Bridget Bites : Beauty Products And My Reflection
Q:
Hey Bridget-
Love logging on every other day (trying to live more minimally technology wise after returning from Italy) anyway, I highlight my hair and your highlights stay so bright! Just wondering what shampoo/conditioner routine you use to keep them healthy and bright?! Maybe a toner? On that note, could you walk through a typical hair/skin/makeup routine to stay healthy on the outside as well as the inside? Any tips would be greatly appreciated along with some of the products you’re living right now?
Love you girl! Thank you for being a positive blog site I look forward to reading when decompressing for the day XO
A:
Hi there! Thank you for writing in. And good call on the minimizing of technology – it makes a huge difference to my brain space if I spend less time online. I guess it is a way to reclaim your life back.
When it comes to hair I really am low maintenance. I have never had the ability to style my own hair, and honestly don’t even own a hair brush. I recently got bangs and realized there is no way I can take care of them effectively! After a month they have already grown out. My hair is pretty low key, and it grows like a wookie. I’m lucky 😀 As far as color I only get that done by Michael Angelo in NYC at Wonderland Salon. The man is a genius with hair, I have had so many bad blonde shades, but he always gets it right. As I now live in LA I just wait until I see him to get it done. I think I am going to grow my hair out completely – I have forgotten what my natural color is! I don’t use a toner, and I just use whatever shampoo I can get my hands on. I used to use expensive brands but honestly don’t feel a difference between that and drug store stuff. I do try to get organic, but that’s not high on my priorities on my product list.
As far as styling my hair, I consider it a success if I walk out of my house with dry hair. If I don’t, it doesn’t bother me either. My hair is dead straight and I like a little texture if possible. Sometimes I sleep with my hair in a top knot when it is damp, then take it out the second I wake up. Usually after an hour I go from Weird Al Yankovic to bed head. Sometimes I don’t, and then that is an up hair day. If I go for a swim I leave the salt in as long as I can.
My skin care routine is also minimal. I love Kora’s coconut and noni oil stick at night to give me a little extra hydration. And in the morning I just wash with warm water and use the Dr Hauschka rose day cream light, mixed with a little of their bronze color. That usually is enough for me. I should wear sunblock… But I don’t. I tend to wear a hat, and it feels amazing to get direct sun on my arms and legs when I walk. If anyone has a nice organic one that they love please let me know! I do have a home made organic zinc that I use when I am in the surf, I got that in Costa Rica and it works strangely well.
Makeup is mineral fusion mascara and their sheer tint mineral foundation. Sometimes I will use their concealer if I need it. And I might put a little of the RMS luminizer on top of my cheek bones and on the bridge of my nose if I am really making an effort. From start to finish my skin care and makeup routine take 5-10 minutes. I finish off with an eminence lip balm – I have been obsessed with this product for years.
I firmly believe that the ultimate beauty routine comes from how we take care of ourselves. My skin looks the best when I am getting enough sleep, drinking enough water and eating well. I also supplement with omega’s from algae oil, turmeric and probiotics. I don’t know if they help skin, but they seem to help me out! Then the obvious ones, don’t smoke, limit alcohol, get active and get the blood flowing, and laugh a lot. Smile lines are cute.
At the end of the day, I try to spend as much time away from the mirror as possible. I have gotten so lost in it in the past that I would become obsessed with my perceived ‘flaws’. I really used to hate the way I looked. I thought that my face was too round, lips too thin, and just plain boring. I used to only wear my hair out and as close to my face as possible – I just hated seeing my jawline and ‘puffy’ face. Weirdly enough, when I was at my boniest, and my jaw line was at its most pronounced, I hated myself even more. It is insane how much body dysmorphia affected me. In the gym I would always work out as far from the back as possible, just to avoid seeing myself in the mirror. On set I would avoid looking at myself in the mirror during hair and makeup as much as possible, and would only take selfies if I absolutely felt the requirement to. Then I would take millions, picking the one where my face looked defined enough and my lips big enough. My face disgusted me. My body disgusted me even more.
As I began to age (sorry, I know I am only 26) I was horrified by the small lines appearing. I went through an expensive phase of layering product after product – all in the effort of making my skin clearer. My skin would burn, I was advised to stay out of the sun, and nothing really happened. Then I developed dermatitis from some nutritional deficiencies. So I scaled everything way back, started using coconut oil only, and focused on my diet. And everything got better. The smile lines remained, but those are a part of life. I would rather have a face that has lines and signs of the life I have lived. Because I smile a lot.
Today the products I use are the ones I keep coming back to. They work best for me. But what works the most is eating. Eating a wide variety of plant foods, and eating enough. I do not leave entire food groups out anymore. And I still have an aversion to the mirror, but it is a different one now. Instead of staring into the mirror, focusing and hating my face, it is more of a ‘nose still on? Yep great. No sleep in my eyes? Cool, seeya!’. I am content with the way I look in a way I never was in my early 20’s. Instead of painting on makeup designed to hide me from the world, I wander around completely bare and open. I am done hiding. From myself and from the people around me. And when I do wear makeup, it is usually because I am in the mood to. It isn’t a shield of armor for me. And it does not take up any more than the ten minutes or so it takes to apply.
Because we only get one life. I have already wasted enough of it being obsessed with hating my reflection. It is time to demand acceptance for exactly what you have. There is always a place in the world for you. We just sometimes have to create it, if it isn’t there already. And that is far more satisfying than molding yourself into what is demanded and expected of you.
These are my stories. And I dictate my road.
I hope this helps 😀
Love
Bridget
Photograph | Hans Fuerer
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THANKS SO MUCH
Bridget Malcolm