

In About Face, xoNecole gets the 411 on IGers who give us #skincaregoals on a daily. Here they break down their beauty routines on the inside and out, as well as the highly coveted products that grace their shelves and their skin.
Candice Sabiduría is a woman of many interests. Not only is the 21-year-old a model and an actress, but she is also the founder of the vegan and cruelty-free skincare brand, SABii SKiNCARE. The budding entrepreneur decided to take her affinity for clean beauty into her own hands by throwing away store-bought products that only seemed to wreak havoc on her skin. She found that formulating her own products with special care and attention to the ingredients in them reflected in the overall health and clarity of her complexion.
Though SABii SKiNCARE targets skin concerns like texture, hyperpigmentation, and acne, Candice has a personal mission of upholding "good skin" as healthy skin. "Healthy skin has hair. It has hair, it has pores. It even has dark marks [and] discoloration. It has fine lines and wrinkles," she explains to xoNecole. "We're all going to have these things, which are the hyperpigmentation, dark circles under your eyes. All those things are healthy skin. I think once people realize that, people's standards of beauty are going to change drastically."
Courtesy of Candice Sabiduría
Her own relationship with beauty strengthened once she started doing little things outwardly that made her feel differently about her beauty inwardly. Things like self-care days, reciting affirmations, starting her mornings with calm instrumental music, taking bubble baths that scream "indulgence," and treating herself to meals alone impact the way she feels in her skin overall. "I just love being alone and finding that comfort and that beauty and just being able to do things for yourself," she adds.
As far as her most significant beauty lesson, Candice is all about hydration. "Always hydrate. Not just on the inside but the outside. People say drink water, which is great. Do that, but also hydration from the outside," Candice shares. "I love steaming my face. That's something you don't need to go out and buy anything. You can literally boil some water and put in some essential oils if you want and steam your face. That's a big tip for me. Hydrate. Just hydrate, hydrate, hydrate."
Keep scrolling for more insight into Candice Sabiduría’s morning and night skincare routines.
Candice Sabiduría’s A.M. Skincare Routine Looks Like…
Step One: Cleanse
Once You Go Black Foaming Liquid Black Soap
Sabii SKiNCARE
"I start out with cleansing my face. I use my cleanser, which is Once You Go Black. It has a black soap base. When I cleanse my face, I like to cleanse my face for one to two minutes to really activate the juices. I do that while I'm in the shower. I come out. I like to pat my face to dry it. Always pat. Always, always, always pat."
Step Two: Toner
Jucii Drops Toner
SABii SKiNCARE
"Then, I go in with my toner. I use the Jucii Drop Toner from my line and it's a niacinamide toner with pomegranate extract, which really helps any dark marks I have and dullness in my face. I like to let that dry. This is also an important step. For my skincare, I wait 60 seconds between each product application to really let my skin absorb the product properly."
Step Three: Vitamin C Serum
Orange You Clear Dark Spot Serum
SABii SKiNCARE
"Then, I like to go in with a vitamin C serum. That's also from my line, it's called Orange You Clear, which is like a cute little play on words. It's a gel serum, which I love. I love the way a gel cream applies."
Step Four: Collagen Gel
DHC Astaxanthin Collagen All-In-One Gel
DHC Care
"Once the serum's absorbed into my skin, I use this. It's a collagen all-in-one gel. Fun fact, collagen doesn't absorb into your skin topically, which I know, but I love the way that this feels, so I don't care."
Step Five: Moisturizer
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+
Clinique
"My morning time moisturizer is Clinique. Their Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion."
Step Six: Sunscreen
L'Oreal Paris Youth Code Day Lotion SPF 30
L'Oreal Paris
"My final step is a sunscreen. I have three sunscreens that are my favorite and I pick them differently depending on my mood that day. My number one favorite is this one. It has 30 SPF and is also a dark spot corrector. I just love the way it makes my skin glow.
"Sunscreen is always going to give you that extra glow factor. I think it's important to wear sunscreen because it locks in all the work you did before and it makes sure that the ingredients that you're using that are active to fight hyperpigmentation are allowed to work. So, without that, you're kind of stuck in the same place for a while."
Courtesy of Candice Sabiduría
Candice Sabiduría’s P.M. Skincare Routine Looks Like…
Step One: Double Cleanse
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil
DHC
"In my nighttime skin-care routine when it comes to cleansing, I like to double cleanse. Now, double cleansing, you can do it in so many different ways. I usually do two different ways of double cleansing depending on what my skin needs. The oil cleanser I use is Deep Cleansing Oil."
Once You Go Black Foaming Liquid Black Soap
SABii SKiNCARE
"Then, I usually go in with a non-moisturizing face wash, nothing that's like milky. You're not going to want to do that with double cleansing oil. The one that I like, I use either the Once You Go Black or recently start using this Urban Hydration Bright & Balanced Aloe Vera Leaf Face Wash. This is good, but I wouldn't recommend using this more than two or three times a week. The other way I like to do a double cleanse is, I'll do a non-moisturizing cleanser first. So, I'll usually use Once You Go Black, and then I'll add a cream cleanser."
Step Two: Toner
Jucii Drops Toner
SABii SKiNCARE
"Once I'm done with that, then I will pat my face dry and start my skincare prep. To start the skincare prep, I go in with my toner, which is Jucii Drops."
Step Three: Serum
Bouncii Serum
SABii SKiNCare
"I will sometimes I'll either do the Orange You Clear or I'll use my hyaluronic acid [from my line], which is Bouncii. I like using hyaluronic acid at night as well as in the morning, just because I feel like it gives my face that plump, I need. Especially if you do it at night, you see the results in the morning. So, I love that.
Step Four: Moisturizer
Versed Skincare Skin Soak Rich Moisture Cream
Versed Skincare
"For my moisturizers, the one I've been really liking is by Versed and it is their Skin Soak Rich Moisture Cream. It's for dryness and anti-aging. I like to go to bed with something thick on my face."
Step Five: Eye Cream
OLEHENRIKSEN Banana Bright Eye Crème
OLEHENRIKSEN
"I do use eye creams as well, but I don't use eye creams every day. When I do use eye creams, I never put them on the inner part of my eye. Your skin has pores that are very sensitive there. For most people, if you continuously put eye creams on the inner corners of your eyes, you're going to see acne flare-ups or enlarged pores, or inflammation in that area. So, I never recommend people do that. When I do use eye creams, it's usually in the morning.
"I like to use OLEHENRIKSEN, their Banana Bright Eye Crème. And also, I like to use this one. I have like dark circles. It has a little tint to it. I don't use a lot of this. This is a very thick eye cream. And again, don't put it on your inner eye because this a hundred percent will make my pores inflamed because it's just moisture overload."
Bonus Step: Face Mask
Avo Babii Exfoliate + Mask
SABii SKiNCARE
"I love doing face masks. I'm a face mask girl too. I love the avocado mask [from my line]. My favorite. It gives me the hydration I need. When I do my wash day, I put my mask on, and then I'm also in the tub and it gives me everything I need. It exfoliates my skin very gently. I have sensitive skin, so I'm not able to do the harsh exfoliations, even chemically. So, it gives me the new, fresh feeling that I need and it starts my week off perfectly."
For more of Candice, follow her on Instagram @candicesabiduria.
Featured image courtesy of Candice Sabiduría / Illustration by Kyra Jay
Adrian Marcel On Purpose, Sacrifice, And The 'Signs Of Life'
In this week's episode of xoMAN, host Kiara Walker talked with R&B artist Adrian Marcel, who opened up, full of heart and authenticity, about his personal evolution. He discussed his days transitioning from a young Bay Area singer on the come-up to becoming a grounded husband and father of four.
With honesty and introspection, Marcel reflected on how life, love, and loss have shaped the man he is today.
On ‘Life’s Subtle Signals’
Much of the conversation centered around purpose, sacrifice, and listening to life’s subtle signals. “I think that you really have to pay attention to the signs of life,” Marcel said. “Because as much as we need to make money, we are not necessarily on this Earth for that sole purpose, you know what I mean?” While he acknowledged his ambitions, adding, “that is not me saying at all I’m not trying to ball out,” he emphasized that fulfillment goes deeper.
“We are here to be happy. We are here [to] fulfill a purpose that we are put on here for.”
On Passion vs. Survival
Adrian spoke candidly about the tension between passion and survival, describing how hardship can sometimes point us away from misaligned paths. “If you find it’s constantly hurting you… that’s telling you something. That’s telling you that you’re going outside of your purpose.”
Marcel’s path hasn’t been without detours. A promising athlete in his youth, he recalled, “Early on in my career, I was still doing sports… I was good… I had a scholarship.” An injury changed everything. “My femur broke. Hence why I always say, you know, I’m gonna keep you hip like a femur.” After the injury, he pivoted to explore other careers, including teaching and corporate jobs.
“It just did not get me—even with any success that happened in anything—those times, back then, I was so unhappy. And you know, to a different degree. Like not just like, ‘I really want to be a singer so that’s why I’m unhappy.’ Nah, it was like, it was not fulfilling me in any form or fashion.”
On Connection Between Pursuing Music & Fatherhood
He recalled performing old-school songs at age 12 to impress girls, then his father challenged him: “You can lie to these girls all you want, but you're really just lying to yourself. You ain't growing.” That push led him to the piano—and eventually, to his truth. “Music is my love,” Marcel affirmed. “I wouldn’t be a happy husband if I was here trying to do anything else just to appease her [his wife].”
Want more real talk from xoMAN? Catch the full audio episodes every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and don’t miss the full video drops every Wednesday on YouTube. Hit follow, subscribe, and stay tapped in.
Featured image by xoNecole/YouTube
Self-Validation, No Meals After 5 P.M. & The Wellness Rituals That Helped Lizzo Take Her Power Back
Don't let the "weight release" fool you, Lizzo's transformation wasn't just physical. It was spiritual, emotional, and deeply personal. In her Women's Health cover story, the "Good As Hell" artist opened up about the low point that became the catalyst for radical change in her life, inside and out.
In the summer of 2023, Lizzo found herself at the center of what she calls painful allegations when some of her former dancers filed a lawsuit against her. The 37-year-old singer has denied their claims, and though she has experienced "backlash my entire career," going through such legal woes coupled with public scrutiny proved to be detrimental to her mental health, leading her to one of the darkest periods of her life.
She told Women's Health, "I got very paranoid and isolated. I wasn’t even talking to my therapist. I wasn’t present. I wasn’t open. I wasn’t myself anymore."
After spending months in isolation, Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, decided to go to a tour stop on the Renaissance World Tour. She was nervous that the public would shun her, boo her, or reject her, but instead, she was embraced. It shifted something in her and after feeling so in the dark, she saw the light again. "It made me feel like, wow, maybe I don’t want to die," she shared with Women's Health.
"That was the kick-starter to me being like, ‘Okay, Melissa, get your ass in gear and take your f*cking life back.’"
Her first step in Operation Get Your Life Back? Cutting out the external noise. She gave her team total control of her social media and stopped looking at comments. "My validation was from external sources, people telling me they loved me, or that I look good, and accepting me," she explained. "But if that’s all I’m getting my validation from, when it changes—and it will, because people are not always going to like you—what happens? Where are you going to get your love from?"
Lizzo continued, "I can convince myself that I’m beautiful, my body fine, no matter how big or small. But reminding myself that you can’t let others tell you who you are—that was hard work."
Lizzo started going to therapy again, she started practicing quigong meditation, reading books, journaling, and doing sound baths. She released unhealthy relationships, drank echinacea tea, and began incorporating Pilates as a means to "feel sacred" and "be gentle" with herself.
But what many have interpreted as a "weight loss transformation" after she popped out sharing she met her "weight release" goal earlier this year, Lizzo has clarified that it has been something deeper for her than the aesthetic of a smaller body. "I wanted to be big-girl skinny," she told the mag. "Every big girl knows what I’m talking about. Big-girl skinny is 250 pounds." According to her, it was her back issues that inspired her to take the physical part of her wellness journey seriously.
I DID IT! #weightrelease
@lizzo I DID IT! #weightrelease
Through her friend Kelly Rowland, she linked up with her now-trainer Marvin Telp and developed a fitness regimen that prioritized strength and intention. Her weekly schedule now includes moves like single-leg deadlifts, reverse flies, and lateral lunges, along with infrared sauna sessions and cardio. Add to that a change in eating habits after realizing her vegan diet no longer served her (to be fair, she wasn't doing the vegan thing the "healthiest" way).
All the meat substitutes, bread, cashew cheese, and soy left her bloated and lightheaded, so now she's switched things up a bit to fill the nutritional gaps. When it comes to diet, it's heavy on the protein and vegetables for Lizzo. A typical day eating looks like scrambled eggs and cauliflower hash browns for breakfast, Thai chicken salad or lettuce wraps for lunch, and turkey meatloaf with greens for dinner.
She also has a strict cutoff of no meals after 5 p.m. to support her GERD and give her body the time it needs before bed to digest her food sans the acid reflux. Of her relationship with food and wellness, she told Women's Health, "There's a balance. I think that's what true health is."
Read Lizzo's full cover story with Women's Health here.
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Featured image by Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock