While it’s fun to try different products and samples, it takes actual work to find those core lotions, potions, and eye shadow palettes that do the real work of helping you maintain a healthy skin barrier and put your best face and hair forward to meet the day. In other words, it’s a tall order to earn a permanent spot in the beauty routine, or at least it should be when you prioritize health and beauty. Let’s explore a few of the workhorses for skincare, cosmetics, and body products, with more to come in part 2.
First up, a product I wish had been available when I was a teenager: blemish patches. You pop a patch over the start of a pimple/clogged pore and go to bed. In the morning, it’s as if it’s been drained overnight! Genius! Along with blemish patches, don’t sleep on the good old-fashioned nose strips to clean out, again overnight, the pores along your nostrils. I use patches as needed and always have a supply in my medicine cabinet. I like the patches from Cosrx on Amazon and the Deep Blemish Microdarts for really impacted pores from Peach Slices, also on Amazon. Ulta has Hero Cosmetics Might Patch. These are all meant to be worn overnight. However, I have seen teenage people embrace the patch life with Starface’s Hydro-Star Patches as an accessory while they are out and about. As the name suggests, these patches are star-shaped and come in a variety of colors. So, if you’ve seen what look like star-shaped stickers on the face of an adolescent, now you know!
Next up, serum. Whether it’s part of your morning, evening, or both routines, a good serum is meant to work like a treatment and nourish the skin. In fact, you may use multiple serums to address multiple issues. What serum works best depends on ingredients. You want to, in general, look for a product that contains hyaluronic acid for hydration, peptides, and vitamins. I stay away from retinol products and instead lean toward snail-mucus-based options, like Corsx’s Snail Mucin Repairing Serum for its anti-aging properties. If you’re in the market for a heavy hitter of retinol, then check out SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic serum. For acne-prone or oilier skin, there’s The Ordinary’s Niacinamide Serum available at Sephora.
From serums to creams. A good hydrating moisturizer, especially if you tend not to wear makeup, is an essential part of your skincare routine. Or, even if you do wear makeup, keeping your skin happy benefits your appearance with or without foundation. A rich cream moisturizer should ground your makeup prep and be allowed to absorb before the final step of sunscreen, for all skin types. Look at Eucerin’s Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream. This moisturizer is fragrance-free and won’t clog pores. If your skin barrier needs extra oomph, check out Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream with Squalane. The non-greasy texture delivers long-lasting hydration. The key to a rich moisturizer is again allowing it to absorb.
Another cream to consider is hand cream. Our hands go through a lot and can show wear and tear more readily, so a good and protective hand lotion can help soften and smooth them. Hand cream is most effective when applied routinely throughout the day. You can carry a travel-sized tube of something like The Body Shop’s Shea Hand Balm to keep your hands nourished with its non-sticky, fast-absorbing lotion. There’s also Drunk Elephant’s Therabu Buttered Reparative Hand Cream, which purports to diminish signs of aging. Before bed, I like to apply Green Goo’s Hand Goo. Not only is this an effective daily balm, but it also helps heal cuts, scrapes, and blisters on other areas. Ideally, you’d use hand lotion after every wash.
And speaking of washing, whether you shower in the morning or before bed, regular bar soap may not always give your skin what it needs. For sensitive skin, there’s Native’s Body Wash that offers sulfate-free suds and delivers gentle freshness. You can pick up the unscented option or choose from several dozen scent varieties like Key Lime & Sugar or Palm Leaf & Agave. For eczema-prone skin, there’s Eczema Honey’s Soothing Body Wash, which is ultra-mild and hydrates irritated skin while preserving your natural oils. For acne-prone skin, there’s Iota’s Supervitamin Body Wash+ Soothing, a fragrance-free, pH-balanced prebiotic cleanser made with Egyptian chamomile to clean, clear, and soothe.
This is the first half of the essentials for a standard beauty routine. We’ll continue the core lineup of product types in part 2!
