For as long as I can remember, I’ve been someone who saw my face as the primary place I lived. It’s where I feel most comfortable and my full body had just never been that place. (Please tell me someone else knows how that feels") Maybe I should blame online culture and the way we’re […]

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been someone who saw my face as the primary place I lived. It’s where I feel most comfortable and my full body had just never been that place. (Please tell me someone else knows how that feels") Maybe I should blame online culture and the way we’re always reduced to tiny floating head avatars. But I think it’s also because taking care of my face and skin has always felt like a small way to indulge in my “I need to control as much of everything in my life as I can” tendency. I know I can’t control how the world around me unfolds, but in that tiny mirror, it feels like one small patch of life I can tinker around in and feel safe.
So, over the past 15 or so years, I’ve allowed myself one primary indulgence: investing in skincare and all the tiny rituals that come with it. And for someone who doesn’t dare touch the realm of proper beauty bloggers, I think I’ve tested as many skincare products as the people who do this for a living. While some people might spend money on shoes, fancy coffee, massages, clothing or nights out on the town, my indulgences are what Julia l...