ÉDITO BEAUTÉ 01:
Alignment
oFFERING SPECIFIC AND GENERALIZABLE WAYS TO CREATE ALIGNMENT WITH BEAUTY
Featuring: Act+Acre, Briogeo, Carrés Sauvages, MODE The Method, Oh My Cream!, Pai Skincare
Essay: Kerrin Smith
Photography: Kerrin Smith
Soundtrack: I Follow Rivers by Lykke Li
hotel grand amour, paris 10e
There’s a saying you may have seen that goes, you glow differently when you’re aligned. It’s a beautiful concept, it makes perfect sense, and I believed it as soon as I saw it while not realizing that I didn’t truly understand it until I discovered myself living it.In The Alignment Issue–Issue Nº4 of Cool And Thoughtful–we think about alignment as “doing what is right and natural to you in body, mind, and spirit.” One of the things that’s so special about “alignment” is that it’s a universal concept that is one hundred percent unique to each individual: there are as many versions of "alignment" as there are human beings on the planet. Alignment means something different to each person.
The glow comes from within–when all three, body, mind, and spirit, are dancing to the same rhythm. For our inaugural Édito Beauté (Beauty Editorial), we are sharing a few “holy grail products” and offering two vantage points for each beloved product:
- the generalizable principle that each product offers;
- the specific way that the product has been helpful to me in case you have a similar composition.
Together, the intention of Édito 01 is to point you in the direction of your own alignment, helping you discover what is best for you, as manifested specifically in your beauty routines or practices.
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Pai middlemist seven Cleanser
The Specific: An angel at Oh My Cream! in Paris recommended it to me during a time when my skin was effectively torched due to the wrong acne treatments, and this cleanser felt like a saving grace. While my skin is healthy now (a function of alignment in all the ways I strive to share through Issue Nº4), this cleanser remains The One for me. Best for those with damaged, inflamed, or simply very sensitive skin.
The Generalizable: I’ve come to learn how important the right cleanser is, and being able to find your own version is a function of learning about your skin and what works best for you. As with all skin products, what one person believes to be “the best...” has an implicit “...for my skin” attached to it. Learning about your own skin is one of, if not the most valuable investment you could make. So, how do so?
- Content + Reflection: There’s no shortage of skincare content on the internet, so as you’re watching videos, ask yourself the questions of, is that the same for me? Is my skin like that? And start to observe–as you gather more and more distinctions about skin by listening to others talk about theirs, you can reflect back on your own skin to see if it rings true. My own learning journey started by watching every single Vogue Beauty Secrets video on YouTube; I started a spreadsheet at the same time, keeping track of products that I thought aligned with my skin.
- Ask lots of questions: The next time you’re at Sephora, Oh My Cream!, or any other skincare setting, ask questions–about the products, about skin in general, about your skin, about ingredients, about the other person’s skin, etcetera. Take all the information as inputs rather than “true,” and just add it to your growing fact base about your skin and skin in general. See what sticks, what checks out for you as you learn more. Over time, insights and conclusions will start to form.
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OH MY CREAM! MINERAL POWDER
The Specific: Alice Fresnel is the founder of ALFIE Paris (one of the brands we carried in the Cool And Thoughtful Concept Shop in 2021), and her taste in general is just one of my favorites. When I asked her for any beauty and skincare tips, she recommended this powder as incredible, and she’s right. (Behold! a positive example of gathering inputs from others and reflecting on them for yourself!) As far as a foundation goes, this feels like the best because it feels really natural (Oh My Cream! takes a skincare-first approach to the makeup), healthy (mineral & SPF 20), and the Medium tone nails it on my face.
The Generalizable: For me, this powder is “The Product That Helps You Feel Really Put Together.” What’s your version of feeling put together? A red lip? A stroke of liquid liner? It will be different for everyone, but it feels good to know that I have a go-to for A Big Event or when I just want to kick it up a notch.
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Oh My Cream! Mineral Powder SPF20, €35 available here
Act+Acre Fulvic Acid Voluminizing Dry Shampoo, $26 available here
The Specific: Learning how to not-wash-your-hair is both an art and a science. Conventional wisdom says usually best to go about a week between washes, and I’ve found that it takes time for the hair to adapt to this. As somebody who sweats enough to merit a full headwash every morning post-workout, the best practice I’ve developed for prolonging time between washes is to wash your hair with CONDITIONER every day. Conditioner is cleansing, plus this is nice and supportive to hydrate dry or damaged hair. Act+Acre Fulvic Acid Voluminizing Dry Shampoo, $26 available here
ACT+ACRE fulvic acid voluminizing DRY SHAMPOO
When I started looking into dry shampoo–especially since my hair can tend to go flat or just get a little oily from skincare around the edges (...and tbh just looks better with more volume through that center part…), I immediately realized that the wrong ingredients can dry, singe, irritate the scalp. Healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp, which is what Act+Acre specializes in. I simply trust them in this regard while thinking critically about my scalp and specific needs. (Plus the brand is really elegant and cool and elevated in a way that is still scientific and strong.) As soon as I tried the Fulvic Acid Shampoo, I said–out loud to myself at the Happier Grocery on Canal Street–this is a GREAT product.
The Generalizable: Phone, keys, wallet, dry shampoo–I seldom leave the house without it because it’s the product that helps me feel ready for anything. It’s the pick-me-up that I crave, for if there’s one thing I could get a little self-conscious about, it’s “my hair not looking great.” For me, dry shampoo feels like my secret weapon, and feeling ready for anything supports me in being present where I am.
What might that detail or product be for you? Is there something that might preoccupy your focus? In the feature that we did on ALFIE in Issue Nº2 of the magazine, we offered that comfort “is directly tied to your being. In the world of Cool And Thoughtful, being comfortable is in service of being free, self-expressed, present. If you’re worried about your outfit or distracted by how something fits, you’re not present. You’re not in life, but rather caught up in the preoccupation of how something looks, fits, feels.” It’s the same idea here.
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GUA SHA & MODE THE METHOD
The Generalizable: Steph Flockhart’s approach to beauty–a blend of Traditional Chinese Medicine, beauty & wellness rituals, and practices to reshape the subconscious mind–has absolutely changed my life and is a nonnegotiable in how I take care of myself in body, mind, and spirit. Steph has created MODE The Method, a wellness platform to help you unlock living as your ideal self, which MODE refers to as your Elevated Self. From walking meditations to ground, to EFT Taps for abundance, to beauty rituals that truly demonstrate how you can (as Steph says) “change your face by changing your mind,” Steph’s work is transformative. Gua sha is a core element of the powerful, interdisciplinary beauty rituals that Steph has created.
The Specific: In my experience “what they say is true” about gua sha: it can support lymphatic drainage, sculpt the face, ease wrinkle lines, and support a healthy nervous system by taking a moment of pause and calm during skincare. Something to consider here is how to do gua sha in a way that works for you, so for example–I had long wanted to have a gua sha practice, but either had acne (not good to do gua sha over breakouts!) or didn’t want to use an oil on my face to do it. Here are some workarounds that I discovered, for as you learn more about your skin, you can always think creatively about how to adapt a routine for your needs!
- Use a cleanser instead of an oil: Even now with clear skin, I still don’t want to use an oil on my face, so I discovered that I can simply do my gua sha with wet skin, my Pai cleanser serving as the oil! I was so thrilled about this! No risk of breakouts. I also skip parts of the routine where I know my skin could be sensitive to breakouts–a reminder that you can always be creative to meet your own needs.
- Prioritize the neck: Steph always offers that the lymphatic draining part of the ritual (which happens through the neck) is the most important part so even if you have breakous on the face, you can still have a lovely, adapted gua sha routine.
On this gua sha in particular: it was a gift from Steph and has a special place in my heart for this reason, also because it appears here in Steph’s feature in Issue Nº3, The Manifestation Issue
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OH MY CREAM! DRY BRUSH
The Generalizable: One of the things I’ve learned a lot about through my own journey of alignment is just how important it is to have a healthy nervous system (here is a wonderful short guide from Steph on how to regulate one’s nervous system). Basically, when your nervous system is balanced, your body is getting the message that there is no threat, all is well. The shorthand way to know whether a practice is supporting nervous system health is quite simply: a feeling of being calm, at ease–perhaps a sigh. Over time, these moments build a critical mass of nervous system regulation, and legs-up-the-wall has been an absolute essential for me–a nonnegotiable before going to bed. (Many a friend has received a potentially now-iconic photo of this scene, nine times our of ten featuring a large pair of grey sweatpants.)
The Specific: Legs-up-the-wall helps with lymphatic drainage as does dry brushing (and I always find it has a de-bloating effect). Dry brushing is also super to help with cellulite prevention, so for this reason too, it’s a non-negotiable for She-Who-Would-Prefer-To-Not-Have-Cellulite!!
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CARRÉS SAUVAGES MATCHA LATTE BAR
The Specific: The new Carrés Sauvages collection has just dropped and includes Matcha Latte, which, basically, is to die for. As founder Laure Mannessier shares in Issue Nº4, Carrés Sauvages is “bean-to-bar chocolate with no refined sugar and without compromise. I wanted this chocolate to represent both wellness and la gastronomie–to combine the two.” Here, the generalizable and the specific blend a bit, for what is so great about Carrés Sauvages also leads us to a broader principle: it’s possible to have a delicious treat that is also good for you: quality ingredients, decadent taste, elegant packaging, and a concept that has power more universally….
The Generalizable: …and so, we reach into the Carrés Sauvages feature in Issue Nº4 to describe the power of the brand and chocolate alike: “Surrealism says that the greater the distance between two ideas, the greater the energy between the two. Carrés Sauvages is just that.”
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BRIOGEO Style+Treat Sleek STICK
The Specific: The slicked back bun has been making the rounds as a go-to hairstyle, and I absolutely love it. It’s so polished, such a statement, you don’t have to fuss with your hair, and it's just a look. Having been through the wringer of hair problems (COVID! The Wrong Products! Bad Haircuts!), my hair is finally healthy after a few years of being quite damaged and fragile. Regardless, I take a prudent approach to hair care: nothing that pulls, tugs, or strains my hair–I’ll save the deep dive on product ingredients for another time, but needless to say, Briogeo is the brand I trust for protein-free products that I know won’t overload my hair and risk breakage (here’s a great piece to understand hair elasticity and the role of protein in hair products). If you are looking for an "alternative" for a hair gel or other product that you can trust to not damage or stress your hair, this is it.
The Generalizable: The Style Stick offers a way to do a trend that you love in a way that prioritizes what you need to be healthy: no need to sacrifice one for the other! Since we’re on the topic of trends: in Issue Nº1 of Cool And Thoughtful, we collaborated with Xandra Sunglim Burns to articulate the concept of “Really Meaning It”:
When we Really Mean It,
we are not going through the motions or reciting the script.
If we’re following a trend, or starting one, it’s not on purpose.
What we are doing on purpose is being truthful.
Side effects may include appearing to be chic, or appearing to be a cliché.
Standing out, but not for the attention.
To Mean It is to make something cool because of the thought behind it.
The aesthetic is informed by an authentic message, or simply by love.
When it comes to a trend that you find yourself drawn to, consider this concept: how much of your pull to the trend is because it’s “the thing” versus genuinely loving it for yourself? The two are not mutually exclusive (!) and raising this question is not a covert way of implying that one is inherently “better” than the other. Rather, I offer this question as a way to connect to the power of authentically loving something–of Really Meaning It. Doing something because it has a genuine resonance with your own taste offers more magnetism and longevity. In plain speak: it’s true to you–and this is the foundation for alignment.
welcome to THE WORLD OF COOL AND THOUGHTFUL.
IG @bycoolandthoughtful & @bykerrin_
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
There is a field. I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
The world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
Doesn't make any sense.” - Rumi
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
There is a field. I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
The world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
Doesn't make any sense.” - Rumi