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2020 Skincare Arsenal

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Obviously, since it’s been a while since I published any content, let alone consistently, it has been a while since I’ve shared my updated 2020 skincare arsenal. Some has changed since I last shared – but there are a lot of fixed elements, too.

Today, I’ll be sharing what products and tools I use regularly as well as how often I use them up and repurchase.

Makeup Removal

2020 Skincare Routine - Makeup Removing Cloths

I haven’t used makeup wipes since 2018. They’re expensive for what they are, wasteful, and not great for my skin. Instead, I invested in some reusable makeup removing cloths and use them with – yes, really – just plain water. I say invested, but that makes it sound like I spent a radical sum; I didn’t. I started with, repurchased (and would again) this $10 pack of two from Ulta (which also often goes BOGO). This single fixture of my 2020 skincare arsenal has easily saved me hundreds since I implemented it.

I’ve since amassed a collection of a few different ones (that’s a whole post to itself) and probably won’t need any for a while. I hear they can last up to five years with proper care. I love that I can throw mine in one of my favorite mesh wash bags and wash them with regular detergent. Mine is a Tide household, but I tend to use Laundress for these and other items that need to be handled gently.

2020 Skincare Routine - Makeup Removal - Garnier Micellar Water

When I’m wearing something more stubborn (like gel liner) I use Garnier SkinActive Micellar Water, $7 [[review]] instead of just water. Simple makes a nice one too; I buy whatever is cheaper-per-ounce when it is time to restock.

Cleanser

2020 Skincare Routine - Cleanser - CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser

My 2020 skincare arsenal would be woefully incomplete without CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser, $15 is nothing new for me. At this point, I’ve been using this skin pH friendly cleanser for years. If it ain’t broke and is affordable, don’t fix it. I wash my face once per day, in the evening – yes, only once – and go through about three 16oz bottles per year.

It treats me better than Cetaphil used to and is a great, fragrance-free alternative to Philosophy Purity at less than half the price.

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Soap Box: Get Ready While WFH

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Chatter Get Ready While WFH

With less visibility than going into the office, it can be tempting to roll out of bed and login. I love to sleep in as much as the next person. I get it. If nothing else, it is critical to get ready while WFH because it helps you maintain boundaries which supports prevention of burnout and preservation of our mental health.

On Imgur last week, I saw a meme whose sentiment was along the lines of, “It’s time to stop calling it, ‘Working From Home,’ and instead call it, ‘Living at Work.'” For those of you also fortunate enough to work from home during this cluster of a year, you can appreciate how real that thought is.

And a quick pause on the, “fortunate enough,” bit:

You may not like working from home. In fact, you may hate it. The fact remains that if you are able to work from the safety of your home right now when so many people have either been displaced from employment or have their (and their family’s) health at risk – well, you’re lucky.

That said, just because you frame your situation in the context of being fortunate, doesn’t mean it is invalid to feel stressed or like boundaries are being violated. They are. Everyone’s are.

–and that’s why I still think you should get ready for work.

Three Key Reasons to Get Ready while WFH:

Boundaries

Those of us accustomed to going to an office every day, even if you weren’t routine-driven, had some sort of routine. Here’s roughly what mine looked like on an average day:

  • 5:00-5:20 – alarm/snooze/alarm/admit defeat. Get out of bed, do morning hygiene, slap on vit C serum.
  • 5:20-5:30 – if I failed myself the night before, pick clothing and get dressed
  • 5:30-5:40 – tidy hair, style if needed (I wash every other day, at night)
  • 5:40-5:55 – moisturize, sunscreen, facepaint. I can do this in as few as five minutes – and often do. But sometimes I want to channel Bob Ross, damn it, for a little morning zen. Some people do morning yoga; I do this
  • 5:55 – put together lunch, acquire caffeine
  • 6:00-6:05 – depart for ye olde commute
  • 6:35ish – arrive

The commute is actually the key element that orients my brain to transition to, “work mode,” from, “home mode.” It is a consistent boundary that marks the physical transition. With WFH, that is gone.

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Favorite Hand Lotion: Curel Ultra Healing

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Curel Ultra Healing Lotion, $8

Today, I’m sharing my favorite hand lotion – or what helps the skin maintenance of my DIY manicures last – Curel Ultra Healing. With us doing more handwashing than ever (I hope, anyway), we can use all the help we can get.

Hand Lotion Requirements

Fragrance

First, my preference is that lotion – any lotion – be free of fragrance. Fragrance in lotion tends to linger and can become annoying to me after some time. If I choose to wear fragrance, I don’t want my lotion to compete with or compound it. I particularly dislike strong fragrances on my hands – so it is doubly important to not be a thing in my hand products (though some hand soaps get a pass).

Moisturization

Second, the lotion needs to, you know, actually moisturize. If I need to reapply in an hour, that’s a problem. Not only do I not want to spend the time, I do not want to spend the money on a product that I need to use that frequently. The ingredient list reveals to me three different ceramides (which are important for maintaining your skin’s moisture barrier) and a handful of occlusives (which also help moisture leaching)..

Absorbency

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IGK Mixed Feelings Leave-In Blonde Toning Drops

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IGK Mixed Feelings Leave-In Blonde Toning Drops
IGK Mixed Feelings Leave-In Blonde Toning Drops, $29

If you’re blonde or have highlights, you’re probably no stranger to the concept of toning your hair. Whether you dabble in DIY toning like I do or leave it strictly to a professional, the battle of the brass is never far away. Last year, I came across IGK Mixed Feelings Leave-In Blonde Toning Drops ($29 at Sephora). In spite of previously talking smack about other products of IGK’s, I immediately bought them.

What Is It?

The of concentrated purple toning product that you can add to your hair during styling. You can apply the drops to your hair directly or cocktail them with a product. I usually use once a week and add mine to a leave-in conditioner or to my L’Oreal Thermal Balm or to Super Skinny when I’m heat styling.

This diminutive bottle contains one ounce which seems like a tragically small amount. It isn’t, though; using a bottom-button dropper like my Clarins facial tanner, a single drop does a lot more than you’d think. For my long hair, I usually go with 3-4 drops each time I use it. On a given day, it takes the edge off the brass/warmth – and it smells great.

Wow Your Colorist

I brought them along with me to the first balayage appointment I had after I bought them. When chatting with my colorist about them, she was blown away.. She had never seen them before! We ended up talking about them for a solid ten minutes, and she wouldn’t let me leave without writing down the product name.

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Undertaking a DIY Haircut

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Undertaking a DIY Haircut

In 2015, when faced with the, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” question, my response would not have included, “pondering or executing a DIY haircut on myself.”

In a normal year* I get my hair cut maybe 4-6 times. Because my hair is long and otherwise well cared-for, it hides my negligence prioritization choices. That said, thanks to the scumbag pandemic making this not a normal year, I have gotten just one haircut this year before shit got real in the US. Normally, by this point in the year I’d have gotten at least two, perhaps three.

For me, this isn’t a catastrophe. As opposed to short styles, long hair can be lower maintenance than you think. Since I’ve been working from home, I’ve been heat styling less. As a result, my hair is in moderately better condition than it would usually be. This isn’t just an act of laziness, but of strategy: I’m on camera for a least half of a given workday. As long as what frames my face looks decent, its fine.

A DIY Haircut

But, regardless, next month will mark six months from my last (professional) haircut. I was getting ready to tone my hair two weeks ago and decided I needed a trim – and I did it myself.

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L’Oreal Voluminous Deep Burgundy

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L'Oreal Voluminous Deep Burgundy
L’Oreal Voluminous Deep Burgundy, $7

Like many mascara-wearing people, black is my go-to. To be precise, my perennial favorite is L’Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black ($9), is always in stock in my vanity. Last time I stocked up on mascara, though, I decided to try something a little different for me: non-black mascara. L’Oreal Voluminous Deep Burgundy ($7) comes in a washable formula and is a little different, but not shocking.

So Edgy Of You (Not)

We’re not talking Euphoria-level adventurousness, here, though; L’Oreal Voluminous Deep Burgundy does not excude drama the way bright yellow, pink, or blue do. Indeed: I would wear navy but not bright blue.

Burgundy is not generally considered a soft shade, but when applied to lashes it comes across as a neutral. It is just slightly more fun than brown and note even remotely loud.

To most onlookers, it looks like any mascara; for me, a little softer than my usual, but still definitely providing richness and definition to my lashes. To you, the wearer, and to those with an eye for detail, though, it is ever so slightly burgundy.

For those of you living in a video-conference-centric world, most webcams in use by us mere mortals aren’t going to betray your departure from the norm. If anything, L’Oreal Voluminous Deep Burgundy comes across a little softer – so I tend to reach for a black so I look more awake on camera.

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