What have we learned from Martha?

I recently read an article detailing Martha Stewart’s $2,000 beauty regimen and it got me to thinking about how much money I myself spend on frivolous side orders of so-called beauty “must haves.” The New York Times’ “Skin Deep” column published the story on Martha’s fascinating, over-the-top skin care and beauty routine, and Jezebel.com did us all the favor of breaking down exactly how many digits of ridiculous it is: between $1,982.99 to $2,091.90 worth of skincare, makeup, bath products and fragrance. One would be appalled by her extravagance (“I’ve been using Fracas since I was 19. I’ll put the fragrance on three times a day,” she says), if not for her amusing, very Martha way of sounding like an expert on everything. She talks about the importance of serums with the same precision she does about varieties of moss and pliers, and covers everything from skincare to makeup to hair without holding back. I have to admit, the story had me obsessed, not so much over the products she mentioned (among her favorite brands are Yon-Ka, Mario Badescu, Clé de Peau and Frédéric Fekkai), but more with her routine. I have just as many hours in a day as Martha. The immediate result of this obsession was the streamlining of my own skincare routine based on Martha’s golden rules and using products I already have plus a few gems from the department store beauty aisle. Here’s how you can recreate her beauty regimen without the guilt:

 â€œI like oil because it keeps my skin very moist and it works for me.”

“Squeaky clean” is not an ideal situation for the face. Throughout puberty, dermatologists have told me that my oil glands are extra industrious and that they yield more oil than my skin could handle. Hence, my apprehension towards using cleansing oils. Big mistake! Cleansing oils turn out to be better for my oily skin because they don’t dry it out and trick glands into producing even more oil. To keep skin alert, alternate with a cleanser that’s targeted to your skin condition. Martha likes to steam her face with a hot washcloth and then cleanse with Amore Pacific or Shu Uemura cleansing oils — but she says Johnson’s Baby Oil also does the job. As another option, try The Body Shop’s Camomile Cleansing Oil. Massage onto a moist face and rinse with lukewarm water.

“I get up a couple of hours before I’m supposed to leave in the morning and put on a mask.”

She doesn’t mean this in an emo, “nobody-understands-me” kind of way, I presume. Martha loves masks. I love them too, except the process is such a chore and masks aren’t cheap. But again, discipline is key to any regimen — and it applies to not playing favorites. Martha doesn’t repeat the same mask two days in a row. Variety is consistent in her regimen. Watsons carries this inexpensive brand of masks from Taiwan called Beauty Buffet and they come in enough variants to keep your face guessing. In place of Martha’s Susan Ciminelli Hydrating Gel Mask, try their Charcoal and Cypress Oil purifying mask. One trick that works well for me is applying a complementary serum on my face before putting on the mask to boost the effects of both.

“I slather myself with serums.”

Before Martha applies her serums, she sprays on a toner like Mario Badescu rosewater spray to prep the skin. Then she applies serum and moisturizer. Sometimes she applies eye cream, too. “Caudalie has one — it’s the fancy one from their high-end line.” Of course! Try Céleteque’s Hydrolyzed Moisturizing Mist on clean skin, then apply a serum like Pond’s Flawless White Ultra Luminous Serum, which evens out dark spots — you can also use it for dark spots on the neck and chest. Martha claims to use the same products she uses on her face for her body. Try Nivea Body UV Whitening Serum with SPF 25/PA++. (P.S. Using “whitening” products doesn’t mean you don’t love yourself. Sometimes it just means you want your elbows to be as sexy as your shoulders.)

“It’s pretty ugly, but it works.”

She’s talking about a sun hat that goes over her riding helmet for when she has to do outdoor activities. For us regular girls, sunblock will do the trick. This is the product that I spend the most on because it’s so hard to find a good one. Obagi Nu-Derm Sun Shield SPF 50 is creamy but not sticky, goes on matte and doesn’t make the face white or have a weird sunblock smell. Apply it before makeup and after everything else.  Or try a product that does double-duty, like Revlon Absolute Radiance CC Cream with SPF 30/PA++ — triple-duty if you want to use it as a makeup base.

“I use different shampoos.”

Martha has really good hair (“I have really good hair.”), so she doesn’t like to weigh it down with product. To clarify the scalp from gunk, use a transparent shampoo like Herbal Essences Color Me Happy. It’s for colored hair, so it’s extra caring. On the other hand, to avoid stripping your actual hair of luster-delivering oils and moisture, alternate with a keratin-infused shampoo like Syoss Repair Therapy to boost shine as well as tame wildness. Deep-condition hair with Dove Intense Repair 2-Step Treatment once or twice a week.

Once I saw past all the branding, I found three core components in Martha’s regimen: variety, consistency and discipline. Mix up products but be consistent in your routine and observe it religiously, no matter how tired you’re feeling (or how pretty you already feel). And don’t just stick to brands you already know — try out new brands of cleansers and creams. You can always use them for your legs or arms anyway, should they not work so well for your face.