more."
Read on for Liu's top beauty picks.
Tower 28 SOS Save.Our.Skin Daily Rescue Facial Spray
Designed for daily use, this fragrance-free spray promises to soothe skin and minimize redness. Its not-so-secret ingredient, Hypochlorous acid, is naturally produced by our immune system as a first line of defense in response to bad bacteria.
Tower 28 SunnyDays SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen Foundation
Liu's everyday routine includes some lightweight coverage — and for that she leans on SunnyDays Tinted Foundation, which also has SPF 30 sun protection. This ridiculously popular product had a 2,500 person waitlist (that's a lot for a small brand!) even before its launch — and it sold out in two weeks. Don't worry: It's back in stock now.
Mara — Natural Algae + Moringa Universal Face Oil
Liu's routine also consists of an algae and moringa-formulated oil, Mara Universal Face Oil. The blend, which she uses both morning and night, "locks everything in."
Bonus: It's available at Amazon.
Hanahana Amber Vanilla Shea Body Butter
On days that Liu wants to be more indulgent with her skincare, she reaches for the Hanahana Beauty Amber Vanilla Shea Body Butter.
"It's so beautiful because the texture is incredible," she gushes. "It's incredibly nourishing, it smells good, it's 100 percent natural and my skin just really loves it."
Topicals Like Butter Mask
Another hydrating favorite is the Topicals Like Butter Mask, which is made specially for dry or eczema-prone skin.
"This product is really super emollient, super hydrating," she raves.
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