Jessica Alba's BFF Gave Me a Facial! (Here's How It Went Down)

At the end of the session, she gave me a verbal prescription for Shani-approved products to use at home: IS Clinical Hydra-Cool Serum, $90 and IS Clinical Pro-Heal Serum Advance+, $148, Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peel, $150, her own Shani Darden Texture Reform Gentle Resurfacing Serum, $95 (a cult-favorite product that people are ob-sessed with) and Garnier SkinActive Super Purifying Charcoal Facial Mask, $2.49. “It’s a great way to detox the skin,” she told me.

As I got dressed in the adjacent Spanish-tiled bathroom, I briefly stressed when I realized I had forgotten my concealer. (I usually stash one in my purse to cover up that inevitable post-facial redness.) But when I looked in the mirror, I realized I really didn’t need it. I wasn’t red at all, and my skin looked glowy and—dare I say it—good. I actually felt okay without my armor of concealer, so I put on my shades and stepped out into the L.A. sunshine.