Guys, Smokey Robinson’s New Skin Care Line Will Have Your Lady Singing ‘Ooh Baby Baby’
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ love songs made up the life soundtrack to many teen sweethearts growing up in the ’60s and ’70s. As the lead singer of the Motown musical group, Robinson swayed audiences with his smooth vocals, big green eyes, and flawless complexion. Fifty years later, he’s letting men (and women) in on the secret that’s allowed him to maintain such baby-soft skin.
Robinson and his wife, Frances, have launched a new skin care line called Skinphonic. The products were birthed out of a “selfish” act of wanting something that worked for the two of them. When doctor-prescribed and over-the-counter treatments for sun poisoning, dark spots, and wrinkles left their skin looking and feeling worse, the couple worked with a scientist and a doctor for two years to create simple yet effective products specifically for people of color.
“There’s nobody who doesn’t have some sort of skin care problem,” Smokey tells Yahoo Beauty. “I used to get a lot of ingrown hairs … and for black guys, that starts making dark marks. I cleared it up before, but this product has enhanced [my skin] so much because the formula is for everything. It’s not just for acne or lines. It’s not just a cover-up for somethings. It’s targeted for people of color, and there’s never been anything like that. It’s a skin healer.”
After undergoing two years of rigorous testing, where they both were the “guinea pigs,” the Robinsons developed a line where “science meets nature.” Combining vitamins, botanical extracts, marine ingredients, essential oils, and most importantly, retinol, the Skinphonic system works to even out skin discoloration, minimize the appearance of wrinkles, and rehydrate dry skin.
Frances says, “We’re always bypassed and [end up] using products for everyone else that exacerbate the peeling, flaking, and irritation. And you don’t even want to go out! We thought we couldn’t keep it to ourselves. It wasn’t about the money, which is why we kept it inexpensive. It was about making sure we had a product that we could go to and use and make our skin radiant and better.”
Named after his classic songs, there is a “My Girl” Complete Skincare Kit for women and a “Get Ready” Complete Skincare Kit for men ($90 each). Both contain a morning and an evening moisturizer and a facial cleanser. There’s also an overnight serum that comes free when you order each set.
“In two weeks, the hyperpigmentation started leaving — voilà!” says Frances. “The fine lines started disappearing. I didn’t look like this two years ago. My skin is 100 percent better, and I’m still working on it. It’s the daily use.”
Since Smokey introduced the products into his daily routine, he tells us, his skin feels even smoother. “The biggest benefit that I’ve gotten from this is that everything has cleared up,” he says. “I want to tell guys that because guys are not conscious of taking care of themselves or their skin. I guess it’s a macho thing. Another thing, guys don’t like to do regimen stuff. They’re like, ‘Oh, well, I have to do this?’ This is so simple.”
Edward Dickerson, the brand’s chief medical officer, tells us Skinphonic is “proven skincare innovation.” He says, “How many products have you seen where they take a product with a small cohort of very fair-skinned individuals and just did a survey? I’m talking [about] 150 bench-researched men and women. We have four clinical trials, and no one broke out from irritation or burning. And, let me tell you, pigmented skin is very difficult to deal with.”
Having created a formulation of powerful and stable ingredients “that’s not going to go bad or smell funny,” Dickerson stands behind Skinphonic because it “improves the overall vitality of pigmented skin — light beige to dark brown — and it addresses those biological differences.”
It looks like Smokey Robinson has yet another hit on his hands.
Let’s keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
