Hey guys! My name is Neila Ouldali and I am a 23 year old living in Chicago, IL. I have been a NolaBabe since August 2017! Nearly 2.5 years ago, I suffered with scars from cystic acne in my adolescence, as well as irritable and constant breakouts. I have extremely sensitive skin, so I had tried the dermatologist, topical creams, ProActiv and drug store skin care to alleviate some of my symptoms. However, it always led to my skin becoming increasingly irritated and eventually even worse breakouts whenever I tried to switch products or wean off of prescriptions from the dermatologist.

During the summer of 2017,  I was completing an internship in India. Due to the region I was staying in, water usage for face washing and baths were limited. For these reasons, as well as the pollution, my skin became inflamed by the end of the summer. During that summer, I had transitioned fully to being a vegetarian and stopped using beauty products that test on animals. Desperate for a solution for my skin, I began researching reputable vegan skincare companies on Google and social media platforms. One viral tweet from a woman with beautiful skin, a fellow NolaBabe, led me to order the OG Bundle.

Please note that my scars are deeply rooted and over a decade old, but within 2 weeks, NOLA’s products  lightened my scars up to the point that concealer actually covered them! What blew my mind even more is NOLA transformed my skin within a short window. My inner child was screaming because on the one hand I was absolutely ecstatic, however, on the other hand, I had full heartedly wished I found NOLA years sooner so that I did not have to suffer with my skin for as long as I did. Within months, people started commenting on my skin, how soft my complexion looked, and started asking what I used to change my skin so quickly. With how long I hid behind makeup and edited photos, I was so excited to finally step out of my house without makeup on for the first time since I was 13. I was so content with the OG bundle, that my daily skin routine not only changed overnight, but so did my skin.

My daily skin care routine since August 2017 has been the following:

• Clarifying Cleansing Foam
• NOLA toner (I like experimenting with toners – when I first started my journey with NOLA, I used Witches Brew for a full year, then used Ginseng Aloe Toner, and now I use Porefect)
• Hyaluronic H2O Crème
• Brightening-C Serum
• Iconic Elixir
• For masks, my all-time favorite will always be the Pumpkin Enzyme Mask

These products were vital for regulating the projection of stress onto my skin. I was an undergrad in college when I started using NOLA, and now I’m in grad school, so my stress level is pretty much always hovering around a 7 or 8 out of 10. However, now I do not have breakouts period and no more excessively oily skin. NOLA gave me the opportunity to calm the storm on my face and focus on repair, rather than hyper-focus on prevention (although, the products combat both). 

You’ll never catch me using a different skin care company for my needs. NOLA listened to me, helped me navigate their website and different products, and helped me choose the best products for my acne-prone skin. I never felt pressured or insecure when I sent photos of my problem areas. I mean this from the bottom of my heart, NOLA is comparable to other brands. If you want closure from defiant skin: welcome home.