All about this rich bitch hair
And! Skincare & makeup favorites and how I treat Perioral Dermatitis
A few months ago, Chanel invited me to come to a house in Beverly Hills, play with their fantastic beauty products, and make a little video. Beauty is not really my thing, but I was super excited and flattered.
Last week I finally posted the video, which was kind of like a makeup tutorial and generous editing made it look like I knew what I was doing. I think it turned out very sweet and cute! However! Perhaps unlike true beauty influencers, I didn’t have any makeup on in my “before” moment, or even moisturizer for that matter. Nor does it appear that I’d had a single sip of water in the six months leading up to that day! The “before” was very BEFORE and there was a transformation to AFTER. But still! I like my face! I’m cool with my body - I’ve got it going on. For one of the first times in my life I feel really good about the whole package.
SO anyway, I posted it, and the response was very positive, and a handful of people let me know they were happy to see someone not over-botoxing their face. Which, of course, thank you! But yeah - for now, at least, I’ve stopped botoxing and filling (I have been doing Morpheus8, but more on that later). It’s a little jarring to notice other people noticing the kinds of facial bumps and crevices that only YOU, the owner of said face, would normally notice. But rather than send me into I spiral I was like…well, yeah. I’m in my late 30s, I have two kids, I spend all summer and most of the year outside. I’m a happy person, I use my face, and so happy-person facial texture is bound to happen.
Part of it might be living in LA now, and just majorly rejecting a lot of what “LA” means to most people outside this city. My hair is boy-short again and my forehead moves, and it’s making me feel closer to myself. I write a lot about what’s happening to my mental state and my style as I move closer to 40, and it’s all just SO positive, I wish me at 27 had some idea of how happy I’d be rejecting the things I thought were making me happy a decade ago. I’ve set myself up for minimal friction and conflict (from getting dressed to my interpersonal relationships), and that’s been way more beneficial to me than being mistaken for a younger woman.
Anyway, I don’t really know what I’m saying here. The gist, I guess, is fuck it! Let me be one more person telling you that nothing is real! Have a wrinkle, or don’t! But post your dumbass video and feel good.
Speaking of dumbass video, I just got my hair cut, and if you follow me on Instagram you know I LOVE IT SO MUCH. It’s like a grown out pixie cut, but with VOLUME! It’s like a Princess Di cut. And I just…. cannot understand how I ever wore my hair any other way. And I need attention and validation, so I also did a tutorial on styling my #HighMaintenanceHair™️. For most of my life, I refused to do anything to style my hair, but now that I know how I am never going back.
So while I’m thinking about my gorgeous-ass hair and beauty more generally, here are some of my favorite beauty and hair products right now.
Hair
So yes, my hair is very short, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t baby the shit out of it! I literally have the most high maintenance hair of all time - I have a short haircut (much harder than long hair, you have to get it cut all the time), it’s highlighted blonde, AND I get keratin treatments pretty regularly. Fuss-y. It’s naturally dark and curly, and super fine but I have a lot of it. Without keratin, and without and hair goo to make it stick together, it’s like baby chick hair. It’s dry on the ends, but gets oily at the root. It’s a challenge, but I’m finally in a place where I feel like I have control over it. But also here’s the thing, expensive-looking hair….sadly…is expensive.
1. Is a $600 blow-dryer insane? Yes. But is it the secret to expensive-looking hair? Also yes. I literally just brush this thing all over my sort of wet hair, and it comes out looking nearly perfect with almost no effort. So little effort, in fact, that my favorite stoned activity is blowing out my hair while I also watch a show with subtitles on, on my iPad in the bathroom. This thing is my #1 beauty product across categories. Dyson AirWrap, $599
2. This is great for both the color and the keratin. Apparently salts not sulfates kill your keratin (but maybe both, I’m just repeating what I was told), and this is keratin-friendly, plus the blue tint helps neutralize yellow in your hair. I shampoo every other time I take a shower. Oribe Bright Blonde Shampoo, $49
3. Once again, I know this is punch-yourself-in-the-face-expensive, especially for something that you rinse out! However, I notice that my hair is softer, less puffy and shinier when I use this, and it doesn’t all stick together like a helmet. I also use like a pea-sized amount so a little goes a very long way. Shu Uemura, $62
4. I like the travel size of this, I use it twice a week and it has lasted for ~3 months, and I don’t know how I would use a bottle much larger than this. It protects your hair from heat, but also makes it shiny and swishy. When my hair was a little longer, this was the key step for nicely tousled but waves that didn’t look stiff or “done”. Oribe Royal Blowout, $24
5. This oil also has a heat protectant, but when I had a true bob it was what I’d use when I just air-dried. It left my hair wavy, but not puffy. The waves all kind of held together, but weren’t clumpy, if that makes sense? I love this stuff. Crown Affair Oil, $40
Skincare Basics
In all honesty, I’m pretty genetically blessed when it comes to my skin. I never had bad acne, or super sensitive skin. It kind of does what I want. Of course, now that I’m getting older, I’m noticing it also getting older with me. I have some sunspots on my cheeks that I don’t love, and I have been doing Morpheus 8 at Goodskin to try and generally firm it all up again. Since I’m not botoxing anymore (for now) I thought it would be better to work on my skin itself, rather than just freezing it to hell so wrinkles couldn’t form. Morpheus is a super deep microneedle thing that shoots radiofrequency energy into the deep layers of your skin to stimulate collagen production, etc. It fucking hurts, it’s a big investment, and they say to do one treatment for every decade of your life. So, there’s that. Aside from that, there are nights that I have an eight thousand step routine, and nights where I don’t even brush my teeth. I get sent a ton of products, and as a former editor, tried even more in my former life. These are some of the things that I’ve stuck with through the years.
1. Ok, this might actually be a new product, but it’s one I plan on using forever. I love cleansing balms, but I don’t like when they leave a residue. This one takes off my spf easily, as well as mascara or lipstick if I’m going out, and doesn’t strip my skin but also doesn’t leave it feeling like I already put moisturizer on. It’s the perfect cleanser for someone with dry skin, in my opinion. I love every product I’ve ever tried from Versed. Versed Cleansing Balm, $18
2. Another from Versed, this is a great super basic moisturizer. It’s light, unscented, and generally pretty minimal, AND it works. My skin looks dewier and bouncier when I use it regularly. Versed Rich Moisture Cream, $18
3. I also really love this moisturizer from Sunday Riley. It contains Vitamin C along with a bunch of other nice things that I can notice making my face brighter, smoother, and again, bouncier. I use this when I feel like my face needs extra TLC but I don’t want to do a whole mask thing. Sunday Riley Vitamin C Brightening Rich Hydration Moisturizer, $65
4. When I do need a mask, I use this one from Beautycounter. It’s a mega exfoliator and makes my pores look smaller and makes my skin less dull. I use an RX retinol a few nights a week so I try not to over exfoliate, but if I’m spending a lot of time at the beach reapplying sunscreen, I’ll usually do this on a Sunday to clean everything up. It doesn’t have a smell, and is kind of basic and utilitarian, and it does exactly what it says it will. After I use this I put on a super thick layer of the Versed moisturizer, and then a layer of this over it. Beautycounter, AHA Smoothing Facial Mask, $96
5. Ok I lied when I said the Dyson was my #1 must-have, it’s actually this general balm. I’m allergic to beeswax, and any lip product with that ingredient will make my lips chap worse, then swell and get disgusting. This is the only thing I’ve ever tried that actually heals my chapped lips. It also helped heal my daughter’s eczema. I use it on my lips, but also on my face when I’m mega mega dry, or if I have a minor skin irritation, and it does wonders. I also sometimes use it as a highlight on my cheekbones I literally have one of these in ever bag, in my car, in three drawers in my bathroom, next to my bed, everywhere. It’s formulated for babies, and is also made to contain 0 known irritants or skin allergens. It’s a miracle product, and I just ordered four more tubs. VMV Hypoallergenics Big Brave Boo Boo Balm, $23
6. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite face SPF, for a day at the beach I like this. For running around I like this. But if I’m seeing people, like going to meetings or a group hang outside, I like this one. It has a light tint to even out my skintone, but goes on dewy and slightly shiny. It makes me feel like a more polished version of myself, and basically every dermatologist ever interviewed recommends it. Elta MD Tinted Broad Spectrum SPF, $38
Makeup
I don’t wear much makeup, but what I do use, I LOVE.
1. The creamiest, softest, best concealer, and it comes in a super wide range of colors. A tiny bit goes a long way, so a tube will last you forever. You can use more and it will wear more like a foundation, but I prefer it under my eyes, around the edges of my nose, and in the corners of my mouth. Westman Atelier Vital Skin Full Coverage Foundation and Concealer Stick, $68
2. I love a non-shimmer cream bronzer, and Merit makes my favorite. It’s dewy and silky, not chalky, but doesn’t glitter. It’s super subtle, and I love, love, love it. I wear the Clay shade. Merit Bronze Balm Sheer Bronzer, $30
3. Merit also makes my favorite brow product. This stuff makes them stay in place, but also look fluffy. It also never smears, or looks too dense and fake. It is the best. Merit Brow 1980 Volumizing Pomade, $24
4. I’ve used this mascara for years - it’s thin, but does the job. I don’t like the look of fake lashes, and this defines and lengthens but is also pretty subtle. When I was the beauty assistant at Teen Vogue a million years ago, we did something called 30 days of mascara for TeenVogue.com. I reviewed so many mascaras, and that’s when I discovered this one (I think? Who can be sure). I’ve been using it ever since. Benefit They’re Real Mascara, $28
5. I looked for a matte brown cream eyeshadow for SO LONG. You would think it wouldn’t be that hard to find, but 99.9% of them have shimmer. I finally found this one. It’s not that dark, just a bit darker than my eyelids are naturally, so it’s very very subtle, but does help my eyes look a tiny bit more defined. It’s also super duper easy to use - I swipe it over my lash line two times and then just rub it in with my finger. Chanel Stylo Ombre et Contour in Contour Clair, $36
6. And last! If I do a red lip, it’s usually this. It never, ever rubs off, and is RED! I love a red lip but it has to be vibrant super super red with no pink in it. This one is the best I’ve ever tried. Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick in Spiced Edition-Innovator, $11
Less basic skincare
Outside regular things, I have perioral dermatitis, which flares up like every three years. Right now I have it on my chin, and I hate it. It takes forever to go away, and is really hard to cover with makeup since it’s so bumpy. I think makeup is also bad for it. So I use a couple of things to help treat it when it does flare. I also have some beloved body products, etc, etc, can you tell I’m running out of steam a little bit? I like feeling soft and good, so, that’s it.
1. For my dermatitis! I mix a mini spray bottle with half ACV and half water. Then I spray it on a cotton ball and press it against the dermatitis flare up. This + the next thing really help with the inflammation and redness. It stinks, but it does make an excellent toner for the rest of your face too! Bragg Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, $11
2. Foot fungus cream! IDK! Years ago I read that this + the ACV will heal perioral dermatitis, and while it doesn’t 100% make mine go away, it makes it a lot less noticeable until it eventually goes away on its own. Lotrimin, $11
3. I’ve used this off and on for years and every single time after three months of religious nightly use, BAM! I wake up one morning and I could dust my shelves with my eyelashes. They get SO LONG and SO THICK, you just have to be diligent and stick to it even when you think it’s not working. Everyone I know who has tried it says the same thing. Revitalash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner, $100
4. I love the whole SoftServices ~suite~ of products but my three favorites are this scrubby, body exfoliating bar (it kinda hurts but god also feels SO GOOD), this body moisturizer which helps eliminate KP and also dark marks on your legs from shaving, and this incredible body gel, which is also a brilliant exfoliant. I don’t treat the skin on my body nearly as well as I do the skin on my face and neck, but I’ve started using this pretty regularly and my arms and legs are, of course softer, but also have a smoother, less “dry creek bed” look. Like kinda younger a little bit? So good. This set has all three of my favorites. Soft Services Smoothing Set, $110
That’s where we are today! Rub something soft on your body today and feel good!
Love, your friend,
Laurel
Your newsletter is such a gift to us all Laurel!!!!!!
My friend with PD said this video really helped her from Charlotte Parler https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmKmMidpNRC/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= and specifically the comments said Avene Cicalfate was super helpful