'I'm Tess Duinker [@tessduinker], editor in chief of Fashionscene, which a style website for women in the Netherlands. I live and work in Amsterdam, but I love traveling. I can’t have a job like this without some serious relaxation and fun to balance out the daily pressures that come with my position—I go to London with friends a lot to make sure I maintain something of a personal life in addition to my work life.

I always wanted to be here and be a 'grown-up.' That's how I got into beauty. I used to wonder how my face would look with makeup, and I basically thought that using it would transform me into an adult. So when I was around 11 years old, I begged my mum to let me use mascara. This did not end well, since it made my eyes tear, but I was still so proud of having it. These days, Lisa Eldridge is my guru and the voice that soothes me to sleep most nights. Everything she says, I just immediately accept as truth and a consider a 'must-have.' Every phone I have owned since 2010 had a memo hidden away somewhere with a list titled 'What Lisa Said' on it that I use when I travel and get to go to Sephora.

I don’t tend to use makeup during the day. I conceal my dark circles under the eyes with whatever concealer I have on hand at the moment. Then I just brush my eyebrows, put on some Korres Lip Butter in Guava, and leave the house. I am growing back my eyebrows. I’m a '90s kid—just google '90s eyebrows and feel my pain. I've been using RevitaLash's RevitaBrow Advanced. It really helped me get back my natural shape, and for the first time in years, I actually love my eyebrows again. At work, I love playing around with makeup when we are testing new products or talking about a cool eyeliner trend, but I am absolutely comfortable not wearing any makeup all day. Eye shadow is not my friend. A good cat eye is though...I want to start wearing that more often.

I am completely obsessed with La Mer's Eye Concentrate. It just makes the eye area so soft and moisturized, and it helps my concealer stay in place. My Oolaboo Super Foodies Pure Comfort Face Cream smells like cupcakes, and I think that alone is a good reason to use it, but I also love the way it plumps up my face and that it never makes me break out. On days when I think I need a little extra glow I use two drops of Chanel Soleil Identité Perfect Colour Face Self-Tanner SPF 8 Intense. It gives the prettiest sun-kissed color. My favorite perfume is Juliette Has a Gun Lady Vengeance. Their mini purse bullet gets me in trouble a lot when flying, but this perfume is so gorgeous, sexy, and relaxing. I have never met anyone that did not fall in love with this scent. Just thinking about it makes me happy.

At the end of the day, I believe in a thorough cleansing! You can’t complain about having bad skin and then go to bed with half your makeup still on because the quick-and-easy wipes didn’t really do the trick. I go through bottles and bottles of Simple Cleansing Micellar Water. Love this stuff. It removes my mascara at night and freshens up my eyes in the morning. Yeah, it can be a hassle, but proper cleansing and sticking to a routine changed my skin dramatically. I don’t tend to stick to one brand because I test a lot of new products for my job, but I do make sure to always use my Clarisonic Mia3, and I never, ever dry my face with a towel. I always use some clean tissue or soft paper towels. I also try not to touch my face without washing my hands first. I used to do it without thinking and would pick at my face when I was behind my desk, but since I stopped doing this, my skin has gotten so much better, and I haven’t had a big break out since. Philosophy does a great quick and easy Microdelivery Peel—just two minutes, and you’re good to go.

Also, truly getting to know your skin and the ingredients it loves or hates can be a game changer. Yes vitamin C is great for the skin, but I know it will break me out so I use it sometimes, but definitely not all the time. My lips, for example, do best with an eye cream, as bizarre as that sounds. It really helps prevent those mean little lines.

Luckily I did not grow up with a phone in my hand, because I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it must be to be a young girl in this day and age. Opinions, comparison, and filters are just one click away. We had models when I was growing up, and we appreciated their beauty, but we definitely did not think we had to look like them! We wanted to, but that’s different. This is next-level, in my mind. I just wish we could all appreciate ourselves a bit more. There is so much beauty in so many things! Just try and make the best of what you've got. When you are 80, you’ll probably look back at pictures of yourself and think, 'Oh my, I was so pretty!''

—as told to ITG

The #ITGTopShelfie series puts the focus on the lives and beauty routines of Into The Gloss's lovely, accomplished, and loyal community of readers. Show us your own Top Shelfie on Instagram—tag us @intothegloss, and include the hashtag #ITGTopShelfie.