Beauty Idealist

Skincare for the Bomb Cyclone

I have no idea how I used to take care of my skin during extreme chills. ‘Bomb Cyclones’ are a recent phenomenon we’re having a few times every winter in the East Coast. It’s basically an outsized winter storm meets blizzard, and thunderstorms that dumps massive amounts of snow. As my partner and I prepared for the bomb cyclone weekend, I couldn’t help but put together a skincare routine to…

The Moisture Sandwich: YÜLI, F. Miller, Susanne Kaufmann

Happy 2022! Are you taking measured steps into this new year like I am? After the last two years, who really knows what to expect anymore, right?One thing I didn’t expect was the cold temperature with endless winter storms in New York. Despite my care, my skin always feel one lazy missed step away from that tight, irritated kind of dryness. While in warmer weather, a nice face mist and face oil…

My Holiday Sales Picks

I gotta be honest, each year the holiday sales start earlier and get increasingly confusing. I started receiving emails as far back as September, and many of you messaged me around October to see when or if I’d be writing my usual holiday sales guide. I know that great deals coming at you over this period can aggravate a pretty aggressive case of FOMO (fear of missing out). My overall approach…

The Nue Co Mind Energy Review: A Fragrance Supplement for Brain Fog?

What is Mind Energy? Over the past year, countless wellness studies have indicated that people generally cite stress, sleep, and mental function as their top issues. I personally don’t think these issues just arose, I think they’ve always been there, but with the shift to conscious self-care, we’re perhaps finding the vocabulary to vocalize of these major issues. The Nue Co. is a wellness…

My Shiseido Sunscreen Journey: A Story in Three Acts

As I’ve gotten older, my attitude toward beauty products has become more no-nonsense. Gone are the days where a magical origin story will cast a spell on me, “oh this mask was harvested by mermaids and mixed with unicorn tears, cool cool, but what will it do for me?” I call it my Janet Jackson ‘What have you done for me lately’ approach to beauty products. And I recently realized while examining…

HOW I LEARNED TO RELAX & LET GO: The Nue Co Destress 360 & Sleep Drops Review

Remember when we collectively shared the hope that 2021 would be a wind down from the absolute dumpster fire of 2020? Well, it feels a little bit one step forward, two steps back. Lately, between getting our new place renovated, and everything else going on, it feels like every day has been handling Murphy’s Law which posits that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. The Nue Co. Destress…

Memorial Day Weekend Sales

I didn’t plan to make a post on sales, but then it seemed that before I knew it, my inbox was flooded by incoming sale alerts. So forgive me if this sales guide isn’t as comprehensive as ones I’ve done in the past, but I thought I’d share some that I am shopping! Violet Grey: 20% Off – Automatically Applied I have to start this short list off with Violet Grey because they’re actually what…

My Review of The Nue Co’s Barrier Culture 3-Step Skincare System

Okay, so technically The Nue Co did not just introduce a full 3-step system: one product, The Pill, was released a few months ago, but the recent launch of their Barrier Culture duo of the cleanser and moisturizer, completes a very streamlined, and cohesive 3-step routine. Also, I’m not entirely sure if supplement brand The Nue Co would even frame their 3-step skincare system as skincare, as all…

My Bedside Edit: Skincare and Wellness

Lately I’ve been centering my routine around restfulness and peacefulness. It feels like a lot of the uneasy energy from 2020 hasn’t quite dissipated, so I’m being more mindful in my routines to look at how I can promote a more conducive environment to unwind. My bedside is a place I spent some time editing. I first removed any gadgets that might blink their lights in the middle of the night.…

Happy 2021: Answering Your Questions

Happy new year! So let’s change the pace from the usual skincare dives. I wanted to answer some of the questions I’ve been getting from e-mails, and over instagram. I’ve found that the questions aren’t all necessarily beauty related, and to be honest, it’s been interesting connecting in other ways because we’re all people with full lives and it’s good to explore that together. What was your…

December 2020: Objects for Interior Life

How is everyone? I didn’t know how I’d approach holidays this year with increasing restrictions in the greater NYC area, and general feelings of disconnectedness. I ended up taking this time away from being online, so please give me a bit more time if I haven’t replied to your DM/message over on Instagram. As we near the end of this tumultuous year, I did want to pop on here both as a check-in…

Image Credit: Violet Grey

Well folks, here we are. In what has been a dumpster fire of a year, we’re at that time again when shopping season is upon us. This year in particular, I’ve felt so mixed. On one hand, it’s been a tough year, people want to be more thoughtful about how and where they’re spending money. On the other hand, most of us are in a collective in a state of extenuated stress…

The Nue Co's The Pill REVIEW, and 30% OFF CODE!

The Topical Supplement

The Nue Co. landed on our radar in their first year of release as a brand to watch. Their combination of Doctor-meets-supermodel aesthetic, innovative products, and high quality formulas have won us over. The Pill is their latest product. It’s a topical supplement, designed as an all-in-one serum. While most supplement companies stick to ingestibles, The Nue Co.has…

The Supplement Top Shelf

The idea of spending $$$ on serums, and leaving supplements as an after thought doesn’t make sense. The research is conclusive that the things we ingest play a bigger picture in our overall health, and while we don’t discount the power of a really epic serum, at the end of the day it seems a bit daft to distill one’s youthfulness and wellness to only the lines or breakouts on one’s face. Here are…

Maya Chia The Eye Achiever REVIEW

I’m keeping this concise because my thoughts on Maya Chia’s The Eye Achieverare pretty straight forward. This is an oil-as-eye serum. Eye oils are my least favorite medium for the eyes because they travel, and can potentially get in the eyes leaving some irritation and temporarily clouding your vision. The rollerball applicator is good for massage and if it’s cool, can help de-puff and increase…

The Fullest SAFFRON LATTE – Review

I’m not a big believer in complicated routines. Especially when it comes to supplements, I’m a huge advocate of one-and-done. This is why I’m such an instant convert to MIJA Superstar (review here). Recently, I’ve been thinking about pleasure. 2020 has been quite a lot, and the idea of simple, pleasurable experiences has been at the forefront of my thoughts. By happenstance, I landed on The…

Paula’s Choice CLINICAL 1% Retinol Treatment and Super Antioxidant Serum REVIEW

Paula’s Choice is the original influencer brand before social media was even a thing. Paula Begoun, the founder of Paula’s Choice, started her career as a makeup artist, and then became an investigative journalist. She wrote books like Blue Eye Shadow Should be Illegal and Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, and even appeared on Oprah. In 2008, Paula launched Beautypedia, a massive…