28 ALLURE APRIL 2019
MODERN WELLNESS
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device that she returned all of her Christmas presents to
buy. I grab my own device, and she walks me through the
15-minute program. I am delighted by how tight my skin
feels, and she is delighted to have someone to talk to about
it. After lubing up my entire body with multiple oils and
lotions, I retire with a slight fear that I’m so hydrated that my
sheets will be sticky. But when I wake up, my skin is insanely
soft—everywhere. So far, so good.
DAY 4. At work, I slap on an Orgaid sheet mask, which is
extremely pleasant, if ridiculous-feeling in this context. I
spritz Boscia Rosewater Mist With Witch Hazel dramatically
over my face while I’m talking to a colleague. My skin feels
incredibly pampered. My evening routine starts as soon as
I get home. I draw a bath, dump in CAP Beauty The Captiva-
tor Love Bath salts, and smooth AmorePacific Youth Revolu-
tion mask over my skin. After toweling off, I’m so
overwhelmed by the prospect of sifting through my lineup
of serums and creams that I sit on my bed in a towel and
just...stay there. The experiment takes a slight nosedive.
DAY 5. My phone starts blaring marimba. It is 6:50 a.m., and
I am exactly where you left me. Luxury is exhausting. Why
have no celebrities warned me of this? I use two rollers
simultaneously on either side of my face to hasten the
absorption of my face oil. At my desk, I apply Patchology eye
masks and forget to remove them before a meeting. One
team member monotones, “Is...
something on your face?” I am mor-
tified. Later, I spritz with Aritaum
Baby Face Mist in Tea Tree, which
feels like a soft cloud descending on
my increasingly irritated skin.
DAY 7. I’m feeling inundated by
products. The only refuge is the
bath, where just one step is required
of me. I treat myself to Aveeno’s
Soothing Bath Treatment—I have
sensitive skin, and whenever it’s
stressed (like after using 100 differ-
ent products for a week), this is my
reset. On my poor, now-rosy face, I
layer foundation, which makes my
reflection look borrowed. I am disheartened that the high I
initially had from indulging is fading, but it is not totally sur-
prising. “An elaborate, multistep routine can be overwhelm-
ing, so you get the opposite of mood enhancement,” says
Matt Traube, a psychotherapist specializing in skin condi-
tions. That’s not to say a serotonin boost from skin care is
out of the question. “A skin-care routine can absolutely
make you calmer or happier,” says Traube. “It’s about the
ritual and putting time and energy into taking care of your-
self. It absolutely has positive, mood-boosting benefits.”
So maybe I went overboard. A hyperluxe multistep rou-
tine is not for me, if only because I do not have that much
time to devote to moisture. Traube suggests finding a spe-
cific product lineup that can become a true ritual. So I’ve
curbed my hummingbird-like approach to every essence
that glints in my direction and cut way back. I continue to
Ziip—I’ve come to associate it with FaceTiming my friend—
and take frequent baths, which feel meditative. I am happy
bonding with friends over new products we’re trying, or
letting my mind go blank as I massage a serum along my
jawline with a roller. Can a skin-care routine make you hap-
pier? For me, a little pampering (emphasis on little) com-
bined with FaceTime can go a long way.hen describing their approach to beauty,
many people start by referring to themselves as
“low-maintenance,” and while I respect their humility, my
routine makes most of them look like Kardashians. No per-
son has ever looked at my messy bun and naked face and
thought, Wow, that must have taken hours! I like what I look
like and what my five-minute routine telegraphs to the
world, which is: “I am comfortable!” It also telegraphs to
the world that my routine takes five minutes.
But I realize that my low-effort routine is, in part, a psy-
chological trick: I’m trying to embody a self-confidence
that I don’t always feel. And I’m not the only one who con-
nects what’s happening (or not) in my beauty routine with
what’s happening in my head. Many studies link mood and
skin care, specifically when it comes to chronic skin condi-
tions. In a new study in the British Journal of Dermatology,
researchers found that in the first few years after develop-
ing acne, participants were at
greater risk for major depression.
“While imperfect skin has a nega-
tive impact on mental health, a
‘good skin day’ can have a positive
impact,” says Joshua Zeichner, a
dermatologist in New York City. “I
see patients every day who say that
bright, clear skin puts them in a
good mood.” I wonder if upping my
own skin-care game—and taking
my skin from lackluster to radiant—
could be a route to confidence and
contentment. I’m primed to begin
immediately, thanks to the beauty
editor’s hoard of products I’ve col-
lected under the dubious premise that I will get around to
trying them. What kind of results will a supersized skin-care
system bestow? What new person will I be?
DAY 1. I figure adding a few steps—including, but not lim-
ited to, exfoliant, serum, lotion, mask—couldn’t be all that
demanding. Perhaps it will even be fun. And that first
night, it is fun. “Putting on skin care can be a time of self-
care and relaxation,” says Zeichner. “Experiencing the tex-
tures and scents of products, enjoying the packaging—in
this way, your daily skin-care routine is good for your skin
and also good for your soul.” And it does feel soul-warming.
I take so much care massaging and moisturizing that by
the time everything has seeped in and I’ve brushed my
teeth, I’m too exhausted to even take the bath I’d been
planning without risk of drowning. My mood: delighted
with all my new creams, feeling fancy and cared for, happy
to avoid a watery demise.
DAY 2. My enthusiasm has yet to wane, and I continue to
joyfully embrace this experiment, slathering my face with
light lotions between meetings and using BeautyBio sheet
masks on my hands while I type—because hands have skin,
too. That evening, I call my best friend in Colorado, who has
been talking up her Ziip, a nanocurrent skin-tighteningI joyfully embracethe experiment,slathering my facewith light lotionsbetween meetings.