The Annual Fran Magazine Summer Beauty Issue
Fran Magazine: Issue #150 (!!)
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GRWM
It’s funny, just a little, that the time of year in which I reflect on all my beauty products is the summer — when I am inclined to be putting the least amount of stuff on my body because of the way the elements attack me on all sides. Still: tradition is tradition, and I like having an annual excuse to talk shop, as it were, with the Fran Mag readership. Especially when we haven’t chatted in so long!1
What has changed about my general beauty philosophy? The front page headline is: I am occasionally opting back into “big eyeliner.” More on that below. The page two headline is that it’s fine to ask your dermatologist for help — they are literally your doctor. And if you don’t have a dermatologist? Get one!!! I love those people.
Skin
As I’ve done for more than five years now, I take 100mg of spironolactone every single morning. This is my favorite possible thing I do every single day. It’s easy and it works. On very rare occasions, it has contributed to minimal lightheadedness — the solution to this problem is “eating chips.”
I also use a prescription Tretinoin at .05% every night, having gone up from .0125% last year. It took a really long time to be able to do .05% without it drying me out completely, but we got there. The new prescription edition to my skin troubles is clindamycin phosphate 1% gel which I use very sparingly in the mornings and only on my chin. At some point in the last year or so, my chin became the biggest problem area for my complexion. It wasn’t just that I was having the odd small whitehead — I was getting classic, painful cystic acne. Huge zits! I had one when I got engaged. I had one at Sundance! I had one during my brother’s wedding. Eventually, I told my dermatologist, “Can I do anything about this?” and the answer was, “We can try clindamycin??” I haven’t had a cystic zit since.
In the morning, I wash my face with cold water. Then I apply the clindamycin goop, followed by the classic Paula’s Choice Super Antioxidant Serum. I have no idea what the latter does, but I know I can tell when I’ve gone without it for a week. After that, I put on SPF. I have recently turned away from the Olay sunscreen, which sometimes hurts my eyes, in favor of SKIN1004’s Madagascar Centella Hyalu-Cica Water-Fit Sun Serum SPF50+ (ok character count!). SKIN1004 was recommended to me by a friend of Phil’s who has amazing skin. Because of various FDA laws, you can’t buy it from the SKIN1004 site anymore, so you have to find other stores, like the one I linked above. It’s the best SPF I’ve used in ages and I use it as my daily moisturizer too.
In the evenings, I try to remember to double cleanse, though I skip the first one if I’m tired. If I do an oil-based cleanse, I use the Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Oil. I like this — I don’t love it. I can’t figure out if it’s this product or oil cleansers in general. I’ve never found one I especially love. I use the Kiehl’s Calendula Deep Cleansing wash as my main cleanser every single night. I love this stuff! Some things will never change. Then I put on the prescription Tretenoin and then the SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Probio-Cica Enrich Cream. Again: this is a new-to-me brand, but the lotion is nice and thick and does not seem to clog my pores. I don’t always use an under eye cream, but sometimes I use the Kiehl’s Dark Circle Reducing Vitamin C Eye Serum. Then I proceed to get six (boo) or eight (yay!) hours of sleep.
Hair
I still have much less hair than I used to, which makes “doing my hair” a lot easier. That said: I have started to shift to the
method of doing things and I now shampoo my hair much more frequently, using a prescription Ketoconazole Shampoo from my dermatologist to tackle some ongoing dermatitis. Sorry if that’s gross to you but it helps tremendously! I use this every four days. I condition with the Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Conditioner, which I bought at Trader Joe’s in the fall when I was in Washington on residency. I still haven’t run out! I use the Kevin Murphy leave-in conditioner because my stylist loves it followed by either the Kevin Murphy Easy Rider styling cream or the Malin & Goetz styling cream. I’m still using the Milbon bodifying oil to smooth out the frizz that is naturally associated with the hair of a Jewish woman.Makeup
If I work from home and I have zero Zoom meetings, I don’t wear makeup. Nothing political — I just don’t need to lose that time.
If I have any meetings to take remotely or if I’m going into the office or just leaving my home to run errands, I’ll do a very light face. I put a few drops of Supergoop’s Tinted Moisturizer in with my general SPF, but that’s the extent of stuff I do in terms of foundation. Same as last year, I use the Merit concealer which is great. I put this on the odd zit or my under eyes, let it sit for a minute, and then I blend it in, easy peasy. If I have one complaint about this product — and I do — it’s that if I open it just slightly too forcefully, the stick of makeup will come flying out and land in my bathtub. Not a good situation.
For my eyes, I still wear Glossier Boy Brow, and I have switched over from Glossier to Ilia mascara.
ADDRESSING THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM THAT IS BIG EYELINER
I quit wearing eyeliner in the summer of 2018 because it was too heavy and too sticky and making my eyes feel literally heavy. I started wearing eyeliner in college, when liquid black eyeliner was really popular. From then through spring of 2018, I did a daily light cat eye and that was that. In retrospect, this feels crazy. That’s so much work! A few months ago I bought an Ilia Eye Stylus in Patina (an olive green/gold) and I will frequently use the crayon-like product to do a not quite line, not quite shadow thing on my eye. It’s lightweight and easy. It looks messy “on purpose.” Sometimes I line my water line and I think the light, shiny nature of the product keeps my eyes defined behind my glasses.
I am obsessed with the styling of Mia Threapleton’s eye shadow in the The Phoenician Scheme and I have told myself that’s what my eyes should look like at my wedding. I’ve yet to find a color that is that, though I suspect MAC will have something? Or Sephora Collection? Do any of you know anything about this? I am tempted to abuse my job as a journalist and just ask the makeup artist.
For blush, I wear one of the two shades in the Simihaze Solar Tint Blush Duo. There’s a coral with a powdery texture that is my go-to, and then a more traditional pink that is “dewy,” but actually feels like how old types of lip gloss used to feel. It’s very sticky and very pigmented, but sometimes I need a cooler shade of blush or else I go insane. I love this blush, and I’ve stopped using all the rest of mine. I own a cool-toned bronzer and highlighter but I basically never wear them.
I own a stupid number of lip products — I wear at least one every single day. If I wear nothing, I wear a lip. A few staples:
Merit Shade Slick in Merlot on top of one of the previous two is my go-to winter combo. The Merit lip in Pink Beet or Taupe has been my go-to this past summer.
Tower28 Lip Softie in just about any tint — I have 3-4 and use them interchangeably
Typology Lip Oil in Black Cherry — I got this as a gift and love it!
Fragrance
I look to
for all things fragrance, but I mostly wear scents I got as gifts. I am still allowing what’s left of my Commodity Bergamot perfume sit on my dresser. Phil got me Passport Amour (THIS) from a brand called CRA-YON that is really intense and fun, especially in warm weather at night. I also have Le Labo Tubereuse 40, which is a great every day wear.The End
I opted out of big hair tie in favor of medium-sized hairclip. I thought, maybe, because I had short hair I couldn’t wear a hairclip. What the hell is wrong with me?
What are you wearing? Liking? Sniffing? Using? Is it possible to find a greenish blue eye shadow that won’t make me look like a Skins character? Is pink lipstick “back”? How should I actually do my makeup for my wedding? Is this feature worth keeping up annually or do I say too much of the same thing every year?
I have four different half-written issues that have just sat, waiting to be finished. It’s a tricky time of year to want to be behind the computer longer than I have to be.
I think you should totally abuse your journalist privileges! If I were the makeup artist I'd be tickled. Alternately you could do the thing I did one of the times I wanted to "learn about makeup" and go to a makeup counter someplace and show them the picture.…
Personally love to see a routine like this because it’s similar to mine! So I vote to keep this going. I am personally loving my Aquis hair towel (RIP because they got discontinued) which I swear by for frizz and the Crown Affair air dry mousse, which is great for summer frizz and curly/wavy styling.
I just got back from Copenhagen and I have never seen so many hair clips in my life. Currently obsessed with the flat ones so that I can wear them when I lay down and read still - I like the Teleties and Kitsch ones.
Putting out a call for Fran Mag readers to tell me what dry shampoo to buy. I used to use the Verb powder and loved it but they changed the packaging. Interested in the new Ouai scent but pained by the price.