finding your beauty regimen
I love moisturizer. Completely adore it. Skincare is one of my very favorite things, and the bevy of products I have lined up on my beauty tray to choose from every day fills me with intense joy, though occasionally also extreme indecisiveness. Clients ask me all the time what I use from the store, and laugh when I say “everything!” It’s barely an exaggeration. But that got me thinking…the idea that someone uses more than two or three products is crazy to most people.
A woman came in to chat with me the other day about proper skincare. She asked me why it seems like women in certain other cultures seem to have better skin than American women. The difference is that here in America, we have a vast cosmetics culture. Don’t like your skin? Pile on the concealer. In a lot of other countries, and in some Asian cultures in particular, there’s a skincare culture. Layers of great skincare are applied morning and night, and it’s more important to have nice skin under the makeup than nice makeup on top of so-so skin.
Every product you put on your skin matters. Each one will do something different. When you ask what products can do double duty, or if you can get phenomenal skin using only a face cleanser and moisturizer, do not be surprised if I respond in the negative. Your face wash should not also be your makeup remover. Your face cream should not also be your eye cream. So on and so forth. These different products are made for different reasons with different formulations. Much in the same way we have different painkillers to treat different types of pain, there are different products to treat different areas and concerns.
At the end of the day, you need to ask yourself: Is it more important to me to have my best skin, or to use fewer products? Some people have come in with budgetary constraints, and the claim they can’t do better skincare on their budget–but there’s good skincare at every price point. Others have come in with dermatologic issues, like rosacea–but there’s good skincare for every skin type and condition. There is always an answer! You just have to know what effort you’re willing to put in to find it.
