• Sheet masks: I am all about a sheet mask! They’re easy to use, easy to remove, and they make your skin feel so good. I like to do one at the end of the day. I’ll shower, put a mask on, sit down and close my eyes, read a magazine, watch a few minutes of a show, read some of my book, scare my kids. After 15 minutes, my skin looks a little fresher, my mind feels a little calmer, and putting the kids to bed doesn’t feel so daunting.
• Magazines: See above for ideal magazine reading time. They can also be read on car trips, while “watching” your kids play, or while “helping” your husband cook dinner. These are my go-to’s: Real Simple which asks me to celebrate the season (“Pure Joys of Summer”); Magnolia challenged me to take a risk. I took them very seriously and started an entire blog and Instagram account, but Joanna Gaines could tell me to do most anything and I’d be like, “yes, ma’am!”; and Garden & Gun lured me in with their promise of “forgotten recipes of lost southern classics” and I really want to know what those are and what new recipes I can add to my baking Rolodex. Three magazines, three perspectives, three easy ways to look past myself and try new things.
• Sunscreen: I suffer from horrendous melasma. It’s bad. The other day my three year-old told me he liked my mustache. That’s not a joke; it’s just what my skin looks like if it sees too much sun. Last year, I told a friend of mine that her skin looked wonderful and asked for a magic and expensive secret. She told me that last summer was the first time she put sunscreen on her face every day. Not moisturizer with sunscreen. Straight-up sunscreen. I decided to do the same and damn, it works. I do a lot of other stuff too and my melasma has definitely gotten better but sunscreen, y’all. It’s inexpensive, simple, and it works. “Ladies and gentlemen…wear sunscreen.” Seriously, I should have listened to that song 20 years ago. Does anyone else remember that song? If you do, yes! I see you. If you don’t, tell Alexa to play the “Sunscreen Song.” You’re welcome.
• Pimple patches: The pimples aren’t new but this, for me at least, is a new way to treat them. Oh, I wish they had these when I was in high school. We’ve already heard about my melasma, but 2020 has introduced maskne. What is maskne? It’s mask acne. If this isn’t an actual word at the end of this year, I’ll eat my pimple patches. Is anyone else suffering from this? My chin. No good. I ordered these from Amazon and I am very pleased with the results. The pimples don’t go away immediately…they wouldn’t anyway, they’re full-on cysts…but these do what they promise. Draw the ickiness out of the zit; pull it to the surface; keep the area covered so you can’t pick or expose it to other ickiness. I keep them covered all day and all night (replacing as needed) and the breakouts are going down. Highly recommend.
• My drug-store press on nails: I miss having my nails done. It wasn’t something I ever did regularly but I’d have a “treat yo’self” moment and get my nails done. Obviously, not something I’m doing right now so these drug store press-ons are rocking my world. Pull the tab up, and stick them on. Literally, that’s it. It takes 10 minutes. Then I trim the nails down so I can still type and pick up kids and change diapers…whatever you need to do. They last a few days, I feel a bit more put together, it’s win-win.

Make sure you take a few minutes for yourself and make sure you’re encouraging your spouse/partner/co-parent to do the same. These are strange and troubling times and we all need to make sure we’re taking the time to rest and reset. Grab a mask, a magazine, or just 15 minutes in a quiet room to breathe. Take the time. And wear the sunscreen.