I’ve asked this of my fellow creative girlypops way too often because it seems to happen too often. You hit a dry spell with clients. Then you graduate into a pandemic. Then you graduate into a pandemic again (because you don’t have jack shit going on and you know it, so might as well get a master’s) and then there’s an industry strike. (Which I support, btw.)
It’s a drought. It’s beyond a drought; it’s not just the absence of water but being personally victimized by the heavens, who insert a proverbial curly straw into your skull and actively suck the lifeblood out of you.
Then something changes. And another something changes.
And all the somethings change, all at one time!
And the pendulum swings in the opposite direction. Overabundance. Like a bunch of incoming grant funding to get a production off the ground. Acceptance into a killer class with scholarship. A new 9-5. Repatriation to your home country. A hugely consequential election. All within three weeks.
Why does it all happen at once, friends?!
I’m not complaining. I’m really not.
(I am a bit.)
I’d just like to get to a place in life where I’m not being avalanched with major life events every four weeks. Is this the curse of Gen Z? (And my millennial pals, amirite?) But there’s so much I feel I can’t control— when someone gets back to me for a producing project, when someone forwards your pitch email to the hiring manager, when you are freshly 27 and back in a country where that means you’ve lost healthcare for a year and now have to learn how to be a proper adult—
but what I can control is looking like an absolute baddie.
I don’t need to be a girl who’s doing it all with grace, poise and dignity. I just have to look like one. Or maybe replace grace, poise and dignity with quirkiness, bad bitch energy and girlboss-iness.*
Here’s how you can also be a girly who’s doing it all with quirkiness, bad bitch energy and girlboss-iness (girly is a non-gendered term here, all are welcome).
🥱Admitting you have a problem. Fake it till you make it, babes, pretend that all of this happening to you at one time is fiiiiine.
🥱The standard corporate uniform. You’re a badass multi-hyphenate now; that requires a subversion of expectation. Add a chunky disco ball earring to that blazer-slacks combo.
💖Beverage goblin behavior. As the Instagram Reel that I can’t find in my saved folder of memes says, one for energy, one for hydration and one that’s just for fun. Ideally aesthetically placed next to a twee pair of blue light blockers and a planner, so people know you’re both productive and can throw together a mean desktop shelfie. (Or just selfie?)
I wanted to marry this intense period of multi-hyphenate girlbossing with a touch of fake adulting. This nail look is adulting because the shade is nude-ish, and it’s fake adulting because it is magnetic, which is basically the grown-up version of oooh, shiny.
This is my second time wearing an Olive and June set and I’m enjoying the shorter length and the lovely metallic and magnetic shades they offer. I coat them with a Beetles HEMA-free gel top coat so I don’t rub any of the twinkly goodness off since I’ve had that issue with other SFX-coated press-ons in the past. A few of these have chipped, but admittedly I was doing things with them I shouldn’t have (see: moving heavy boxes in and out of basement storage).
I’ve been digging magnetic nails in a big way the past few months and they can give a really rich, sumptuous velvet effect during the holiday season. Just look at this friggin’ adorable Glamnetic set that’s perfect for all your 9-5 and 5-9 festive fantasies realities:
Building a WFH beauty routine
…has been less intuitive than I thought. While yes, I’ve worked from home many a time (and it’s my most productive state for producing projects) I’m finding myself getting overstimulated by my own lip balm??? This is a new occurrence for me. I am continuously reapplying as a form of exposure therapy, which is very brave of me.
As an admitted makeup over-consumer who is trying to get the most out of my collection, I typically try different ~lewks~ each day while keeping my base and eyebrow routine relatively consistent. But with winter knocking on the door and the desire for a more easeful morning routine, I’m experimenting to see if I can find a truly ‘go-to’ look that makes me able to resist the daily siren call of beauty experimentation.
I’m keeping my daily skincare routine pretty simple:
WFH Skincare
Morning / AM / Always - On
I wash with nothing but lukewarm water.
I spray on my ceramide moisturizer to prevent my skin from getting parched throughout the day, keeping each layer of product thin.
I add a snail mucin cream on after since it has a good dry down while keeping me moisturized. The snail mucin also helps with my texture and serves as a gentle active treatment option.
Evening / PM
Even though it’s labeled as a day cream, I use the Lacura Q10 Day Cream because it’s light and nourishing.
The Cocokind Texture Cream has been a staple of mine for a few years now. It helps with some of my minor texture problems like milia and unevenness. I’ve tried other niacinamide formulas but for whatever reason my skin really enjoys this one.
Treatments
The CeraVe Moisturizing Cream is great for the winters / when my dry skin is acting up but can get a tad too heavy on most nights.
I add in a generic benzoyl peroxide cream for spot treatments and then cover it with a hydrocolloid patch when I deal with my PMDD-induced acne flare ups.
I’m starting to figure out my daily makeup needs, too:
WFH Makeup
Base Routine
My primer is all the skin-prep goodness in my skincare routine, with an occasional dollop of a glowy potion I mix myself. The ingredients? The ELF Glotion (discontinued, which I am personally victimized by), the Kiko Radiance Boost Serum Face Base and some drops of D-Bronzi.
…that’s it! I’m trying not to use too much skin tint/tinted moisturizer/ whatever we’re calling it now. I haven’t been a full or even medium-coverage foundation girly for a while now, but I’m trying to give my skin a break on my acne-free days.
When I do get some less-than-enjoyable skin flare-ups, I religiously apply the ELF Halo Glow to the temples downward for some light coverage, since my forehead is much more well-behaved.
Brows
I always combo the NYX Control Freak gel and the NYX Microbrow Pencil.
Cheeks
I typically stick to cream blushes as a dry-skinned girly, but the powdered blushes that have my heart are the NYX Buttermelt (I get the hype frfr) and the Blush Crush Palette from Rude Cosmetics (a lucky TK Maxx find from my time back in London). I’m drawn to bright raspberries paired with a hot-neutral pink or a cool toned pink for gradation.
Lips
I’ve been setting aside my usual draw (glosses) for squeezy lip balms. I’m digging the Naturium ones since the color is sheer but buildable and the nourishing formula is both uber-hydrating and gives a nice glowy sheen. Just like the name of the lip balm line itself. Huh, right on target.
I oscillate between more raspberry fantasies by layering the Fenty lip tint in Mai-Type or adding Naturium in Jam. Sometimes I’m feeling a bit mood and will bust out Naturium in Mocha for a brown lip, but I’m going for Petal, a neutral slightly cool pink at the meantime.
Eyes
Always my last priority. When I do have the urge to get a little ~frisky~ and play with color, it’s one of the two go to Morphe palettes I’ve been using. The cool toned foiled 9 pan is called Going Platinum and I adore the wet-look effect of the Shade Thrower palette. Both super easy for one and done looks so I feel more polished and put together.
I’ve got sensitive eyes so I’m not a big mascara fan, I only use one and call it a day. The Elf Lash N Curl does just enough for color intensity and keeps my lashes from being clumpy.
(And you can see my eyes behind my frames that way.)
I want to level up my work-from-home setup with some new equipment post a few paychecks, and I’m lusting after the following:
Living the WFH Lifestyle
I think I’m well on my way to giving work-from-home realness. Just gotta pick which Black Friday deals to snag now that I’m back and settled in the country.
Plus, I already bought the blue light glasses.
That’s all for now. Come back ‘round these parts sometime, ya hear?
*Girlboss-iness without the gaslight gatekeep part.
*What? My old pairs are scratched and the new ones were three for $10!
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