I decided to ‘Marie Kondo’ my closet earlier this year, and the feeling of discarding, donating and streamlining my material possessions was incredibly satisfying. With the hectic laundry list of things that I – all of us – have to manage on a daily basis (work, family obligations, etc), the act of paring things down to the manageable essentials sounded like a timely, relevant approach

When I heard of the term “skincare diet” from editors in Korea earlier this year, my curiosity was piqued. The term was at odds with what K-beauty is typically known for: long, elaborate 10 or 15 step routines. The term was popularized by a well-respected YouTuber, Director Pi, former beauty director of Elle Korea, and it’s essentially…. ‘KonMari’-ing your beauty routine. Drilling down to the basic, tried-and-true skincare steps and reapplying the same product if needed versus using more products. It was also similar to what Glow Recipe has always been about – a streamlined routine that hit the tenants of cleansing (double cleansing if wearing heavier make up), toning, treating and moisturizing.

The skincare diet is not only about decluttering your routine but streamlining the ingredients in your skincare products. Director Pi is also a huge fan of the pared-down Make P:rem Safe Me. Cream, because of it’s short and sweet list of just 12 ingredients, which include humectants like glycerin and plant-derived squalane, as well as antioxidant rich arctic berry extract:

Water, Glycerin, Squalane, Polyglyceryl-6 Stearate, Pentylene Glycol, Rubus Arcticus Callus Extract, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Salvia Officinalis Oil, Carbomer, Cetearyl Alcohol, Tromethamine, Polyglyceryl-6 Behenate

After having been a guinea pig for hundreds of product testing sessions over the past few months, plus having my skin go through a phase of flakiness, redness and sensitivity because of the fluctuating seasons, I thought it was high time to go on a skincare diet. Back to basics.

The cornerstone of my routine was the Make P:rem Safe Cream. Before the cream, I used just the Whamisa by Glow Recipe Green Tea Cleansing Foam, the ID.AZ Essential Toner (applied anywhere between 3~7 times depending on how dry my skin was) and my trusty LJH Vita Propolis Ampoule. I enjoyed the whipped yet nourishing texture of the Make P:rem Safe Cream and I noticed that after a few days, the redness and flaking was starting to improve. After a few weeks, my skin felt calmer and was breaking out less. Also whittling down my routine actually made me more disciplined about the process – since these four products were all I got day and night (with the exception of the morning SPF), I found myself maximizing and patting in each product – making each step count.

Will I continue my skincare diet? I’m a huge beauty junkie and I’ll obviously continue testing new products – one of my greatest joys! But every so often, I know I’ll be returning to my fail safe ‘skincare diet’ routine to soothe, reset, renew – start fresh.

Get your glow on!
Christine