40
My skincare stays in the bathroom. Not my ideal choice but a girl is working with what she got. So, when I clean the bathroom ( which is twice a week), I also clean my skincare. I wipe down every bottle and give the cupboard a really good clean. But this blog post is not about cleaning. It’s about the 40 in the title.
Many times, I have attempted to count the products in my cupboard as I put them back and I always seem to get distracted ( my phone is always playing a video or podcast in the background). A week ago, I thought, ‘Girl if you don’t finish this goddamn count!’ and I did. When I got to 30, I took a little deep breath. That’s a big number. Then I got to 40 and asked myself, ‘What the hell does this mean?’ My lovely brain offered me so many facts and theories. I am still untangling them
That’s why we are here together, you reading and I writing. Step in, this will be one of those ‘everywhere’ blog posts.
We all know the pursuit of beauty is heavily tainted by ageism, capitalism, and consumerism especially if you are exposed to Western and Asian beauty standards. Then comes the question, what is African beauty? An entire conversation. Not for this blog post, but I am throwing it out there so we can both think about it. But! If anything, MOST of us were first influenced by the women in our lives. The women before us. The women around us. Mothers, sisters, aunts, and all the women who fall somewhere in between these titles. How those women consumed and pursued beauty influenced us. How they spoke to us about beauty influenced us. Their own beauty stories were and ARE at the start of our own beauty stories. A fact to really munch on!
Let’s try and ‘simply’ answer this question, ‘Ij, why do you have 40 products in your skincare cupboard?’
Privilege. I have a beauty budget with a bit of playing room. Do I wish it to be bigger? I would never say no to more. But could I work with a smaller budget? I absolutely could. I will always consider the concept of the beauty budget as a luxury and privilege because they are women in this world who can’t afford to support themselves during their bleed and UNTIL all women can easily access feminine hygiene products, then beauty budgets are matters of privilege
I am a skincare influencer. Now, for a long time, I have spent my own money on skincare, whether it was purchased simply for my own use or for the sake of my influencing ways. Thankfully, I have entered the stage of my influencer career where I am now receiving PR. It comes with the territory.
The 40 does include my body care, a tooth powder, deodorant, and fragrances. It’s not just facial skincare. Oh, and a spray bottle with surgical spirit to disinfect spatulas. Just saying so you can have more context.
I am also fully aware that my routine is rather extra. I fell in love with skincare when K- Beauty and its 10-step routine was all the rage. Do I need to have up to 5 products in my watery skincare* category? Absolutely not! Does it bring me joy? Absolutely yes! Do I genuinely believe it’s good for my skin? Yes, I do. I don’t play with hydration. It really does support the health of my moisture barrier.
I also love makeup. Being a pro-MUA, I learned the power of skincare and how much it contributes to a beautiful application. I also know how important it is to support the skin well AFTER makeup application. You got to take it all off then support the skin with some great skincare. I have this theory that makeup makes the skin tired. A great skincare routine rejuvenates the skin.
I will circle back to our first influencers. My mother and elder sister are lovers of beauty. They now think I am over the top but if they only knew how iconic they are to my beauty story. Bless them.
My beauty story also has powerful spiritual, emotional, and mental undertones. I wish to say no more about it. Just know, I am not just accumulating pills and potions because I am terrified of aging. I am simply honoring who I am and DEEPLY looking after myself
I am slowly smiling at myself. This blog post has me feeling good. I thought I would feel shame because I have so much. I didn’t know where this blog post would go. But you know what I feel…..A deep sense of gratitude for the awareness that I have. An awareness of myself as an African woman living in a Western society. An awareness of my beauty story. An awareness of my consumerism. Grateful.
Here is to those OG influencers. To the mums, sisters, aunts, and women who fall somewhere in between all those titles.
* Watery Skincare. A term I coined lumping toners, ampoules, serums, and essences. I have a series on YouTube reviewing quite a few. This link will take you there.