October 16, 2020
When your to-go makeup bag becomes a time capsule, natural-looking brow control, how to improve your posture, pandemic beauty stats and my hair product formula for air-drying.
A trip down makeup memory lane
On average, I leave the house roughly twice a week (other than tennis), and when I do I usually just grab my Goyard wallet and go. With so little action, I haven’t actually gone through my bag (which still has its place on the “desk” in our kitchen) in months, but today I decided to take a deeper dive into its contents.
Among them are this emerald-green Louis Vuitton Epi Leather pencil case I bought for my mom as a gift around 15 years ago. Since I’m all about “pouches” for keeping my bag organized (or at least I used to be), I started to use it as a catch-all for the myriad lip glosses and perfume atomizers that were in my regular pre-pandemic rotation. (In fact, I had it refurbished by my amazing cobbler for a pretty penny a few years ago when the lining began to degrade.) Needless to say, unzipping it and exploring the contents was akin to opening a time capsule.
Within I found two Pat McGrath lip glosses, Charlotte Tilbury’s Collagen Lip Bath, Clinique “Black Honey” and Chanel’s Les Beiges Healthy Glow Lip Balm, which is funny (or rather ironic) because I’ve only been purchasing “clean” makeup since the pandemic began. It was also winter the last time I actively accessed this makeup case, so the perfumes I found were Le Labo’s Santal 33 and Child perfume (which stays in there year-round). And here we are in the beginning of October and there are no signs of my summer scents like Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino or Byredo’s Gypsy Water in sight. Where did the last seven months go?
Needless to say, the Louis Vuitton case has been put on indefinite furlough and is comfortably sheltering in my closet. Without the need to touch up my lips and fragrance while I’m on the go (or ever for that matter), there’s no need to schlep around the extra weight, right?
A fool-proof (natural-looking) way to keep your brows on point
I always want my brows to look neat and tidy, but I don’t always want to add color to them. When I do, I love my Glossier Boy Brow (which my dog ate after it fell on the floor the last time I organized my makeup drawer) and Saie Brow Butter (which survived unscathed)—but my go-to transparent choice has always been a simple clear drugstore mascara. I never felt the need to upgrade this inexpensive solution, but Fenty Beauty’s Brow MVP Sculpting Wax Pencil & Styler made me want to.
This waxy stick serves up invisible, long-lasting hold and the easy-to-clean brush helps you coax every last hair into place (whether you want a smooth or feathery look)—and it’s also sweat- and water-resistant. Even better, it’s vegan, cruelty-free and devoid of parabens and phthalates so it fits right into your clean makeup routine.
I decided to do something about my posture
I can’t believe it’s been SEVEN months since my last Pilates class—and that this once part of my daily schedule is no more. I paused my unlimited membership in early March in hopes that we’d lock-down and be back to business as usual within a short period of time, but alas, we know how that panned out. When I ultimately cancelled my membership, they gave me six months to start my final month of unlimited classes (per my contract), and it turns out October 20 is my deadline to go back. Well, I’m still not comfortable going back into an indoor group fitness environment so I have no other choice than to eat the $200 for this final month—but it’s a small price to pay to protect my health.
I’m still working out just about every day thanks to The Mirror or a stroll around the ‘hood, but I definitely feel the effects of not having someone tell me to pull my shoulders back and down every damn day. Add in the fact that I’m spending most of my day at my desk working or stalking CNN’s live news updates and I’m worried about my posture. (My husband has even started telling me to stand up straight from time to time.) Now I’m self-conscious, as I remember my mom always being paranoid she was getting a “hump.”
I was perusing the latest Goop offerings last week and came across Gaiam’s Restore Posture Corrector, but I wanted it ASAP and found a non-Neoprene version on Amazon (for $5 less). I’d admit it sat on the ottoman in my office for a few days before actually trying it out, and when I finally slipped it on I needed a little more help than the included instructions provided.
Fortunately the Gaiam website had a more in-depth guide, so now I’m sitting here in a harness but my shoulders are definitely back and down. I moved the foam pads to under my armpits for a little extra cushioning, and I am definitely sitting taller and straighter. The directions say to wear it for only 15 minutes the first day, and to slowly increase wear by 15-minute increments moving forward. Am I going to be sore from it tomorrow? We’ll see… I can eventually work up to wearing it six hours a day—and it’s discreet enough to wear under a slightly loose top (so I don’t have to walk around the house looking like I’m wearing an abbreviated straightjacket (although I may need one of those too if our lives continue on this path for much longer).
In just the last 10 minutes, I’ve found it’s essentially a constant reminder to sit up straight (especially when I start to slouch)—and based on the muscle activity I’m already feeling in my back, I understand why Gaiam advises starting off wearing it in short bursts. But with that said, my posture is better already (while wearing it) and I’ll definitely be sticking with it, but I’m thinking about spending the extra five dollars on the neoprene version to see the difference.
How COVID has affected our beauty habits
Beyond going a mind-blowing 16 weeks between my pre- and first post-pandemic color appointments, I’ve definitely noticed a seismic shift in my beauty habits—and I’m sure you have, too. From less makeup-wearing and more hair-washing (since I no longer have the luxury of doing virtually sweat-less Pilates reformer classes) to performing several personal maintenance tasks that used to be outsourced myself, I wouldn’t have believed you if you had told me this would be going on eight months ago. (And this basically applies to my entire life, too.) Well, guess what? It’s not just you. Check out these numbers from Premise Data, who surveyed 500 women about their pandemic beauty habits—and some of them may surprise you.
Nearly 39% of our respondents reported that their make-up and personal hygiene routines have changed because of mask-wearing working from home.
The use of makeup is down roughly 10%. (I honestly thought this would be more.)
17% say they are no longer wearing any makeup at all. (They must not be working and Zooming remotely.)
The use of oral-care and deodorant/antiperspirant products has remained steady. (Phew!)
The top makeup product right now is lip balm, and 48% of women said they use it daily. (I wish they asked how many times a day these women apply lip balm.)
Prior to the pandemic, the majority of respondents said they used an average of 3-5 personal products per day. As of September, 38.8% of respondents say they now use between 0-2 personal care products per day. (I want to see what using ZERO personal-care products looks like.)
But perhaps the biggest takeaway is that around 55% said they will not or aren’t sure if they will return to their pre-pandemic makeup routine, suggesting that the past eight months may have already changed how we’ll use products in the years to come. How do your pandemic beauty habits stack up?
It took me 43 years to master the air-dry
With very few reasons to blow-dry my hair these days, my styling efforts have pretty much been limited to combing my hair when I get out of the shower and pulling it back into a scrunchie. However, I’ve been in the mood to try something new for the past few weeks, so I started playing around with my air-dry technique. I’m proud to say, that after a bit of trial and error (and several days of major fluffiness and frizz), I think I finally figured it out. It’s been a fun change, and although everyone’s hair is different, here’s the step-by-step process that works for me.
After washing and conditioning my hair, I detangle it with a wide-toothed comb before I even get out of the shower.
I gently blot my hair dry. (If I’m in a rush, I’ll wrap use my Aquis turban for just a few minutes—but I find this takes too much moisture out if I wear it for too long.)
I turn my head upside down and rake my fingers through my hair to separate my natural waves.
Still with my head upside down, I scrunch in René Furterer Volumea Volumizing Foam. (P.S. You can schedule a complimentary 20-minute consultation with a René Furterer hair expert who can help you figure out the best products for your hair.)
With my head still upside down (and at this point experiencing a head rush), I add a bit of Sashajuan Ocean Mist and scrunch a little more.
I finally flip my head over and keep my HANDS OFF until completely dry.
OK, so there are a few hours of awkward stringiness before my hair is finally “done,” and that’s when I’ll do the final shake to loosen the waves. Although this process can require some scheduling (especially if I have a Zoom meeting) it’s totally worth it. The result is great on day-two as well, and I usually add a little dry shampoo to my roots and comb my hair through with my fingers to smooth it out. Truth be told, finally having another hair-styling option that won’t damage my strands may be one of the best things to come out of the past few months.
