Beauty Blog: January Faves

After two years of “letting myself go,” I decided to get back into the world of beauty.

Screenshot from West Side Story; graphic by me.

The crazy thing about depression is that it will absolutely make you despise the practices that can actually help you feel like a person. This can range from not brushing your teeth to not showering. For me, it was beauty.

Before my depression consumed my life, I used to meticulously apply winged eyeliner eyes and curl my lashes every day. I loved perusing the shelves of the local beauty supply store with my mom — who’s a cosmetologist (and medical assistant and accountant and resident Wonder Woman) — or dreaming of all the fancy vials of skincare products I’d buy at Sephora if I had infinite money. Beauty was something exhilarating and fun. It wasn’t a necessity, and I certainly didn’t need makeup to feel pretty or anything, but it brought me joy and gave me a routine.

But two years ago, I fell into such a deep depression that even washing my face seemed like an arduous, insurmountable task. I simply just stopped caring about my appearance, but in an unhealthy, detrimental way. Luckily, I made life changes that got me out of the hole I was in, but I never really got back into the habit of doing beyond the bare minimum until a few months ago. Now, I can at least put some damn blush on!

That’s all to say: I’m back, bitch! While I’m no YouTube MUA or TikTok beauty queen, I’m gonna start blogging at least once a month about the beauty products or trends I’m obsessed with. It’ll be fun! Have any ideas or recommendations? Tweet me: @IzzieRamirez or respond in the comments. Let’s get to it!

Note: All of these items were purchased with my own money or gifted to me from my mom. These brands are not paying me to blog about them!

Skincare:

Fresh Sugar Face Polish
Yes, I know I can make my own sugar scrub at home for less than $5. I know. But this particular scrub oddly reminds me of the sweet tea I’d have back home. Plus it’s not harsh. I tend to use this 1–2x a week in the shower, especially if I worked out that day. It’s a treat if you can swing it, but be careful, you’ll get addicted!