None of it works. NONE. I am 57 and have been using "products" for skin, hair and nails for more than 40 years. Nothing has ever delivered on any promise. I mean not one thing, and that is by design. The only thing that helps you look (and feel) better is what you put on the inside- nutritious food, copious water and better thoughts. Save your money. Buy a great book.
Horribly relatable. My own version is complicated by being queer (yay male beauty products! Where's our *ungendered* serums and creams, tho?) by having a faith life (aren't I meant to care more about my inner life and soul than my bloody face?) and by my concerns for environment and 'natural', meaning I sift for organic, no-plastic, cruelty free, nanotechnology-free blah blah blah. Feels like another part-time job when I'm running out of a discontinued eg sunscreen and need another. But hey! Anyone on this thread got a recommendation for a totally natural organic CC cream that doesn't turn you rosy pink? (I'm joking. No I'm not. I need that thing. Oh Jesus I am so superficial. I hate myself. But no, this is just grooming, not vanity. And on and on).
Sam, giggled and nodded the entire time reading this - love your honesty - yep, feel exactly same - the constant push-pull - my brain knows I'm being suckered in and yet ... and yet ... there IS still a chance that the 50+ euro plumping, reviving, brightening, magic potion will knock 10 years off my face overnight and my life will be vastly improved - yeah right!!!
I was a skin care addict since junior high and i now believe it's not just a consumerist racket but is also bad for your skin. Jessica DeFino--a beauty industry journalist-- is the one who taught me of this. I can't tag it but it's The Unpublishable and everyone needs to read it. Because of her I only use jojoba oil on my face and it costs me about $30 a year. Jessica explains how the "skin care" actually causes the problems and then we need more skin care. Think about it--before we started this insanity we put nothing on our skin and were fine. I really believed I needed my expensive moisterizer for my dry skin but once i stopped all the skin care routines my skin stopped being so dry and now i go days without putting anything on it.
The media makes me feel guilty, like I’m not trying hard enough to stay young and beautiful looking. But the smarter part of me feels brave and confident with the face I’ve earned and the beautiful soul that makes it glow.
I had bad acne as a teen, and over the years and products being discontinued, I started to do more reading and research in to skincare. However, all that I was really doing was being sold to by the industry. Along the way, I did learn that what I’d thought was oily skin was actually dry, and that my face is fine with the chemicals but hates anything formulated for sensitive skin (mainly with ‘natural’ ingredients.) I tried lots of different products, regularly spent a lot of money and ended up with a multi-step routine. But my skin still didn’t look any better and regularly misbehaved. Then I read an article by a dermatologist that recommended stripping right back to the essentials and cutting out things with fragrance (it’s purely cosmetic and often exacerbates sensitivity). So back to a cleanser and a £12 drugstore moisturiser (recommended by the derm) I went. And my skin was better. Then I introduced an spf and with this simpler routine my skin was better than it had been in years. (Bear with me while I finally get to the point!) The difference was that I started thinking about what actually suited my skin and made it look clear and alive, rather than being sucked in by the hype/promises. The ‘no fragrance’ rule limited my options which did in fact make things easier and now I find anything scented on my face quite overpowering. But with a really basic routine that made my skin better, I could use that as a base to add to as required, knowing that adding one thing at a time will allow me to really assess any difference it might or might not, make. Wrinkles are inevitable and resistance is futile. I just want to feel like I’m supporting my skin not because I think it will prevent me looking older, but as an act of self-love and how it makes me feel.
Totally hear you! Caster oil, roller balled onto face at night? I'd like to be like an old car, gleaming clean polished, oiled and rested between out and abouts, the cared for showing the love. It's an active fuck off to monetizers into a relaxing fuck off, you can't buy this!
I loooooove skincare and was such a product junkie for YEARS! Until I developed severe allergies to several chemicals that are in just about every.single.damn.thing. I stick to the same boring, plain, simple, natural products that I know don't cause my face to catch fire. The downside -- no more trying fun new products, no more dying my hair. The upside -- I've been forced to accept my greys, I don't waste the mental space on skincare anymore, and I had to get real okay with aging, real quick. (But sometimes I really miss all my products!! 😊)
Oh geez! I spent 45 minutes shopping online for moisturizer last night. I haven’t been happy with my dry patches and sensitive skin so I was on the hunt once again. I even had snail slime in my cart for a hot minute but ended up choosing something that was cheap and recommended by a couple people on Reddit. Now I’m eyeing your moisturizer rotation to see if there is a magic serum in the bunch.
I always think about my great aunt who had the most beautiful skin when she passed away at the age of 86. You know what she did to have beautiful skin...sunscreen, always wore a hat, and moisturizer, and always took her makeup off. That's it. This woman was frugal and would have never paid more than $10 on a moisturizer. She always told me getting older is not about how to reverse it but rather ow to embrace it.
Always get a buzz remembering I was quoted in a book! 😉 Still hate anti-aging and still don’t feel the need to reduce fine lines and wrinkles (lucky genes here too), but I’m a
sucker for the promise of glow, smooth skin, reduced oil/shine, improved texture or clearer skin as my skin is oily and breakout prone.
None of it works. NONE. I am 57 and have been using "products" for skin, hair and nails for more than 40 years. Nothing has ever delivered on any promise. I mean not one thing, and that is by design. The only thing that helps you look (and feel) better is what you put on the inside- nutritious food, copious water and better thoughts. Save your money. Buy a great book.
Horribly relatable. My own version is complicated by being queer (yay male beauty products! Where's our *ungendered* serums and creams, tho?) by having a faith life (aren't I meant to care more about my inner life and soul than my bloody face?) and by my concerns for environment and 'natural', meaning I sift for organic, no-plastic, cruelty free, nanotechnology-free blah blah blah. Feels like another part-time job when I'm running out of a discontinued eg sunscreen and need another. But hey! Anyone on this thread got a recommendation for a totally natural organic CC cream that doesn't turn you rosy pink? (I'm joking. No I'm not. I need that thing. Oh Jesus I am so superficial. I hate myself. But no, this is just grooming, not vanity. And on and on).
Sam, giggled and nodded the entire time reading this - love your honesty - yep, feel exactly same - the constant push-pull - my brain knows I'm being suckered in and yet ... and yet ... there IS still a chance that the 50+ euro plumping, reviving, brightening, magic potion will knock 10 years off my face overnight and my life will be vastly improved - yeah right!!!
I was a skin care addict since junior high and i now believe it's not just a consumerist racket but is also bad for your skin. Jessica DeFino--a beauty industry journalist-- is the one who taught me of this. I can't tag it but it's The Unpublishable and everyone needs to read it. Because of her I only use jojoba oil on my face and it costs me about $30 a year. Jessica explains how the "skin care" actually causes the problems and then we need more skin care. Think about it--before we started this insanity we put nothing on our skin and were fine. I really believed I needed my expensive moisterizer for my dry skin but once i stopped all the skin care routines my skin stopped being so dry and now i go days without putting anything on it.
I don’t see the pillow face and, even if I did, who cares? Your hair is gorgeous!
The media makes me feel guilty, like I’m not trying hard enough to stay young and beautiful looking. But the smarter part of me feels brave and confident with the face I’ve earned and the beautiful soul that makes it glow.
I had bad acne as a teen, and over the years and products being discontinued, I started to do more reading and research in to skincare. However, all that I was really doing was being sold to by the industry. Along the way, I did learn that what I’d thought was oily skin was actually dry, and that my face is fine with the chemicals but hates anything formulated for sensitive skin (mainly with ‘natural’ ingredients.) I tried lots of different products, regularly spent a lot of money and ended up with a multi-step routine. But my skin still didn’t look any better and regularly misbehaved. Then I read an article by a dermatologist that recommended stripping right back to the essentials and cutting out things with fragrance (it’s purely cosmetic and often exacerbates sensitivity). So back to a cleanser and a £12 drugstore moisturiser (recommended by the derm) I went. And my skin was better. Then I introduced an spf and with this simpler routine my skin was better than it had been in years. (Bear with me while I finally get to the point!) The difference was that I started thinking about what actually suited my skin and made it look clear and alive, rather than being sucked in by the hype/promises. The ‘no fragrance’ rule limited my options which did in fact make things easier and now I find anything scented on my face quite overpowering. But with a really basic routine that made my skin better, I could use that as a base to add to as required, knowing that adding one thing at a time will allow me to really assess any difference it might or might not, make. Wrinkles are inevitable and resistance is futile. I just want to feel like I’m supporting my skin not because I think it will prevent me looking older, but as an act of self-love and how it makes me feel.
Totally hear you! Caster oil, roller balled onto face at night? I'd like to be like an old car, gleaming clean polished, oiled and rested between out and abouts, the cared for showing the love. It's an active fuck off to monetizers into a relaxing fuck off, you can't buy this!
I loooooove skincare and was such a product junkie for YEARS! Until I developed severe allergies to several chemicals that are in just about every.single.damn.thing. I stick to the same boring, plain, simple, natural products that I know don't cause my face to catch fire. The downside -- no more trying fun new products, no more dying my hair. The upside -- I've been forced to accept my greys, I don't waste the mental space on skincare anymore, and I had to get real okay with aging, real quick. (But sometimes I really miss all my products!! 😊)
The only thing that ever worked for me was bad eyesight and no glasses. Can I insist that everyone take theirs off before I enter the room?
Oh geez! I spent 45 minutes shopping online for moisturizer last night. I haven’t been happy with my dry patches and sensitive skin so I was on the hunt once again. I even had snail slime in my cart for a hot minute but ended up choosing something that was cheap and recommended by a couple people on Reddit. Now I’m eyeing your moisturizer rotation to see if there is a magic serum in the bunch.
Also: India’s right, serum’s the thing.
Please become my guinea pig.
I always think about my great aunt who had the most beautiful skin when she passed away at the age of 86. You know what she did to have beautiful skin...sunscreen, always wore a hat, and moisturizer, and always took her makeup off. That's it. This woman was frugal and would have never paid more than $10 on a moisturizer. She always told me getting older is not about how to reverse it but rather ow to embrace it.
Promise to message me before you buy anything mega expensive? ❤️🙏🏾
Always get a buzz remembering I was quoted in a book! 😉 Still hate anti-aging and still don’t feel the need to reduce fine lines and wrinkles (lucky genes here too), but I’m a
sucker for the promise of glow, smooth skin, reduced oil/shine, improved texture or clearer skin as my skin is oily and breakout prone.