This post started last night when I was trying to get ready for dinner and realized I basically FORGOT how to do makeup. For all the hours of YouTube videos on beauty tips, tricks, and reviews, I couldn’t for the life of me pull together a look. Which got me thinking much more existentially: what did I actually learn in 2020? Obviously this can go in 1000 directions so I’m pulling together a top of mind list of JUST beauty. I will explore some deeper topics later, but for now, before your seasonal selfcare and holiday shopping, skim through the following, can you relate to any of these 2020 takeaways?
1. Skincare >>>> beauty.
I mean really, I want to know a single person on the planet who put on even half a face full of makeup on the reg in 2020. Rather, I spent most of the year exploring better skincare options and how to start with a good base.
2. Clean beauty isn’t fake.
Clean beauty doesn’t last as long as “dirty” beauty. It tends to be more creamy and dewy. But with Westman Atelier and Kjaer Weiss leading the way, clean products CAN pack a punch. Further, the ingredients are skincare-friendly, see item one.
3. Hair, who cares.
To say, cut it off, color it, add dreads, go without three washes a week, and totally forgo the blowout. It’s just HAIR. And it’s FUN. It makes us feel like us, right? So, try something new. And going into 2021 see if maybe a fresh “do” will reveal how the last year changed you.
4. Red is the only shade of lipstick you need.
We’ve been wearing masks leaving lips to be desired. But on yet another Zoom call to FaceTime with friends and family, nothing bests a look better than a red lip. It just pulls you together and makes you feel chic. The top picks in my collection right now:
Dior 999
Rouje Cream Palettes
Pat McGrath Obsessed
5. Sustainable(ish) living is actually pretty easy.
Recycle the thousands of wine bottles you went through the past year. Choose makeup that can be refilled (Westman refills are coming). Buy resale from sites like The RealReal. Get your clothes altered. Really, I was shocked at the easy changes that yield BIG results.
6. I’m a GOOP person.
There, I said it. I knew this day would come, but it’s official. With the arrival of my 32nd birthday I feel like I’m at the age to be inducted into the GOOP gang. And the GOOP women – Queen GP, Cameron Diaz, Gucci Westman, Kate Hudson, Jen Anniston, BEYONCE – how could you not want to roll with this crew? From GOOP nourishing face cream, Super You vitamins, “wellness,” and the many GOOP lists of unmentionables, I’m all in.
The Cheeky Genova 