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Taking care of your face

You have to haul your face around for your entire life, and there’s just no getting around it. As someone who is lurching perilously toward what us old people refer to as “the wrong side of 40,” I am here from your future to tell you not to be afraid, because you can retain your hotness with a little planning! Ever since my very best stage mother and personal BFF Lena Dunham publicly called me out for my elaborate skin care regimen, I’ve been getting questions, so let’s start at the basics and move into the baroque… I don’t think expensive products really make a difference, but if you love them and they make you feel good, by all means waste the money you should be saving for treatments (more on that in a minute) on a 50 step routine—it’s your life! I prefer to streamline because I am old and tired, so while I have definitely tried all of those ritzy oil cleansers and I DO LIKE THEM, in general I think Cetaphil and a microfiber cloth is fine. I usually only wash my face at night and follow it up with some Retin A mixed with a nice heavy moisturizer or oil, and I seal the whole shit in with Aquaphor before going to sleep on a special pillow that doesn’t deform my face. The morning is when things get complicated, because I am a firm believer in all of those gadgets that dermatologists tell you don’t work: I like a red light mask followed by either microcurrent, a muscle stimulation device, or radio frequency, and I follow that up with a CE ferulic serum, hyaluronic acid, moisturizer, and sunscreen. Take your collagen and a vitamin D-K supplement every day, and stay the fuck out of the sun!

@alissa-bennett

Feb 28, 2023

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Skincare

Taking care of my skin has boosted my confidence more than anything ever has. Right now my nighttime routine is wash my face with Bobbi Brown soothing cleansing oil, curolgy, retinal, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, the ole henrikson undereye cream, and triple antibiotic ointment. My morning routine is washing my face with Sonya Dakar gentle facial milk cleanser, spray my face with Osea sea mineral mist, Osea hyaluronic sea serum, Sonya Dakar nano hydrator moisturizer and Sonya Dakar SPF 30. If I go outside a lot I use 50 spf. I had cystic acne when I was younger and Curology really changed my skin. It completely cleared it up. I’m so grateful for it. When I was younger I tried absolutely everything. Salt water, mouth wash, that nuetrogena face wash with the micro plastics in it. Nothing really worked until Curology. I also take Tri-Sprintec birth control because it is the most effective at clearing your skin. If I have a break out I take Doxycycline which is an antibiotic that stops acne from forming. It’s been a lot of work and not easy but I’m so happy I did it. I love face masks too. My favorite is Blue Tansy from Herbivore. It’s a nice exfoliator that really changes your skin. I notice a big difference with it. I also love sheet masks. Innis Free has my favorites. They just feel so effective to me. A nice evening to me is staying in and taking care of my skin. I love to steam my face, do an exfoliating face mask, then a pore cleaning one and then a moisturizing one. Then I do an eye mask and all of my skincare steps. It feels so good and I look amazing when I wake up.

@chloe-cherry

STAFF

May 26, 2022

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Protocol Skin Care

Listen to me. Your face needs four things. A chemical exfoliator—one. A Vitamin C serum—two. A retinoid—three. And a ceramide moisturizer—four. Do you know who can give you all four? It’s not Snake Oil Skin as much as I wish that were true. I’ve tried all the bougie bitch shit. Augustinus Bader and La Roche-Posey and Barbara Sturm and do you know who comes out on top if I really had to choose? Protocol. This shit works. The complete line with all four products is $262, which might sound like a lot at first, but when you break it down it’s really only $65 a bottle. $65 also happens to be what Snake Oil costs, which is what I use as my last step to slug everything in while I sleep. Proof of results is in my face. I’m turning 32 this year and I’ve never not been carded.

@carolinecalloway

STAFF

Jun 22, 2023

Top Recs from @alexi-wasser

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Uniqlo button down blouses

I’m a big fan of having a uniform. I love wearing essentially the same thing every day. My uniform is high-waisted pants, and a button-down shirt. Maybe a cashmere crew neck sweater thrown over. I live in Uniqlo button down blouses. I have like five in white, five in black, a handful of the polka dot patterned blouses. They're affordable, they last, and they look more expensive than they are. I consider them highbrow, minimalist, effortlessly chic perfection. You won’t regret it.

@alexi-wasser

Mar 31, 2023

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Capri cigarettes (the purple pack)

Now is the portion of my perfectly imperfect piece where everything goes out the window and I become a complete hypocrite after talking about skincare and collagen renewal, because I'm about to add cigarettes to my list of recommendations. I know they're horrible for you. I know they will kill you. But let’s face it; we're all gonna die, it's only a question of when and how - and some days we’re more in the mood to speed up the process than others. So when it’s that kind of day, and you’re feeling emo or sexy or stressed, and wanting to have a social anxiety relieving prop in your hand or simply partake in a sexy ritualistic experience with someone who is also smoking - there’s nothing like having a cigarette. Going outside for a smoke with another person and someone lighting your cigarette, you touch their hand briefly to cover the flame. It’s all so fucking sexy/intimate/special. A brief loneliness eliminator! HOWEVER, the only cigarette I’m recommending are Capri cigarettes - the PURPLE pack. Purple Capris are the ultra light of the Capri line. Here's a bone I have to pick with Capri cigarettes (aside from the fact that they literally kill people), they don't label the strength level of the cigarette. You have to Google what the color of the pack means. My god, get it together Capri cigarettes. Good thing they're so addictive that people will just deal with this kind of bullshit. They're so slender and chic. You’ll feel like you're straight out of the '70s or '80s, hanging with Bianca Jagger NOT waiting in line for Studio 54. Smoking this cigarette will get you RIGHT to the front of the line. They’re effortlessly chic. Which is my favorite way to describe something I love.

@alexi-wasser

Mar 31, 2023

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NYC FRENCH RESTAURANTS

Nothing makes me happier than going to Odeon, and Lucien. They’re classic New York. The lighting at Odeon is perfection. It’s impossible to  look bad there. Walking downstairs to the ladies room, you can feel the history of it’s patrons of yesteryear: Ed Ruscha, Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Leo Castelli, etc.I love to go to Lucien alone and have a steak at the bar. The bartenders are the sweetest and I always run into someone I know. I spent New Years Eve there and I swear to GOD it’s the best New Years Eve I’ve had in ages. Everyone’s gorgeous, cool, and interesting. The people watching is fantastic. The owner (Zach) is a hunk with bee stung lips. If he nods at you, it feels like you’ve won the lottery. I’m kidding. But also not. Go there with friends to talk all night about how the person you're dating isn’t watching your stories or texting you back OR have dinner and a cocktail to celebrate, right before heading off to the discotheque. I’m really trying to bring back the term discotheque. We’ll see what happens after this comes out. Maybe it’ll sweep the nation.

@alexi-wasser

Mar 31, 2023