“I’ve never liked the feeling of makeup on my skin, so the French-girl philosophy toward beauty immediately resonated with me: Invest more into your skin looking amazing, then you’ll need less makeup,” says Sandra Nam. The Creative Production Director at Squarespace traces her love for skin care to her mother, who wore minimal makeup and washed her face religiously. To this day, the two still trade skin-care tips.
Nam’s routine borrows principles from Korean beauty, which she says has always been a topic of conversation among her family. She calls double cleansing, a tenant of K-beauty, a “revelation” and relies on her mom as her “dealer for loads of Korean face-mask contraband.”
“The proof is in the pudding: Korean women look at least ten years younger than whatever age they are,” Nam says. “Twelve steps may be too much to keep up every day, but you can learn about the principles behind K-beauty, then adjust them to your skin type and only use products that work for you.”
Nam developed the routine below to help her dry, delicate skin retain moisture. She depends on muslin cloths for gentle exfoliation but uses her hands to massage the products in. “The cleansing balm I use has a whole technique on how to massage it into your face to clear your lymph nodes — spend the time to do it.” For serums, she likes to pat them in; with lotions and creams, she’ll warm them in her hands first, then apply them in an upward direction.