Unwind with: Meredith, Marketing Director — Brooklyn
If Meredith’s evening routine had a motto it would be: fifteen minutes, if she’s lucky. She has a four-year-old, a demanding job, and a husband who thinks skincare means Cetaphil. She started going cleaner about eight years ago—less out of philosophy, more because she went to a friend’s PR party for Tata Harper years ago where she was convinced to try a face oil and her skin has never looked better since. “I don’t agonize over ingredient lists the way I used to. I buy from people I trust and I don’t buying things just because they went viral.”
I used to have what I can only describe as a maximalist relationship with beauty products. Pre-kid, I had a bathroom shelf situation that required genuine spatial reasoning. It looked like every ITG top shelf feature held a meeting on my counter. I thought more was more, I chased newness constantly, and my skin was honestly fine but never great—just always slightly reactive, always slightly congested, and I could never tell what was helping and what wasn't. Having a child clarified everything. I had no time, so I had to choose, and in choosing I accidentally figured out what my skin actually responds to. I now spend less than I ever have and look better than I ever did, which is one of those annoying lessons you can only learn the hard way. I'm also more honest about the fact that I'm not going to chase every trendy cool girl product. I want things that work. I want to feel good when I look in the mirror at the end of the day. That's the whole brief.
BEFORE THE SHOWER
Once my kid is in bed I have maybe 45 minutes before I fall asleep on the couch—this is just the reality of my life right now and I’ve stopped fighting it. So everything is fast. The one thing I do not skip regardless of how tired I am is taking off my makeup before I get in. I use Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm dry, before water ever touches my face, and massage it in properly. It even gets mascara. By the time I step into the shower my skin is already half-cleansed.
And yes—I am a night shower person now, fully and without apology. I used to think morning showers were non-negotiable, some identity-level thing, and then I had a kid and a shower just made me feel sane at the end of the day and I realized I had just been dragging a full day’s worth of city and stress and subway onto my pillow every night for a decade. Night shower is correct. I will not be debating this.
IN THE SHOWER
Quick and functional Monday through Saturday. I wash my hair every other day with Act+Acre Cold Processed Hair Cleanse—I switched about a year ago and my highlighted hair has genuinely thanked me. You have to wash with it twice. I thought it was just BS marketing, but it’s true. The first time, you hardly feel anything, but then you go over it again a second time, it just starts foaming and getting in there. I use their daily conditioner from mid-length down to prevent frizz and split ends and that’s it. For body I’m using Osea Undaria Algae Body Wash right now and I love how my skin feels afterward. Second cleanse on my face is Tatcha The Rice Polish every 3 days—I use the calming foaming version which to me is the best. I’ve been using it for a few years and my skin is better now than it was in my thirties, so. It gives a nice polish, and is way more gentle than the green beauty polishing exfoliators I’ve used.
Out of the shower
I pat dry and use Osea Undaria Algae Body Oil before I’m fully dry, then deal with my face while it sinks in. My friend who works in digital marketing says this body oil basically carries the entire brand so I knew it was the one body oil I had to get. Body care used to be an afterthought—now it takes maybe 90 extra seconds and I feel so much better in my skin for it.
About Meredith
Location: Park Slope
Job: Marketing director
Skin: combination, hyperpigmentation, flaky in winter
Hair: fine, highlighted, shoulder-length
At the sink
A few nights a week I use Skinceuticals CE Ferulic Acid for the hyperpigmentation I’ve been carrying since pregnancy. I know it’s kind of old and there are supposedly better ones, but I just haven’t gotten around to researching. On alternating nights it’s Sunday Riley Good Genes. It’s a good lactic acid exfoliating serum. My derm also pushed me toward retinol, and I finally found one that doesn’t peel me: Shani Darden Retinol Reform. Sensitive skin and retinoids is a very delicate dance and this one gets the choreography right. Moisturizer is Summer Fridays Rich Cushion Cream Ultra Plumping Moisturizer—on auto-ship, not changing because it’s no frills, feels good, and just works. Eyes are the Caudalie Premier Cru Anti-Aging Eye Cream, which was one of the first skincare brands I used, so I’m happy I found a product from them that works for now.
The Sunday exception
Sunday is the whole thing. I run a bath with Epsom salts and whatever bath soak I’m into (the last one I used was from Costa Brazil, which was lovely like a spa but so expensive) and I read a physical book for twenty minutes or until I drift into a nap. After, I do the Ayuna Plasma Draining & Tightening Mask. It has albumin, the part of the egg that makes them great for facials. Then I finish with a real slow version of my whole routine and I layer on the Monastery Attar balm to lock everything in. And I always make it a priority to go to bed at a reasonable hour.
What I've Stopped Doing
Over-exfoliating. I went through a phase, like everyone did, where I was convinced more acids meant better skin. I even had a Glycolic cleanser in the morning, acid toners every night, a peel on weekends—I was essentially sanding my face continuously and wondering why it was red and reactive all the time. I use actives thoughtfully now, not aggressively, and my barrier has never been happier. I also stopped buying anything because it went viral. I learned that lesson and I’m not going back.
A Question for the community
My makeup routine is a bit of a cheat—I’ve mostly landed on Victoria Beckham Beauty for foundation and complexion (I think their Bader collaboration products are better than the ones from the Bader line itself), with some Westman Atelier blush and highlighter mixed in. Both are cleaner than most mainstream options but I wouldn’t exactly call them green beauty. And here’s the thing: I abandoned green makeup years ago because nothing performed well enough. The pigments were flat, the wear was not great, and I always ended up going back. But that was a few years ago. Are there green or clean makeup brands out now that have actually closed the gap? I genuinely don’t know what’s good anymore.
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