One of Those Women

This summer, I've picked up some new habits. A few things, I never thought I'd be doing. A few, I should have been doing long ago.

For starters, I've finally become a grown up and started washing my face every night. With actual facial products. Anti-aging products. Products that cost more than my weekly grocery list (don't worry, I get a sweet discount through a lovely contact).

But surely you've been taking care of your skin all along, you say in horror! You're in your mid-thirties, for crying out loud! You're doing 55 down a one-way highway to Wrinkletown! Well, I'd like to say yes. But there have been many a nights I've reached for a baby wipe and made a half-hearted swipe at my face before passing out in bed. There have been many more nights where I've fallen asleep, make-up still smeared about, giving me a Walking Dead fright when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror the next morning. Washing my face every night is right up there with flossing: I know I should do it, I believe I should do it, I just can't seem to make myself religiously follow through with my good intentions. Until now.

So what has changed, you ask? Well, I finally invested in some good products, thanks to a generous friend. When she heard about my beauty "routine," she practically dragged me to her car and foisted a bag of samples on me, making me promise to ditch the baby wipes. I agreed, abashed. Hey, if it didn't work out, I'd have a drawer of freebies to gather dust, no sweat off my (wrinkled) brow.

To my amazement, however, taking care of my skin has become my new thing. Forcing myself to wash my face, slather on my moisturizer, dab on my eye cream, it's given me a self-imposed ten minutes of "me time" (hahaha, me time! Remember that?!) Do I see a difference? Well, I do! Although whether it's from the formula (words like longevity, rejuvenation potential and vitality can't hurt) or the fact that anything would be an improvement over my last skin care regimen, is still out for debate. But I'm afraid I've gotten myself thoroughly hooked. I've started making sure I wash my face right after putting the girls to sleep, ensuring I don't end up too exhausted to drag myself to the sink after binge-watching the latest season of Veep. But it hasn't been hard to start this new habit. I find I so look forward to the mini-face massage of cleansing and rich, buttery night moisturizer (yep, I have a night moisturizer and a day moisturizer. I'm one of those women now) that making time for it hasn't been a problem. What used to seem like such a huge chore is now easy.

Now flossing, that's still an insurmountable bedtime obstacle.