Michelle Cohan Ortego opened up Parkside Pharmacy in 2009  as a way to share her passion for skin and gift items in her gift shop.  There is also a fully working pharmacy in the back of the store where you can enjoy picking up your medicine! A one stop shop if you ask me! I was delighted as I walked in at all the adorable and well-chosen gift items in the gift shop! 

She began her journey as an esthetician in 1998 and as I began asking her questions about skin, her eyes lit up. I could tell that it was a huge passion of hers. She is the owner and buyer behind Parkside, however, she has a team of people that run the shop as her priority is being at home with her sons. Marla is her in-house esthetician!  She gave me a microdermabrasion a couple weeks ago and it was a wonderful experience being at the hands of Marla. She made me feel really at home as I explained what concerns I had with my skin, she suggested we try a Microdermabrasion. It went really well my skin responded excellently to it.  I had a dewy glow for days and my skin felt so new! 

As I am venturing into learning more about my skin and taking care of it really well, I've been on the search for products and the "real" way to put them on my face. It can truly be overwhelming with the number of products that are available, so I turned to my long-time friend and skin expert, Michelle to answer mine and some of my viewer's questions about skin and more.

I hope you can take away something from this interview with Michelle! 

1.- Question from one of my instagram viewers: What is the best order to apply skincare products, day and night?

Michelle: In the morning you want to do a serum (if you have it), moisturizer, sunblock and lastly your makeup. You need to understand that sunblock is one of the most important things you can put on your face and that if you're going to be out in the sun the sunblock needs to be reapplied every 90 minutes for it to be effective. 

At night I would do whatever active ingredient product you're using to correct the "it" issue on your face first (like a Vitamin A or C serum or glycolic acid), then serum, then moisturizer and all the extras you want. 

I recommend only cleaning your skin once a day. So I say, cleanse at night. You don't need to over cleanse your skin. Your products should have soaked in by then.  The only thing you want to do in the morning just splash your face with cool water, pat dry,  and start with your products. 

If you can afford a Clarisonic brush. It makes the biggest difference on your face over time. It's going to cleanse your skin like your fingers can't. It makes a huge difference.  I would pick a Clarisonic and show you Cetaphil for cleaning your skin, over using expensive products if I had to choose between an expensive face cleanser and the Clarisonic to cleanse the skin. 

2.- If you could only ever use two products what would they be?

Michelle: I would choose sunblock and Vitamin A. 

3.- Question from one of my Instagram viewers: "How can I minimize the redness on my cheek?" 

Michelle: It sounds like rosacea but I would have to see it be sure. But what I tell people with rosacea is to drink a lot of water. There is also a product from Jan Marini called ROSALieve that really calms the skin. It's a great product. 

4.- What advice would you give fellow women entrepreneurs?

Michelle: Make your choice of what you need to do right off the bat. You have to do what feels right in your heart. And pick your strong priorities and stick to them. I love being with my kids and I've chosen what I have chosen because of where I need to be right now, which is with them. 

5.- If you had to pick a drugstore sunblock what would you pick? 

Michelle: I would pick Neutrogena Sensitive Skin or Blue Lizard. If I was going to be doing regular life I would go with the Neutrogena one but if I was going to be on the beach, outside, all day, I would take the Blue Lizard. 

Thank you, Michelle, for answering these questions. I feel so encouraged to better skin!

Parkside Pharmacy is looking for a few part-time people to help at the register of the gift shop if you're in Sacramento and you're  looking for a job make sure you e-mail Michelle your resume! michelle@myparksidepharmacy.com

Thank you so much for being here today! I hope this post brought value to your life! May you have beautifully cleansed and well-moisturized skin! I'll talk to you soon1 

Love // Libier