Beauty Diaries: A Medical Student’s $240 Skin Care, Hair, and Makeup Routine in Hanover, NH
How much does your daily beauty routine cost? Welcome to The Klog’s Beauty Diaries. Inspired by Refinery29’s Money Diaries, we thought it would be fun to recap a day in the life of people with different occupations and highlight their beauty routines. Here, a woman who’s getting her medical degree in Hanover.
Occupation: Medical Student
Industry: Medicine
Age: 27
Location: Hanover, NH
7:00 am – I’m in my last few months of medical school before starting residency, and I’m currently on a rotation in the hospital. I start seeing patients with my team today at 8:30 (much later than some other services!), and so I’ll aim to arrive at the hospital around 8:00.
I am not a morning person, and have always had trouble waking up early! *cue multiple alarms in different locations* I typically spend about 30 minutes getting ready from the time I wake up to the time I’m out the door, which means I have my morning routine down to a science. Also, because I am a student, I generally try to stick to a budget in terms of skin care and makeup and such.
I begin with brushing my teeth, washing my face with St. Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub ($4), and putting in my contacts. I then start my morning skin care routine with The Ordinary’s Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG ($6.70) around my eyes to help reduce puffiness and dark circles. I follow up with The Ordinary’s Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 ($6.80) for hydration before applying my moisturizer, Olay Complete Lotion All Day Moisturizer ($9). – $26.5
7:15 am – Now it’s time for makeup, which I can usually do in five minutes or less. I start with bareminerals Stroke of Light under eye concealer ($23). I then follow up with a quick swipe of Maybelline Define-A-Line Eye Liner in Chestnut Brown ($8). Next I brush on some e.l.f. Prime & Stay Finishing Powder ($2). Then I focus on my brows, which I keep simple with e.l.f Clear Brow & Lash Mascara ($2). I finish with Telescopic Original Mascara by L’Oréal Paris ($10). On some days, I’ll also use some coral brush or highlighter, but today I’m running a bit late so I brush my hair, get dressed, and head out the door. – $45
5:00 pm – I am done at the hospital for the day, and this weekend my boyfriend and I are traveling to Montreal! We get started with the three hour drive around 5pm.
8:00 pm – We have arrived at our cute Airbnb in Montreal and are getting ready to head out to dinner. My makeup from this morning has worn off a bit, so I reapply the concealer, eyeliner, powder and mascara that I used in the morning. I swipe a bit of benefit’s watt’s up! highlighter ($30) over my cheekbones. I also like benefit’s Benetint Cheek & Lip Stain mini ($12) and blot some of that over my cheeks. I finish up with Nature Republic’s Botanical Dot Lip Tint in Lovely Pink ($9). If I had had more time, I would have applied some MISSHA M Magic Cushion SPF50+/PA+++ ($19) foundation, but we are hungry and have poutine to eat! – $70
11:30 pm – We are back at our Airbnb after a lovely night of exploring Montreal. I hop in the shower and start by washing my hair with Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo ($4), then condition with Garnier’s Whole Blends Legendary Olive Replenishing Conditioner ($5). I use Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Wash ($9), and then I wash my face with Neogen’s Real Fresh Foam Cranberry Cleanser ($19) which my lovely cousin Tess gave to me (She works at Soko Glam).
After that, I hope out of the shower and continue my skin care routine. I layer on some of The Ordinary’s Alpha Lipoic Acid 5% ($7), an antioxidant that improves skin tone and texture, and then some of The Ordinary’s 100% Cold-Pressed Virgin Marula Oil ($10) for hydration. I also apply some Missha Time Revolution Night Repair New Science Activator Ampoule ($49). I finish up with some Dead Sea Anti-aging Night Cream with Dead Sea Minerals ($6) that I picked up from TJ Maxx and am ready to head to bed. – $89
Daily Total: $230.5
Hair, Body, Nails: $18
Skin Care: $107.5
Makeup: $115
