Interior Design by Paloma Contreras | Photography by Aimee Mazzenga | Styling by Cate Ragan
As interior designers, one of the most important parts of our job isn’t choosing what to add to a room. It’s deciding what to leave out. The best homes are thoughtfully edited. They aren’t filled with everything beautiful—they’re filled with the right things. Every piece has earned its place, and nothing is there simply because it was trending or because someone said you had to have it.
Over the years, I’ve realized the same philosophy applies to beauty. There has never been a shortage of recommendations. Every day there’s a new miracle serum, the latest viral lipstick, another “must-have” product promising to transform your routine. It’s exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. Ain’t nobody got time for that! Somewhere along the way, I stopped trying to keep up. Instead, I started editing.
Today, my beauty cabinet looks much more like the homes I love to design: carefully considered, highly functional, and filled only with things I genuinely enjoy using. Not because they’re the newest, but because they’ve earned permanent residence. The products that remain are the ones I reach for without thinking. The ones I repurchase before they run out. The ones that travel with me. The ones my friends inevitably ask about after they’ve noticed a difference.
Much like decorating a home, building a beauty routine isn’t about accumulating more. It’s about discovering what works for you and letting go of the rest. I’ve also found that the best routines are often surprisingly simple. A handful of products you trust. A few rituals you look forward to. Consistency over complexity. After all, beauty isn’t about chasing perfection. It’s about feeling like the best version of yourself.
Rather than sharing everything we’ve ever tried, we thought we’d share the products that have quietly earned a permanent place in our routines. These are the ones we’d replace tomorrow if they disappeared today. They’re just that good.
I would like to think that I have gotten more discerning about my skincare routine and the products I choose as I have gotten older. Rather than trying a bunch of different products every few months, I will usually try something new if I feel the product I am using isn’t working for me anymore. Over half of the products in my current routine have been part of my routine for years while the rest are products I have re-bought at least 4 or 5 times. I’m lucky that I have never had problematic skin, but as I have gotten older, it has gotten more sensitive. Lactic Acid causes my skin to break out in an orange peel texture while Caroline’s beloved Metacine proved to be too harsh on my skin.
For day, I start by washing my face in the shower with Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser. I follow that with Tata Harper’s Regenerating Cleanser to exfoliate my skin, then I mist Dermalogica’s Ultracalming Mist Toner on my face and neck. Next, I layer on two serums (Tata Harper Rejuvenating Serum and SkinPharmYouth Serum which I found to be almost identical to the Dr. Lara Devgan serum I used for years, but for a fraction of the cost). A few times a week, I’ll use Eigth Day’s Regenerative Serum which is incredible. It has Peptide-Rich Plasma, Glycolic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Gaba, and Nonapeptide. On the days that I use this serum, it’s the only one I put on since it is so effective.
I have used Valmont’s Vos Yeux eye cream for many years, but it is very expensive. A while back, I ran out between visits to my esthetician and used Sunday Riley’s Auto-Correct in its place. Incredibly, I like it just as much, if not more. It is lightweight, goes on perfectly smoothly under my concealer, and makes my eye area look luminous. This was also a big win because the Valmont cream is over $400 while the Sunday Riley Auto-Correct Eye Cream is $65! Then, I use Sunday Riley’s CEO Afterglow Vitamin C Moisturizer which also gives the skin a luminous quality. It smells divine and has the perfect texture. I prefer the gel cream which is lighter weight year-round in a hot, humid climate like Houston’s. The final step is SkinPharm 100% Mineral Tinted SPF 44 Sunscreen which I also found to be basically an identical dupe to Dr. Lara Devgan’s BB Cream which I used for years. I found myself frustrated because Devgan seems to change her formulations quite frequently and the SkinPharm products are like the original versions I had grown to love— again, at a fraction of the cost. It makes me wonder if they’re both licensing their names to the same manufacturer, but I digress.
Moving on to nighttime— the cleanser, toner, and eye cream remain the same. For serum, it’s either the Eighth Day Regenerative Serum or the O.G. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum which is basically the G.O.A.T. of nighttime serums. 75% of the year, I use SkinPharm FaceWhip moisturizer. In the winter, I use Tata Harper Creme Supreme which is a bit richer and a better option when my skin is feeling dry.
In addition to the products that form part of my daily routine, I also layer in occasional treatments that keep my skin looking healthy and youthful. The Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum is wonderful, but I typically use it when I’m getting more sun and the brown spot on my left cheek tends to get more noticeable. I also mix a drop of this and the SkinPharm Youth Serum into my hand cream before bed every night. We can’t forget our hands! I use the SkinPharm Crystal Clear pads 1-2 times per week, primarily on my forehead. I’ll also alternate between Dr. Lara Devgan’s Vitamin C+B+E Ferulic Serum and Alastin Renewal 0.5 Retinol Serum as products with potent active ingredients can sometimes irritate my skin. I find that spacing them out to every few days and alternating between them works really well for me.
I also use my TheraFace LED Mask 3-5 times per week. A hack I learned from my esthetician, along with the importance of monthly facials, is to layer a sheet mask with your LED mask. Apparently, it makes both modalities more effective. I love 111Skin Celestial Black Diamond Sheet Mask and Celestial Black Diamond Eye Mask. More recently, I tried the 111Skin Cryo De-Puffing Facial Mask and was blown away! My skin was glowing from within, the redness in my forehead was gone and my face looked more sculpted— the jaw line was snatched, y’all! One other thing I do regularly that I find contributes to healthy, beautiful skin is lymphatic drainage massage which flushes the system of excess fluid and toxins.
Everyone’s skin is different, but these are the products that I have loved for years and that I find super effective as I approach age 45. They are the products I regularly recommend to friends when they ask and that I am happy to recommend to you without hesitation.
Interior Design by Caroline Gidiere | Photography by Isabel Parra
If you listen to our Pod, chances are by now you have heard me mention my “Lotions and Potions” (most recently the trouble they caused at Charles de Gaulle when I stuck too many in my carry-on luggage - ouch!).
Over the years, I have carefully curated a retinue of products that I have concluded are the best for my skin. Unlike Paloma, I am never truly content with this list. I am always down try a new product that promises something better (maybe a beauty product tester job would sustain me if decorating doesn’t workout?). While the bar is low for testing, it is an extraordinarily high bar to win my approval. At this age, I am expecting products to play at the highest level. That does not mean I am impressed with fancy packaging or a large price tag. What a product needs is actual results.
As in my design practice, I am challenged to stay nimble - to avoid getting stuck in a particular rut of thinking. As with design, I am always asking myself, is there something better? Is there a better way? Would something else achieve this goal more efficiently and more elegantly? And, I am just very curious: is it better or not?
With beauty, as with design, once I have tested something and know it to be superior, I can easily rule out a would-be competitor, be it an idea or a product, which, previously challenged, came up short.
And, my vanity top never looks like it does in the image above and always looks like some mad scientist’s lab table, with a million half-used products vials and bottles and tubes. This is probably more chaos than most of you could handle, but to me, it feels like home.
But, if I had to pare it all the way down for some desert island situation (or, let’s say, a Charles de Gaulle carry-on situation, I would probably pick just the drug store brands plus the prescriptions. Given the chance, I would absolutely add all of the other elements back in because they do each offer something that is very beneficial to my skin. It’s just that it is not lost on me that the others are the power hitters.
Below, a quick walk through the products and steps in order.
I start the day with an oil cleanser and end the day with the “Korean Double Cleanse” method. If you are unfamiliar, the Korean Double Cleanse starts with an oil-based first step that loosens dirt, makeup, and oils, and follows with an water-based cleanser that removes all of the stuff that the oil-based cleanser loosened. Victoria Beckham’s Cleansing Protocol embraces the Double Cleanse and is the absolute best I have found. I used to use Tata Harper, but found Victoria’s combo to be a superior option in that oil cleanser is super silky and it has a really delicate water-based cleanser companion, to give me that double cleanse I am looking for.
Morning and night, I follow toners with “skin drenching” à la “Mixon Method” (she’s a bit much but the technique is legitimate). As you might expect from the name, I drench my skin with moisture by spraying my face with a series of toners and essences. This ensures my skin is completely saturated and plump before I begin with serums and moisturizers. My process is, as we have all been taught, to go from thinnest to thickest. These particular toners are the ones that I am using now, but, to be forthright, I think any non-activating toner is probably just as good as the next. After a couple of watery toners, I always end with a milky toner and follow that with Anua’s Collagen Glow Mist. It is important that none of these toners have activators - or anything that might irritate or inflame the skin - only soothing elements. Once the toners have begun to dry down, my skin is prepped and ready for serums and lotions.
Totally plump and supple, my skin is now ready to absorb my serums, which will absolutely glide at this point. I start with my brows, which are starting to thin. A friend recommended this serum by Obagi and I am about one month in. Hang tight for a final decision . . . the jury is still out. Next, I add GHK-CU Copper Peptides, such as this one by Asterwood. So many dermatologists believe that GHK-CU may be the only serum anti-aging serum you actually need and that it can replace your C serum. Obviously, I haven’t quite found my way to that streamlined way of thinking, yet, but I do not intend to add back in a C serum once this bottle of CE Ferulic is finished. I always seem to return to Skinceuticals’ CE Ferulic whenever I notice age spots popping up. I do use the VinoPerfect one that Paloma uses, as well, although I have concerns given the fragrance, as I have learned that we don’t actually want fragrances in products if we can avoid them - although to be very honest, the Vinoperfect smells like heaven, so it’s hard to pull away.
After the Copper Peptides and C Serum, I follow with two more serums, both from Dr. Diamond: Instafacial “Plasma” and “Infusion.” Plasma has growth factor techonology and Infusion has an easily absorbable collagen. Some evenings, I add Dr. Diamond’s “Emulsion” night cream (pictured above), which has a little retinol in it. This “Collection Trio” is designed to be used as an ensemble. However, I am not afraid to use a different night cream. Some nights, I use Orlane’s B21, which I discuss in more depth below. But, in the evenings after I have applied the serums, I move on to my prescriptions before adding any moisturizing night creams.
As I stated at the top, I find my prescriptions, one for Tretinoin and one for estradiol cream, to be the most important components of my skin regime. They are the power hitters for sure. Tretinoin keeps my pores tight and the surface flawless; estradiol has made a remarkable difference in wrinkles and skin laxity - in the past six months, I have seen tremendous improvements since adding it in. If you think this might be for you, ask your Dermatologist or your Gynocologist if these prescriptions are actually the right choices for you. I found these offerings from Musely if you want to go the over-the-counter route, they are essentially the same, only less powerful.
For my daytime moisturizer, I use Weleda’s Skin Food, and have for several years. There is no comparison, as far as the products I have tried. This is simply the best (for dry skin, at least) and it is less than $30 and sold in drug stores. I honestly believe it might be sufficient as a night cream (along with my prescriptions), and if I had to pair down to bare bones, I would take Skin Food, my two prescriptions, and my Aquaphor, and I think I would be good.
For my evening moisturizer, I use either Dr. Diamond’s Emulsion or Orlane’s B21 Absolute Youth Night Cream and Neck and Décolleté Lifting Care (for my neck and chest). The lady at the back of CityPharma on Rue de Four in Paris (with the short skirt and long jacket) put me on to B21 - she insists this is the product that the entire Arnault family uses. She explained that Orlane is a part of the LVMH conglomerate and produces all of the skin products for all of the LMVH brands. Who knows whether or not that is true, but she was 100% sold on the B21 line. I have been using it for a few years - and I like it. The products are elegant and rich.
Aquaphor is an occlusive, so each night for the past forever I have slathered a thick layer of Aquaphor on top of all of my serums and moisturizers to essentially seal in the products and the moisture. I think it works great. For many, it will be waaaaaaaaay too much. Only you can answer that.
There are the options I reach for when I am in need of some extra help (wouldn’t you like to know when that would be? . . . after this Herculean effort in slathering and spraying, does it seem possible???). Orlane’s Eye Contour Creme, along with Rhode’s Peptide Eye Prep Patches and Caffeine Reset Mask all de-puff, with the Eye Contour Cream being used the most often of the three (a tiny pop under the eyes as soon as I wake up in the morning tends to sooth the overnight swell). The other two are for more extreme situations - like too many flights or evening with a second glass of wine. Medicube’s Wrapping Mask and Gel Mask are each options I reach for when my skin has gotten dehydrated, again for flying, sun, or otherwise.
Whew! It’s a lot, I know. Bette Davis once said, “old age is no place for sissies.” I totally feel you, Bette.
Here are a few things that have been on our radar this week…
Fashion designer Adam Lippes’ stunning Fifth Avenue manse is featured in the September issue of Architectural Digest and it is chock full of inspiration. Elegant and glamorous, much like Lippes’ clothes, some spaces, like the incredible living room lean into the sumptuous, gilded age architecture while his bedroom, clad in beautiful pale blue moire silk show a great deal of restraint. Each space is a revelation.
These beautiful embroidered ribbons spotted on our friend, Leah O’Connell’s Instagram stopped me in my tracks the other day. I am obsessed with vintage textiles!
We are recording an episode of the podcast with our good friend, Meg Braff whose new book, Gracious Interiors will be published on September 11th. We received a sneak preview prior to recording and trust us when we say it is gorgeous! If you love colorful, traditional interiors, this book is definitely for you.
Everyone’s beauty routine is so personal. What is your one desert island product that you couldn’t live without?
Until Next Time,
Paloma & Caroline
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