Beauty Routine: Untraditional Steps Rooted in Presence

Hello Echo voices!

Welcome to another Embody post, aka the soft spot of Echo2Evolve, at least for me. Embody is an untraditional beauty segment of this blog that explores skin, hair, practices, all things beauty related. I dive into conversations surrounding the harsh standards of advocating for women to push the boundaries and create their own standards. When creating the Embody page, the first thing I thought when making this was “I have to share my beauty routine.” If you grew up during the era of the 2010s OG YouTube beauty guru baddies, then you understand how iconic it was to watch those routine videos and I knew I must create my own, blog style. However, this beauty routine is the embodied version, meaning I will be narrating nontraditional steps rooted in presence, ultimately to elevate you from within. Inner work ends up always shining bright enough for the outer self, so why not share some of my easy-yet effective steps!

1. Get Grounded

The first thing I do before starting the flow of the routine is to get as grounded as possible. I constantly say this. However, it helps to be in my presence and a simple equation to remember this by is present= the start of many good things to come. Often, I use scents, a relaxation playlist that I will be sharing soon, and prayer. Prayer first helps me clear my mind of stress and anxiety. Currently, I am in a transitional period of learning religion and learning my own spirituality. And right now, being able to just talk to the direct source has helped me understand where I am. While I’m doing this, I will have a candle lit and maybe ambient music or Cleo Solo playing lightly in the background.

2. Release the energy

Next, I release all the energy I have absorbed throughout the day or the day before by taking a shower. I often use the opportunity to perform a cleansing ritual in the shower to help re-center back to me. I would love to go further by turning your regular shower into a ritual. However, that’s for another blog post! However, if you are winding down for the day, I replace it with a bath instead, soothing for the body and the mind.

3. Treat and Heal the Skin

This is my favorite part of the routine, when I get to physically pamper myself with oils, serums, lotions, and masks! I do either body care or skincare. There is no chronic order for these two, but I personally start with my body. I keep all my product rotation small and easy so I can keep consistency. So, I go in with a light yet rich lotion (to drop a gem Nivea Lotion is my all-time favorite), then I will mix it with a light body oil as well (I use Saltair body oil in Seawater vanilla) and these products are butter on my skin. Later, I will apply a perfume oil or body spray to enhance the beautiful feeling and scent from within. I follow up with my skincare and drink water afterward.

4. Invest in my Dopamine menu

People, especially me, we spend so much time re-centering ourselves and finally reach a state of calmness. The first thing we tend to gravitate to is picking up our phones. I know this is something I am still working towards, but I am becoming more conscious of how much doomscrolling is actually affecting me. I’m either comparing, wishing, and subconsciously affecting the way I receive Dopamine, when there are calmer and fun activities I personally like to do. So that could be me doing my makeup, doing my hair, yoga– anything that brings me joy.

5. Rest

Lastly, arguably the most important is to allow rest within your beauty routine, whether it may be in the morning or night. I take a moment out of my day, whether that may be 10,15,30 minutes long, I rest. However, my rest can look different from yours. My rest can be doing a manifestation while meditation, napping, or just quite literally sitting in silence. That may sound daunting or necessary, but sincerely think about how much out of your day you mentally check in with yourself or your body? I knew for a very long time I wasn’t doing these things, and it got to a point where I couldn’t explain what I was feeling in my body. I still have moments like that now, but now it's slightly different because I acknowledge when something is triggering me and how to comfort myself.

Especially as women, we tend to deal with so much in our lives, and we bottle it up and keep moving. However, we must take a slither of time for ourselves to let our mind rest. This step is mandatory in my beauty routine and that applies to step one as well.

Thank you so much for reading my blog today and every other day you decide to visit my sanctuary. I would love to hear everyone's beauty routine, whether it involves makeup, long walks, or what helps you get rooted back into your presence. I would be honored to hear it. Please enjoy your Tuesday and until next time!