The Skincare Edit

I have one rule about skincare, and it’s the only reason this hobby hasn’t bankrupted us: I wait for the sale.

Sephora runs theirs twice a year, and that’s when I restock the favorites and let myself try the new things I’ve been circling for months. The return policy means a gamble never really costs you. But honestly? I just feel less guilty when it’s on sale. Same products, same face, smaller number at checkout.

So here’s what actually earns the restock, sale after sale.

The everyday layer

Nothing in this section is exciting, and that’s the point. This is the part that happens every single day, whether I have twenty minutes or four.

• Tatcha The Rice Wash: a soft cream cleanser that doesn’t leave my face feeling tight afterward. That shouldn’t be a rare quality in a cleanser, and yet. Every time I get tempted and venture out to try something new and viral, I always regret it. This is the one.
• Merit Great Skin Instant Glow Serum: niacinamide, one pump, done. It sets up a nice base for that lit-from-within glow.
• Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream: the splurge of the routine. The refillable jar helps me justify it, but the truth is I’d rebuy it anyway. Everything else just sits better with it underneath.
• Caudalie Premier Cru Eye Cream: I notice how my under-eye concealer sits with versus without this now. The moisture is needed. I forgot it on my most recent vacation and, despite feeling genuinely rested, I looked a wee bit ragged around the edges. Lesson learned.
• Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask: every night, religiously. Cannot survive without this now. I got tired of everyone in my family sticking their fingers in the pot, so last year it was a stocking stuffer for all. It really helps dry, chapped winter kid lips. Even my 93-year-old grandma is hooked.
• La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5: zero glamour, permanently in the house. Wind-burned cheeks, over-scrubbed skin, every dry patch my kids produce between October and April. One tube, whole family. I actually use it most nights myself, just to seal in all the moisture and wake up with a glow. Surprisingly affordable.

The sunscreen shelf

If I could only keep one step, it’s this one. On my face I keep two, and the difference is the finish. In summer, the rest of me gets its own lineup.

• EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 Tinted: the more subtle of the two. It’s light enough that I put it on and stop thinking about my face entirely.
• Supergoop Glowscreen SPF 40: for the days I want more of a glow, the kind that reads as eight hours of sleep I didn’t actually get.
• Supergoop PLAY Everyday Lotion SPF 50: the body one, an everyday SPF 50 that covers everything below the chin.
• Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch SPF 30: for when you’re craving that tropical scent, but more subtle than some of the other big brands. It also gives you the loveliest little shimmer that keeps the glow in check and softens the look of any lumps and bumps.
• Bondi Sands Tinted Skin Perfector: not a sunscreen at all, and the sneakiest find on this list. It goes on with a tint that doesn’t rub off on anything, absorbs quickly, and works like a tinted moisturizer for your body that puts in the work as a gradual self tanner too. Best transition-to-shorts or vacation tool in my arsenal. I don’t know where it’s been all my life.

The treatments

This is the fun shelf. Some of it works hard, some of it mostly works on my mood, and I’ve decided both count.

• Medicube Zero Pore Pads: my first step whenever my skin is feeling dry, flaky, or just plain unhappy, which works out to once or twice a week, not every day. One textured side to clear things out, one smooth side to calm everything down, and the skin is prepped to actually absorb the moisture step that comes next. Two minutes at the sink, and it scratches the facial itch between actual facials.
• Medicube Collagen Overnight Wrapping Peel: you finger paint it on and it sets into a thin film. Some nights I have the patience to leave it on until morning, and some nights I’m forcing myself to last thirty minutes. If you only have a couple of hours, still great. If you make it to morning, an amazing all-day glow. Either way it ends the same way: you peel the whole thing off. Strange and satisfying in equal measure.
• A red light therapy mask: I rolled my eyes at these for a solid year. I’ve stopped rolling them. I don’t save it for quiet moments, because there aren’t any: sometimes it’s bedtime stories as a stormtrooper. It makes the biggest difference when you’re consistent, and I definitely notice it helps clear breakouts faster when I’m using it regularly.
• Prescription retinol: my best skincare advice, and it isn’t even a product. Ask your doctor about a prescription for Tretinoin cream. You fill it at the pharmacy like anything else, and if you have benefits or coverage, it can cost less than the pretty jars that do half as much. Worth the conversation at your next appointment.
• CanPrev Collagen Beauty Liquid: the one I drink instead of apply. I was skeptical. My nails were not.

The treat shower system

And then there’s the body stuff, where I run a two-tier system with zero shame.

Salt and Stone is saved for my little treat showers. The Bergamot and Hinoki wash and lotion smell like a spa that’s never heard of my children, and the Santal and Vetiver lotion might be my favorite scent in the house. It’s a small luxury that makes an ordinary Tuesday feel like something else.

Regular everyday is Ivory body wash and The Body Shop body butter. Ivory’s gentle enough for the whole family and skips the heavy perfume, and the Almond Milk body butter goes on after every single shower without a thought. I’m now referred to as “the one that always smells good” when we all hop into a car for a work lunch. Not fancy. Never allowed to run out.

That’s the whole routine. A little bit lovely, a little bit boring, and I’ve come to believe the boring part is what your skin actually notices.

The makeup edit and the hair edit are coming next, because I clearly had more to say than one post could hold. I love helping people navigate the world of beauty products, and it can be a lot to know where to start. But skincare in your thirties is a necessity. We’ve gotta put all my experimenting and spending to use somehow.

So tell me: what’s the one thing in your cabinet you never let run out? I’m always taking recommendations. Obviously.

Warmly,
Kristen