A Whole Day For Learning About Skincare?! Hooray!

Now that is a holiday I can get behind.

THIS CAT’S FACE OMG. This is Zor (he/him), who graduated to the big fields & endless treats in ‘22, courtesy of our pal Judith

Happy Weekend!

Today’s fake holiday is actually pretty useful — imagine that! It is National Skincare Education Day!

As such, your first present this week is a video from the 1960s of a beatnik girl with what appears to be my exact haircut getting a makeover that makes her look 50 years older than she is. Glamour!

And also this one from the 1950s, in which all the beautiful ladies in the know are putting salad on their face.

Hot tip, do not put salad on your face! Or any food product, really — and I say this as a lady who washed her face with olive oil for years. It was fine at one time when there were not as many options, but we have those options now and it’s just better to use things that were actually formulated and tested to go on your skin.

Your final present is a list of the actual skincare products I am currently using and liking, though obviously not all at the same time. To be entirely upfront about things, because my sister thinks it’s not fair for me to give out skincare advice without saying this and she’s probably right — my good skin is due primarily to genetics and the fact that I never went tanning. Still, I have a lot of knowledge on the subject and really can tell when products make my skin brighter, plumper, more moisturized or when it just looks better in general. Also, people almost always thank me for my recommendations! Including her! But I figured it’s best to be honest anyway. Also being honest anyway: Many of these are Wonkette commission links!

Oil Cleansing: Elf Holy Hydration cleansing balm, Bioderma micellar water, Ponds Cold Cream, Albolene

Foam cleansing: Esfolio collagen cleansing foam (FYI, you can almost always get this at Marshalls for like 4 bucks or less)

Toner: Cosrx Moisture Up Pads, Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow

Chemical exfoliant: Paula’s Choice Skin Perfector

Serums/Essences: The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid, Tony Moly Moisture Boost, The Inkey List Polyglutamic Acid Serum (absolute game changer, FYI), Embryolisse Radiant Complexion Serum, Cosrx snail mucin power essence

Moisturizer: Embryolisse Creme-lait Concentre, Cosrx All-In-One Snail Cream (honestly some of the heavier serums can work as a regular lightweight moisturizer as well)

SPF: As you should all know by now, I do not fuck with American sunscreen, because it does not provide full spectrum protection. My preferred brand is the Bioré UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence for face and the Avène Sun Very High Protection Spray Sensitive Skin SPF50+ for body. Also!!! The SPF in your makeup products is not enough, you still need actual sunscreen.

It’s also generally a good idea to stay out of the sun as much as you can, and physical barriers like big hats, long sleeves and umbrellas are also very helpful.

Retinol: I actually don’t use retinol all that often because you cannot use it in the daytime or with AHA/BHAs or Vitamin C, but when I do get around to it I use the LilyAna Naturals Retinol Cream

Sleep Mask: Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, though I should probably try something new at this point.

Facial oil: I don’t use it that often, especially in the summer, but I do just want to say that the $11 Marula Oil from The Ordinary is just as good as the $70 Drunk Elephant Marula Oil and I just think people need to know that. I’m sorry, but there’s a reason all of the Drunk Elephant enthusiasts are like, 11-years-old.

Slugging: I have just started slugging recently and honestly it has worked really well for me. Slugging, if you don’t know, is the practice of putting a layer of Vaseline, Aquaphor, Albolene, facial oil or some other heavy skin protectant over your skincare routine at night to help with absorption. I don’t do it every night, but I’ve for sure seen results when I do.

Masks!: Tragically, the best mask I have ever known, the First Aid Beauty Bouncy Mask, has been discontinued. I still have like 10 things of it left and will use it until it runs out and then cry forever. I also like the Elizavecca 24K Gold Mask and the Aztec Secret, and the various The Crème Shop masks that I regularly buy at Marshalls at least partly because they are super cute and often feature Sanrio characters. (As an aside, I am loving their lip stains as well!)

Foundation: I’m including this because I’m a big fan right now of makeup that is also skincare (although any brand that says “you can sleep in it!” is lying to your face) and I am loving the NARS Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare right now. It’s medium-buildable coverage and includes ingredients to even skin tone, moisturize and protect from blue light and other environmental factors. As a tip, you want to use your fingers to apply it rather than a brush or sponge.

Cotton Tissues: Cotton facial tissues, just in general, are my new favorite thing for removing makeup — I like them a lot better than the pads I used to use, and will usually use half of one to remove an oil cleanser and the other half to pat my face dry after foam cleansing. I usually get them cheap from Chinatown, but they’re starting to be everywhere now.

Water: I drink about 64 ounces of water a day, which I am sure is helpful!

What Can My Kid Safely Use?: As I mentioned earlier, the Generation Alpha kids are very, very obsessed with expensive skincare that even I don’t bother with. Personally I think prepubescent kids should stick to SPF, face wash, body wash and maybe a light, bland moisturizer. Nothing beyond that is going to do anything other than make them look cool to their friends. However, if it’s a “thing,” you should know that they should steer clear of products containing acids (including Vitamin C, which is an acid) and Retinols.

Overall, my favorite brands right now are The Inkey List and Elizavecca, both of which are very reasonably priced and tend to work just as well or better than pricier brands. They also have a huge variety of products and active ingredients so you can try out different things to see what they do for your skin without breaking the bank. Oh! And if you have dry/frizzy hair, the Elizavecca CER-100 hair mask is actual magic and far superior to any fancy dancy keratin treatment I’ve gotten. You are welcome.

If you guys have any questions or skincare concerns you’d like some help with, feel free to ask and I will pop into the comments to answer them! Remember that for all the Amazon links above, we will get a small commission for anything you buy in the same session once you click through from these links (until you check out or unless you close the tab without buying). And in some small way, you will be helping to fund my somewhat excessive skincare habit.

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