12 Must-Have Beauty Products for Pandemic #Selfcare (from a Doctor)
Since the pandemic, my shopping appetite has been curbed in part from physical and mental exhaustion but also from the realization that I used to buy a lot of unnecessary items.
Shopping used to be a quick and easy way to reward myself after a busy week and strolling through stores was a mindless way to unwind. In retrospect, I made a lot of wasteful purchases.
While I rarely spend money on clothing anymore (lazy me wears scrubs to and from work these days), here is a list of my must-have items I continue to splurge on, all in the self-care category.
Skin
Drunk Elephant Vitamin C serum (every morning)
Topical retinol (2-3 times per week)
Cetaphil moisturizer
Elta MD and Supergoop Glow Screen sunscreen. Pricy but they absorb into the skin well without leaving any white residue.
Make-up
Being that I work in a hospital and take public transportation to work, I’m in a mask almost all day. Hence, I don’t really use foundation, blush, or use lipstick anymore. (I do miss my lipstick though.) These days, instead I focus on having a good and consistent skin care routine and use make-up to emphasize my eyes.
Anastasia eyebrow pencil (because I am a child of the 80s/90s and plucked way too much back in the day!)
Shu Uemura eyelash curler: simply the best quality eyelash curler out there
Maybelline mascara: cheap, stays on through my call shifts and doesn’t flake or give me racoon eye the next morning, comes right off with soap and warm water
MAC undereye concealer: longtime fan of this very blendable concealer
Refresh tears eye drops: good for dry eyes and long overnight shifts
Hair
I’m a hair minimalist. I just don’t have the patience to do my hair. In fact, in the dry months of winter, I only wash my hair once a week. Luckily, I work in an OR during the day and a scrub cap easily hides oily hair. Here’s what I do splurge on though:
Dyson Airwrap: Pricey but worth it. The Dyson dryer is lightweight, relatively quiet, and dries my hair efficiently (6 minutes for shoulder-length hair) and leaves it smooth as can be. Not quite a salon blow out but comes pretty close. The airwrap is an easy way to add some body in a pinch. In my opinion, worth the hefty price tag.
Moroccan hair oil for dry flyaways
Olaplex: keeps my color bright for longer. Worth it!