Workhorses Only, Edition #11

Skincare

I’m a 41-year-old mom seeking dewy skin. I spend $116 on skincare products each month. Per year? $1400.

You should also know: I’m a marketing professor.

I’ve been trained by some of the best marketing programs (NYU Stern, Emory’s Goizueta). Coca-Cola, arguably the greatest consumer brand of all time, taught me to sell. Today, I teach brand strategy as a business school professor at Emory University. I study how products position, package and sell.

My goal with this weekly column, Workhorses Only, is to build a community of smart shoppers. We buy things that serve us, reduce our decision making fatigue and, most importantly, make us feel confident.

This week I wanted to cover skincare.

I’ll share the full budget breakdown at the end but let me start by stating: Skincare is a unique category—it’s not like a drink that promises to quench our thirst or a Patagonia pull-over that promises to last for a decade—both claims that we, as consumers, can assess: Am I still thirsty? Is this pull-over still wearable? Skincare is trickier than that.

Skincare? It promises time travel.

Common claims include: Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles/ Restores youthful glow / Revitalizes dull skin / Stimulates cell regeneration Instant lift.

As a rational human, I know that nothing can be instantly lifted (gravity just doesn’t work like that!).

As a marketing professor, I understand the deep-rooted consumer psychology—especially among women—that compels us to treat aging like a problem that can be solved.

As a woman, though?

I want to look vibrant and healthy. I love feeling confident in my skin. What I’ve come to peace with is this: I can’t turn back time but I can treat my skin with the respect it deserves.

You know what motivates me to be consistent with skin care? Having 260 20-year-olds stare at me in the classroom.

For reference, my skin type is what they call normal but skews dry. Give me a make-up remover wipe and my skin will produce dry patches. Le skin does not like harsh things—as an example, Chanel make-up sends it barking mad.
Lifestyle wise, I ask for my skin to tolerate a lot! Not only is Atlanta a sunny place, but also I play tennis year-round, walk and bike regularly, boat in the summer and have many a pool day with my kids. What should I do to protect my skin? In my view:

The best skincare routine is the one you’ll stick to.

I’ve bought—and quit—plenty of skincare products because they were hard to apply, too pricey to restock regularly, or just didn’t fit into my routine. Nothing feels worse than spending money on something I don’t use.

To remedy this, I have my Workhorses Only skincare. I buy the same products over and over. I use up every last drop of what I buy—zero dollar waste, zero environmental waste.

Morning Routine

I open my eyes, brush my teeth and put on 2 skincare products.

1. Vitamin C Serum (FRÉ): Let it be noted that I have bought SkinCeuticals CE FERULIC for $182. I disliked the sticky application. But, Vitamin C is critical for giving you a barrier between your skin and the world. Critical. The Vitamin C by FRE goes on like unseen sunscreen. For the 10% Vitamin C, I find this a reasonably price point (use COOLEY for 25% off).

2. Supergoop’s Glowscreen: There’s a reason this product is popular. It has a great application, light coverage and SPF 40 (I wear sunrise). On days when I’m short on time, I’ll wear this and mascara and call it a 1-minute make-up routine. On other days, it’s the base on which other things are applied.

3. This is 2B. I was gifted the FRE Glow Me which is a tinted mineral SPF (light medium). It goes on like room temperature butter spread on hot toast. Huge shoutout to FRE with this formula (use COOLEY for 25% off). P.S. This is the first gifted skincare product that’s passed into my routine.

Those 2 steps take less than 1 minute and then it’s time for the morning rush of getting kids to school. I make breakfast, pack lunches and hustle everyone out the door. On non-teaching days, I’ll do a few hours of morning work and then at 11:30am I’ll shower and pick up the routine at the final step.

3. Moisturizer (La Roche Posay): This drug-store moisturizer is better than anything else I’ve used. After the moisturizer, I do a 5-minute or 3-minute make-up routine which I can get away with because of all the good habits below.

Night Routine

As you’ll see by the end of this section, I’m basically writing a love letter to Biossance. This isn't sponsored (but a girl can dream!). Biossance is the rare combination of clean-beauty that’s effective. A unicorn. I don’t buy it because it’s clean, I buy it because it works and is gentle. I’ve been using their products for four years, reordering the same ones over and over.

An email from my 1st order in 2021. I still use 3 of the products I tried! Grace Atwood (who researches skincare recs seriously) turned me on to Biossance.

I alternate between two simple routines. Let’s call them Night A and Night B.

Night A

1. Gentle Face Wash (Biossance): I can’t find anything else that washes make-up off this well without drying out my skin. I keep one on the counter and one in the shower. A travel-size one in my gym bag and in my travel bag. I’ve bought maybe 20-25 bottles over the past four years. This may be excessive, but it’s just that good.

2. Eye-cream (Biossance): Despite the marketing promise, I can’t truly evaluate if the areas around my eyes are ‘firmer’ so I view eye-cream like an insurance policy. The skin around our eyes is thinner and more delicate so it tracks for me to give this area extra love. One jar lasts me almost a year.

3. Prescription Retin-A (Tretinoin 0.1%): When I turned 40, I got a this from my dermatologist. Ideally, I’d use this every night but my skin gets to dry. Hence, the need for Night B routine.

4. Night Moisturizer (Biossance): I’ve bought no less than 10 restocks. Finding a moisturizer that’s thick but also feels hydrating took years. This night cream is my ride-or-die, truly.

Night B

1. Same Gentle Face Wash (Biossance)

2. Same Eye Cream (Biossance)

3. Over-the-counter Retinal (Beauty of Joseon): I can’t use the prescription Retin-A every night without dry patches so I use this Korean retinol plus ginseng product on alternate nights. It’s positioned as an eye-cream but can be used for the whole face (price point works for all-over application). I’ve used this for almost a year (via Fwd: from a friend).

4. Plumping Serum (Biossance): On top of the gentle retinol, I add this plumping serum which is specifically for hydration. See me battling for that dewy skin?

5. Seal the deal with my Night Moisturizer (Biossance).

Skincare Habits

1. Micellar Water (Garnier): I always start with face wash because I don’t want to subject the sensitive eye skin to the wiping motion night-after-night but if my eyes still feel gunky I’ll use micellar water and cotton wipe. Micellar is also useful for cleaning up make-up during application. Just a true Workhorse of a product for under $10.

2. Face Mask (Clarins): I love a face mask and have tried many but the Clarins depuffing face mask is my ride-or-die. Anytime I have a speaking engagement or a special occasion, I put this face mask on to get (temporary) glass skin. As good as getting a facial.

   

3. Rose Oil (Biossance): If I’m working from home most of the day, I’ll put on rose oil and let my skin lather in extra moisture. I apply when I brush my teeth after having a coffee and it takes all of 3 seconds. Doing this one or two days a week helps with the dewy skin goals.

4. DIY Dermaplaning: Every few weeks I take some rose oil and a dermaplan razor and shave the tiny hairs off my face for smoother make-up application. This takes all of 2 minutes, so don’t be too impressed.

   

5. Body lotion (Biossance): I can’t stand a lotion that’s hard to spread. This goes on so easily. It also has no scent which I know isn’t for everyone, but I do not like a scented lotion.

6. SPF: I carry Supergoop PLAY in my tennis bag for my face and SunBum spray for my body . I carry Supergood Unseen Sunscreen in my workbag. If I end up being outside longer than expected, I give my face some extra protection.

7. Hats: I wear a lot of them. (And it’s my excuse to get a new one each vacation!)

Best sun hat I have (Amazon!) / White linen shirt

What I’ve Bought That Hasn’t Stuck

1. Ice-roller/Jade-roller: Couldn’t work either into my routine with any consistency.

2. Sheet masks: I tried wearing them when working from home but then I’d have to break from deep work to get cleaned up. The rose oil is a more consistent habit for me in getting extra moisture.

3. Snail mucin: Texture wasn’t for me.

4. Double-washing at night: This is when you wash your skin twice with two different products. Too complicated and dried out my skin.

5. Facial Steamer: Couldn’t stick to it! I liked the results but crouching down to have steam blow at me wasn’t enjoyable.

6. Augustinus Bader The Cream: This has a cult-like following and promises results. It also has a $190 price tag. I purchased and then had so much guilt around the cost that I never settled into using it.

What I Haven’t Tried

1. Face massage tool: I am positive this will be just like the facial steamer. I won’t make it a habit because I don’t like to sit still. Know thyself.

2. LED face mask: See above.

I’m no skincare guru, just a working mom with hobbies who wants the highest return for the least amount of effort. Consistency is everything. No matter what your skincare Workhorses—buy the products you actually use and that make you feel confident at every age and stage.

Remember: the best skincare routine is the one you’ll stick with.

I make a small affiliate revenue with some of these links and that supports the work I do, so thank you! If you want to see every item I mentioned today, all in one place, check out this page.

What are your favorite skincare Workhorses?

Confidently yours,
Marina

P.S. You can do something to help me that will take you less than 1 second. Please give this post a ❤️ if you found it valuable. It really helps with discovery. 🙏

Every week, I take a different category or topic and boil it down to the best and most useful things. Here’s a few of my favorites:

Workhorses Only, Edition #5

Workhorses Only, Edition #6

Workhorses Only, Edition #9

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