Our Premium Essentials Trial Kit is the ideal way to try out our Apothekari top sellers. As a bonus, when you purchase the trial kit, we now include a gift certificate for $19 (current trial kit price), which can be applied to your next order at Apothekari.com.
Our trial kit contains samples, which are a perfect size for travelling and also makes a great gift.
Depending on your skin type, each Apothekari Premium Essentials Trial Kit contains 4 products:
A is for Anti-Aging Retinal Serum – 4 ml (1/8 oz): If there existed a miracle for skin, A Is For Anti-Aging would be a star contender. Formulated with patent-pending IconicA, this serum incorporates stabilized retinal and niacinamide plus other actives to deliver photo-aging protection, exfoliation, anti-inflammatory/anti-irritant properties and skin brightening effects. Retinaldehyde shares similar characteristics with other Vitamin A derivatives making it a useful addition in the management of acne as well.
Bespoke Vitamin C 15% Serum – 4 ml (1/8 oz) : Our made to order Vitamin C ( L-ascorbic acid) contains an arsenal of antioxidants, moisturizing and other skin beneficial ingredients. Use this serum every morning to promote collagen synthesis, restore elasticity, protect against UV damage, lighten and brighten skin tone, moisturize, reduce skin redness & promote wound healing.
Daily Infusion Moisturizer – 6 ml (1/5 oz): This is the moisturizer you’ve been looking for! It not only hydrates and plumps skin year-round, but also provides anti-aging benefits, protects against bacteria and leaves your skin feeling refreshed. What more can you ask for?
A cleanser. Choose between:
AHA-Mazing Clean Exfoliating Cleansing Gel – 8 ml (1/4 oz): Formulated with a unique blend of active ingredients, including sugar cane extract plus a triple combination of alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) to help smooth fine lines and wrinkles, gently exfoliate clogged pores and promote cellular renewal. Refreshing mint scent, from spearmint and peppermint essential oils (Normal, Dry, Oily or Combination Skin) OR
Cloud Nine Foaming Cleansing Crème – 6 ml (1/5 oz). This new generation of gentle, foaming cleanser, also moisturizes and protects skin. Rich with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredients. Rich with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ingredients, it is skin soothing. This product is gluten free. (All Skin Types including Sensitive).
You’re concerned about what you put on your skin and we are too. Our clean skincare formulations are made with naturally safe ingredients that are also free from:
Aluminum
Baking Soda
Silicone
Parabens
Phthalates
Formaldehyde
Synthetic Colourants
Synthetic Fragrances
SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) and SLES (Sodium Laureth Sulfate)
And, Apothekari Skincare products are never tested on animals. Except the human kind, of course!
Apothekari Skincare products are registered with Health Canada.
A skincare routine that only "works" but feels like a chore rarely lasts.
The ones that stick tend to be the ones that feel like something worth doing, not just another task squeezed in before bed. That's not about adding candles and playlists to what you already do — it's about choosing a routine simple and pleasant enough that showing up for it feels effortless.
Why Does Enjoying Your Routine Matter for Results?
Consistency is what actually delivers results, and consistency is much easier when a routine feels good to do.
A routine that feels rushed, complicated, or unpleasant gets skipped on tired nights — and tired nights are exactly when skin needs support the most. A routine that feels good to complete gets done anyway, which is what actually compounds into visible results over time.
What Makes a Routine Feel Like Self-Care Instead of a Chore?
It usually comes down to fewer steps done well, rather than more steps rushed through.
Products with a texture you enjoy. A face oil that feels luxurious to press in, or a serum with a texture you look forward to, makes the few minutes spent on it feel worthwhile rather than transactional.
A short enough routine to actually savor. A five-step routine gives you time to notice how each product feels. A ten-step routine rarely allows that same pace.
A moment built into the process, not added onto it. Pressing a face oil into slightly damp skin, or taking an extra few seconds during cleansing, turns a functional step into a small, grounding pause in the day.
How Can You Turn an Existing Routine Into Something You Look Forward To?
Small shifts in how you use your products matter more than adding new ones.
Slow down one step, rather than rushing through all of them. Applying face oil with intention, for example, takes the same few seconds but feels entirely different.
Notice the sensory details — scent, texture, how a product feels absorbing into skin — rather than treating each step as purely functional.
Keep the routine short enough to actually enjoy, since a rushed ten-step process rarely feels like self-care, no matter how good the products are.
FAQ
Does enjoying your skincare routine actually improve results?
Indirectly, yes. A routine you enjoy is one you're more likely to complete consistently, and consistency is one of the biggest factors in whether a skincare routine delivers visible results over time.
Do you need a long routine for it to feel like self-care?
No. A shorter, well-chosen routine often allows more time to actually notice and enjoy each step, compared to a long routine that gets rushed through out of necessity.
What's a simple way to make an existing routine feel more intentional?
Slowing down just one step — like taking a moment to press in a face oil rather than rushing it on — can shift a routine from feeling purely functional to something that feels like a small pause in your day.
Why do complicated routines get abandoned more easily?
A routine with many steps takes more time and effort to complete, which makes it more likely to be skipped on busy or tired days — exactly the days skin often needs consistent care the most.
If your routine has started to feel like a task on a checklist rather than something you look forward to, simplifying it might bring the enjoyment back.
Marula Face Oil is often the easiest step to slow down and savor, since a few pressed-in drops take seconds but feel like more.
Related Reading
Skincare is Self Care. Make it a Ritual.
Curious About How to Use a Face Oil? 4 Tips
The One Skincare Habit That Matters More Than Any Product
Using the same moisturizer on your eye area that you use on the rest of your face isn't wrong exactly, but it's leaving results on the table. The short answer: skin around the eyes is up to 40% thinner than the rest of your face, moves constantly through expression, and shows the earliest signs of aging as a result, which is why it benefits from a formula built specifically for its structure rather than a general face product applied a little more carefully.
Our Glow Getter 3 combines all three, alongside vitamin E, which helps stabilize the vitamin C forms and contributes its own antioxidant protection. The result is broader, more consistent free-radical defense without asking one unstable ingredient to do all the work at a concentration your skin has to tolerate.
This matters even more once your skin barrier is already working harder than it used to. A serum that's gentle enough to use every day, consistently, tends to outperform a stronger one you can only tolerate occasionally.
