If you read my post last week, you’ll know that, while I’m happy to be reunited with my roommates and enjoying my classes, I’m less than thrilled about no longer being in Italy. Adjusting after studying abroad is a difficult thing to tackle, and it’s something I have yet to succeed with. However, one post-summer transition that I can figure out and am here to share with you today is that of beauty routines. This summer, my beauty routine consisted of rinsing my face, loading up on mascara, and swiping on one of my favorite lipsticks. Taming my hip-length hair turned into letting the ocean water and air work their magic… I tried to shampoo regularly but my beloved Mason Pearson brush and Kérastase deep conditioner got woefully neglected as outdoor, beachside soap showers and finger-combing became the norm. It was fun! My skin evened out, my hair was curly in a way I could only dream of back home, and getting ready took three minutes tops. But then, I got back to school. I tried to maintain the dream, I really did! But I quickly realized that not using moisturizer doesn’t work in non-Mediterranean climates and that when I wasn’t treating my hair with a combination of the Ligurian sea and mineral-heavy Italian tap water, rinsing it with soap and doing nothing else just left it limp and horrifically tangled. I tried to keep up with my casual summer routine but as my tan faded, my hair got dangerously close to dreads, and Cambridge’s classic rainy fall weather started wreaking havoc on my layered mascara and otherwise product-free beauty routine, I had to admit it was time for a change. So here it is: my three-step program for a routine that is quick, pretty, and rain-resistant.
Step 1: Hair
The most important aspect of steeling yourself against the changing seasons is moisture. While frizzy hair is blamed on the humidity and the rain, the easiest way to prevent it is to fight fire with fire. Hair poufs up partially because of the moisture in the air, but mainly because it is overly dry and because the hair follicles are broken and separated. Rainy, chilly, fall weather hair routines need to start in the shower: use a cheap conditioner for my “conditioner sandwich” technique and invest in a good deep conditioner for weekly treatments. During the week, implement the sandwich: right when you get in the shower, slather your dry hair with a big dollop of conditioner, rinse it out, and then shampoo/condition as usual. Once a week, replace the second round of conditioner with a good, thick treatment and you’ll be facing Massachusetts fall and winter frizz-free. Bonus: when you hop of the shower work a little volumizing (my computer thinks this is not a world but beauty editors the world over beg to differ so go with it) cream into your roots and leave-in conditioner into your ends and you’re good to go! If you shower at night, like me, this routine should leave you with manageable hair in the morning and if you shower in the morning, twist your damp hair into a low bun or French braid to keep it sleek.
Step 2: Skin
As much as I wanted to believe that my dewy, freckled summer complexion would last forever, no mortal is that lucky. Your skin will be reacting to the rapidly cooling weather at the same time that it is being affected by the delightful mix of downpours, sunshine, and (dare I say it?) soon enough, snow. That means a routine that mixes deep cleansing and replenishing moisture. I recommend a routine that’s heavy at night and light in the morning – that way your skin will recover overnight and respond well to a very quick pre-class routine. At night, take off your makeup with a real remover, not just a wipe (unless it’s 3 a.m. and then I’ll be proud if your makeup comes off at all before you crash so take it off however you want), follow that with a gentle, non-foaming cleanser and slather a thick layer of a heavy-duty cream all over your face and neck. Two to three times a week, add in a mask between cleansing and moisturization to keep your skin in tiptop shape. I like to rotate between masks for clarify, blemishes, and elasticity, but that’s just what works with my skin type (normal-combination). In the morning, swab your face with a good toner (I am hopelessly addicted to Bioderma) and work in a lighter moisturizer all over your face, really massaging it in with your fingers to get the full effect.
Step 3: Makeup
Okay, here it is. The final frontier. The last part of your routine that separates your relaxed summer self from your fall-semester college self, facing psets and essays and rainy days that threaten to ruin your hair/wardrobe/makeup. While yes, I waxed lyrical about the benefits of my pared-down routine in Italy and stressed that for me at least it was only possible there, that doesn’t mean that my transitioned routine is the complete opposite (a two-hour process or something like that). Rather, it’s just about building an arsenal of workable, reliable products that get you out the door in time for your morning class. Besides whatever foundation routine you like to follow, the main things that should be incorporated into your back-to-school routine (and especially on rainy days) are products that pack a lot of waterproof, staying power punch while looking put together. My main recommendations are: add a brown mascara to your brow routine instead of a clear gel to get a bolder look, switch to liquid eyeliner instead of a smudgy pencil one for a cleaner line, and use lip pencils and long-lasting glosses instead of creamy lipsticks to create a strong lip that can hold up to dining halls and your multiple cups of coffee.
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It might not be summer anymore, but fall beauty has its perks too: bolder features, stronger statements… basically just a lot of things that can make you feel like a powerhouse as you head into midterms and papers. Just remember: condition, moisturize, and only seven months until you can drop all these tips and go back to being a questionably-clean flower child.