There was a time when
washing your face counted.
Maybe you added moisturiser if you were feeling particularly responsible. Maybe a face mask on Sunday. Maybe you owned one expensive cream and genuinely believed it was doing everything.
That was beauty.
Now I need a timetable.
Vitamin C in the morning.
Retinal at night.
Niacinamide somewhere in between.
SPF every day, obviously.
But enough SPF.
And remember to reapply.
Exfoliate — but not too much.
Hydrate.
Protect the skin barrier.
Don’t mix this with that.
Introduce new actives slowly.
Wait twenty minutes.
Use it on dry skin.
No, damp skin.
Apparently I have accidentally enrolled in a chemistry course.
And that’s only the face.
There is scalp care now. Hair masks. Bond repair. Heat protection. Hair oils that go before washing and different oils that go after washing.
Body retinol exists.
So does neck cream.
Hand cream has anti-ageing ingredients.
There are products specifically for the skin between all the other pieces of skin we already had products for.
At some point, getting ready stopped being getting ready.
It became maintenance.
And I like beauty.
That’s the problem.
I like opening a new lipstick. I like finding a foundation that makes my skin look better without looking like foundation. I like the ridiculous optimism contained in a tiny glass bottle with a dropper.
I even enjoy reading what all those ingredients are supposed to do.
But lately I’ve started noticing how often beauty comes with instructions.
Use consistently for twelve weeks.
Apply twice daily.
Results may vary.
Do not skip sunscreen.
For best results, combine with...
And suddenly missing your evening skincare feels less like going to bed with an unwashed face and more like failing an assignment.
You were tired.
You went to sleep.
Zero points.
There is also something strangely exhausting about knowing so much.
Beauty used to promise transformation.
Now it promises prevention.
Prevent pigmentation.
Prevent wrinkles.
Prevent breakage.
Prevent sagging.
Prevent ageing.
Prevent looking tired when you are, in fact, tired.
It’s a lot of responsibility for a bathroom cabinet.
THE IDEA THAT MY FACE IS
AN ONGOING PROJECT
THAT I AM SOMEHOW BEHIND ON.
And perhaps that is the part I’m beginning to resist.
Not the creams.
Not the makeup.
Not wanting to look good.
The idea that my face is an ongoing project that I am somehow behind on.
Because there will always be another thing.
Another ingredient.
Another device.
Another part of the body we apparently neglected for decades without realising.
And another woman online with perfect lighting telling us this one changed everything.
Maybe the most luxurious beauty routine now is knowing when to stop.
Use the serum.
Wear the lipstick.
Buy the ridiculous cream if it genuinely makes you happy.
But occasionally skip the routine.
Go to bed.
Let your hair be wrong.
Have pores.
Look tired after being tired.
Because taking care of yourself should probably still contain some actual care.
And homework was never supposed to follow us into the bathroom.